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Flower-Inspired Origami Patterns for Innovative Spaceship Design

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Origami “Bloom” design unfolds into a flower-like structure

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A novel collection of origami-like petal structures may enhance the design of various systems, including telescopes and solar panels.

These origami structures, rooted in the traditional art of Japanese paper folding, are favored by engineers for their ability to collapse into compact forms while expanding into larger configurations. However, the complexity of some origami patterns can pose challenges in deployment.

Recently, Larry Howell from Brigham Young University in Utah and his team have introduced a new category of origami shapes known as Bloom Patterns, which unfurl in a single, smooth motion to create a bowl-like design resembling a flower. “We can develop innovative designs that have never existed before, all while crafting aesthetically pleasing forms,” Howell notes.

Although certain Bloom patterns were recognized by origami aficionados and scholars before, Howell and his colleagues identified them as part of a broader spectrum of shapes with shared attributes.

By categorizing the different variations of Bloom patterns and providing a mathematical framework for their functioning, the researchers successfully constructed operational versions using various materials, including thick acrylic and plastics, demonstrating that each shape can consistently unfold.

The ability to deploy everything at once presents a significant advantage for space structures, minimizing the risk of complete failure during the process, states Michael Bartlett from Virginia Tech. “Every component must function perfectly; if one element fails, the entire operation is compromised,” he emphasizes. “When I observe these [Bloom patterns], it becomes evident that deployment does not follow a strict sequential pattern to achieve full expansion.”

While space telescopes generally rely on flatter mirrors for observation, the curved geometry of the Bloom pattern can facilitate the deployment of dishes akin to those in ground-based telescopes, yielding more precise imaging, Howell explains.

Having a mathematical model detailing the unfolding mechanism of these Bloom patterns could expedite the design process for functional origami structures, remarks Jamie Pike from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. “This provides us with insights to better anticipate the appearance of potential inventions and determine whether to pursue a certain direction or explore alternatives.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

A second civilian spaceship lands on the moon in just a week

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In less than a week, the second privately constructed US spacecraft is poised to land on the moon.

The robot lander, named Athena, was created by an intuitive machine based in Texas. It was launched into space on February 26th and has been traveling to the moon for the past week.

About the size of a dishwasher, the six-legged ship is set to land in the lunar Antarctic area, with plans to spend a week searching for possible water ice beneath the lunar surface.

The landing is scheduled for Thursday at 12:32 pm ET.

If successful, Athena will be the second vehicle to land on the moon in five days, following another robotic lander built by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace, which landed there on Sunday.

Both missions are part of NASA’s Commercial Moon Payload Services program, aimed at assisting private companies in developing Moonlander technology. Over a dozen US companies are involved in this initiative, which is crucial to NASA’s overarching goal of returning astronauts to the moon.

Athena’s landing will mark the second moonshot for the intuitive machine. The company previously made history in February 2024 by landing a commercially built spacecraft on the moon, becoming the first American spacecraft to land there in over 50 years since the 1972 Apollo 17 mission.

Athena’s Moon Lander.
An intuitive machine

The Lander, known as Odysseus, experienced a successful landing despite tipping over afterwards.

Both intuitive machine missions are focused on the Antarctic region of the moon. Odysseus landed near a crater called Marapart A, while Athena is targeting a vast flat mountain plateau known as Mons Mouton.

Scientists believe that water ice is relatively abundant in the moon’s Antarctic region, making it a crucial resource for potential crew missions and long-term stays on the moon.

Athena is equipped with several rovers, including the suitcase-sized vehicles developed by Colorado-based Lunar Outpost called Mapp (Mobile Autonomous Research Exploration Platform). These rovers are designed to explore the landing site and capture 3D images of the terrain.

Furthermore, a thumb-sized rover named “Astroant,” created by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will assess the health of the map rover and take regular temperature measurements.

In addition, the mission includes releasing a drone named Grace, which will hop around the Athena landing site, covering approximately 650 feet in four hops to explore nearby craters and scan for hydrogen traces and ice deposits.

While on the moon, Athena will also test a 4G communications system developed by Nokia, which could facilitate communication and data transfer between spacecraft on the moon.

Moon exploration continues beyond this week, with a Lander and small rover from a Japanese company called Ispace set to land near the northern pole’s vast basin known as Male Frigolis.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

My Handcrafted Blue Ghost Spaceship Ready to Touch Down on the Moon

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The personally built spacecraft is a few hours away from landing on the moon, a feat only achieved by one other company in spaceflight history.

The robot lander, known as Blue Ghost, has been orbiting the moon for approximately two weeks, gearing up for a daring descent. Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based company, has developed a spacecraft with the goal of landing on the moon around 3:34 am early Sunday.

If all goes as planned, Blue Ghost will become the second privately owned vehicle to land on the moon. In February 2024, another Texas-based company, Intuitive Machines, made history with the Odysseus Lander successfully touching down near the moon’s Antarctic region.

Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lunar Lander took a selfie on Earth.
Firefly Air Space

Firefly Aerospace’s future landing attempts are set for 2025 as part of a robotic mission to the moon. Recently, Intuitive Machines launched its second lunar landing vehicle into space. Japanese company, The Ispace, was also sent towards the moon on the same rocket as Blue Ghost, taking a longer route but expected to arrive around late May or early June.

Blue Ghost is targeting a landing site in a 350-mile-wide basin near the moon’s surface, always facing the Earth. This area is believed to be the location of an ancient asteroid impact, according to NASA.

