Monthly Archives: March 2015

NASA spacecraft in Earth's orbit, preparing to study magnetic reconnection

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IMAGE:This is an artist's concept of the MMS observatory fleet with rainbow magnetic lines. view more

Following a successful launch at 10:44 p.m. EDT Thursday, NASA's four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft are positioned in Earth's orbit to begin the first space mission dedicated to the study of a phenomenon called magnetic reconnection. This process is thought to be the catalyst for some of the most powerful explosions in our solar system.

The spacecraft, positioned one on top of the other on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 421 rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. After reaching orbit, each spacecraft deployed from the rocket's upper stage sequentially, in five-minute increments, beginning at 12:16 a.m. Friday, with the last separation occurring at 12:31 a.m. NASA scientists and engineers were able to confirm the health of all separated spacecraft at 12:40 a.m.

"I am speaking for the entire MMS team when I say we're thrilled to see all four of our spacecraft have deployed and data indicates we have a healthy fleet," said Craig Tooley, project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Over the next several weeks, NASA scientists and engineers will deploy booms and antennas on the spacecraft, and test all instruments. The observatories will later be placed into a pyramid formation in preparation for science observations, which are expected to begin in early September.

"After a decade of planning and engineering, the science team is ready to go to work," said Jim Burch, principal investigator for the MMS instrument suite science team at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio (SwRI). "We've never had this type of opportunity to study this fundamental process in such detail."

The mission will provide the first three-dimensional views of reconnection occurring in Earth's protective magnetic space environment, the magnetosphere. Magnetic reconnection occurs when magnetic fields connect, disconnect, and reconfigure explosively, releasing bursts of energy that can reach the order of billions of megatons of trinitrotoluene (commonly known as TNT). These explosions can send particles surging through space near the speed of light.

Scientists expect the mission will not only help them better understand magnetic reconnection, but also will provide insight into these powerful events, which can disrupt modern technological systems such as communications networks, GPS navigation, and electrical power grids.

By studying reconnection in this local, natural laboratory, scientists can understand the process elsewhere, such as in the atmosphere of the sun and other stars, in the vicinity of black holes and neutron stars, and at the boundary between our solar system's heliosphere and interstellar space.

The spacecraft will fly in a tight formation through regions of reconnection activity. Using sensors designed to measure the space environment at rates100 times faster than any previous mission.

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NASA spacecraft in Earth's orbit, preparing to study magnetic reconnection

Red Sox introduce Moncada

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"We believe he's certainly one of the few most talented 19-year-olds in the world," said Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington. "He's got a really unique combination of skills: a great athlete, speed, switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate, defensive skills, the athletic ability to play multiple positions if he had to, a natural second baseman.

"So as I said, he's going to enter into our Minor League system, like everyone else. There's still development to do. He's a developing baseball player, but he's an exceptionally talented one. Obviously, given the circumstances surrounding the signing and the investment we're making, we believe he can be a very good Major League player for a long time. And we're committed to helping him get there in the right way."

Browne on Moncada's position, power-speed combination

MLB.com Red Sox reporter Ian Browne discusses Yoan Moncada's signing with the Red Sox and how the team values the Cuban infielder

After working out informally at Minor League Spring Training for the last several days, Moncada will in full uniform from here on out, wearing No. 22. He will likely start this season playing second base for Class A Greenville.

"I need to start playing baseball -- it's been a year since I played," Moncada said. "I'm grateful for everyone involved, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity. I've started to train, and I'm going to train the way I have my entire sports life to be a good athlete. I feel good to be here in this organization."

It was a whirlwind few months for Moncada, as 11 of the 30 Major League teams held private workouts for him.

"It was a difficult process to choose which team, because it's the first time I've ever been through anything like this. My decision was mine and my parents back in Cuba," Moncada said. "I called them and told them the situation. They also believe the Red Sox were the right choice. This is a tremendous organization with great players. I'm going to give it all I can to make it to the Major Leagues."

The Red Sox did due diligence on Moncada before signing him. In fact, Cherington said the club prioritized its efforts in Cuba over the past couple of years. Boston signed outfielder Rusney Castillo to a seven-year, $72.5 million deal last August.

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Red Sox introduce Moncada

Launch Replays of NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission on Atlas V Rocket – Video

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Launch Replays of NASA #39;s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission on Atlas V Rocket
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V in the 421 configuration blasted off into space tonight, March 13th 2014 at 02:44 UTC carrying NASA #39;s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission. MMS is made up for...

By: SpaceVids.tv

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Launch Replays of NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission on Atlas V Rocket - Video

Full Show 3/13/15: Ted Cruz Gets Schooled on Science by NASA Administrator – Video

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Full Show 3/13/15: Ted Cruz Gets Schooled on Science by NASA Administrator
Thom discusses the latest from Ferguson following the shooting of two police officers with Pastor and Author Osagyefo Sekou and former DC Police Officer Ron Hampton and tonight #39;s Big Picture...

