DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ NASA launches a spacecraft to visit Psyche, an unseen metal world
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Psyche mission lifted off at 10:19 a.m. The Psyche mission lifted off Friday morning. “This will be our first time visiting a world that has a metal surface. The Psyche spacecraft will arrive at Mars in May 2026 and use the planet’s gravity to effectively slingshot its trajectory to Psyche. Psyche may have little metal spikes, spires and even tiny pieces that resemble a type of metal sand within the crater, said Elkins-Tanton.

Persons: NASA’s, Chandan Khanna, David Oh, ”, Lindy Elkins, Tanton, ” Elkins, “, Joe Skipper, Henry Stone, Oh, Elkins, Ben Weiss, Psyche, Weiss, It’s, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, NASA, SpaceX, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Falcon, Getty, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Arizona State University’s School of Earth, Exploration, JPL, Caltech, ASU Scientists, Hubble, Reuters, Cape Canaveral Space Force, Mars, Optical Communications, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Locations: Florida, Pasadena , California, Massachusetts, Cape Cod, California, Elkins, Tanton

☆ 4 experts explain why Elon Musk's plan to colonize Mars is 'romanticized', not 'realistic', 'cosmic vandalism'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Four scientists told Insider his plan is bad for technical, scientific, and ethical reasons. Yes, experts agree we might want to settle other worlds, but Mars might not be our best bet, at least not now, four scientists told Insider. SpaceX's first priority is "establishing a cargo route to Mars," Musk told the Washington Post in 2016. From Mars, Musk told the IAC, people could go to the asteroid belts, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and the Kuiper belt. AdvertisementAdvertisementEssentially, terraforming Mars would involve melting its polar ice caps, which would release CO2 reserves.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Ray Bradbury's, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Christopher Edwards, He's, Musk, Refugio Ruiz Musk's, they'd, he's, Edwards, PATRICK T, FALLON, there's, Bruce Jakosky, Jakosky, Andrew Coates, Coates, Mars, terraformed, Alexander Gerst, Rachael Seidler, Refugio Ruiz, Seidler, Jeff Bezos, Buzz Aldrin, Chris McKay, " Edwards, that's Organizations: Service, Northern Arizona University, SpaceX, Mars SpaceX, International Astronautical, Washington Post, IAC, Elon Musk, NASA, Getty, Mars, ESA, University College London's, Science, University of Florida, AP, JPL, Caltech, SETI, Center for Strategic, International Studies, NASA's Ames Research Center Locations: Texas, Mars

☆ Unlocking the clues of a metal world
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —For the first time, a NASA mission is setting off on a distant journey to visit a metal world in our solar system. This illustration depicts how scientists envision the Psyche asteroid. Over time, Psyche likely collided with other rocky objects, losing its outer crust and mantle until only its metal core remained. “We have never seen the surface of a metal world up close. “If you brought back as much metal as likely exists in Psyche, then the metals would no longer be rare and the price would plummet,” Metzger said.

Persons: REx, Annibale de Gasparis, ”, Zoe Landsman, Psyche, Landsman, isn’t, ” Landsman, NASA’s, Anicia Arredondo, “, ” Arredondo, Philip Metzger, ” Metzger Organizations: CNN, NASA, JPL, Caltech, ASU, Exolith, University of Central, Radar, Astronomy, Boeing, ASU “, Southwest Research Institute, Division, Planetary Sciences, Europlanet Science Congress, Scientists, University of Central Florida’s Florida Space Institute Locations: Italian, University of Central Florida, San Antonio

