Lifeboat Foundation

This rover has moves that could take over a dance floor. A new video shows a simulator known as the Ground Test Model doing a sort of zombie walk over Martian-like terrain, to test out techniques for a future Mars missions.

“The rover initially has its front two wheels almost completely buried in sand, but easily escapes using its unique wheel-walking mode,” the European Space Agency said in a statement of the testing at Thales Alenia Space facilities in Turin, Italy, noting that the 6-foot drive took about 20 minutes to accomplish.

“The back wheels drag once the front four wheels have gained good traction on firmer terrain. The reason is that the wheel-walking sequence tested here has rather been optimized for climbing steep slopes with loose soils,” ESA added of the sequence.

Liftoff is scheduled for 2:38 a.m. EST (0738 GMT) on Wednesday.

Two space tourists will launch toward the International Space Station on Wednesday (Dec. 8), and you can watch the action live.

Continue reading “Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will launch to space station early Wednesday: Watch it live” »

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From the potential of orbital railguns, to space elevators on the moon and Mars, to the threat of AI taking over your job, to the latest on Neuralink, today’s lightning round video features questions from Patreon supporters. Thanks for the great questions guys!

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Continue reading “Orbital Railguns Will Probably Never Happen” »

While the nature of the object can only be speculated until Yutu-2 gets closer, it is unlikely to be a bunker left behind by an interplanetary species.

It is more likely to be a boulder or a piece of debris, like several others in that region of the moon.

The Yutu-2 rover was launched in 2018 by China as part of the Chang’e-4 lunar lander mission. It entered lunar orbit on December 12, 2019, before scripting history on January 3, 2020, by becoming the first mission to accomplish a soft landing on the lunar surface.

A scientist who loves to write, can do it well, and can share the excitement of the scientific pursuit is incredibly rare. Kevin Peter Hand 0, Deputy Project Scientist, Europa and Director of the JPL Ocean Worlds Lab is that rare person who can do all these things. In his incredible book Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space 0, he explains that “We know that the laws of physics, the principles of chemistry, and the principles of geology all work beyond Earth. We’ve explored other worlds and observed that these sciences are universal. When it comes to biology, however, we have yet to make that leap.”

If you want to learn about how the intersection of numerous areas of science are helping inform our understanding of the oceans, space, and ourselves, Alien Oceans is by far one of the most clearly written books on the topic. As Kevin notes, he wrote the book he wishes he could have read in college. Kevin will teach you and inspire you and explain complicated scientific topics in ways nearly anyone can understand. Not only is it a book about his areas of expertise, it is also a wonderful window into the way scientists and engineers think about solving real world problems and applying basic knowledge. For example, Kevin notes in this interview that “Making measurements is where the creativity of science meets the hard reality of engineering.” I read a lot of books on science written for a broad audience, and this book, by far is among the very best I have ever read. More than anything else what came through in Kevin’s writing is excitement about finding out what is true.

What inspired you to write this book?

The Prawn Nebula is an emission nebula located 6,000 light-years from Earth. A new Hubble Space Telescope image captures a stunning view of the nebula’s vast star-forming region.

After evaluating more than 12,000 applications, we’ll introduce our 2021 astronaut candidates live at a ceremony at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

After completing training, these women and men could be eligible for a variety of flight assignments including missions on and around the Moon under Artemis.

Continue reading “NASA Announces 2021 Class of Astronaut Candidates” »

The idea of Web 3.0 has been disappointing for Elon Musk and he has referred to it as BS. The reasons are unclear but might be soon unveiled.

TL;DR Breakdown.

Web 2.0 has ensured that the informational needs are fulfilled and has also opened ways for education, finance, banking, health, and other domains. As all these are integrated into a new space, we have the opportunity to see the evolution of the web.

The red planet’s mysteries are being unraveled. Here are five of the biggest discoveries in recent times.