By: The Big Picture RT

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Full Show 3/13/15: Ted Cruz Gets Schooled on Science by NASA Administrator - Video

NASA Spacecraft on Mission to Solve Earth's Magnetic Mystery

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A quartet of NASA observatories are spending their first day orbiting Earth on a mission to study the interaction between our planet and sun's magnetic fields.

The phenomenon, called magnetic re-connection, occurs when the Earth and sun's magnetic fields come together, separate and then merge again. The process is believed to be the catalyst for explosive bursts of energy that can impact electronics on Earth, including GPS navigation, communication systems and power grids.

NASA hopes data collected during the billion-dollar two-year mission will lead to a better understanding of space weather and the explosions that send particles flying at the speed of light.

The four spacecraft were stacked atop each other Thursday night and blasted into space on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 421 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida and separated in five minute increments once they were safely in space.

"All four of our spacecraft have deployed and data indicates we have a healthy fleet," said Craig Tooley, a NASA project manager.

Each observatory stretches 11-feet wide and 4-feet high and weighs in at around 3,000 pounds, according to NASA. Scientists will test instruments on each observatory over the next several weeks before the spacecraft assume a pyramid formation. Science observations are set to begin in September.

While the mission is expected to yield new insights about the titanic explosions surrounding Earth, scientists expect it will also shed new light on magnetic re-connection in other parts of the solar system.

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NASA Spacecraft on Mission to Solve Earth's Magnetic Mystery

Ted Cruz, NASA chief spar over space agency's mission

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and NASA chief Charles Bolden sparred Thursday over a fundamental question: Why does the space agency exist?

The junior senator, who chairs the Senate Space, Science and Competitiveness Subcommittee, feels NASA is losing its focus on space exploration and spending too much of its budget on Earth sciences.

"Almost any American would agree that the core function of NASA is to explore space," Cruz said. "Thats what inspires little boys and girls across the country."

Bolden argued that all that Earth science is absolutely critical to space exploration.

Our core mission from the very beginning has been to investigate, explore space and the Earth environment, and to help us make this place a better place, he said during a subcommittee hearing on Obamas $18.5 billion budget (fiscal year 2016) request for NASA.

Cruz dragged out some charts that showed a 41 percent increase in the budget of earth science and a 7.6 percent decrease in space exploration.

The NASA administrator poked fun at Cruzs chartsmanship, while noting he couldnt confirm those numbers. Bolden added that one reason for the drop in exploration and space operations funding is that theres been a conscious effort to make space flight cheaper as NASA tries to go deeper into the solar system.

Who won the back-and-forth? Depends who you ask. Mashable wrote the NASA chief had the perfect comeback to Cruzs criticism. Bloomberg described Bolden as rattled, pointing out that he flubbed some math about the agency's spending under his administration. Cruz corrected the error. (You can watch the videohere).

Many expected Cruz to try to cut NASAs budget when he took over the subcommittee in January. The space agency often endures criticism for spending large sums of money on exploration missions that seem irrelevant to life on Earth. But Cruz and Colorado senator Cory Gardner didnt seem to have a problem with the budget, just where it was being allocated.

That's because, in reality, Cruzs argument was a veiled attack on NASAs research on climate change. Bolden understood that, at one point referencing the threat of sea level rise to Cape Canaveral.

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Ted Cruz, NASA chief spar over space agency's mission

Ted Cruz tells NASA chief to focus less on climate change and more on space exploration (+video)

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NASA is one of the largest and most well-known agencies in the US government. But while many Americans associate the famous agency with moon walkers, space shuttles, and dramatic countdowns from 10, the agency actually has two clearly defined missions: Simply put, it is NASA's job to both study space from Earth and to study Earth from space.

And it was these two core missions that Sen. Ted Cruz wanted to discuss with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in a Senate subcommittee hearing yesterday. More specifically, how the two missions should be funded next year.

Senator Cruz, (R) of Texas, became the new chair of the Senate's subcommittee onSpace, Science, and Competitiveness when the Republican Party took control of thechamber in January. Since that time, he has been pushing the agency to adopt a "more space, less Earth" strategy.

His position ran into some opposition on Capitol Hill yesterday during the hearing onPresident Obama's $18.5 billion budget request for NASA for fiscal 2016,when he told Mr. Bolden he'd like to start "by asking a general question."

"In your judgment, what is the core mission of NASA?" Cruz asked Bolden, according to the National Journal.

Bolden replied that he'd been contemplating that mission over the past few days, including reading over the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which created the agency.

"Our core mission from the very beginning has been to investigate, explore space and the Earth environment, and to help us make this place a better place," Bolden said.

The answer did not seem to satisfy Cruz, according to the National Journal, who replied that "almostany American would agree that the core function of NASA is to explore space."

"That's what inspires little boys and little girls across this country," Cruz added. "I am concerned that NASA in the current environment has lost its full focus on that core mission."

Cruz then pointed to a chart behind him illustrating that, since 2009, NASA funding for Earth sciences has seen a 41 percent increase, while funding for exploration and space operations has seen a 7.6 percent decrease.

