Daily Archives: August 15, 2017

Alia Al Mansoori is a fine example of how space research can galvanise young minds. Scott A Miller / The National

At precisely 12.31pm on Monday, a Falcon9 rocket lifted off from Nasas Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The rocket shot a 2,900 kg Dragon cargo capsule into space. When astronauts aboard the International Space Station retrieve the capsule today, they will find, among its contents, an experiment by Emirati teenager Alia Al Mansoori that will study DNA to identity how proteins in living organisms are synthesised, modified and regulated in space. The results of the experiment may yield clues that could aid in the prevention of unwanted cell death in astronauts on long-haul missions into deep space, including future flights to Mars. Ms Al Mansooris experiment won the Genes in Space competition, which is sponsored by The National, the UAE Space Agency and Boeing. She is the first winner from outside the United States.

The inclusion of Ms Al Mansooris experiment in the Nasa mission is a measure of the strides the UAE has made since Sheikh Zayedquizzed visiting American astronauts in the 1970s about space exploration. In 2014, the UAE launched its own Space Agency, the first in the Arab world. In 2020, the agency will launch space probe that will reach Mars the following year, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the UAEs founding. In 2015, the UAE established the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Two years later, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, unveiled the Mars 2117 Project: a plan to buildthe first human settlement on Mars within a century. "Nothing is impossible ... we can compete with the greatest of nations in the race for knowledge," he said when he announced the project earlier this year.

The UAEs space programme drew sceptical responses from some quarters in the beginning. To others, space exploration has always seemed like a waste of resources. This is a profoundly misplaced view. Ms Al Mansoori is a fine example of how space research can galvanise young minds. It is a catalyst for technological innovations; in addition to making hugely important discoveries in space, it gives rise to unexpected inventions on earth that benefit us all. John FKennedy understood this; as, in our own day, does Sheikh Mohammed.

The computer microchip, the CAT scanner (which can detect cancer), the satellite television and the smoke detector these are all among the dozens of technologies we now take for granted but which would not be available to us were it not for space research. As Dr Ahmad Belhoul, the UAEs Minister of State for Higher Education and the Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, wrote in these pages last month, space exploration is a necessity not only because of its tangible benefits to our everyday lives, but because of its potential to inspire and uplift mankind in ways we can only imagine.It will, in short, drive the knowledge economy and ensure that our post-oil economy receives a necessary boost of rocket fuel.

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Space exploration will send our economy into orbit - The National

At a time when the world is increasingly isolationist, astronaut Chris Hadfield believes space exploration can demonstrate the importance ofinternational co-operation.

Speaking to i, as the war of words between North Korea and the United States escalates, Commander Hadfield described the International Space Station (ISS) as an undeniable example of what we can do together.

Talking ahead of his BBC series Astronauts: Do you have what it takes?, the 57-year-old Canadian accepted that it was natural for world leaders to have disagreements.

I think that world leaders should be at each others throats because they have national agendas that they have been elected or anointed to defend and its understandable.

It is very much the responsibility of the people in charge to defend the interests of their subjects and there is nothing wrong with that thats normal.

However, for leaders actions to be meaningful, Hadfield believes that they must focus on the longer term.

For world leaders to do anything thats beyond a myopic job or for them to be a good leader they have to gather the knowledge and perspective that is beyond the short term exigencies and demands.

If all youre trying to do is get dinner on the table tonight, then you might make some terrible decisions about what everyone is going to eat tomorrow or next week.

Or if you say the only people in the world that matter are this little pocket of people right here, you might save the lives of that little pocket, but you may horribly affect the lives of so many more people that youre completely unaware of.

Hadfield, who took part in two space shuttle missions and was commander of the International Space Station, outlined the political lessons that can be learned from space exploration.

I think the lessons that come from exploration of our world and beyond is a much improved understanding of that perspective that the world is one shared place.

If you can go round the world in 92 minutes, its very difficult to go back to your tiny little patch of it without a different understanding, without a different perspective, and I think that ability to find a way to set an agenda that is beyond the myopic, beyond the extremely parochial, thats the example that the ISS sets.

Hadfield believes that the ISS can act as inspiration for children and world leaders alike.

Any kid on earth can walk out and if they just wait till the right time, dawn or dusk, and see this thing [the ISS] go over.It is the brightest star in the sky.

It is by no means the answer to everything, but it is a very clear, undeniable example of what we can do together when we do things right.

I think that type of example is a really worthwhile one to have right now, especially for the people who are most at each others throats.

Since its first residents moved in 17 years ago, nationals of 18 different countries have stepped on board the ISS.

The 420,000 kilogram structure is currently inhabited by three Americans, two Russians and an Italian.

