The Chandra X ray Observatory Celebrates 15 Years of Science / NASA / HUBBLE – Video

Posted on by


The Chandra X ray Observatory Celebrates 15 Years of Science / NASA / HUBBLE
Fifteen years ago, NASA #39;s Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Since its deployment on July 23, 1999, Chandra has helped revolutionize our ...

By: Amazing Space

Read the original here:

The Chandra X ray Observatory Celebrates 15 Years of Science / NASA / HUBBLE - Video

NASA Armstrong’s Flight Loads Laboratory 50th Anniversary – Video

Posted on by


NASA Armstrong #39;s Flight Loads Laboratory 50th Anniversary
NASA #39;s Armstrong Flight Research Center commemorates the 50th anniversary of its Flight Loads Laboratory. Over its accomplished history, the Flight Loads Laboratory has sought to understand...

By: NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center

Original post:

NASA Armstrong's Flight Loads Laboratory 50th Anniversary - Video

NASA clears Orion spacecraft for first test flight next week

Posted on by

By Miriam Kramer

An artist's illustration of a portion of Orion's first test flight just after launch.(NASA)

NASA's newest deep space capsule Orion, is getting ready for its first uncrewed test flight, launching next week.

The space agency and Lockheed Martin - the company that manufactured Orion for NASA - have given the "go" to proceed with the capsule's robotic test on Dec. 4. The company and agency finished their "Flight Readiness Review" on Nov. 20, clearing the way for Orion's first test flight.

"The FRR [Flight Readiness Review] is a rigorous assessment of the spacecraft, its systems, mission operations and support functions needed to successfully complete Orions first voyage to space," NASA officials said in a statement. [See images of the Orion spacecraft]

NASA officials hope that Orion will eventually be able to take humans to deep space destinations like Mars, but first, the capsule's systems need to get through a series of flight tests starting with the first one next week.

Orion is scheduled to launch to space atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rocket from Florida. The spacecraft is outfitted with more than 1,000 sensors to gather data about how the capsule performs under the harsh conditions in space and during re-entry.

In total, the test flight should last about 4.5 hours. Orion will make two orbits of Earth with one of them taking it as high as 3,600 miles from the planet. The spacecraft will gain speed as it comes back down from its position in orbit, before re-entering the atmosphere. Orion's heat shield is the largest of its kind ever manufactured, and the test will help scientists see if it can efficiently protect the capsule during re-entry.

The test called Exploration Flight Test-1 will also help officials check out Orion's parachute system, designed to slow down the spacecraft before its expected splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Officials will be on hand to fish Orion out of the ocean after it returns to Earth.

NASA, U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin officials have started to prepare for activities after splashdown.

The rest is here:

NASA clears Orion spacecraft for first test flight next week

NASA Pledges $5 Million in Prizes for 'Cube Quest'

Posted on by

NASA has announced a new "Centennial Challenge," in which teams from the public compete to create new space-age technology, and this one is the biggest yet. "Cube Quest," as NASA calls it, tasks participants with developing ways to put tiny CubeSats small, cube-shaped satellites to work in lunar orbit and beyond. Some $1.5 million will be split among the teams that best demonstrate deep-space CubeSat communication and durability, while $3 million is for those that achieve stable, safe orbit around the moon. Teams wouldn't have to make their own rockets four preliminary qualifying tournaments will award $500,000 and payload space on a future spacecraft launch. Dozens of Centennial Challenge events have taken place since 2005, exploring everything from new astronaut gear to automated rover systems. "Prize competitions like this engage the general public and directly contribute to NASA's goals while serving as a tool for open innovation," said Michael Gazarik, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. Dates for the contest are not yet announced, but don't expect any launches for at least a year or two while teams design and test their satellites.

First published November 25 2014, 1:26 PM

See the original post here:

NASA Pledges $5 Million in Prizes for 'Cube Quest'

NASA reveals spectacular image of Jupiter's moon Europa (+video)

Posted on by

An incredible, reprocessed picture of Jupiter's moon Europa shows the mysterious natural satellite's amazing colors as they have never been seen before.

Theoriginal photos of Europawere collected by the Galileo spacecraft, which explored Jupiter and its moons from orbit in the 1990s. NASA officials reprocessed Galileo's data using modern imaging techniques that improved on an enhanced-color view ofEuropa the agency created in 2001. The new photo, released on Nov. 21, shows the largest proportion of Europa's surface at the highest images resolution, NASA officials said.