☆ What the Nobel Prizes get wrong about science
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Peter Brzezinski, the secretary of the committee for the Nobel chemistry prize, said there were no plans to change the rule. He said the Nobel Prize committees, at least for science prizes, are “innately conservative.”DiversityOther criticism leveled at the Nobel Prizes includes the lack of diversity among winners. Of course, these flaws and gaps only matter because the Nobels are far better known than other science prizes, Rees added. The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine will be announced on Monday, followed by the physics prize on Tuesday and the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday. The Nobel Prize for literature and the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Persons: Alfred Nobel, Martin Rees, Rees, ”, Jonathan Nackstrand, Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish, Kip Thorne, David Pendlebury, “ Nobel, ” Pendlebury, Nobel’s, Peter Brzezinski, “, ” Brzezinski, John Jumper, AlphaFold, Lasker, Pendlebury, Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer Doudna, it’s, Carolyn Bertozzi, Andrea Ghez, Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea, ” Rees Organizations: CNN, Royal Society, Getty, Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific, Nobel Foundation, Academy, Google, Harvard University Locations: Swedish, AFP, Stockholm

☆ OSIRIS-APEX mission sets off for new asteroid target
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —After successfully delivering NASA’s first asteroid sample collected in space, the OSIRIS-REx mission, now renamed OSIRIS-APEX, is embarking on a new journey — this time to study an asteroid that will closely approach Earth in just a few years. The asteroid was named for the Egyptian god of chaos and darkness and is believed to be shaped like a peanut. An artist's rendering shows OSIRIS-APEX kicking up dust so it can study Apophis. What Apophis could revealApophis is of interest because it’s an S-type, or stony, asteroid, in contrast to Bennu, which is a C-type, or carbonaceous, asteroid. The spacecraft’s ability to closely orbit the asteroid can reveal the surface strength of stony asteroids and how much weathering the asteroid endures in the space environment.

Persons: CNN —, NASA’s, REx, OSIRIS, ”, Dani DellaGiustina, APEX's, Heather Roper, Dante Lauretta, ” Lauretta, “ Organizations: CNN, APEX, University of Arizona, Space Center, NASA, “, NASA’s Center Locations: NASA’s, Houston, Europe, Africa

☆ OSIRIS-REx: A long-awaited asteroid sample has landed in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Seven years after launching to space, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth Sunday to deliver the pristine sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The sample capsule, about the size of a large truck tire, and its main parachute can be seen after landing in the Utah desert. What the sample may revealDetails about the sample will be revealed through a NASA broadcast from Johnson Space Center on October 11. If a government shutdown occurs, “it will not endanger the curation and safe handling of the asteroid sample,” said Lori Glaze, director for NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division. “Scientists believe that the asteroid Bennu is representative of the solar system’s own oldest materials forged in large dying stars and supernova explosions,” Glaze said.

Persons: REx, Rich Burns, OSIRIS, Sandra Freund, Burns, ”, Dante Lauretta, Nicole Lunning, REx curation, NASA’s, Lauretta, Lori Glaze, ” Glaze Organizations: CNN, NASA, Earth Sunday, Goddard, University of Arizona, Defense Department’s Utah, Goddard Space Flight, Lockheed, Space Center, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Monday, Johnson Space Center, Canadian Space Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA’s Planetary Sciences Locations: Bennu, Greenbelt , Maryland, Tucson, Utah, Houston

☆ NASA scientists plan to bake, slice, and fire lasers at the asteroid sample from OSIRIS-REx to understand the creation of our solar system
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is scheduled to deliver a return capsule with asteroid dust on Sunday. Scientists hope to study the asteroid dust and dirt in every way possible. After nearly three years, NASA's OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to finally deliver the largest asteroid sample ever to the Utah desert at approximately 10:55 a.m. That's right, an asteroid sample is headed for Earth. A rotating mosaic of asteroid Bennu, composed of images captured by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft over a four-hour period.

Persons: NASA's, REx, Noah Petro, Petro, Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS, Lauretta, NASA's OSIRIS, University of Arizona Lauretta, Lori Glaze, they'll Organizations: Service, Empire, NASA's Goddard Space, NASA, Goddard, University of Arizona, Planetary Science, JPL, Caltech Locations: Utah, Wall, Silicon

☆ Webb telescope spies signs of water on habitable-zone exoplanet
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Webb telescope, which can detect infrared light invisible to the human eye, searched for exactly what elements are featured in the planet’s atmosphere. On Earth, dimethyl sulfide “is only produced by life,” according to NASA. Hot ocean worldsThe discoveries about its atmospheric composition suggest it could be a “Hycean exoplanet,” a theoretical type of exoplanet that runs hot but is covered in oceans and has a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. There are no confirmed Hycean exoplanets just yet. “This means our work here is but an early demonstration of what Webb can observe in habitable-zone exoplanets.”