More:What it takes to be an astronaut according to Chris Hadfield

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Chris Hadfield: Space exploration is an example for the world to look up to - iNews

No Man's Sky promised infinity, and that's a promise nothing can ever keep.

You may remember that Hello Games' epic space exploration opus landed one year ago. In the months preceding its release, the game became a sensation based solely on word of mouth. Studio lead Sean Murray appeared on Late Night With Stephen Colbert . The technology behind the game garnered breathless coverage in The New Yorker and every gaming publication. Fans buzzed with anticipation.

No Man's Sky promised a galaxy of infinite, procedurally generated planets to explorea rich microcosm of life to catalog and experience. It became, in the imaginations of many players, a sort of final game , the end product of digital entertainment that you could live in indefinitely.

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Naturally, that didn't happen. Turns out, Murray created just another videogameand a quiet one at that. You spent very little time interacting with anything other than a vast, open void. You flew to a planet and gathered the resources needed to fly to another one. You did this over and over and over until you reach the center of the galaxy or until you grew bored. An exile in deep space. The massive hype quickly gave way to an equally massive backlash. Players were horrified. The subreddit built around the game experienced a minor meltdown. Even now, No Man's Sky remains one of the few highly anticipated major releases on Steam with "mostly negative" reviews.

To mark the game's first anniversary, Hello Games just released a major update. In doing so, it underscores not just gaming's newfound plasticity, but the redemption that can be found within it.

"Atlas Rises" is the third update since the game's release, and it feels fundamentally different. It adds a few things players have griped about for ages, like the ability to fly close to the ground or summon your ship from anywhere, but it is ambitious enough be more than a sop to the few faithful fans. By adding 30 hours of story to the game, the update fleshes out a more complex narrative. By allowing players to communicate with others in their vicinity, it lays a foundation for cooperative play in the future. The patch notes drone on and onnew quest system, improved trade, more robust visual interfacesbut taken together they take on a new shape. Hello Games makes an overture to everyone who wrote off the game a week after launch. No Man's Sky is still here, the update says, and it is a growing thing. Hello Games would prefer you not abandon it so quickly.

In 2017, games like No Man's Sky can evolve over time, building and rebuilding audiences during their lifespans. They can flirt, woo, and make overtures to lost loves.

Thus is the state of play in 2017. Far from being mere glitch fixes, enhancements, or monetization plays , post-release patches turn games into organic texts. They make artistic work explicitly conversational, a dialogue between creator and audience in which players' responses can drastically shape, and reshape, a product. That doesn't always lead to a positive outcomeit can create a sense of entitlement among players, and perhaps even lead to harassmentbut it lets games like No Man's Sky evolve over time, building and rebuilding audiences during their lifespans. They can flirt, woo, and make overtures to lost loves.

Setting aside the merits of any features Hello Games added or removed since the game's release, it's worth remembering what made No Man's Sky so remarkable to begin with: It presented enormity as meditation. It is a game so big, so full of cosmic spectacle, and so dedicated to showcasing the powerful, eclipsing emptiness of space that playing it could verge on a spiritual practice. This was a game to be played slowly, thoughtfully, with curiosity and reverential care.

That game is still there for anyone willing to give it a chance. It might be bigger and a bit more conventional now, but no matter. Its galaxies are worth exploring.

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One Year Later, No Man's Skyand Its EvolutionIs Worth Exploring - WIRED

TITUSVILLE, Fla. A SpaceX rocket is ready to deliver one of the most high-tech payloads ever to the International Space Station.

The launch is scheduled for 12:31 p.m. ET. on Monday from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

It marks the 12th unmanned resupply mission that SpaceX the private space exploration company headed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk has conducted for NASA since 2012.

Cargo missions are always packed with some interesting payloads typically several tons of experiment equipment, food and other provisions.

But Mondays mission willcarry something the space station has never seen before: A supercomputer built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, dubbed the Spaceborne Computer.

If it works, it could be the most powerful commercial computer ever to operate in space.

Astronauts aboard the space station already have a bunch of devices youd find at your local electronics store including HP laptops.

Related: SpaceX now valued at $21 billion

But a supercomputer is something different. Its a much more powerful piece of hardware that can crunch massive amounts of data and send the results to other computers in just moments.

According to Mark Fernandez, the HPE engineer who is heading up this new experiment, the space-bound supercomputer will have the ability to make one trillion calculations in a single second about 30 to 100 times more powerful than your average desktop computer.

Julie Robinson, the chief scientist for NASAs space station program, said if this supercomputer can function in the harsh conditions of space itll be very exciting news for companies down here on earth.