NASA released the picture as the agency pushes forward with plans to explore Europa in the coming decades, based on the theory that there is water lurking underneath the moon's icy shell. That water could host life, under the right conditions, scientists have said. [Europa: Jupiter's Icy Moon Explained (Infographic)]

"The story of life on Earth may have begun in our oceans, and that's because of course if we've learned anything about life on Earth, it's that where you find the liquid water, you generally find life," Kevin Hand, an astrobiologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in anew video about Europa.

Europa, Hand said, is a "game-changer" for life-seeking missions because the moon's main source of energy is from Jupiter not the sun. As the moon orbits the massive gas giant, the immense gravity from Jupiter causes Europa to flex.

Calculations of tidal flexing make it possible for moons and planets to host liquid water even if they are far from a star's traditional "Goldilocks zone," the area surrounding a star where heat and energy allow water to remain liquid on a planet.

That flexing not only creates energy, but can grind the water of the moon against rocks. These interactions could potentially create the energy necessary for life, providing that the building blocks such as amino acids are available, scientists have said.

"Hidden beneath Europa's icy surface is perhaps the most promising place in our solar system beyond Earth to look for present-day environments that are suitable for life," NASA officials wrote in a statement. "The Galileo mission found strong evidence that a subsurface ocean of salty water is in contact with a rocky seafloor. The cycling of material between the ocean and ice shell could potentially provide sources of chemical energy that could sustain simple life forms."

Among NASA's proposed missions to Jupiter's icy moon is theEuropa Clipper, a mission pegged to cost about $2 billion. It would orbit Jupiter and get more information about Europa's ocean in a series of flybys. If funded, the mission would launch to space around 2025.

Follow Elizabeth Howell@howellspace.Follow us@Spacedotcom,FacebookandGoogle+. Original article onSpace.com.

Read more:

NASA reveals spectacular image of Jupiter's moon Europa (+video)

Global Nanotechnology In Energy Applications Market – Size,Share,Trends and Report 2014-2018 – Video

Posted on by


Global Nanotechnology In Energy Applications Market - Size,Share,Trends and Report 2014-2018
To Get More Details @ http://www.bigmarketresearch.com/global-nanotechnology-in-energy-applications-2014-2018-market Big Market Research : Global Nanotechnology In Energy Applications...

By: Porter Stein

Continued here:

Global Nanotechnology In Energy Applications Market - Size,Share,Trends and Report 2014-2018 - Video

Easier access to US market: representatives of micro- and nanotechnology industry in favor of TTIP

Posted on by

25.11.2014 - (idw) IVAM Fachverband fr Mikrotechnik

Micro- and nanotechnology experts in Germany think that the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US would give impetus to their industry. In a survey, which the IVAM Microtechnology Network conducted among leading industry representatives, the majority said that the German micro- und nanotechnology industry would profit from the partnership. The industry experts are convinced that TTIP would make it easier for German high-tech companies to access the US market. Presently, especially export laws are posing high barriers to trade, which the free trade agreement would help to reduce. This would have a positive impact on the export of high-tech products to the US.

Whether the negotiations about TTIP are going to be successful is a question the micro- and nanotechnology industry representatives are uncertain about. Less than half (41 %) of respondents are convinced that the partnership will eventually come about. Just as many refrain from making a prediction.

In case TTIP came about, the micro- and nanotechnology experts see the USA slightly at an advantage. But the majority think that both regions the USA and the EU would profit to the same extent.

About the IVAM Executive Panel:

The IVAM Executive Panel is the trend indicator for the micro- and nanotechnology industry. The IVAM Microtechnology Network conducts brief periodic surveys among selected opinion leaders, executives in mostly small and medium-sized enterprises, and leading scientists. In November 2014, 17 experts from Germany and Switzerland took part in the survey on the Trade and Investment Partnership TTIP. Weitere Informationen:http://www.ivam.comhttp://www.ivam.de/research/statistics

Original post:

Easier access to US market: representatives of micro- and nanotechnology industry in favor of TTIP

Breakthrough in flexible electronics enabled by inorganic-based laser lift-off

Posted on by

Nov 25, 2014 Flexible crossbar memory developed via the ILLO process. Credit: KAIST

Flexible electronics have been touted as the next generation in electronics in various areas, ranging from consumer electronics to bio-integrated medical devices. In spite of their merits, insufficient performance of organic materials arising from inherent material properties and processing limitations in scalability have posed big challenges to developing all-in-one flexible electronics systems in which display, processor, memory, and energy devices are integrated. The high temperature processes, essential for high performance electronic devices, have severely restricted the development of flexible electronics because of the fundamental thermal instabilities of polymer materials.

A research team headed by Professor Keon Jae Lee of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST provides an easier methodology to realize high performance flexible electronics by using the Inorganic-based Laser Lift-off (ILLO).