Persons: CNN — Waters, James Webb, Webb, Nikku Madhusudhan, Madhusudhan, —, ” Madhusudhan, ”, Savvas Constantinou Organizations: CNN, James Webb Space Telescope, NASA, Hubble, University of Cambridge, Astrophysical

☆ Earth's deep blue oceans are fading and changing color — and scientists aren't sure why
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Two decades of satellite images have revealed that more than 56% of the world's oceans have seen significant changes in color. Scientists fear these color changes could be harbingers of yet another global crisis in ocean food chains as the planet warms. Greener oceans mean more life — and that's not necessarily goodThe color of the oceans can tell us a lot about their health. The ocean's color depends on what's in the upper layer of the water column. In the latest study, scientists used imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite, which has been monitoring ocean color changes for more than two decades.

Persons: It's, it's, Cael, that's, Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Dutkiewicz, I've, Michael J Behrenfeld Organizations: Service, Nature, National Oceanography Center, Guardian, MIT's Department of, Planetary Sciences, Center for Global Change Science, CNN, Oregon State University Locations: Southampton

☆ Oceans absorb 90% of the heat from climate change — here's why record ocean temps are so harmful
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +22 min

"Over 90 percent of the excess energy on earth due to climate change is found in warmer oceans, some of it in surface oceans and some at depth." Put simply, the greenhouse gases serve to trap more heat, some of which is absorbed by the ocean," Kirtman told CNBC. In addition to the daily record on July 31, the monthly sea surface temperature for July was the hottest July on record, "by far," Copernicus said. CopernicusThese record sea surface temperatures arise from multiple factors, including the El Niño weather pattern, which is currently in effect. "These climate variations occur when sea surface temperature patterns of warming and cooling self-reinforce by changing patterns of winds and precipitation that deepen the sea surface temperature changes."

Persons: Baylor, Carlos E, Del Castillo, Castillo, Benjamin Kirtman, Kirtman, Copernicus, Gavin Schmidt, Kemper, Zeke Hausfather, Sarah Kapnick, Kapnick, Kempler, Hurricane Ian, Michael Lowry, Lowry, Rainer Froese, Daniel Pauly, Pauly, Vigfus, pollack, Sean Gallup, Lorenz Hauser, Hauser, Froese, Phanor Montoya, Javier, Carolyn Cole, Hans W, Paerl, Justin Sullivan, Christopher Gobler, Gobler, Gary Griggs, Kimberly McKenna, Angela Weiss, Griggs, it's, Judith Kildow, Kildow, It's Organizations: International, Baylor Fox, Kemper, Brown University, CNBC, Ecology Laboratory, NASA, University of Miami, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Fox, El, Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, heatwave, NOAA, Northern Hemisphere, Miami Herald, Tribune, Service, Getty, Helmholtz, Ocean Research, University of British Columbia's Institute, Fisheries, School of, Fishery Sciences, Restoration Foundation, Coral Restoration Foundation, Looe Key, Los Angeles Times, University of North, Chapel Hill's Institute of Marine Sciences, Berkeley Marina, San, Quality, Centers for Disease Control, Stony Brooke University's School of Marine, Atmospheric Sciences, University of California, Stockton University Coastal Research, Afp, Ocean Economics Locations: Florida, El, Pacific, Berkeley, Fort Myers, Hurricane, Germany, New York, Nova Scotia, Hofn, Hornafjordur, Iceland, Seattle, Alaska, Looe, University of North Carolina, San Francisco Bay, Berkeley , California, San Francisco, Europe, Santa Cruz, Atlantic City , New Jersey, Atlantic City, Antarctica, Greenland

☆ Congress's UFO hearing shows the hardest part of discovering alien life may be announcing it. Here's how NASA might break the news.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

An illustration of the CoLD scale for determining confidence in a detection of alien life. The discovery of extraterrestrial life is likely to be a slow build-up, rather than an explosive eureka moment. The president or other countries could be involved in announcing extraterrestrial life existsPresident Joe Biden speaks at Delaware State University. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesAnnouncing the existence of alien life would be an "administration-level" affair, Glaze said, referring to the US presidency. Needless to say, any discovery of alien life would likely lead to chaos — at least in public discourse.