Robinson points out that a huge point of interest for the private sector is taking high-quality satellite images of earth in order to track things like crop growth or oil exploration.

Whats happening is just as your TV now has so much more resolution the same thing is happening with [satellite imagery], she said.

But the high-definition images require 200 to 300 times more data, which can clog up the communication pipeline between earth and space. Thats where a supercomputer on board the space station would become hugely valuable, Robinson told CNNMoney.

If you can process the data on board [the space station], you then only need to send down a subset of the data thats actually needed, she said.

Related: SpaceX rocket finally lifts off after two aborted launch attempts

Will the supercomputer work?

Well find out soon enough. After launch on Monday, SpaceXs Dragon spacecraft will detach from the top portion of the rocket. Itll then fire up its own engines and spend about two days traveling through orbital space.

Then, itll dock with the space station, and the astronauts on board can collect the payload.

Fernandez said HPE has volunteered to have its payload removed last, so itll be a few days into September by the time the supercomputer makes its way onto the space station and is plugged in.

If it powers up, thats going to be my first relief. I will be very excited then, Fernandez told CNNMoney.

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SpaceX to launch supercomputer to International Space Station - WGN-TV

A unique conference about the viability and the scientific benefits of low-cost robotic missions in space will be held at Caltechs Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics starting Tuesday until Thursday, August 15 through 17.

The 12th Low-Cost Planetary Missions Conference, or LCPM-12, sponsored by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), serves as an opportunity for scientists, technologists, engineers and project and agency managers to exchange ideas and information to enhance the viability and science return of low-cost robotic missions.

During this time, attendees will exchange ideas and information on the latest Agency Programs and Plans for Low-Cost Planetary Missions, the Latest Science Results from Ongoing Missions, Missions Currently Under Development for Launch in the Near Future, Science Instruments Enabling the Next Generation of Low-Cost Planetary Exploration, and Advanced Concepts for the Next Generation of Low-Cost Missions, including CubeSats, NanoSats and others.

The focus of LCPM-12 is on small and/or low-cost planetary missions, on the scale of the NASA Discovery/ESA Cosmic Vision Small (S) Class and smaller, including Smallsats and CubeSats, the announcement said. The conference will be conducted fully in sequential plenary sessions, augmented by one or more poster sessions.

NASA stated that the size of a small spacecraft, or SmallSats, could vary depending on the application. There are some you can hold in your hand, while others, like Hubble, are as big as a school bus.

SmallSats focus on spacecraft with a mass less than 180 kilograms and about the size of a large kitchen fridge. SmallSats are divided further into such categories as Mini-satellites (between 100 and 180 kilograms), Nanosatellites (one to 10 kilograms), Picosattelites (0.01 to 1 kilogram), and Femtosatellites (0.001 to 0.01 kilogram).

NASAs Ames Research Center first launched Pioneer 10 and 11 as SmallSats in 1972 and 1973, respectively. Today, Ames present SmallSat program is focused on the SmallSat Lunar Prospector launched in 1998, followed by LCROSS in 2009 and LADEE in 2013.

CubeSats are a class of nanosatellites that use a standard size and form factor. The standard CubeSat size uses a one unit or 1U measuring 10x10x10 cms and is extendable to larger sizes 1.5, 2, 3, 6, and even 12U.

Originally developed in 1999 by California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) and Stanford University to provide a platform for education and space exploration, CubeSats now provide a cost-effective platform for science investigations, new technology demonstrations and advanced mission concepts using constellations (swarms disaggregated systems).

NASAs Ames Center launched its first CubeSat, GeneSat, in December 2006. Since then Ames has launched 16 CubeSat spacecraft varying in size from 1U to 3U, with an additional 12 CubeSats in development or awaiting launch.

The IAA was founded in Stockholm on August 16, 1960. Since that time, IAA has brought together the worlds foremost experts in the disciplines of astronautics on a regular basis to recognize the accomplishments of their peers, to explore and discuss cutting-edge issues in space research and technology, and to provide direction and guidance in the non-military uses of space and the ongoing exploration of the solar system.

As stated in the Academys statutes, the IAAs purposes are to foster the development of astronautics for peaceful purposes, to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves in a branch of science or technology related to astronautics, and to provide a program through which the membership can contribute to international endeavors and cooperation in the advancement of aerospace science.

The IAA coordinates closely with national academies to foster a spirit of cooperation and progress that transcends national boundaries, cultures, and institutions.

To learn more about LCPM-12 and view the conference details, visit http://www.lcpm12.org.

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Scientists Land at Caltech This Week to Trade Ideas About Space Exploration on a Budget - Pasadena Now