Tag Archives: space

The Top 6 Spectacular Space Photos from 2023

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Wolf Rayet star WR 124 glimpsed by JWST

NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI, ERO production team

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) helped make 2023 the year of amazing space images. But this groundbreaking telescope wasn’t the only source of visual wonder. A series of new missions are sending back photos from space, and the view from Earth isn’t bad either. Here are 6 photos that surprised us the most.

The star in the photo above was captured by JWST as it prepared to explode. It’s called WR 124 and has about 30 times the mass of the Sun. When a star that large runs out of hydrogen to burn in its core, heavier elements begin to fuse together. This fusion creates a powerful burst of energy, sending gusts of wind at speeds of millions of kilometers per hour. When these powerful winds strip away the outer layers of a star, it becomes a star known as a Wolf-Rayet star. It will explode as a supernova within a few million years after it peels off. The purple spots in this photo are clouds of dust and gas that were the outer layer of WR 124. It has already lost about 10 times the mass of the Sun. If these layers are not intact, it is doomed to explode into a supernova.

Solar tornado seen from Earth

Andrew McCarthy and Jason Guenzel

Then we have the tallest solar tornado ever recorded (above). The event occurred on March 14, when the rotation of the sun’s magnetic field stirred up plasma near the north pole. This feature rose above the surface of the Sun, and the giant flare reached a height of 178,000 kilometers, or nearly 14 times the diameter of Earth. This image is the result of a careful collaboration between astrophotographers Jason Genzel and Andrew McCarthy. They used high-speed cameras to record the event, and it took him five days and 90,000 individual shots to create the photos. The sun appears furry in this image because it is covered in millions of stirring geysers of plasma, each lasting only a few minutes.

Herbig Halo 211 captured by JWST

ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, Tom Ray (Dublin)

This bright explosion (above) reveals the newborn star’s incredible supersonic jet. These result in what are known as Herbig-Haro objects. The star itself is hidden within the dark cloud of gas from which it formed, but when jets erupt from its
ides, they collide with surrounding gas and dust, creating huge shock waves that cause them to glow. This particular object, called Helbig Halo 211, is located in the constellation Perseus, about 1000 light-years from Earth.

Jupiter’s moon Io

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/SwRI/MSSS/Brian Swift/CC BY

Return to our solar system and proceed to Jupiter’s moon Io (above). In October, NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew just 7,000 miles (11,645 kilometers) above the moon’s surface, capturing this amazing image of it passing by. This is one of the best photos of Io ever taken, with enough detail to show the shadows of some of the giant volcanoes.

India’s Vikram lander lands on the moon as part of Chandrayaan-3 mission

Isro

And to our moon. On August 23, India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission landed near the moon’s south pole for the first time. This photo (above) of the Vikram lander landing on the moon was taken by the mission’s Pragyan rover a week later. The study of the moon’s south pole, initiated by Chandrayaan-3, is particularly important because of the large amount of ice there, which could help in future human exploration and the establishment of a permanent lunar base.

Comet Nishimura as seen by an amateur astronomer

Javier Zayas/Moment RF/Getty Images

Our final images become more ephemeral. Above is Comet Nishimura, which shows a striped pattern in the night sky as seen from Earth. Two rare green comets made a dramatic appearance in the sky this year. First, in early February, comet C/2022 E3 approached Earth for the first time in 50,000 years. Then, in August, amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura discovered another comet (now named after him) that remained visible for about two months. These comets appear green because the gas surrounding their rocky core contains diatomic carbon. Diatomic carbon is a relatively rare substance consisting of a pair of bonded carbon atoms. Make the most of your images of Comet Nishimura now. The comet takes about 437 years to orbit the Sun, so it won’t be seen again until the 25th century.

Source: www.newscientist.com

‘Saturn’s Rings Revealed: Hubble Space Telescope Discovers Intriguing ‘Spokes’ within’

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Saturn, a gas giant, is known for its iconic ring system. But its B ring may have spots or streaks of denser or brighter material known as spokes, which may be related to the dust’s interaction with the planet’s magnetic field. A new image of Saturn taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on October 22, 2023 reveals the spokes of its rings.

