Lifeboat Foundation

Circa 2010

Ultra-fast pulses from a powerful laser can create droplets of water out of thin air, according to a new study. With the right conditions and large enough droplets, the researchers say, the technique could be used to make rain on demand.

Rain forms when water condenses around tiny particles in the atmosphere. Most of the time, dust or pollen do the job, but humans have long attempted to speed the process by seeding clouds with chemicals like silver iodide. Those chemicals provide the so-called “condensation nuclei” that trigger the consolidation of water into raindrops.

Continue reading “Laser could be used to make rain on demand” »

If we want to colonize Mars, we’re going to need to figure out a way to feed ourselves there, and continuously sending food to the Red Planet isn’t a sustainable plan.

But now, a team of researchers thinks it’s figured out a way to produce enough food on Mars to feed a million people — and they say their plan to make Martian colonists self-sufficient would take just a hundred years to implement.

Moses West is a former Ranger. Four years ago he set out to change the world, one atmospheric water generator at a time. He created these to provide clean drinking water to communities in Flint, MI, The Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Get this, he doesn’t charge these residents one penny. So far, he’s created 12 of these AWGs. He currently has one of these generators planted in Flint. More of these machines are currently being manufactured in WI to transport to Flint in the near future. He found a few minutes to down with Spectrum News 1’s Michelle London.

https://youtu.be/7-KxonnCXFY

3 Cool Gadgets Under $50 — https://youtu.be/plsGaFOFRd8?list=PL7u4lWXQ3wfI_7PgX0C-VTiwLeu0S4v34

This machine from Ecoloblue takes moisture from the air and turns it into clean drinking water.

Continue reading “How To Turn Air Into Drinking Water” »

To create sustainable cities, we need to use synthetic biology.

Research led by University of Texas at Dallas physicists has altered the understanding of the fundamental properties of perovskite crystals, a class of materials with great potential as solar cells and light emitters.

Published in July in Nature Communications, the study presents evidence that questions existing models of the behavior of perovskites on the quantum level.

“Our enhanced understanding of the physics of perovskites will help determine how they are best used,” said Dr. Anton Malko, associate professor of physics in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and a corresponding author of the paper.

Another interesting aspect of The North Face’s latest fabric tech is that it developed it with sustainability in mind. The company said that every Futurelight garment will be produced at a solar-powered factory, and they’ll be made from recycled materials and will go through a process that cuts chemical consumption. In other words, not only are waterproof, lightweight and comfortable, but they’re good for the environment, as well. (Or at least, not as bad as a lot of other synthetic fabrics.)

To celebrate the launch of Futurelight, The North Face built an elaborate art installation in New York City. In it, you could see its new high-tech jackets floating underneath thinly disguised marketing messages like, “WHAT IF WATERPROOF GEAR KEPT YOU DRY INSIDE AND OUT?” and “WHAT IF BREATHABILITY IS THE BREAKTHROUGH.” There was also a giant triangle displaying images of snow-covered mountains and other outdoor scenes. Of course, it was all relevant to what The North Face is known for: making clothes for adventurous people.

The North Face’s Futurelight jacket collection is available now on its site, with the men’s Flight Series jackets starting at a cool $280. And, eventually, The North Face plans to put the technology in other gear, including tents, gloves and more.

Lunar lander developer Intuitive Machines has signed a contract with SpaceX for its first mission to the moon. The company announced this week that a Falcon 9 will launch its Nova-C lander in 2021 as part of a rideshare mission, but terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company won a contract from NASA in May to carry five payloads to the moon on that mission as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Separately, a federal appeals court this week upheld a verdict in favor of the company in a suit against Moon Express, another commercial lunar lander company. That suit, involving work disputes between the companies, led to Intuitive Machines receiving $4.1 million in cash and stock. [SpaceNews]

Maxar Technologies awarded a contract to Deployable Space Systems to manufacture flexible solar arrays for the first element of NASA’s lunar Gateway. The contract this week is for a pair of Roll Out Solar Array solar panels, each capable of producing 32.5 kilowatts of power. The arrays will be used on the Power and Propulsion Element that Maxar is building for NASA that will serve as the foundation for the Gateway in orbit around the moon. [SpaceNews]

A startup planning propellant depots in orbit for refueling satellites has raised $3 million. OrbitFab announced Thursday it raised the seed round of funding from venture capital fund Type 1 Ventures, Techstars and others. The company is working on technology to allow for refueling of satellites using small depots in orbit, and recently tested that technology on the International Space Station. At a conference in Washington earlier in the week, the company said it was still working on raising a funding round but hopes to have its first tanker in orbit by the end of next year. [TechCrunch].