Rise of the 'robo-plants', as scientists fuse nature with tech
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:45
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Remote-controlled Venus flytrap "robo-plants" and crops that tell farmers when they are hit by disease could become reality after scientists developed a high-tech system for communicating with vegetation.
Researchers in Singapore linked up plants to electrodes capable of monitoring the weak electrical pulses naturally emitted by the greenery.
The scientists used the technology to trigger Even without a brain, Penn Engineering's metal-eating robots can search for food
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When it comes to powering mobile robots, batteries present a problematic paradox: the more energy they contain, the more they weigh, and thus the more energy the robot needs to move. Energy harvesters, like solar panels, might work for some applications, but they don't deliver power quickly or consistently enough for sustained travel.
James Pikul, assistant professor in Penn Engineering's A new phase in Bose-Einstein condensate of light particles observed
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A single "super photon" made up of many thousands of individual light particles: About ten years ago, researchers at the University of Bonn produced such an extreme aggregate state for the first time and presented a completely new light source. The state is called optical Bose-Einstein condensate and has captivated many physicists ever since, because this exotic world of light particles is home Lockheed Martin expands quick, affordable launch capability with ABL Block Buy
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ABL Space Systems will provide Lockheed Martin with routine launches of RS1 rockets to accelerate payload technologies into orbit. Lockheed Martin will purchase up to 26 vehicles through 2025 and then up to 32 additional launches through 2029. Launches could use a network of U.S. and international launch sites, including Vandenberg Space Force Base, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and in the CAES and Swissto12 partnership brings 3D printed RF solutions to the US
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:18 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — CAES, the former electronics unit of British defense and aerospace contractor Cobham, has forged an alliance to bring Swiss 3D printed satellite RF technology to the U.S.
CAES and Swissto12 partnership brings 3D-printed RF solutions to the U.S.
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:18 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — CAES, the former electronics unit of British defense and aerospace contractor Cobham, has forged an alliance to bring Swiss 3D-printed satellite RF technology to the U.S. market.
Exploring comet thermal history: Burnt-out comet covered with talcum powder
Monday, 05 April 2021 12:55 Write a comment
The world's first ground-based observations of the bare nucleus of a comet nearing the end of its active life revealed that the nucleus has a diameter of 800 meters and is covered with large grains of phyllosilicate; on Earth large grains of phyllosilicate are commonly available as talcum powder.
Engine explosion blamed for latest Starship crash
Monday, 05 April 2021 11:33 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said an engine on the company’s latest Starship prototype suffered a “hard start” that caused the vehicle to explode when attempting to land on a test flight last week.
Guangzhou moves to establish Chinese commercial space cluster
Monday, 05 April 2021 10:51 Write a comment
HELSINKI — Guangzhou is developing a major space cluster in the city by hosting new projects including the new headquarters for the space business of Geely Technology Group.
406 Day: celebrating Galileo saving lives
Monday, 05 April 2021 10:30 Write a comment
Today is 406 Day – the annual campaigning day to spread awareness of the importance of emergency beacons, and the satellites that pick up their signals, including Europe’s Galileo constellation. As well as letting people across the world find their way, Galileo also serves to detect SOS messages and relay them to authorities, contributing to saving many lives.
Germany’s space agency selects Lockheed Martin’s traffic management software
Monday, 05 April 2021 08:20 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin’s space traffic management software will be used by Germany’s space agency, the company announced April 6.
The German Space Agency at DLR — which operates the German space situational awareness center along with the German Air Force — selected Lockheed Martin’s iSpace, a system that is used by the U.S.
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter survives first night alone on Mars
Monday, 05 April 2021 07:31 Write a comment
NASA's Ingenuity mini-helicopter has survived its first night alone on the frigid surface of Mars, the US space agency said, hailing it as "a major milestone" for the tiny craft as it prepares for its first flight.
The ultra-light aircraft was dropped on the surface on Saturday after detaching from the belly of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Red Planet on February 18.
Detached from the Perseverance, Ingenuity had to rely on its own solar-powered battery to run a vital heater to protect its unshielded electrical components from freezing and cracking during the bitter Martian night, where temperatures can plunge as low as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius).
Making it through the frigid Martian night was "a major milestone for the small rotorcraft," NASA said in a statement Monday.
Op-ed | Exporting is the final frontier for UK space and other high-tech industries
Monday, 05 April 2021 07:00 Write a comment
The good news is that the industries in which the UK excels are ready to strike new partnerships, forge new alliances, and create new opportunities.
NASA's Mars Helicopter Survives First Cold Martian Night on Its Own
Monday, 05 April 2021 05:36 Write a comment
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has emerged from its first night on the surface of Mars.
Evening temperatures at Jezero Crater can plunge as low as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius), which can freeze and crack unprotected electrical components and damage the onboard batteries required for flight. Surviving that first night after being deployed from where it was attac More potential air leak locations found at ISS
Monday, 05 April 2021 05:36 Write a comment
Russian cosmonauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) have identified another three possible air leak locations in the Russian Zvezda module, a space industry source told Sputnik.
"This week, the cosmonauts found another three possible air leak locations in the intermediate chamber of the Zvezda module," the source said, adding that on Friday and Saturday, the Russian crew patc