This Hubble image shows Saturn, its bright white rings, and its three moons: Mimas, Dione, and Enceladus. Features on the left and right spokes of the ring appear as faint gray smudges against the ring’s bright background, approximately halfway from the planet to the ring’s outer edge. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / STScI / Amy Simon, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Saturn’s spokes (so named because they resemble bicycle spokes) are temporary features that rotate with the rings.

Their ghostly appearance only lasts for two or three revolutions around the giant planet.

During the active period, newly formed spokes continually add to the pattern.

ring spokes first photographed by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1981.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft also discovered Spoke during its 13-year mission that ended in 2017.

Hubble continues to observe Saturn every year as its spokes come and go. This cycle is captured by Hubble’s Outer Planet Atmospheric Legacy (OPAL) program, which was launched nearly a decade ago to annually monitor weather changes on all four gas giants.

Hubble’s clear images show that the frequency of the spokes’ appearance is seasonal, and they appeared in the OPAL data for the first time in 2021, but only on the morning side of the ring.

Long-term monitoring has shown that both the number and contrast of spokes change with Saturn’s seasons.

“We’re heading towards the Saturn equinox, when the spoke activity is expected to be at its peak, and we’re going to have a lot of activity in the coming months,” said Dr. Amy Simon, an astronomer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and chief scientist at the space flight center. “Over the years we will see higher frequencies and darker spokes.” opal program.

“This year, these ephemeral structures will appear on both sides of the Earth simultaneously, rotating around the giant world.”

“Although it appears small compared to Saturn, its length and width could extend beyond the diameter of Earth.”

“The leading theory is that the spokes are connected to Saturn’s strong magnetic field, and that the sun has some kind of interaction with that field that creates the spokes.”

“As we approach Saturn’s vernal equinox, Saturn and its rings tilt less away from the Sun.”

“In this configuration, the solar wind could hit Saturn’s massive magnetic field even harder, promoting spoke formation.”

“Planetary scientists believe that the electrostatic forces generated by this interaction cause the dust and ice to float above the ring, forming the spokes, but even after decades, no theory has been able to fully predict the formation of the spokes. I won’t.”

“Continuing Hubble observations may ultimately help solve the mystery.”

Source: www.sci.news

The Webb’s ERO-BluDOG Mix-Up: A Space Incident of Mistaken Identity

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Researchers re-evaluated extremely red objects (EROs) in the JWST data and found similarities with BluDOGs previously identified from Subaru Telescope data. This discovery contributes to a broader understanding of quasar evolution and points to the need for further research using advanced telescopes like GREX-PLUS. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Space researchers have discovered that extremely red objects (EROs) exist in space. james webb space telescope This data is similar to the Subaru Telescope’s BluDOG, challenging previous assumptions and highlighting the complexity of studying quasar evolution.

Not every discovery is actually a new discovery. This is the case for extremely red objects (EROs) found in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) data. The analysis showed that it is very similar to a blue-excessive dust-covered galaxy (BluDOG) previously reported using data from the Subaru Telescope.

Quasars, some of the brightest objects in the universe, are powered by supermassive black holes with masses that can reach more than a billion times that of the Sun. Although these objects are the focus of much research, how they form is still poorly understood. A leading theory is that quasars form within galaxies with clouds of gas and dust that obscure the growing quasar until they become powerful enough to blow away the clouds. If this is true, we should be able to catch a short window of time when a quasar breaks out of the cloud.

A galaxy covered in blue excess dust (BluDOG) photographed by the Subaru Telescope.Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan/HSC cooperation

Because the transition period is short, we must observe a large number of prequasar candidates and hope that we are lucky enough to catch a galaxy just as the quasar begins to erupt. Examining the JWST data, a group of extremely red objects (EROs) were identified as possible transitional quasars. But researchers at the Subaru telescope, a Japanese telescope in Hawaii, say that although ERO is called “red,” it is similar to the blue-excess dust-encrusted galaxy (BluDOG) found in big data. I noticed that it also has an important blue component. It was obtained from the Subaru Telescope and described in last year’s report.

Our analysis shows that ERO and BluDOG are likely objects of the same class, but that there are also important differences. One possibility is that ERO is at an earlier stage of evolution than BluDOG. More candidate samples need to be collected to determine the true relationship between ERO, BluDOG, and quasars. Larger samples will be studied by next-generation astronomical instruments, including a planned infrared space telescope project in Japan called GREX-PLUS.

