Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 20, 2023
For many decades, the aircraft industry has predominantly relied on aluminium for manufacturing. Today, however, the drive for more sustainable, climate-friendly air travel necessitates innovative solutions. In a groundbreaking development, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), in partnership with Premium AEROTEC, Airbus, and Aernnova, has presented a prototype for an entirely new approach to aircr

Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Jul 21, 2023
A research group in Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute is creating the next generation of explorers - robots. The Autonomous Exploration Research Team has developed a suite of robotic systems and planners enabling robots to explore more quickly, probe the darkest corners of unknown environments, and create more accurate and detailed maps. The systems allow robots to do all thi

London, UK (SPX) Jul 19, 2023
The World Nano Foundation (WNF), an international not-for-profit body dedicated to commercializing nanoscale technologies, has announced the publication of its latest white paper titled "Space Exploration: Unveiling the Potential of Nanotechnology in Advanced Materials Science." This document dives deep into the breakthroughs in materials science, which are propelling a revolution in space explo

Albuquerque NM (SPX) Jul 21, 2023
Remember what it's like to twirl a sparkler on a summer night? Hold it still and the fire crackles and sparks but twirl it around and the light blurs into a line tracing each whirl and jag you make. A new patented software system developed at Sandia National Laboratories can find the curves of motion in streaming video and images from satellites, drones and far-range security cameras and t

Austin TX (SPX) Jul 21, 2023
Keith Hawkins, assistant professor of astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin, has used chemical cartography - also known as chemical mapping - to identify regions of the Milky Way's spiral arms that have previously gone undetected. His research, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, demonstrates the value of this pioneering technique in understanding the sha

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 21, 2023
Engineers and scientists have shipped NASA's ComPair instrument to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, ahead of its scheduled August flight early in NASA's 2023 fall balloon campaign. ComPair's goal is to test new technologies for studying gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light. It was assembled and tested at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The gamma-ray energy

Solar eclipse - April 8, 2024
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 21, 2023 NASA has awarded funding for three science teams to conduct citizen science investigations as a total solar eclipse sweeps across North America on April 8, 2024. In these experiments, volunteers will help study the Sun and its ethereal outer atmosphere, called the corona, which is revealed when the Moon completely covers the Sun's bright disk. "During next

San Antonio TX (SPX) Jul 21, 2023
A Southwest Research Institute-led team has modeled the early impact history of Venus to explain how Earth's sister planet has maintained a youthful surface despite lacking plate tectonics. The team compared the early collision histories of the two bodies and determined that Venus likely experienced higher-speed, higher-energy impacts creating a superheated core that promoted extended volcanism

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 21, 2023
Earth planning date: Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Curiosity is, first and foremost, a robotic geologist. As an atmospheric scientist who is a member of the environmental science team, this often means that I'm just along for the ride, guided by the needs of the geology team. Besides the fact that geology is our primary mission, observations requested by GEO are often more temporally-constrained tha

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 21, 2023
In its first 400 days on Mars, NASA's Perseverance rover may have found a diverse collection of organics - carbon-based molecules considered the building blocks of life - thanks to SHERLOC, an innovative instrument on the rover's robotic arm. Scientists with the mission, which is searching for evidence that the planet supported microbial life billions of years ago, aren't sure whether biological