Monthly Archives: February 2022

Sacha Jafri used an aerospace-grade aluminum gold plate as his canvas for the artwork

Published: Wed 23 Feb 2022, 9:10 PM

Last updated: Wed 23 Feb 2022, 9:40 PM

Dubai-based artist Sacha Jafri on Wednesday revealed his artwork that will travel to the Moon on the 50th anniversary of Nasas Apollo 16 mission.

The heart-shaped art titled We Rise Together with the Light of the Moon was literally a labour of love as it had to undergo at least 40 iterations before being finalised, the panel of collaborators said during the media briefing held at Expo 2020 Dubais US Pavilion.

The British artist used an aerospace-grade aluminum gold plate as his canvas for the artwork, making it fully resilient to lunar conditions and allowing it to last an eternity on the Moon.

On the golden plate is a big heart made up of little hearts and uplifting messages like: From the darkness comes the light and In beauty we live.

Speaking about his out-of-this-world art mission, Jaaid, It gives us eternal reverence, humility and presence on our Moon and reflects all of humanity and with this project we will make a change in this world.

He added: This is a really a big moment because Nasa will take us to the Moon with the partners by the end of this year in celebration of their 50th anniversary. I was approached by Selenian, Spacebit and others for this project. Its not easy to accomplish this, but it will be achieved this year. For me its very personal.

Creating the piece called for the symbiosis of art and engineering. From the artistic side to the tech aspect, the team had to overcome a series of challenges.

Pavlo Tanasyuk, founder and CEO of Spacebit, said: First of all, (its destination is) a different environment. You are exposed to radiation, extreme temperatures day and night, from 130 degrees Celsius during the day to almost minus 173 degrees Celsius at night. You must use space-grade technology for the art, so it can survive for thousands of years. That was the biggest challenge.

Its not feasible to use the same paint or materials that are typically used on Earth, he added. It was collaboration between the artist trying to see what would be the role of the scientific elements and how it will be applied so that we can create a meaningful piece of art. I believe what we have created is a milestone in engineering and art, Tanasyuk said.

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It also required several tests and procedures of certifications. The artwork had to undergo vibration tests, checking the frequency to ensure that it does not disintegrate during the launch. There have been days of testing. Using special ultrasonic waves, beaming in complete silence in special rooms to see what kind of frequencies you get back from the plate. So, all the materials needed to be tested for the mission, he added.

The We Rise Together with the Light of the Moon artwork will be placed alongside Nasa scientific payloads, along with other instruments and technologies.

Once Jafris artwork reaches Moon, its landing site will then become a world heritage landmark preserved forever.

The artwork will be placed on the Moon with the help of Selenian, a pioneering UAE company that specialises in the curation of art in space, in collaboration with Spacebit, Astrobotic, and Nasa, through its commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) initiative.

James Khazaei, co-founder of Selenian, said: The mission of Selenian is very simple. Make a difference and impact to the world. Only few space technologies can go into the Moon. We wanted to find outfirst, is it achievable? Second, can we make an impact on humanity? Finally, can we leave a legacy? absolutely. To tick those three boxes were the main reasons that Selenian was founded.

A percentage of the funds raised from the Moon mission will go to different charities that focus on equality, sustainability, education, and health.

The painted hearts, dubbed Jafri Moonheart NFTs, will be released to the world as non-fungible tokens (NFT) or digital assets, commemorating each stage of the mission.

nandini@khaleejtimes.com

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Revealed: Dubai artist's painting that will travel to the Moon in Bezos-backed space mission - Khaleej Times

At the end of the first film, Roy Battys famous soliloquy even cinches the notion that nearly everything that most Replicants experience happens Off-world. When Roy says, Ive seen things you people wouldnt believe all of the stuff he describes are extraterrestrial. Roy has been to space, while Deckard and most of the other major characters in Blade Runner are stuck on a planet most humans wish to leave.