References:

“Similarities between the compact, very red object discovered by JWST at the dawn of the universe and the blue, dust-covered galaxy known at the noon of the universe” Akatoki Noboriguchi, Akio Inoue, Toru Nagao, Yoshiki Toba, Toru Misawa, December 14, 2023 of Astrophysics Journal Letter.
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad0e00

“The extreme properties of four blue dust-covered galaxies revealed by optical spectroscopy” Akatoki Noboriguchi, Toru Nagao, Yoshiki Toba, Kohei Ichikawa, Masaru Kajisawa, Nanako Kato, Toshihiro Kawaguchi, Hideo Matsubara , Yoshiki Matsuoka, Kyoko Onishi, Masafusa Onoe, Nozomu Tamada, Koki Terao, Yuichi Terashima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Takuji Yamashita, December 23, 2022, of astrophysical journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aca403

“Optical properties of galaxies covered with infrared bright dust seen with Subaru Hyper Supreme Cam” Akatoki Noboriguchi, Toru Nagao, Yoshiki Toba, Mana Niida, Masaru Kajisawa, Masafusa Onoe, Yoshiki Matsuoka, Takuji Yamashita, Yuyan Zhang , Toshihiro Kawaguchi, Yutaka Komiyama, Kodai Nobehara, Yuichi Terashima, Yoshihiro Ueda, May 13, 2019, astrophysical journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ab1754

Source: scitechdaily.com

NASA Transmits Cat Video 31 Million Kilometers into Space

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Video of cat Taters chasing laser light sent from space

NASA

NASA has broken its own record by transmitting ultra-high-definition video from deep space to a distance of 31 million kilometers. The video was not of a distant celestial body or spaceship, but of a cat called Tater chasing the light from a laser pointer.

Abhijit Biswas NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) speaks new scientist Taters were selected for the first transmission at that distance.
first television test broadcast Also featured was a cat, Felix, a cartoon feline. Lasers He says the inclusion of his pointers is a visual reflection of the use of lasers in transmission.

“Apparently this cat really likes chasing laser pointers, and somehow it all came together in this video,” Biswas said.

The 15-second video was sent by NASA.
Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) The experiment was carried out aboard the Psyche spacecraft, which was launched in October to intercept the asteroid of the same name.

DSOC is really a proof of concept and I hope everyone believes that this can be done. This technology is already being used to transmit data between the Moon and Earth, but only over a distance of 384,400 kilometers. He said it should be possible to test longer distances than the Taters test in the future.

One problem is making sure the laser light is aimed precisely at the receiving station. “It’s a very narrow beam. At the distance Psyche is now, it [is] just a few hundred kilometers [wide by the time it reaches Earth]” says Biswas. “So if you take the slightest turn, you’ll end up in the Pacific Ocean or somewhere else. You’ll miss it completely. So there was a lot of anxiety about that.”

The video was transmitted at near-infrared wavelengths by a laser transceiver and took 101 seconds to travel from the spacecraft to Earth. The 267 Mbit/s message was received by the following equipment:
hale telescope After being filmed at Palomar, it was transmitted via the Internet to JPL in Southern California, where the video was played in real time. This data rate makes DSOC faster than most national broadband connections.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

NASA schedules live coverage of SpaceX Dragon departure from space station on Wednesday

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The SpaceX Dragon Cargo Mission

The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship approaches the International Space Station while orbiting 461 miles above Indonesia’s sub-sea coastline on the company’s 29th commercial resupply mission to NASA. Credit: NASA

