Astronauts in crewed missions to Mars could misread vital emotional cues
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 07:36
Living for nearly 2 months in simulated weightlessness has a modest but widespread negative effect on cognitive performance that may not be counteracted by short periods of artificial gravity, finds a new study published in Frontiers in Physiology. While cognitive speed on most tests initially declined but then remained unchanged over time in simulated microgravity, emotion recognition speed continued to worsen. In testing, research participants were more likely to identify facial expressions as angry and less likely as happy or neutral.
"Astronauts on long space missions, very much like our research participants, will spend extended durations in microgravity, confined to a small space with few other astronauts," reports Mathias Basner, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
ISS crew once again uses tea leaves to locate air leak in Russian module Zvezda
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) is once again using tea leaves to find an air leak in three possible locations in the Russian Zvezda module, according to a communication of the crew with Earth, broadcast by NASA.
A specialist from the Russian Mission Control Center told cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov that thin strips of paper that were released in the module's access section e New study challenges long-held theory of fate of Martian Water
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
Billions of years ago, according to geological evidence, abundant water flowed across Mars and collected into pools, lakes, and deep oceans. New NASA-funded research shows a substantial quantity of its water - between 30 and 99% - is trapped within minerals in the planet's crust, challenging the current theory that due to the Red Planet's low gravity, its water escaped into space.
Early Ma Is there life on mars today and where
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
In a comment published in Nature Astronomy, Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research at the SETI Institute, challenges assumptions about the possibility of modern life on Mars held by many in the scientific community.
As the Perseverance rover embarks on a journey to seek signs of ancient life in the 3.7 billion years old Jezero crater, Cabrol theorizes that not Juno reveals dark origins of one of Jupiter's grand light shows
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
New results from the Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument on NASA's Juno mission reveal for the first time the birth of auroral dawn storms - the early morning brightening unique to Jupiter's spectacular aurorae.
These immense, transient displays of light occur at both Jovian poles and had previously been observed only by ground-based and Earth-orbiting observatories, notably NASA's Hubble SwRI researcher theorizes worlds with underground oceans support, conceal life
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
One of the most profound discoveries in planetary science over the past 25 years is that worlds with oceans beneath layers of rock and ice are common in our solar system. Such worlds include the icy satellites of the giant planets, like Europa, Titan and Enceladus, and distant planets like Pluto.
In a report presented at the 52nd annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC 52) this ASU scientists determine origin of strange interstellar object
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
In 2017, the first interstellar object from beyond our solar system was discovered via the Pan-STARRS astronomical observatory in Hawaii. It was named 'Oumuamua, meaning "scout" or "messenger" in Hawaiian. The object was like a comet, but with features that were just odd enough to defy classification.
Two Arizona State University astrophysicists, Steven Desch and Alan Jackson of the School Ancient light illuminates matter that fuels galaxy formation
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
Using light from the Big Bang, an international team led by Cornell University and the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has begun to unveil the material which fuels galaxy formation.
"There is uncertainty on the formation of stars within galaxies that theoretical models are unable to predict," said lead author Stefania Amodeo, a Cornell postdoctoral researc LAMOST reveals new footprints of the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger event
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
Looking up at the starry sky, the deep Universe appears quiet and mysterious. It is hard to imagine that the ancient dwarf galaxy Enceladus violently collided and was torn apart by our own Milky Way Galaxy, leaving behind the cries of a whole new generation of children from the hundred-handed giant.
Recently, SCIENCE CHINA: Physics, Mechanics and Astronomy published an (Editor's Focus) art New 3D Printed CubeSat measures electromagnetic effects of space storms
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
Today Roboze, a manufacturer of industrial 3D printing technology for extreme end-use applications, announced it has been selected by the University of Colorado Boulder to optimize the design and 3D printed components for a CubeSat project within the college's department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. The CubeSat will spend at least six months in orbit measuring electromagnetic waves emitted Cosmic lens reveals faint radio galaxy
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
Radio telescopes are the world's most sensitive radio receivers, capable of finding extremely faint wisps of radio emission coming from objects at the farthest reaches of the universe. Recently, a team of astronomers used the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to take advantage of a helping hand from nature to detect a distant galaxy that likely is the faintest r Lightning strikes played a vital role in life's origins on Earth
Tuesday, 16 March 2021 06:01
Lightning strikes were just as important as meteorites in creating the perfect conditions for life to emerge on Earth, geologists say.
Minerals delivered to Earth in meteorites more than 4 billion years ago have long been advocated as key ingredients for the development of life on our planet.
Scientists believed minimal amounts of these minerals were also brought to early Earth throu Congressional Democrats urge Biden to cut defense spending
Monday, 15 March 2021 21:58
WASHINGTON — A March 16 letter signed by 50 House Democrats urges President Joe Biden to reduce the Pentagon’s budget to pay for other activities.
The letter is intended to influence the president’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 which the administration is expected to submit to Congress in early May.
U.S. Space Force would support commercial services to remove orbital debris
Monday, 15 March 2021 21:27
WASHINGTON — Vice Chief of Space Operations of the U.S. Space Force Gen. David Thompson said it would make sense for the government to pay companies to clean up space junk if such services existed.
Satellite operators want a seat at the table in space security discussions
Monday, 15 March 2021 20:28
WASHINGTON — Companies that operate commercial satellites should participate in the growing conversation about rules of behavior in space, a Eutelsat executive said March 16.
How to ensure space remains a peaceful environment is a central question that government and military officials from the United States and other countries continue to debate.