Persons: NASA isn't, David Grusch, Randall Hill, UAPs, Elon Musk, John Locher, Karine Jean, Pierre, we've, Lori Glaze, Glaze, James Webb, Jean, Philippe Arles, It's, Aaron Gronstal, Mary Voytek, Joe Biden, Anna Moneymaker, Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Stephen Hawking, I'm, we're Organizations: Service, NASA, Beijing, Reuters, Department of Defense, Associated Press, AP, White House, Navy, US Department of Defense, JPL, Caltech, Delaware State University Locations: Wall, Silicon, South Carolina, Surfside Beach , South Carolina, US, Alaska, Canada, Lake Huron, Rachel , Nevada, Bugarach, France

☆ Climate change is making our oceans change color, new research finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The color of the ocean has changed significantly over the last 20 years and human-caused climate change is likely responsible, according to a new study. They analyzed color variation data from 2002 to 2022 and then used climate change models to simulate what would happen to the oceans both with additional planet-heating pollution and without. The color changes matched almost exactly what Dutkiewicz predicted would happen if greenhouse gases were added to the atmosphere – that around 50% of our oceans would change color. Dutkiewicz, who has been running simulations that showed the oceans were going to change color for years, said she is not surprised at this finding. Dutkiewicz told CNN it was difficult to say whether color changes could become visible to humans if the process continues.

Persons: Artur Widak, Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Dutkiewicz, ” Organizations: CNN, National Oceanography Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT’s Department of, Planetary Sciences, Center for Global, Aqua

☆ Scientists Have Found a Hot Spot on the Moon’s Far Side
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Kenneth Chang | More About Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The rocks beneath an ancient volcano on the moon’s far side remain surprisingly warm, scientists have revealed using data from orbiting Chinese spacecraft. They point to a large slab of granite that solidified from magma in the geological plumbing beneath what is known as the Compton-Belkovich Volcanic Complex. “I would say we’re putting the nail in the coffin of this really is a volcanic feature,” said Matthew Siegler, a scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, headquartered in Tucson, Ariz., and who led the research. “But then what’s interesting is, it’s a very Earth-like volcanic feature.”The findings, which appeared last week in the journal Nature, help explain what happened long ago beneath an odd part of the moon. The study also highlights the scientific potential of data gathered by China’s space program, and how researchers in the United States have to circumvent obstacles to use that data.

Persons: Compton, ”, Matthew Siegler Organizations: Planetary Science Institute Locations: Tucson, Ariz, United States

☆ Texas heat is not letting up at night
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Evan Bush | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The heat wave in Texas has offered little reprieve. Heat at night disrupts sleep and prevents the body from recovering and cooling down, making minimum temperatures a critical indicator of a heat wave's severity, experts said. Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said temperatures during this heat wave in the state have threatened records at both ends of the spectrum — including maximums and minimums — in its urban centers. Ebi said the high nighttime temperatures and the prolonged nature of the Texas heat wave are particularly concerning. "A very small percentage of death certificates during a heat wave put down, 'heat' as an underlying cause," Ebi, who studies heat deaths, adding that about half of excess deaths, on average, are from cardiovascular diseases.

Persons: Del, Ben Zaitchik, John Nielsen, Gammon, We've, Kristie, Ebi, Everything's, Nielsen, We're Organizations: National Weather Service, Johns Hopkins University, Nielsen, Center for Health, Global, University of Washington Locations: Texas, Del Rio, San Antonio, Houston, Midland, San Angelo

☆ A violent collision likely created the Geminids meteor shower
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Geminid meteor shower, which lights up the sky each December, is one of the most active and dependable celestial displays of the year. Now, astronomers using NASA’s Parker Solar Probe have gained more insight into the underlying cause of the Geminids. The meteor shower was first recorded in 1862 and appears to radiate from the Gemini constellation. The Geminid meteor shower streaks across the night sky over the Lhasa River in Tibet on December 14, 2022. It’s the first asteroid to be associated with a meteor shower, and it measures about 3.17 miles (5.10 kilometers) across.