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Ted Cruz tells NASA chief to focus less on climate change and more on space exploration (+video)

NNI publishes report on carbon nanotube (CNT) commercialization

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IMAGE:This is a scanning electron microscopy image of the cross-section of a CNT yarn. view more

Credit: NASA

The National Nanotechnology Initiative today published the proceedings of a technical interchange meeting on "Realizing the Promise of Carbon Nanotubes: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Pathway to Commercialization," held at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters on September 15, 2014. This meeting brought together some of the Nation's leading experts in carbon nanotube materials to identify, discuss, and report on technical barriers to the production of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based bulk and composite materials with properties that more closely match those of individual CNTs and to explore ways to overcome these barriers.

A number of common themes and potential future research and development priorities emerged:

The outcomes of this meeting, as detailed in this report, will help inform the future directions of the NNI Nanotechnology Signature Initiative "Sustainable Nanomanufacturing: Creating the Industries of the Future," which was launched in 2010 to accelerate the development of industrial-scale methods for manufacturing functional nanoscale systems.

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To view the full document, visit http://www.nano.gov/2014CNTReport.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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NNI publishes report on carbon nanotube (CNT) commercialization

AUS research to combat chemo side effects

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Sharjah: To combat the harsh side effects of cancer, a team of professors and students from the American University of Sharjah (AUS) are developing nano-chemotherapy capsules that will target cancerous cells.

Dr Galeb Husseini, professor of chemical engineering at AUS, who established the Ultrasound in Cancer Research Group, said the treatment will help fight chemotherapy side effects such as hair loss, leukopenia and gastrointestinal problems (including nausea) to name a few.

The professor explained that the side effects of chemotherapy are primarily caused by the non-specific nature of the treatment as the drug can kill normal and cancerous cells alike.

For this reason we are designing nano-cells, that are smaller than human cells, and putting chemo in them. The idea is to inject them to the IV, they will enter the veins and so spread everywhere in the body, but the chemo will remain in the capsules. Using ultrasound in certain areas will release the chemo content from the capsules directly to the cancerous cells.

He said by using this method, only the cancerous cells will be killed and not the normal, healthy cells.

Dr Husseini and the team of researchers, working at the recently established drug delivery laboratory at AUS believe using the nano-cells will minimise the side affects of chemotherapy.

He said this treatment can work on different types of cancers such as prostate cancer and breast cancer to name a few, but it cannot be used on leukaemia, lung cancer and brain cancer.

It cant be used on leukaemia because the cancerous cells would be everywhere and cannot be targeted it also cant be used on brain cancer because ultrasound cannot penetrate the human skull.

Dr Husseini said to be effective, many of these capsules-which he said look like tiny balls have to be inserted in the areas where the cancer has spread.

We are currently in the in vitro stage where we are testing the capsules through tubes. We have seen promising results from one of the chemicals. I cant reveal which chemical yet because we are now still on the patent.

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AUS research to combat chemo side effects

Air Bearing Stage / Systems Introduced By PI At Photonics West

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Precision motion leader PI (Physik Instrumente) has introduced their new air bearing stage and system capabilities at this year's Photonics West conference, to complement their comprehensive range of piezo nano positioning stages and hexapod micro positioning systems.

With the 2014 acquisition of Nelson Air Bearing Products of New Hampshire, PI is building on over 200 man-years of in-house air bearing experience to offer linear, planar XY, and rotary air bearing stages to serve both the research and industrial markets. The PI group offers comprehensive precision air bearing motion control and positioning products and systems, which are inherently frictionless, for smooth accurate motion.

By combining extremely responsive engineering consultative support and lean manufacturing techniques, PI is able to provide the highest quality customer service. Maximum performance of precision systems is achieved thru extensive design and analysis expertise, using equipment built in-house with proprietary techniques. A variety of precision air bearing products and integrated positioning systems are available from motorized linear and XY stages, rotary tables and stages, spindles, non-motorized components, and machining systems.

Why Air Bearings? As opposed to mechanical bearings, air-bearing positioners literally float on air, providing completely frictionless motion resulting in negligible hysteresis or reversal error, better straightness, flatness and velocity stability, which are ideal prerequisites for high-end industrial inspection and manufacturing operations. Similar motion quality can only be provided by magnetic levitation systems and flexure guided piezo systems, both technologies that PI also offers.

Extension of Existing Nanopositioning Capabilities With 4 decades of experience in piezo nanopositioning systems design and motorized precision positioning equipment, the new air bearing systems capabilities are a natural and logical extension of PI's precision motion offerings.

PI is now in the unique position to cover the whole motion range from finger-tip sized nano-positioners to large scale stages with long travel ranges, through a plethora of different drive and guiding systems tailored exactly to the customer's needs.

About PI PI is a leading manufacturer of precision motion control equipment, piezo motors, air bearing stages and hexapod parallel-kinematics for semiconductor applications, photonics, bio-nano-technology and medical engineering. PI has been developing and manufacturing standard & custom precision products with piezoceramic and electromagnetic drives for 4 decades. The company has been ISO 9001 certified since 1994 and provides innovative, high-quality solutions for OEM and research. PI is present worldwide with eight subsidiaries, R&D / engineering on 3 continents and total staff of 800+.

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Air Bearing Stage / Systems Introduced By PI At Photonics West