During a recent orbit around the moon, the Lander captured footage showing distant craters on the lunar surface.

Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lander filmed footage of the other side of the Moon on February 24th.
Firefly Air Space

Blue Ghost is scheduled to begin its descent around 2 am on Sunday. NASA will broadcast live streams starting at 2:20 am ET on NASA TV.

Equipped with 10 NASA science instruments, the spacecraft will conduct various studies, including surveying the moon’s interior up to 700 miles deep, capturing Earth-focused x-ray images, analyzing space weather interactions with Earth’s magnetic field, and capturing detailed images during the descent for future missions.

The instruments onboard the Lander will examine lunar soil samples, study lunar dust adherence to different surfaces, and use lasers to measure Earth-Moon distance accurately.

Blue Ghost is expected to gather data on the moon for about two weeks.

While in Lunar Orbit, Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lander captured images of the moon’s Antarctic.
Firefly Air Space

This mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, a public-private partnership between NASA and US companies to deliver scientific experiments, technology, and cargo to the moon. It is a critical component of NASA’s Artemis program, designed to eventually return humans to the moon.

NASA allocated approximately $101.5 million to Firefly Aerospace to carry out the Blue Ghost Mission.

NASA states that the scientific experiments and technology demonstrations on these missions will enhance our understanding of the moon’s Antarctic region, where future human crews are expected to land.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Spaceship Launch 3: When is SpaceX launching their flight today?

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SpaceX's Starship is preparing for flight

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After two failed missions, SpaceX will launch its third large-scale Starship rocket on March 14th. Here's everything you need to know about it.

What is a starship?

starship It is the most powerful rocket ever made. Measuring 121 meters long, the reusable booster can lift the second stage to an altitude of more than 70 kilometers before safely landing. This second stage is also reusable and is intended to make Starship an affordable, reliable vehicle that can quickly turn around and start again. The ultimate goal of this project is to land humans on the moon and later on Mars.

What time does Starship take off?

SpaceX announced live stream video The launch will begin at 8:25 a.m. local time in Texas (13:25 GMT). The actual launch will take place approximately 30 minutes after the livestream begins.

Where will the starship go?

As you can imagine, this launch is our most ambitious yet. What SpaceX is aiming for Successfully launch the first and second stages, transporting the starship into space, opening and closing the payload door as a test, and finally refueling from one starship to another as a first step. Shuffle from one tank to another. This is essential for long-range missions and reignites the engines for controlled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

The launch will follow a new trajectory that will see the second stage splash down in the Indian Ocean. Although designed as a reusable aircraft, the mission is to make slow, controlled landings at sea rather than on land or ships. This is easier and safer at this stage of development.

What happened the last time a starship was launched?

There have been two Starship launches, both of which ended in failure, which is part of SpaceX's “fail fast, learn fast” strategy.

During the first launch on April 20 last year, three of the 33 engines in the first stage failed to ignite. Several more planes subsequently failed in flight. The rocket then went out of control and activated its self-destruct device, leading to what SpaceX sarcastically calls a “rapid unscheduled disassembly (RUD).” The entire flight lasted about three minutes and reached a maximum altitude of 39 kilometers.

Starship's second launch took place on November 18th. This time, all 33 engines fired and the rocket flew far enough for the first and second stages to separate. However, as the first stage decelerated and rotated to begin the landing procedure, it exploded. The second stage continued to fly smoothly until it reached an altitude of about 149 kilometers (149 kilometers), passing the Kármán Line, which marks the beginning of the universe, but it stopped transmitting data before completing its orbit, causing the safety device to fail. I did. Return to Earth.

What if this launch fails?

It probably won't work in some ways. It is highly unlikely that a starship will complete its mission perfectly. However, any failure will provide data and experience that can be used to improve the design and process for the fourth launch. SpaceX has shown in the past that it can iterate quickly and make significant progress with each launch.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Intuitive Machines to Launch Spaceship Odysseus on Moon Mission

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Odysseus spacecraft scheduled to launch to the moon on February 14th

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US company Intuitive Machines is soon to become the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon. Three previous efforts by other companies have failed, highlighting the perilous path ahead for Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander.

The spacecraft, nicknamed Odysseus, is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on February 14. It will fly aboard a Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by SpaceX. If the mission, called IM-1, goes well, Odysseus should land near the moon's south pole on February 22.

The goal of the IM-1 mission, in addition to proving that private companies can land on the moon, is to deliver six NASA payloads and five commercial payloads to the lunar surface. NASA's equipment includes tools to study how the landing itself blows away plumes of lunar dust, several instruments to help the aircraft land safely, and to measure radio waves and make sure they are on the moon's surface. Contains equipment to measure how it affects Commercial payloads include a camera that will be dumped from the lander before landing to take photos of the landing, and 125 small sculptures by artist Jeff Koons, designed to establish an archive of human knowledge on the lunar surface. Includes tip.

IM-1 is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, a series of government and private sector contracts designed to accelerate exploration and develop the lunar economy. This is his second mission in CLPS. The first mission, Astrobotic's Peregrine lander, suffered a fuel leak shortly after liftoff in January and failed to reach the moon.

There have been two attempts by private companies to land on the moon, SpaceIL's Beresheet spacecraft and iSpace's Hakuto-R, but both crash-landed and were destroyed. If Odysseus succeeds where other landers have failed, Intuitive Machines' next step will be to send another Nova-C lander to the moon's south pole, equipped with a drill to harvest subsurface ice. That mission is planned for March 2024.

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Source: www.newscientist.com