Monthly Archives: August 2017

In Brief NASA has signed an $18.8 million deal with BWXT Nuclear Energy, Inc. to develop nuclear thermal propulsion systems to help future space missions reach deeper into space than ever before. These propulsion systesm could cut the time needed to get to Mars by two months, as well as allow for a higher cargo capacity. Nuclear Thrust

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has just signedBWXT Nuclear Energy, Inc. of Lynchburg, Virginia, to a three-year contract worth $18.8 million, and itcould completely revolutionize the way we travel to other worlds.

The goal of the contractis to help the space agency develop nuclear thermal propulsion systems for future spacecraft. The Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) project is a part of NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorates (STMD) Game Changing Developments (GCD) initiative, a programdesigned to advance space technologies that may lead to entirely new approaches for the Agencys future space missions and provide solutions to significant national needs.

According to NASA, the potential of this project to revolutionize space travel lies in the ability to accelerate a large amount of propellant out of the back of a rocket at very high speeds, resulting in a highly efficient, high-thrust engine. Nuclear thermal rockets have double the propulsion efficiency of even the Space Shuttles main engine, and the new engines would also weigh less, allowing for a higher cargo capacity.

NASAhas been working on nuclear thermal propulsion as far back as 1955, but the surgeof recent interest in traveling to Mars from both the public sector and private organizations such asSpaceX is at least partially responsible for the agencysrenewed interest indeveloping this technology.

Sonny Mitchell, Nuclear Thermal Propulsion project manager at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said in a NASA press release, As we push out into the solar system, nuclear propulsion may offer the only truly viable technology option to extend human reach to the surface of Mars and to worlds beyond.

Not only would nuclear propulsion make this exploration possible, it would also significantly lessen the travel time required to reach our destinations. For example, a journey tothe Red Planet using current technology would take six months, but with NTP technology, that sametrip would be shortened by two months.

This certainly is an exciting time for space exploration as we are rapidly developing the technology needed to push humanity farther out into the final frontier than ever before.

Read more here:

NASA's New Contract Could Change the Way We Approach Space Travel - Futurism

Everything! Its Everything I do in my life! chirped one effusive pre-teen. Its the future and it will do almost everything that humans will do and more, gushed another. Without it, I would spiral into depression. It keeps me entertained, compounded a third.

Above is a selection of quotes culled from new research conducted by our friends at Dell Boomi, which sheds fascinating new insight into the ubiquity of technology among younger generations. The study surveyed 1,000 12-15 year olds a core subset of the post-millennial peer group known as Generation Z to decipher what technology meant to them, and where it could take us in the future.

Youngsters, the study shows, are optimistic even downright visionary when it comes to predicting the future of technology. When asked what technologies they thought theyd be using in the workplace (10-15 years down the road), 66% answered driverless cars, with 47% holding out hope for robot assistants at work. Other technological ameliorations foreseen by Gen Z included artificial intelligence (41%), virtual offices (38%) and robot housekeepers (34%). Whether or not theyll be in said workplace with the various AIs is, of course, a matter of debate.

At least we can decamp to another planet or so they think, with the news that over a quarter (26%) of the Gen Z pool believe commercial space travel will be a thing by 2032, a meagre 15 years away. Rather appropriately, given such a tall order, over half of those studied (52%) believe that, when they do eventually join the workforce in 10-15 years, theyll be using technology that hasnt even been invented yet.

Whats underlying all of this futuristically minded enthusiasm? Technology facilitates a better way of doing things was the pithy summary proffered by one pre-teen, which pretty much encapsulates Gen Zs high estimation of the subject. There were responses aplenty about technology making lives easier, making life better, not to mention the role it plays in assisting people and entertaining humans. Ill say. One participant in the study went so far as to deem it a way of escaping reality and having fun with my friends on social media or texting, hinting at the phenomenon of social isolation at the hands of ostensibly social media.

Ian Currie, EMEA director at Dell Boomi, commented on the findings, saying: Its clear that technology now plays a central role in every childs life and their expectations on how they will use innovative technology when they enter the workplace are extremely high.

He went on: To meet these demands, businesses need to prepare for the next generation of technology and the many more data points they bring [...] A trusted integration solution, built in the cloud, to quickly connect any combination of cloud and on-premise applications, provides a robust platform to support this. Only with it in place can businesses embrace new innovations and easily transfer data, in real-time, between applications which proves invaluable in remaining competitive.

So there you have it Gen Z areatechnologically minded bunch, heralding a new age of connectivity, growth and innovation. Now if only we could wean them off Snapchat.

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Robot housekeepers and commercial space travel: Gen Z predict the future - Alphr

GETTY

Future space farers will have a hard time navigating the mysterious entities so that they are not sucked in by their intense gravitational pull and lost forever.

The mass discovery of black holes was calculated by scientists from the University of California at Irvine.

Physicists closely inspected the gravitational waves detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), the scientific group leading the search for the newly discovered phenomenon, in 2015.

When stars collapse on themselves, if they are big enough they form black holes, and when these black holes merge with one another they produce gravitational waves which were detected by LIGO.

GETTY

The team traced the source of the ripples in spacetime which led them to the conclusion that there could be 100 million more black holes in our galaxy alone than previously predicted.

James Bullock, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, and co-author of the study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: "We were able to work out how many big black holes should exist, and it ended up being in the millions many more than I anticipated.

GETTY

Professor Bullock says that the inspiration behind the search for more black holes was born because of the weirdness of gravitational waves ripples in spacetime.

He said: Fundamentally, the detection of gravitational waves was a huge deal.

Caters News Agency

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The Milky Way above Ijen Volcano, Malaysia

"But then we looked closer at the astrophysics of the actual result, a merger of two 30-solar-mass black holes.

That was simply astounding and had us asking, 'How common are black holes of this size, and how often do they merge?'".

The rest is here:

100 MILLION black holes discovered in Milky Way to cause problems for future space travel - Express.co.uk

This lightweight tote incorporates materials that can withstand the rigorous requirements of space travel

What might seem to be an unlikely partnership at first turned out to be a versatile and unique fashion line. Nike and Tom Sachs presentedNIKECraft, a collection inspired by space and astronauts that includes a noteworthylightweight tote(which has already sold out).

Nike and Sachs turned to Marco Murillo of The Good Flock to come up with a design that will go hand-in-hand with the previously launched Mars Yard 2.0 sneakers. Just like the footwear, the vision for the bag was to createsomething that could withstand the atmosphere in space.

After consulting with NASA scientists, Nike, Sachs and Murillo used the fabric dyneema for the tote, which is said to have five times more tensile strength compared to steel. Plus, the material can float in water. The bag is also made up of materials used in boat mainsails, car air bags and space suits.

Thelightweight tote is just as versatile as it is unique. It can be worn three ways: as a tote bag, backpack or waist pack. The bag also comes with a paracord, storage containers and a periodic table of elements.

NIKECraft

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Nike And Tom Sachs Designed A Tote Bag Inspired By Space Travel - PSFK (subscription)