In the original Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? the idea that people are moving Off-world is hammered home even more clearly than it is in the film. Various apartment buildings are now essentially empty because of the exciting opportunities offered in space. You get the sense that most of the human race has moved on from their home planet by this point, making Deckards desire to own a real-life animal, a status symbol on a largely undesirable Earth, feel all the more tragic and pathetic.

Although we never leave Earth in either Blade Runner or Blade Runner 2049, the very nature of the story requires us to understand that the implicit illegality of Replicants on Earth is the direct result of their being legal Off-world. As stated in the first film, right at the beginning, Replicants were used Off-world as slave labor, in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets. In other words, interplanetary travel is a huge fact-of-life in the Blade Runner future.

Beyond expanding the world-building, or further validating Scotts interest in robots in space (see also, Alien, Prometheus, et al.), theres another good argument for taking Blade Runner 2099 into space. Up until now, all onscreen iterations of Blade Runner have essentially relied on the exact same setting and aesthetics. Even the recent twisty animated series, Blade Runner: Black Lotus, mostly keeps things focused on a dystopian Los Angeles, which is true of a big chunk of Blade Runner 2049, too. And, even though Denis Villeneuves film struck out to a dusty, abandoned Las Vegas, theres still a very specific kind of scope were dealing with here. But why?

Theres nothing that says the universe of Blade Runner has to be stuck in a rain swept American city. The noir-cyberpunk vibe of Blade Runner could easily be reproduced outside of the confines of Earth, on one of the space colonies teased in the original film, particularly if this next series is set roughly five decades after where we left Deckard and Agent K.

Because of when the original film was made, the present of Blade Runner is starting to look a tiny bit like the past. Jumping so far ahead for the next story could, for a lack of a better word, help the franchise feel futuristic again. If part of that cyberpunk futurism includes actual space travel, we should finally get to see what that future looks like.

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Could Blade Runner 2099 Finally Take the Franchise to Space? - Den of Geek

Recent moves by China have weaponised the space domain, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said on Thursday, as he stated that terrestrial, space and aerial domains are losing their individual identities and the spectrum extends from small drones to hypersonic ballistic missiles.

Space-based assets could become essential for the conduct of operations in a networked scenario in the future, the Air Chief Marshal said.

Speaking at the Jumbo Majumdar International Seminar about the Future Challenges of Aerospace Power, Chaudhari said, Chinas latest demonstration of physically moving one of its disabled satellites into the graveyard orbit is bringing in newer threats in the race to weaponise the space domain, a domain hitherto considered relatively safe.

The spectrum that we are looking at stretches from kinetic to non-kinetic, lethal to non-lethal and from small drones to hypersonic ballistic missiles. This vast and ever-changing continuum will pose significant challenges for the armed forces of the future.

Speaking about hypersonic missiles, which China tested last year, Chaudhari said, it is launched from the surface of the earth, flies through the atmosphere into space and returns to a target on the earth with velocities far higher than any land and aerial platform. Similarly, as space-based assets become hubs for controlling terrestrial, underwater and aerial combat, they would also become centres of gravity which an adversary would like to target.

He asserted that armed forces across the world have realised that the control of this vast continuum should rest with the air force.

Drones and miniature aerial vehicles and their proliferation will pose a significant challenge for conventional air space control and in the future, he said, there would be teaming of manned and unmanned combat systems.

He said that space travel has already become a reality and exponential growth in the civil aviation sector coupled with future developments in terrestrial travel will pose a huge problem in terms of air space control. This conundrum he said, should be addressed before we get overtaken by technology.

Terrestrial, aerial and space-based systems, he said, have now become a single entity bound by a common network and therefore also vulnerable to attacks and while traditional land, sea and aerial warfare will always take place, unconventional and hybrid means to disrupt conventional capability will need to be countered.

Chaudhari said that the growth of aviation over the last century has been unparalleled and has revolutionised the character of warfare and control of air has become a prerequisite for the conduct of operations at all levels.

Aerospace power continues to evolve and mutate, primarily fuelled by induction of new technology, the emergence of new threats and evolution of new paradigms for warfighting.

