Lifeboat Foundation

NASA has turned to AI to help them develop, and build, more robust, lightweight components for its spacecraft of the future.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland has been using commercially available AI software to design specialized, bespoke parts, called “evolved structures,” for its missions. They also look a little “out of this world.”

Continue reading “‘They look alien’: NASA uses AI to design complex spacecraft parts” »

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space firm, Blue Origin, announced it has developed a method for producing solar cells and transmission wire using only lunar regolith.

Blue Origin famously filed a legal complaint against NASA after it snubbed its lunar lander design in favor of awarding SpaceX a contract for a modified Starship lander.

A robot named Icefin operated on previously impossible survey areas of the Thwaites Glacier.

Rob Robbins, USAP Driver.

Continue reading “Robot deployed underneath ‘Doomsday Glacier’ delivers surprising views” »

“Although the skull has an affinity with an Asian population, among individuals of such ancestry, there are a large number of structural differences, which are circumvented by closing the eyelids.”

Found buried in the fetal position at Toca dos Coqueiros in 1997 in Serra da Capivara National Park, Zuzu lived in modern-day Brazil nearly 9,600 years ago. Zuzu’s face has been wondered about by archeologists for years. Moreover, there were some controversies about Zuzu’s sex. We could finally see Zuzu’s face thanks to a new facial approximation.

Moacir Elias Santos et al.

Continue reading “Scientists reconstruct approximately 9,600-year-old Zuzu’s face” »

The Perseverance rover has spent close to two years on Mars.

NASA’s Perseverance rover has spent just under two years collecting samples and beaming images of the red planet back to Earth. During that time, Perseverance placed several Mars rock sample tubes on the Martian surface as backup samples in case anything happened to the rover’s main sample cache.

The highly-ambitious Mars Sample Return mission aims to develop the technology to collect and transport the samples back to Earth by the early 2030s.

Continue reading “Images: NASA Perseverance samples aid search for ancient life on Mars” »

Pilots with considerable flight experience ‘showed specific brain connectivity patterns in areas related to processing sensorimotor information’.

Research has analyzed the brain activity of F16 fighter pilots to learn how they adapt to altered gravity levels and rapidly process conflicting sensory information, which can be similar to those experienced by astronauts.

The team used MRI scans to conclude that pilots with considerable flight experience “showed specific brain connectivity patterns in areas related to processing sensorimotor information. They also showed differences in brain connectivity compared with non-pilots,” according to a press release.

The compound inside the mushroom could be used to treat Alzheimer’s.

An active compound found in an edible mushroom may just be able to improve nerve growth and enhance memory leading to treatments for debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The mushroom can be found in North America, Europe, and Asia. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used to boost the immune system and improve digestive health.

Continue reading “Active compound in an edible mushroom is found to boost memory” »

Ex-CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, advocated for implementing AI for the U.S. military use to compete against China and other rivals.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has advocated for the military use of artificial intelligence (AI) to build a more robust and adaptable defense system for the United States against China and other rivals.

“Every once in a while, a new weapon, a new technology comes along that changes things,” he told Wired.

Continue reading “Ex-Google CEO says AI as revolutionary for warfare as nuclear weapons” »

Some problems need a lifetime of thinking.

Nick Axten was recently awarded his doctoral degree by the University of Bristol in the U.K. While doctoral students usually take five or six years to complete their program, it took Nick 52 years to go from Mr. Axten to Dr. Axten.

Problems that take a lifetime.

Continue reading “British man awarded doctorate 52 years after starting his Ph.D” »