After a series of delays due to bad weather, NASA and SpaceX are currently targeting until 5:05 p.m. EST Wednesday, Dec. 20, for the company’s 29th Dragon Commercial Supply Service Mission undocking from the International Space Station (ISS). The integrated team continues to assess weather conditions as the cold front passes through the splashdown zone off the coast of Florida to determine optimal opportunities for autonomous shore departure. Coverage of Wednesday’s Dragon departure begins at 4:45 p.m. on the NASA+ streaming service, NASA app, NASA Television, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through various platforms including social media. After re-entering the atmosphere, the spacecraft will fly off the coast of Florida, but the event will not be broadcast on NASA TV.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, developed by SpaceX, represents a major advancement in commercial spaceflight. The spacecraft is designed to transport cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and return cargo to Earth. The Dragon spaceship has two versions: Cargo Dragon and Crew Dragon (Dragon 2). Cargo Dragon, in particular, is an unmanned vehicle that plays a key role in resupply missions. The Dragon spacecraft is known for its ability to carry critical payloads, with a pressurized capsule for sensitive scientific experiments and an unpressurized “trunk” for additional cargo. It is one of the few spacecraft capable of returning to Earth large amounts of cargo essential for ISS research and experiments. Due to Dragon’s versatility and reusability, it plays a critical role in maintaining a continuous flow of supplies and scientific research within the ISS.

The International Space Station (ISS) is a marvel of modern space technology and international cooperation. As the Space Environment Research Institute, scientific research is conducted in areas such as astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, and physics. The ISS is a joint project with NASA, Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). The ISS, which orbits the Earth approximately every 90 minutes, serves as a microgravity and space environment laboratory where crew members conduct experiments in fields such as biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, and meteorology. The space station is also suitable for testing spacecraft systems and equipment needed for long-term missions to and from the moon and Mars. The ISS has been continuously occupied since November 2000 and represents the pinnacle of human achievement, both in terms of international cooperation and humanity’s continued presence in space.


Source: scitechdaily.com

Scientists Develop New “Cooling Glass” to Combat Climate Change by Channeling Heat from Buildings into Space

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Innovative “cooling glass” developed by researchers at the University of Maryland provides a groundbreaking, non-electrical solution for reducing indoor heat and carbon emissions, and significantly advances sustainable building technology. It shows great progress.

Applying new coatings to exterior surfaces can reduce air conditioning usage and help fight climate change.

Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed an innovative “cooling glass” designed to reduce indoor temperatures without using electricity. This revolutionary material works by harnessing the cold air of outer space.

New technology, microporous glass coating, described in paper published in the journal sciencecan lower the temperature of the material beneath it by 3.5 degrees. Celsius According to a research team led by distinguished professor Liangbing Hu of the university’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, it has the potential to reduce the annual carbon dioxide emissions of mid-rise apartments by 10%.

Cooling mechanism with two functions

This coating works in two ways. For one, it reflects up to 99% of solar radiation, preventing buildings from absorbing heat. Even more interestingly, this universe emits heat in the form of long-wave infrared radiation into the icy universe, whose temperature is typically -270 degrees Celsius, or just a few degrees warmer. absolute temperature.

In a phenomenon known as “radiative cooling,” spaces effectively act as heat sinks for buildings. They use new cooling glass designs and so-called atmospheric transparency windows (the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that passes through the atmosphere without increasing its temperature) to dump large amounts of heat into the infinitely colder sky beyond. Masu. (Although the emissions are much stronger than those from the new glass developed at UMD, the same phenomenon causes the Earth to cool itself, especially on clear nights.)

State-of-the-art durable materials

“This is an innovative technology that simplifies the way we keep buildings cool and energy efficient,” said research assistant Xinpeng Zhao, lead author of the study. “This could help us change the way we live and take better care of our homes and the planet.”

Unlike previous attempts at cooling coatings, the new glass developed by UMD is environmentally stable, withstanding exposure to water, UV light, dirt, and even flame, and withstands temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. can withstand. Because glass can be applied to a variety of surfaces such as tile, brick, and metal, the technology is highly scalable and can be adopted for a wide range of applications.

The research team could use finely ground glass particles as a binder, bypassing polymers and increasing long-term durability outdoors, Zhao said. We then selected a particle size that maximizes the release of infrared heat while reflecting sunlight.

Climate change solutions and global impacts

The development of cooling glass is in line with global efforts to reduce energy consumption and combat climate change, Hu said, adding that this year’s Independence Day could have been the world’s hottest day in 125,000 years. He pointed out recent reports that it was a day of sex.

“This ‘cooling glass’ is not just a new material, it’s an important part of the solution to climate change,” he said. “By reducing the use of air conditioners, we have taken a big step towards reducing energy usage and reducing our carbon footprint. This is because new technology is helping us build a cooler, greener world. It shows how it can help.”