Talking about future challenges, he said that the foremost is technology and keeping pace with it, as no other field has seen such a rapid transformation in technology as airpower has seen in the last 120 years of its existence. The technology in this domain is niche, proprietary and often under tight state control Chaudhari said, adding that an associated challenge is to develop the capability for indigenous design, development and production of future capability.

He called for an all of nation approach as no single entity will have the resources or the knowledge base to develop future battle-ready technology.

Link:

Chinas move to weaponise space domain is bringing newer threats, says Air Force Chief - The Indian Express

Some of that new Thor: Love and Thunder merch let fans knowhow the Asgardians can travel in space without Heimdall. An upcoming LEGO set with the infamous "Goat Boat"shows off Thor, Mighty Thor, King Valkyrie and more zooming across the Bifrost. But, how can that be after Idris Elba's character was killed in Avengers: Infinity War? Well, the answer lies in Thor's new weapon. Stormbreaker has the ability to channel the Bifrost from anywhere. That means, he can plug it into the front of the boat and everything works just fine. In fact, the LEGO set depicts just this as Thor stands near the end with Stormbreaker neatly slotted into the ship's neck. You can check it out for yourself down below.

Not that long ago, Marvel Studios artist Andy Park talked to ScreenRant about the upcoming film. "There's a reason why there's been over a decade of successful movies and just why this franchise is growing. So Thor: Love and Thunder falls right into that where it's just pushing the boundaries of what's comfortableand what should be expected," Park explained.

"You'll be surprised and push these characters and the visuals go along with that. I think Taika said it in some interview where he's just like, he's surprised that he's even, he shouldn't be allowed to make a movie like this. And I get it," he continued. "This movie is crazy wild. It's so much fun. And I simply cannot wait for everyone to see it. Because it was so much fun to work on and design so many characters and do keyframes for. It's going to be a good one. It's going to be fun."

Here's how LEGO describes the Goat Boat playset: "A Viking ship containing iconic characters from Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder movie makes LEGO Marvel The Goat Boat (76208) an ideal gift for kids aged 8 and up. Battle onboard Thor's flying ship. The longboat is drawn through the skies by legendary goats Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, who are raised off the ground so kids can easily push the ship along as they play. The set includes 5 minifigures Thor, Mighty Thor, Valkyrie, Korg and Gorr and a host of weapons and accessories, including Thor's Stormbreaker axe."

"A central cabin features an opening roof for access to extra play space inside. Authentic accessories including a boat wrench, fire extinguisher, map of New Asgard, bottle and a sunstone crystal further inspire imaginative play. When the day's Super-Hero adventures are over, kids can display the ship in their room. For extra construction fun, the free LEGO Building Instructions app contains intuitive, digital visualization tools, including zoom and rotate."

What other wildness do you think we'll see in Thor: Love and Thunder? Let us know down in the comments!

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Thor: Love and Thunder Merch Spoils How Asgardians Can Travel Space Without Heimdall - ComicBook.com

Cochrane-based Stardust Technologies is developing what they hope will be a world-renowned space centre in northern Ontario, dedicated to training astronauts for space travel, inspiring youth to pursue careers in the sciences and attracting more tech companies to the region.

Dubbed the Stardust Space Centre, CEO Jason Michaud said the goal is to create a facility that brings international experts together with a common goal of improving astronauts' experiences as they venture into the cosmos.

"If we want to make space accessible for everyone, it starts with breaking the borders and just all collaborating as one big family and setting all of our differences aside," said Michaud, who has been experimenting with virtual reality technology as a way to improve astronauts' mental health during space missions.

"If humanity wants to thrive up there, we need empathy ... otherwise, we're not going to survive in space."

Stardust is partnering with unannounced government agencies, as well as aerospace companies and universities in Canada and abroad, to make the space centre possible.

Michaud invited around 20 collaborators and local officials to view the site of the planned facility Saturday, complete with a celebratory miniature rocket launch, snowshoeing and a tour of the community during its winter carnival weekend.