The ILLO process involves depositing a laser-reactive exfoliation layer on rigid substrates, and then fabricating ultrathin inorganic electronic devices, e.g., high density crossbar memristive memory on top of the exfoliation layer. By laser irradiation through the back of the substrate, only the ultrathin inorganic device layers are exfoliated from the substrate as a result of the reaction between laser and exfoliation layer, and then subsequently transferred onto any kind of receiver substrate such as plastic, paper, and even fabric.

This ILLO process can enable not only nanoscale processes for high density flexible devices but also the high temperature process that was previously difficult to achieve on plastic substrates. The transferred device successfully demonstrates fully-functional random access memory operation on flexible substrates even under severe bending.

Professor Lee said, "By selecting an optimized set of inorganic exfoliation layer and substrate, a nanoscale process at a high temperature of over 1000 C can be utilized for high performance flexible electronics. The ILLO process can be applied to diverse flexible electronics, such as driving circuits for displays and inorganic-based energy devices such as battery, solar cell, and self-powered devices that require high temperature processes."

Explore further: Formation of organic thin-film transistors through room-temperature printing

More information: 'Flexible Crossbar-Structured Resistive Memory Arrays on Plastic Substrates via Inorganic-Based Laser Lift-Off' Advanced Materials, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10 a.201402472/abstract

The Korean team of Professor Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST has developed a high performance flexible all-solid-state battery, an essential energy source for flexible ...

The team of Professor Keon Jae Lee (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST) has developed fully functional flexible non-volatile resistive random access memory (RRAM) where a memory cell can ...

View original post here:

Breakthrough in flexible electronics enabled by inorganic-based laser lift-off

Scene clear after wreck on Chapman Mountain

Posted on by

Guard reinforcements contain damage in Ferguson Guard reinforcements contain damage in Ferguson

Updated: Wednesday, November 26 2014 12:54 PM EST2014-11-26 17:54:41 GMT

Updated: Wednesday, November 26 2014 12:45 PM EST2014-11-26 17:45:17 GMT

Updated: Wednesday, November 26 2014 12:14 PM EST2014-11-26 17:14:01 GMT

Updated: Wednesday, November 26 2014 12:12 PM EST2014-11-26 17:12:41 GMT

Updated: Wednesday, November 26 2014 12:05 PM EST2014-11-26 17:05:30 GMT

Anderson will only be in office until a new commissioner is elected on February 10th.

A wreck on Highway 72 over Chapman Mountain slowed traffic early Tuesday morning.

The three-car wreck happened around 6 a.m. between Moores Mill Road and Epworth Drive. A white SUV flipped on its side and a red vehicle's air bags were all deployed. Another SUV was also involved in the wreck.

Traffic was shut down to one lane headed westbound and was backed as crews worked to clear the scene.

Read more:

Scene clear after wreck on Chapman Mountain

Genom Austria launches as a new member of the Personal Genome Project

Posted on by

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

25-Nov-2014

Contact: Eva Schweng press@genomaustria.at 43-140-160-70051 CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences

In many countries, genome sequencing technology is now starting to become available in the clinic, where it helps to diagnose rare Mendelian diseases and contributes to personalized cancer therapy. The analysis of personal genomes also creates unprecedented opportunities for predictive health counseling, ancestry research, and many more applications that are just starting to emerge.

Despite the strong impact that personal genome sequencing is likely to have in healthcare and beyond, public discussions on the societal and ethical aspects of this technology are only starting in most countries. Genom Austria thus aims to create a forum for such discussions at the interface of science and society.

To make personal genome sequencing concrete and tangible for people in Austria, the project will provide interested volunteers with the opportunity to have their genomes sequenced with state-of-the-art technology and to share the data with the public.

Participation is entirely voluntary and restricted to individuals who demonstrate adequate understanding of the implications of making their personal genomes publicly available. In its initial phase in 2015, Genom Austria will sequence the personal genomes of 20 selected volunteers who have consented to publish their genomes and related information openly and freely on the Internet.

Genom Austria will also contribute to science education by organizing a school project and open science workshops. Furthermore, it creates a forum for interdisciplinary dialog among experts and the general public in areas such as biology, medicine, ethics, sociology, psychology, history, and the arts.

Internationally, Genom Austria builds upon the pioneering work of the Personal Genome Project at Harvard, which was initiated by George Church in 2005 and currently has over 3,000 participants. Genom Austria is a member of the Global Network of Personal Genome Projects. It also collaborates with other member sites in the USA, Canada, and the UK, in order to exchange best practices in personal genomics, open science, participatory research, and engagement with society.

Genom Austria is physically based at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna and jointly run with the Medical University of Vienna.

Read more here:

Genom Austria launches as a new member of the Personal Genome Project