In addition to Hu and Zhao, Jelena Srebric and Zongfu Yu, professors of mechanical engineering in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are co-authors of the study, each contributing expertise in CO2 reduction and structural design. There is. .

The team is now focused on further testing and practical application of the cooled glass. They are optimistic about its commercialization prospects and have formed a startup company, CeraCool, to scale and commercialize it.

Reference: “Solution-processed radiatively cooled glass” Xinpeng Zhao, Tangyuan Li, Hua Xie, He Liu, Lingzhe Wang, Yurui Qu, Stephanie C. Li, Shufeng Liu, Alexandra H. Brozena, Zongfu Yu, Jelena Srebric, Liangbing Written by Hu, November 9, 2023, science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adi2224

Source: scitechdaily.com

Webb’s fresh perspective on supernovae, laser connections between space stations, and the Europa Clipper mission

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New high-definition images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) reveal intricate details of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), which is struck by a gas outlet by a star before exploding. It shows an expanding shell of matter. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), Tea Temim (Princeton University)

NASAWebb Space Telescope observes newly exploded star…

The team prepares to install the moon rocket hardware…

And we completed NASA’s first bidirectional end-to-end laser relay system…

Some of the stories we want to share with you – this week at NASA!

Watch the web’s new high-definition exploded stars

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently captured this new image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. This image, taken with Webb’s near-infrared camera, shows the star’s explosion at a resolution previously unattainable at these wavelengths, giving astronomers a hint at the dynamic processes occurring. . It’s inside a supernova remnant.

NASA’s Artemis II mission is making final preparations for its SLS rocket at Kennedy Space Center. The Orion stage adapter, a critical component that connects Orion to his SLS, recently underwent critical installation work on its diaphragm at Marshall Space Flight Center. This adapter plays an important role in preventing hydrogen gas buildup and ensuring safety during launch.Credit: NASA/Sam Lott

Team prepares to assemble moon rocket and spacecraft connectors

A team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center recently flipped the Orion stage adapter over and prepared the adapter for diaphragm installation.

The stage adapter connects the Orion spacecraft to the Space Launch System rocket’s intermediate cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). The diaphragm helps prevent highly flammable hydrogen gas, which could leak from the rocket’s propellant tanks, from accumulating beneath Orion and its crew before and during launch.

NASA’s ILLUMA-T payload communicates with the LCRD via laser signals.Credit: NASA/Dave Ryan

Space station laser communication terminal achieves first link

NASA’s LCRD and the new space station technology experiment ILLUMA-T successfully exchanged data for the first time, establishing the first laser link between ILLUMA-T and an on-orbit laser relay system. LCRD and his ILLUMA-T teamed up to complete NASA’s first bidirectional end-to-end laser relay system.

Laser communications uses infrared light rather than traditional radio waves to send and receive signals, allowing spacecraft to pack more data into each transmission.

The “Message in a Bottle” campaign offers anyone the opportunity to stencil their name onto a microchip inscribed with U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s “Mystery Praise: A Poem to Europe.” The chip will be mounted on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, bound for Jupiter and its moon Europa. Credit: NASA

Add your name to join the European Clipper Mission

The deadline to participate in NASA’s European Clipper mission’s Message in a Bottle campaign is 11:59 p.m. EST, December 31, 2023. You can join the mission and carve your name on his Clipper spacecraft as it travels and explores 1.8 billion miles of Europe. Jupitericy moon, Europa.

For more information, visit go.nasa.gov/MessageInABottle.

What’s happening this week at @NASA!

Source: scitechdaily.com

A16z-funded Apex Space inaugurates new facility to increase satellite bus production

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when apex space The company, which came out of stealth last October, had the provocative goal of eliminating “new bottlenecks” plaguing the space industry by building satellite buses at scale.

To get there, Apex announced today that it will open a new headquarters and production facility in California and eventually scale up to manufacture 50 satellite platforms per year. Apex CEO Ian Cinnamon said in a statement that the new 46,000-square-foot facility is “vital to meeting customer demand.”

“Our customers want spacecraft with short lead times, and Factory One delivers that,” he said.