Michaud said the Stardust Space Centre will span more than 115 acres and include several inflatable domes.

Some domes will house training facilities to perform weeks or even months of isolation simulations that attempt to mimic the sensation of being on a space mission, perhaps on a short jaunt to the International Space Stationor even voyage to Mars.

Those Earth-bound simulations are called 'analog missions' and a journalist and filmmaker who participates in those missions as an 'analog astronaut' around the world told CTV there is exciting potential for this type of facility.

"One of the things that we're lacking is spaces where we can emulate the isolation conditions that we are actually going to be facing in those spacecrafts," said P.J. Marcelino, who worked with Stardust on a recent analog mission focusing on mental health during long-range space travel.

"There's a real potential to attract actual astronauts to train in this kind of station, for what they're going to be facing in the next coming years."

Marcelino said the Stardust Space Centre will allow for year-round missions in a climate that would be similar to what astronauts may face on Earth's nearest neighbour planet.

Michaud said other domes in the facility will house the Stardust Institute of Technology, which will give youth a chance to learn skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in their own communities.

The University of Waterloo, Western University and University of Technology Sydney in Australia are among the academic partners that will help train local youthplus local First Nations and Indigenous agencies will work with the centre to give Indigenous youth the chance to get into STEM.

"It's really about creating this future, where they can grow and learn and collaborate ... we really just want to inspire them," said Michaud.

"To show these kids that there are different opportunities ... and just show them that they can remain in the north and have these great experiences."

That's a mentality that fuelled Stardust's collaboration with Concordia University's student-run Space Concordia group in Montreal.

Two students who attended the announcement said they are working on the largest rocket launch in the country since the late 1990s and are working with Stardust on the project. They said exposing youth to the possibilities of careers in STEM is a passion of theirs that they hope to bring to northern Ontario.

"It's always great getting Canadians more and more involved with space, especially since we've clearly have a talent for it," said Concordia rocket science student Oleg Khalimonov.

"We're planning on doing a lot of outreach events with (Stardust) to do with rockets."

University partners brought model rockets and interactive robotics to Cochrane for a 'Rockets on Ice' event on Sunday, as an outreach initiative to get the community excited for the launch of the space centre sometime this year.

Michaud's other plan for his space centre is to house the Stardust Innovation Hub, an incubator for entrepreneurs to launch a STEM-related business, attract investment from existing companies and encourage innovation in the industry.

The goal is to develop a robust STEM industry in the north. Cochrane Mayor Denis Clement expressed his excitement for the economic potential the hub and the space centre as a whole can bring to the area.

The plan is to have some of the space centre's operations active by the summer and Michaud said he wants this to foster a stronger international community of space professionals.

"We need to collaborate with a lot of people to make stuff happen," Michaud said.

"We've got to stop thinking in our small mindset that we're in competition, we're not. We can all benefit each other and thrive together as humans."

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'Space centre' coming to the north to train astronauts, inspire youth in STEM - CTV News Northern Ontario

Our preferred picks within the real estate space from our coverage stocks universe are Macrotech followed by Oberoi Realty, says Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research, MOFSL.Is there merit in a higher allocation to Kotak and HDFC Bank given their underperformance year to date and in the previous year as well? Do you think they have a higher chance at a better recovery?The private banking space in the December quarter has reported a strong growth in net profit of almost 35% with loan growth picking up on a quarter on quarter basis. That was driven by the corporate portfolios. In the private space, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank had underperformed the larger corporate banks like ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank for quite a long time.

If you look at the overall market structure, there is some kind of rotation. We have seen some kind of fatigue coming into the stocks like ICICI and SBI which ran up sharply over the last one-one and a half years. Incrementally people are looking at Kotak and HDFC Bank with respect to improvement in growth, improvement in their financial numbers and comparing that with the valuation comfort that they are providing. Nonetheless, our view still remains that one should overall look at the large corporate banks like ICICI Bank and SBI, which would remain our top picks despite the kind of interest that we are seeing in HDFC and Kotak.

