Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers using NASA

Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is “To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity.” Its core values are “safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion.” NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.

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Russia announced on January 11, 2023, that it would send a rescue vessel to the International Space Station to bring home three astronauts. Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, along with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio have in effect been stranded since their original capsule was damaged. US and Russian space officials believe the Soyuz MS-22 started leaking in December 2022 after it was hit by a tiny meteoroid.

Continue reading “Russia to send rescue mission to International Space Station after capsule leak” »

The Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) began in 2011 when Donald Bren — philanthropist, chairman of the Irvine Company, and a lifetime member of the Caltech Board of Trustees — and Caltech’s then-president Jean-Lou Chameau came together to discuss the potential for a space-based solar power research project. By 2013, Bren and his wife (Caltech trustee Brigitte Bren) began funding the project through the Donald Bren Foundation, which will eventually exceed $100 million. As Bren said in a recent Caltech press release:

“For many years, I’ve dreamed about how space-based solar power could solve some of humanity’s most urgent challenges. Today, I’m thrilled to be supporting Caltech’s brilliant scientists as they race to make that dream a reality.”

Continue reading “This bold new mission will try beaming solar power down from space” »

It is the most distant atomic hydrogen radio signal “by a large margin” and it could teach us a great deal about star formation.

Astronomers from McGill University in Canada and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru detected an atomic hydrogen radio signal originating 8.8 billion light-years from Earth.

As the statement points out, “this is also the first confirmed detection of strong lensing of 21 cm emission from a galaxy.”

Continue reading “Astronomers just detected the furthest atomic hydrogen signal ever” »

Each Monday I pick out the northern hemisphere’s celestial highlights (mid-northern latitudes) for the week ahead, but be sure to.

The celestial highlights for the week ahead include a beautiful conjunction between two iconic planets in the solar system.

With new tools like the James Webb Space Telescope, we’re discovering more exoplanets than ever and even peering into their atmospheres. Now, NASA is asking for the public’s help in learning more about some of the exoplanets that have already been detected in a citizen science program called Exoplanet Watch.

“With Exoplanet Watch you can learn how to observe exoplanets and do data analysis using software that actual NASA scientists use,” said Rob Zellem, the creator of Exoplanet Watch and an astrophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement. “We’re excited to show more people how exoplanet science is really done.”

The Exoplanet Watch project has two parts, one involving observing for those who have access to a telescope, and one involving identifying exoplanets in existing data. Even if you don’t have access to equipment other than a computer or smartphone, you can still help in learning about exoplanets by requesting access to data collected by robotic telescopes and assisting with data analysis. That’s needed because observing exoplanets passing in front of their host stars — in events called transits — is only half of the challenge of finding a new planet. These transits result in dips in the star’s brightness, but these dips are very small at typically less than 1% of the star’s brightness.

The AI-powered cuddling robots could provide therapy for future astronauts.

Japan is seeking to one day launch adorable robotic seals called Paros into space, according to an article by the South China Morning Post (SCMP)

The company has already undertaken a two-week simulation of a Mars mission at the U.S.-based Mars Desert Research Station, operated by the Mars Society in Utah.

Continue reading “Researchers test effects of baby seal robots on potential Mars dwellers” »

As Kaifu Lee, a keen observer of AI development in China has put it, “we’re now in the age of AI implementation.” While the West, the U.S. and Canada in particular, will remain ahead in AI research, those Western advances are quickly adopted in China where the massive market, a surfeit of young engineers, government support and a cutthroat entrepreneurial culture are driving industrial innovation in AI.

“The digital and real economies are accelerating their integration,” said Baidu’s Chief Technology Officer, Haifeng Wang, who is also Head of Baidu Research.

China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and Vision 2030 both place a strong focus on the development of the digital economy, seeing this sector as a source of tremendous untapped innovative power and space for growth.

Human beings are tiny creatures compared to the 92 billion light-year wide observable Universe. How can we comprehend such large scales?