Apex wants to disrupt one of the most entrenched parts of the space industry. Satellite buses are generally made to order, which means their costs are very high and delivery times are very long. However, major changes in the industry, such as the reduction in the cost of mass launches into space, have opened up a whole new group of customers looking to send payloads into orbit.

The company plans to initially offer three satellite bus classes. One is a smaller 100 kilogram bus called Aries, which can support a payload of up to 100 kilograms. The motorcoach, called Nova, can accommodate a payload of up to 230 kg. The even larger bus “Comet” can carry up to 500 kilograms. Apex plans to fly the first Aries on SpaceX’s Transporter 10 rideshare mission, scheduled for the first quarter of next year.

Apex aims to expand the factory in the coming years. The company currently plans to deliver five Aries platforms to customers in 2024 and aims to increase production to 20 aircraft by 2025.

The company has raised at least $23.5 million in seed and Series A funding from backers including Andreessen Horowitz and Shield Capital.

Source: techcrunch.com

Preparing Dragon for the Launch and Progress of Space Exploration

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This photo from the International Space Station orbiting 462 miles above cloudy Central Asia shows the jagged Moon waning just above Earth’s horizon. Credit: NASA The crew of Expedition 70 is picking up the pace as they load cargo onto a U.S. cargo ship for its upcoming departure.Seven people international space station (ISS) residents also continue to focus on a range of microgravity sciences to improve human health and commercialize low Earth orbit. The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is nearing the end of its docked stay at the forward port of the Harmony module. Over the next few days, the four astronauts will pack more than 3,500 pounds of scientific materials and hardware into Dragon for removal and analysis back on Earth. NASA ESA aeronautical engineer Jasmine Moghberg and Commander Andreas Mogensen (european space agency) removed the scientific cargo freezer containing the research samples from the station’s EXPRESS rack and stowed it inside the Dragon for return to Earth. Astronaut Loral O’Hara and astronaut Satoshi Furukawa transported a cargo bag filled with hardware and trash and strapped it inside Dragon in preparation for its descent into Earth’s gravity. Japan’s tallest mountain, Mount Fuji, was photographed as part of the International Space Station orbiting 420 miles above the sky. The active stratovolcano’s peak reaches more than 12,000 feet (approximately 3,700 meters) above sea level and is covered in snow for five months of the year. Credit: NASA Ongoing research and crew activities The crew continued to load hardware and science onto the ship. space x The Dragon cargo spacecraft’s managers and operations team today are assessing weather conditions at various possible landing sites for its return to Earth, in preparation for its scheduled undocking Thursday afternoon. Despite the hectic cargo traffic, microgravity research continued apace, as the crew continued to explore how weightlessness affects biology and physics. NASA’s O’Hara will process the cell samples for culture, which researchers will analyze to investigate the senescence-like properties of immune cells and the regenerative capacity of liver cells.of space age Health research may provide deeper insight into the biology of aging and its impact on disease mechanisms. A nighttime view of Mexico City, Mexico’s capital and largest city with a population of 9.2 million people, was captured from the International Space Station, which orbits 460 miles above Central America. On the far left is the bright Felipe Angeles International Airport, easily observed from low Earth orbit. The large, dark area in the upper center is the Lake Texcoco Ecological Park. The dark area directly below is the Guadalupe Mountains. Credit: NASA From Mr. Furukawa JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) has replaced components in a microgravity science glovebox that supports physics experiments to produce optical fibers better than those produced on Earth.of Optical fiber manufacturing-2 This experiment has the potential to advance optical transmission capabilities that will benefit the Earth and space industries. Mogensen previously worked in the Harmony module, shaking mixing tubes containing different organisms for a variety of health-promoting biological and botany studies. These tubes are part of a NanoRacks-sponsored program that allows educational institutions and private organizations to conduct research on the space station. Contribution of Russian cosmonauts Today, cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chubb took turns wearing sensor-equipped hats and continuing to operate a computer. Roscosmos Research exploring future spacecraft and robot control technology. Researchers will use the data to train future crews and plan potential manned planetary missions. Cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov spent most of the day maintaining life support equipment, then synchronizing his camera with the station’s clock, which is set to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). (function(d, s, id){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.6”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

Source: scitechdaily.com

True Anomaly secures $100 million in funding for the expansion of space security technology

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true anomaly has closed $100 million in new funding, a strong signal that the appetite for startups operating at the intersection of space and defense is not slowing down.