What is the outlook when it comes to the open up trade? Do you believe that after being plagued by the Covid crisis for quite some time, as things are returning to normalcy, there is quite a bit of potential be it hotel stocks, aviation, multiplex stocks, restaurants and the like?If you look at the reopening trade that we have seen last year as well post the pandemic getting over and the restrictions being gradually easing off, there is a rush towards these kinds of sectors as they have been badly hit at the times of the lockdowns and restrictions. But again, one cannot take a blanket approach towards these players sectors like aviation, although opening up of the international routes is positive.

On the other side, we have currency as well as the crude oil price headwinds and one needs to be selective. Multiplexes are definitely looking good. Some of the other leisure entertainment space, travel segments are definitely worth looking at at this current juncture, especially as globally, there are countries which are saying that now Covid is no longer a pandemic and is a normal course of disease which one needs to get through.

The restrictions of the tests are being removed from a lot of countries as well. In India also, domestic travel no longer needs to show test certificates and all those things. It is a positive development for the sectors which have been impacted pretty heavily in the last two years, if we do not see any return of the Covid restrictions, these companies will do well but one needs to be very selective in the broader unlocking theme.

Do you believe the time is right now for a lot of these real estate counters which had come under acute pressure now to see a decisive bounce back?On the overall real estate pack, we have been quite positive for the last couple of months. Last year, there has been a huge increase in demand especially on the residential side and that has helped the large real estate players to clear off the inventories, improve cash flows and some of them have even raised cash from the market to strengthen their balance sheet going forward.

Real estate stocks like Sobha, Oberoi Realty, Prestige Estates are still holding on to gains of around 4% to 5%. Would you like to play this theme with the real estate stocks itself or would you like to broaden it a bit to get into the building material or the plywoods or the pipes. of the world?If you look at the overall real estate space, the cycle is turning after almost 10-12 years and in the previous cycle, there were a lot of unorganised players. In the last 10 years, we have seen consolidation with smaller players getting out or getting merged with larger players. The regulatory environment has improved a lot be it RERA, be it the GST. , that has only helped the larger organised nationalised players to gain market share and finally post pandemic because of the lower interest rates and the resultant improvement in demand.

People are spending more time at home, requiring larger homes and we see that the overall real estate cycle is improving and just starting off. Our preferred players would be to play directly with the real estate companies. The balance sheets have improved over the last couple of years. The inventory levels have come down and that makes them pretty attractive at this current juncture.

Our preferred picks within the real estate space from our coverage stocks universe are Macrotech followed by Oberoi Realty. To play the real estate indirectly, we like the cement sector which is also a play on infrastructure spend. We recently had the Budget where the capex theme from the government continued for the second year in a row. We believe that cement is facing several headwinds in terms of a little bit of demand slowdown as well as higher raw material cost leading to margin pressure. But this space can benefit from the growth and increasing demand in the real estate and infra space. We like UltraTech among largecap names and JK Cement and Birla Corp within the midcap space.

When it comes to the cement basket, there are concerns regarding supply as well as cost. Do you think it has already been factored into the price?The overall cement space has faced major headwinds on the cost inflation side and that has impacted margins. The overall trend, the longer term view that we have is that some of these cost pressures as well as lower volumes are already there in the price. For this year, the Budget is capex friendly. We have got the first monsoon estimates from Skymet which is again positive.

The rural segment has been subdued and has impacted not only cement but a lot of other sectors like two-wheelers, tractors and FMCG space and is also having an impact on the cement sector. But with the kind of spending and now with the elections in some of these larger states getting over, the demand should recover and that should help the space come back on its feet.

They have been unable to take price hikes but that should follow with the construction season beginning and improving demand from the real estate and infra space. A lot is already there in the price and one should look selectively at some of the cement stocks like UltraTech which is our top pick in the large cap space and JK Cement and Birla Corp in the midcap space.

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Betting on these 5 stocks in realty and cement sectors: Siddhartha Khemka - Economic Times