Persons: NASA’s, it’s, “, ”, Jamey Szalay, Szalay, Jiang Feibo, Phaethon, Fred Whipple, Helios Organizations: CNN, Probe, NASA, Princeton University, Science, Parker, China News Service Locations: Lhasa, Tibet

☆ The future of medicine may lie in space
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Days after I got my first taste of working at a lab bench, a company set forth to prove scientific research can be successfully done in orbit without any humans present. Look upVarda Space Industries plans to use a small capsule, shown in the rendering above, to conduct pharmaceutical research in space. Varda Space industriesThe future of medicine may take flight in space. Unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974 and representing 40% of a skeleton, the remains revealed an early human relative who lived millions of years before Homo sapiens. Meanwhile, other, more recent fossil discoveries are shaking up what we know about early human migration.

Persons: Varda, Lucy, Dave Einsel, paleoanthropologist Dr, Ashleigh L.A, Wiseman, waddle, Frank Postberg, Jochen Brocks, —, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Logan Science Journalism, Marine Biological, Space Industries, Research, British Antarctic Survey, Sky, University of Cambridge, ATP, Freie Universität Berlin, Australian National University, CNN Space, Science Locations: Woods Hole , Massachusetts, California, Antarctica, Weddell, Ethiopia, Barney Creek, Northern Australia, Australia, New England

☆ Key building block of life found on ocean world orbiting Saturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A key chemical building block of life has been found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. An ocean exists beneath the thick, icy surface of Enceladus, and plumes of material regularly release from geysers at the moon’s south pole. “Previous geochemical models were divided on the question of whether Enceladus’ ocean contains significant quantities of phosphates at all,” Postberg said. “This key ingredient could be abundant enough to potentially support life in Enceladus’ ocean; this is a stunning discovery for astrobiology.”Some of the additional ocean world moons around Jupiter and Saturn include Europa, Titan and Ganymede. Although the building blocks of life and conditions for habitability exist on Enceladus, no actual life has been detected yet.

Persons: ”, Frank Postberg, ” Postberg, Fabian Klenner, “, Postberg, Christopher Glein, Cassini, Linda Spilker, Spilker, ” Spilker, ” Glein, ” “, Nozair Khawaja, Mikhail Zolotov, Zolotov Organizations: CNN, Cassini, NASA, JPL, Space Science, Freie Universität, ATP, University of Washington, Southwest Research Institute, Clipper, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin, Arizona State University Locations: Freie Universität Berlin, San Antonio , Texas, Europa, Pasadena , California

☆ NASA team to issue report on unidentified phenomena in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —A team of 16 experts and scientists assembled by NASA aims to publish its first report on unidentified anomalous phenomena, also known as unidentified flying objects, or UFOS, by midsummer. “We’re trying to assess whether those phenomena pose any risks to safety and we’re doing it using science,” Evans added. Unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, “are events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective,” according to NASA. Instead, the team’s approach has been outlining how to evaluate and study unidentified anomalous phenomena using data and technology. But since being announced in June 2022, members of the independent study team have faced online harassment.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Dan Evans, “ We’ve, ” Evans, “ We’re, Evans, UAPs, Scott Kelly, David Spergel, Kelly, ” Spergel, “, Sean Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick, ” Kirkpatrick, Spergel, astrobiology, Katie Hunt, Michael Conte, Jackie Wattles Organizations: CNN, NASA, UAP, National Defense, US Navy, Simons, US Department of Defense, Pentagon Locations: New York City

☆ Webb telescope spots water in rare comet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe a rare comet in our solar system, making a long-awaited scientific breakthrough and stumbling across another mystery at the same time. For the first time, water was detected in a main belt comet, or a comet located in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The space observatory detected water vapor around Comet Read, which suggests that water ice can be preserved in a warmer part of the solar system. It’s possible that the warmer temperatures of the main asteroid belt cause Comet Read to lose its carbon dioxide over time, the researchers said. Comet Read might have also formed in a warmer pocket of the solar system without carbon dioxide, Kelley said.