The new round was led by Riot Ventures with participation from Eclipse, ACME Capital, Menlo Ventures, Narya, 645 Ventures, Rocketship.vc, Champion Hill Ventures, and FiveNine Ventures. The funds will be used to continue expanding all parts of the business, according to a press release.

True Anomaly aims to fill critical gaps in space situational awareness and defensive operations through software and hardware, including a line of autonomous reconnaissance and tracking spacecraft called Jackals. These vehicles are equipped with an array of sensors and cameras to track, monitor, and collect data on objects in space. On the software side, the company is developing an integrated operating platform called Mosaic that will eventually be able to work in conjunction with the Jackal in orbit.

In a previous interview with TechCrunch, True Anomaly CEO Even Rogers pointed to a significant “information asymmetry” between the United States and its adversaries in space. Jackal, Mosaic, and the company’s other efforts in space domain awareness aim to fill that gap.

Founded in 2022 by a quartet of former Space Force members, the startup is rapidly moving towards this goal. During the company’s first full year of business, he opened his 35,000 square foot facility in Centennial, Colorado and doubled his headcount to more than 100 people.

In September, True Anomaly won a $17.4 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to help warfighters find and track objects in space, characterize those objects, and use artificial intelligence to predict changes in space. The agreement was signed to build a suite of space domain awareness capabilities, including prediction and identification. Object behavior.

The first two Jackal spacecraft are scheduled to launch on SpaceX’s Transporter 10 rideshare mission in March. In August, the company received permission from regulators to conduct imaging beyond Earth and demonstrate close space rendezvous operations with two spacecraft. This is such a huge technical challenge that I have no doubt that many people in both Silicon Valley and Washington will be paying close attention to how the demo mission unfolds.

Source: techcrunch.com

Helicity Space secures $5 million funding to support fusion propulsion and high-speed deep space travel

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helicity space has raised $5 million in seed funding to accelerate the development of technology that will ultimately enable fast and efficient travel in deep space.

That technology is nuclear fusion propulsion, which has long been the realm of science fiction. The startup says it has discovered a way to use plasma jets in fusion reactions. The project is the brainchild of Setthivoine You, a plasma physicist and co-founder of Helicity. He and two other co-founders, CEO and former banker Stefan Lintner and former Boeing Rocketdyne executive Marta Calvo, officially founded the business in 2018.

Helicity spent several years in stealth, “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, thinking about what we could do,” Lintner explained in a recent interview. “Fusion is a tainted field and we first needed to be sure we could handle it before raising venture capital capital.”

The Pasadena-based company has successfully raised funding from a prominent group. Airbus Ventures is the venture capital arm of a major European aerospace company. TRE Advisor; Voyager Space Holdings, the company behind the Starlab commercial space station. European space company E2MC Space. Urania Ventures and Geingels.

Lintner said Helicity’s key differentiator is that it focuses squarely on fusion propulsion, rather than fusion for ground-based applications. “Everything we’re doing is moving the spacecraft forward, not generating sustainable grid power,” Eh explained. In some ways, the former problem is easier than the latter. Space is a great vacuum, and that’s exactly the environment that his jet of plasma needs.

“Our concept is first uniquely tailored to be useful in space,” he said. “over time […] Ours may also turn into a nuclear reactor on Earth, but by that time others will have worked it out. That’s not our main goal. ”

The startup’s technology is based on a method called magnetic-magnetic fusion, which compresses a stable plasma jet with a magnetic nozzle. The plasma is heated to hundreds of millions of degrees, causing a fusion reaction that pushes the spacecraft forward.

The startup plans to use the funding to manufacture a proof-of-concept fusion drive that will demonstrate basic technology on a small scale. On a longer-term scale, Helicity aims to fly a complete prototype in space within about 10 years.

Lintner was upfront about the fact that there is still a lot to de-risk and a lot to learn when it comes to the emerging market for Fusion Drive.

“Look, it’s still early days,” he said.
“As economies develop in space, our engines will become increasingly important. The final business model is still a little difficult to predict.”

