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Category: space – Page 381

We might start to see atoms interacting with each other in ways “we have not yet seen.”

University of Birmingham researchers have demonstrated how unique vibrations, which are caused by interactions between the two stars’ tidal fields as they approach each other, affect gravitational-wave observations.

Taking these movements into account could significantly improve our understanding of the data collected by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo instruments, according to a press release published on the institute’s official website on Thursday.

The oscillations in binary neutron stars before they merge could have big implications for the insights scientists can glean from gravitational wave detection.

Continue reading “Looking inside a neutron star — new model will improve insights gleaned from gravitational waves” | >

“It’s the stupidest thing ever,” Elon Musk said several years ago.

European Space Agency’s (ESA) director general has proposed the development of Europe’s first space-based solar power system to be constructed in 2025.

ESA, an intergovernmental conglomerate of 22 member states, will decide on the director’s plan in November this year, according to a report published in Ars Technica.

Europe is seriously considering developing space-based solar power to increase its energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the leader of the European Space Agency said this week.

Continue reading “Europe is seriously considering a major investment in space-based solar power” | >

The James Webb space telescope continues to dazzle. After releasing the telescope’s first images in July, NASA and the other agencies behind the new telescope have continued to monitor and observe new galaxies and celestial phenomena. Now, the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Study (CEERS) has released James Webb’s largest image to date.

The new image is a mosaic that includes multiple pieces of data put together by people working on CEERS. The team is made up of 105 scientists and 19 investigators stationed across 28 institutions in the world. They captured all of the data using the new telescope. Together they all make up James Webb’s largest image to date.

The data was gathered using James Webb’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), its Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), and its Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Each part of the data was taken parallel to the others. Researchers then carefully stitched them together. The instruments capture data using wavelengths that aren’t visible to the naked eye. They then translated the data into visible images.

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NeuRRAM, a new chip that runs computations directly in memory and can run a wide variety of AI applications has been designed and built by an international team of researchers. What sets it apart is that it does this all at a fraction of the energy consumed by computing platforms for general-purpose AI computing.

The NeuRRAM neuromorphic chip brings AI a step closer to running on a broad range of edge devices, disconnected from the cloud. This means they can perform sophisticated cognitive tasks anywhere and anytime without relying on a network connection to a centralized server. Applications for this device abound in every corner of the globe and every facet of our lives. They range from smartwatches to VR headsets, smart earbuds, smart sensors in factories, and rovers for space exploration.

Not only is the NeuRRAM chip twice as energy efficient as the state-of-the-art “compute-in-memory” chips, an innovative class of hybrid chips that runs computations in memory, it also delivers results that are just as accurate as conventional digital chips. Conventional AI platforms are much bulkier and typically are constrained to using large data servers operating in the cloud.

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Alternate history has never been more entertaining than in the hit Apple TV+ series, “For All Mankind.” The science fiction television show is so popular that it was renewed for a fourth season even before Season 3 ended on August 12, 2022.

Unlike most science fiction, “For All Mankind” re-imagines the past instead of envisioning the future. Starting in the 1960s and running through the 1990s in Season 3, the series is built around the space race that began with the United States and the Soviet Union competing to reach the moon. But in the fantastical world created by “For All Mankind,” things turn out very differently. Here are five fictional realities showing how the series cleverly rewrites history.

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Meet ROSS, Russia’s new space station.

But unlike the ISS, ROSS won’t have permanent residents year-round. Instead, it will only host cosmonauts “twice a year for extended periods,” according to Reuters.

ROSS is still years out and shrouded in secrecy, so it’s hard to predict exactly how the new space station could surpass the ISS’s capabilities.

Roscosmos officials have told Russian state media that the station will likely orbit at higher latitudes than the ISS does. This could offer a better view of the Earth’s polar regions, which Russian researchers could analyze with optical, infrared, ultraviolet instruments. After all, Russia’s borders cover 53 percent of the Arctic Ocean’s entire coastline, and the country likely wants to use ROSS to chart northern sea routes as climate change melts Arctic sea ice.

Continue reading “After quitting the ISS, Russia reveals its next-gen space station” | >

The Orion spacecraft with European Service Module will fly farther from Earth than any human-rated vehicle has ever flown before. This video gives an overview of the first mission – without astronauts – for Artemis, focussing on ESA’s European Service Module that powers the spacecraft.

The spacecraft will perform a flyby of the Moon, using lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself 70 000 km beyond the Moon, almost half a million km from Earth – further than any human has ever travelled, where it will inject itself in a Distant Retrograde Orbit around the Moon.

On its return journey, Orion will do another flyby of the Moon before heading back to Earth.

The total trip will take around 20 days, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean without the European Service Module – it separates and burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

Continue reading “Artemis I — European Service Module perspective” | >

While for decades Mars has been the planet outside Earth that has arguably received the most attention, in recent years, planetary scientists have been setting their sites on our other neighbor: Venus. This strange planet with its hellishly high temperatures and incredible surface pressure will be the site for two upcoming NASA missions and one European Space Agency mission in the next decade, and these agency missions will also be joined by a private space mission from New Zealand-based company Rocket Lab.

Rocket Lab recently shared more details for its planned mission to Venus in a publication in the journal Aerospace. With a planned launch in 2023, it will be the first private mission to Venus and will use Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket and Photon spacecraft.

The aim of the mission is to investigate whether anything could be living in the thick clouds of Venus. This topic received international attention in 2020 when a study suggested that there could be phosphine, a potential indicator of life, in the Venusian clouds. However, subsequent research suggested that the indicator was likely only sulfur dioxide, a common gas not particularly related to life. Even so, the potential for microscopic life to exist on Venus has been long been debated, as the planet was once similar to Earth.

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Hennessey has revealed further details about its first electric car, the six-wheeled Project Deep Space grand tourer with a mind-boggling power output and a $3 million (£2.25m) price.

The outlandish EV — rendered by Autocar above, based on official sketches — will feature a central driving position within a diamond-shaped four-seat layout.

American luxury GT will appear in show form in 2024; priced from £2 million, targeting 620 miles on each charge.

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