☆ Webb telescope spies evidence of hidden planets around nearby star
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The revelation of the Fomalhaut’s two inner rings has suggested that planets hidden deeper within the star system may be affecting the dust belt’s shape. Stars form from gas and dust, and then a ring of leftover material called a protoplanetary disk orbits the star, where planets are born. Once the planets form around a star, debris belts form and become shaped by the gravity of the planets. Studying the dust belts can help unlock more of the secrets behind how planetary systems form. “I think it’s not a very big leap to say there’s probably a really interesting planetary system around the star.”

REUTERS/Joe SkipperLOS ANGELES, April 20 (Reuters) - The spectacular explosion of SpaceX's new Starship rocket minutes after it soared off its launch pad on a first flight test is the latest vivid illustration of a "successful failure" business formula that serves Elon Musk's company well, experts said on Thursday. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECTAt least two experts in aerospace engineering and planetary science who spoke with Reuters agreed that the test flight delivered benefits. "This is a classical SpaceX successful failure," said Garrett Reisman, an astronautical engineering professor at the University of Southern California who is a former NASA astronaut and is also a senior adviser to SpaceX. Reisman called the Starship test flight a hallmark of a SpaceX strategy that sets Musk's company apart from traditional aerospace companies and even NASA by "this embracing of failure when the consequences of failure are low." She said the risks of a single flight test were small in comparison to the ambitious gains at stake.

☆ Ingenuity helicopter aces 50th flight on Mars
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

During its 50th flight, Ingenuity traveled over 1,057 feet (322.2 meters) in 145.7 seconds and achieved a new altitude record of 59 feet (18 meters). Since arriving on Mars with the Perseverance rover in February 2021, Ingenuity has flown for more than 89 minutes and 7.1 miles (11.6 kilometers). “When we first flew, we thought we would be incredibly lucky to eke out five flights,” said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement. The rotorcraft has faced numerous challenges since it first detached from the belly of the Perseverance rover more than two years ago. The rover team has a job to do and a schedule to keep.

☆ The moon could have up to 297 billion tons of water stored in tiny glass beads on its surface, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Researchers say glass beads found on the moon's surface could contain billions of tons of water. The scientists say the water was created from solar winds, which blow hydrogen — one of the two elements in water — onto the lunar surface. The glass beads themselves form when small meteorites hit the surface of the moon and melt with material on the surface, per the study. Hu said the water extracted from the glass beads shows promise that it could be used in future lunar missions. NASA also plans to once again send astronauts to the Moon in 2025, 50 years after man last set foot on the lunar surface.

☆ Scientists explain alien comet 'Oumuamua's strange acceleration
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A new study has offered a more sober explanation - that 'Oumuamua's speed-up was due to the release of hydrogen gas as the comet warmed up in the sunlight. "The key finding is that 'Oumuamua may have started as a water-rich icy planetesimal broadly similar to solar system comets. "We don't know its place of origin but it was probably traveling through interstellar space for less than 100 million years. It had a reddish color consistent with the colors of many small bodies in the solar system. A second interstellar object, the comet 2I/Borisov, was discovered visiting our solar system in 2019.

☆ The UFO shoot-downs show the hardest part of discovering alien life may be announcing it. Here's how NASA might break the news.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Extraterrestrial life likely wouldn't show up as flying objects, but finding it could cause similar chaos. An illustration of the CoLD scale for determining confidence in a detection of alien life. The president or other countries could be involved in announcing extraterrestrial life existsPresident Joe Biden speaks at Delaware State University. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesAnnouncing the existence of alien life would be an "administration-level" affair, Glaze said, referring to the US presidency. Needless to say, any discovery of alien life would likely lead to chaos — at least in public discourse.

Search resuls for: "Planetary Science"

25 mentions found