Source: techcrunch.com

Rooms: Interactive 3D Space Designer and Cozy Game Available on the App Store

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Interactive 3D space builder

Interactive 3D space builder

Known as a cozy game, an interior decoration app, an introduction to learning to code, or something in between. Now available on the App Store.

The startup, which previously raised $10 million in seed funding led by a16z, offers a way to design 3D spaces, or “rooms,” filled with furniture, decorations, pets, and tiny avatars. You can turn those rooms into mini-games if you want. Rooms is all about creating and exploring designs that help people relax. But as the company describes it, this “digital version of Lego” also has an educational aspect.

The project, which first launched on the web earlier this year, was co-founded by Jason Toff, co-founder of Google’s AR/VR division, which includes the now-shuttered VR and AR app-building service Poly and the 3D modeling tool Blocks for VR. Inspired by the work of his co-founder Bruno Oliveira. While co-founder Nick Kluge’s background includes time at Smule, Uber, and Google’s YouTube.

The idea of ​​Rooms is to provide free play, where people use their designs as a form of self-expression. But in addition to interacting with objects in a visual format, you can also click to view the code and further customize items using Lua, the coding language also used in Roblox. This helped introduce coding concepts to young users.

I want to decorate a room that has a calming effect just by placing things there and editing them. What I learned is this whole movement… cozy game,” Toph explains.

In the iOS app released today, Rooms offers a TikTok-style vertical scrolling feed where you can check out different rooms created by the community. There are multiple feeds to choose from, including the “For You” feed (which will be algorithmic in the future, but is currently more curated), the Editor’s Picks feed, and the Recent feed.

As you decorate your space, you can enter an edit mode where you can customize everything from item size, shape, color, shine, opacity, pattern, behavior, and more.

Since the beta version of Rooms was launched on the web, the company has signed up over 40,000 users and created over 50,000 rooms since then. He also has thousands of daily active users.

“Surprisingly…there was some interesting backlash,” Toph says. “I don’t know if it was the audience’s fault, age, or something else, but there were more people than I expected who felt against the existence of AI…However, in reality, the room design is more It should be easier and I think it would be foolish not to use AI to help create the room,” he added.

For now, the company is focused on launching its mobile app and expanding its user base. Toff says the app is actually in beta and they will continue to iterate the experience over time based on user feedback. “We want to learn from and with our users. We brought it out a little earlier than it was perfect,” he admits.


Source: techcrunch.com

Morpheus Space’s new space mission design platform is user-friendly for everyone.

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Space propulsion developer Morpheus Space today announced its first software product, a mission simulation and design platform called Journey.

Morpheus product manager Jim Gianakopoulos said in a recent interview (and in a recent product walkthrough) that the product has been in the works for nearly two years. This was born out of the typical thruster sales process. Customers come to Morpheus to ask if the startup’s lineup of electric propulsion systems can meet their mission requirements. However, the process is highly technical, fragmented, and manual.

“We found that to be a deterrent,” Giannakopoulos said. “Just by giving the user a place of control to actually simulate the entire mission themselves, analyze and refine it, and see what kind of propulsion system fits, it empowers them. Masu. [their] needs. “

Journey aggregates all the data typically spread across Excel sheets, Python, and other systems and quickly spits out mission and system designs. The software allows customers to input measurements, operations, launch dates, and other requirements for a custom system. The software is designed to be easy to use, even for non-technical users, with templates for common attributes such as satellite size.

In particular, the Journey platform does more than just match customers to Morpheus’ unique propulsion system. Depending on mission requirements, we may also recommend third-party chemical propulsion systems and various subsystems such as attitude determination, control systems, and communications.

The platform’s first product is called Preliminary Mission Design (PMD), and the company also plans to roll out a higher-fidelity Advanced Mission Design (AMD). The platform is designed to support customers from mission conception through end-of-orbit operations.

Morpheus has five to six early customers who are using PMD products to inform early mission and system designs. AMD plans to release a closed beta within the next two weeks. Morpheus was founded in 2018 with offices in Germany and El Segundo, California. Last September, the company closed its $28 million Series A round led by Alpine Space Ventures.

Source: techcrunch.com