Daily Archives: July 14, 2022

Brian May is celebrating another breakthrough in humanity's exploration of the universe with new music, teaming up with 10cc co-founder Graham Gouldman on a new song inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope.

"There is nothing more exciting in a world of exploration than going to a place about which you know nothing," the Queen guitarist said through a press release. "The sky's the limit for what we could find out."

The James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful telescope humans have ever sent into space. The device was put into orbit last December after a decade of planning. On Monday, NASA unveiled the first images from the Webb telescope, believed to be humanity's deepest look into space yet.

May and Gouldman's new song, "Floating in Heaven," is a celebration of the Webb telescope's mission and what it is revealing to us about our universe.

May, who has a doctorate in astrophysics from London's Imperial College, plays guitar on the track, which was written and sung by Gouldman. You can hear it via the player at the top of this page.

In January of 2019, May celebrated the launch of NASA's New Horizon's probe by releasing a song of the same name. The May-penned track "39" from Queen's 1975 A Night at the Opera also references the guitarist's fascination with space.

Go here to see the original:

Brian May Unveils Another Space Exploration-Inspired Solo Single - iHeartRadio

After exploring Mars for more than a year, China's Tianwen-1 space probe has successfully taken imagescovering the entire Red Planet, China's National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on June 29.

Tianwen-1, which translates to "quest for heavenly truth", consists of six separate spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, a lander, a remote camera, and a Zhurong rover.

The images in question were taken by the orbiter while circling Mars 1,344 times, capturing images of the Red Planet from every angle while Zhurong explored the surface. In the statement, CNSA said the probe has now completed all of its tasks, which included taking medium-resolution images covering the entire planet.

Tianwen-1 was launched on July 23, 2020, amidst the turmoil of the COVID-19 global pandemic.What'sunique about this missionis China was attempting to become the first nation to successfully send an orbiter and rover to Mars on the first try.

Upon successful orbital insertion and landing, Tianwen-1 became a historic victory for both the CNSA and space exploration.Before Tianwen-1, the only twosuccessful missionsto send both an orbiter and lander to Mars were NASA's Viking 1 and 2 missions in 1975.

Prior to that, the Soviet Union had attempted this feat with their Mars 2 and 3 missions in 1971, and Mars 6 in 1973. Mars 2 was an outright failure with the lander being destroyed and the orbiter sending back no data. On Mars 3, the orbiter obtained approximately eight months of data and while the lander touched down safely, it only returned 20 seconds of data. On Mars 6, the orbiter produced data from an occultation experiment, but the lander failed on descent.

During its time exploring the Red Planet, Tianwen-1 showed a Mars we've come to both love and admire: dusty dunes, shield volcanoes, impact craters, and even the north pole.

A crater on Mars, imaged by the Tianwen-1 space probe. (Credit: CNSA).

While the orbiter was taking these amazing images, Zhurong was gathering data and information about Mars' geological structure, atmosphere, environment, and soil.

North pole of Mars. (Credit: CNSA).

Overall, the probe has collected 1,040 gigabytes of raw scientific data, which the CNSA said has been processed by scientists back on Earth and handed over to researchers for further study.

While the probe entered Mars' orbit on 10 February 2021, the Zhurong rover didn't touch down on Mars until May 14 of that same year. It landed in Utopia Planitia, current home of NASA's Viking 2 spacecraft which landed in the vast Martian plain in 1975.

In June 2022, Zhurong successfully foundhydrated mineralsin sediment dating to Mars' most recent geologic period which are likely associated with groundwater. Hydrated minerals include substances such as olivine, pyroxene, and feldspar that were likely altered as they integrated water into their chemical structures.

An image of dunes on Mars, taken by the Zhurong rover shortly before it entered dormancy in May 2022. (Credit: CNSA)

Unfortunately, Zhurong had to enter its dormant mode starting on 18 May 2022, due to dropping temperatures during the Martian winter, along with poor sand and dust conditions. This dormant mode ensures the long-term survivability of the rover, which will reawaken sometime in December.

While Tianwen-1 makes China only the third nation to successfully land a spacecraft on the surface of Mars, the European Space Agency (ESA), India, and the United Arab Emirates have successfully sent their respective spacecraft to orbit the Red Planet.

Tianwen-1 also demonstrates China's strong aspiration to explore Mars, as itrecently announcedplans to return Mars samples to Earth in 2031, a full two years earlier than NASA and the ESA.

Along with their ambitious robotic missions, the CNSA announced last year that they plan to send itsfirst crewed missionto the Red Planet in 2033 with a goal to send regular missions to Mars and eventually build a base there. This 2033 timeframe is in stark contrast to NASA, who announced earlier this year that they plan to launch astronauts to Mars in the late 2030s or early 2040s.

China seems very serious about human space exploration, as their Tiangong space station currently houses three astronauts on six-months stays, with themost recent crewarriving just last month.

Where will space exploration take us in the coming years? Which country will land the first humans on Mars? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.

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China's Probe Has Successfully Imaged The Entire Surface of Mars in All Its Glory - ScienceAlert

Nature's Fynd

SpaceX-25 launches Natures Fynds novel bioreactor to grow its nutritional fungi protein, Fy onboard the ISS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Natures Fynds protein bioreactor is going into orbit aboard SpaceX-25 to develop new ways to provide nutritious, sustainable protein for space exploration. This flight is an exciting next step in Natures Fynds ongoing collaboration with NASAs EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), Montana State University, and BioServe Space Technologies, a Center within the University of Colorado Boulder.

The goal of the flight study is to demonstrate the use of a novel bioreactor technology for growing high-protein food on the International Space Station (ISS). This bioreactor technology has proven to efficiently convert simple feedstocks on Earth, including vegetation and other excess plant material into high-protein biomats of fungi. Now, this flight will research the bioreactors efficacy under low-Earth orbit microgravity and radiation conditions.

We are seeing the possibilities of exploration beyond our planet brought to life just this week by NASAs James Webb Space Telescope. Today, were thrilled to announce our role in the revolutionary NASA research to develop a safe, efficient, and robust system for producing fresh food in space. Our connection to NASA is deepNatures Fynd started as a research project for NASA, which led us to discover a remarkable microbe with origins in Yellowstone National Park. Were delighted to come full circle now and demonstrate our technologys efficacy for future space travel. Our breakthrough fermentation system is relatively simple, uses minimal energy and water, and delivers a nutritious protein that is easy to harvest, with little to no waste in a matter of daysas perfect for space as it is here on Earth, said Thomas Jonas CEO and Co-Founder of Natures Fynd.

The novel bioreactor onboard the ISS will grow Fy, Natures Fynds highly versatile, nutritional fungi protein harnessing their patented fermentation technology that uses a fraction of the land, water, and energy required by traditional agriculture. Packed with all twenty amino acids, including the nine essential ones, Fy is a complete, vegan protein and a healthy source of fiber and other essential nutrients. Natures Fynd recently launched its Meatless Breakfast Patties and Dairy-Free Cream Cheese made with Fy in grocery stores across the USto deliver on its mission of creating amazing foods that nourish people while nurturing the planet.

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NASA EPSCoR Project Manager Jeppie Compton added, Each of these projects has the potential to contribute to critical innovations in human spaceflight on the International Space Station and beyond. Were very impressed with the ideas put forward in these investigation concepts and look forward to seeing how these technologies perform.

About Natures FyndNatures Fynd is a Chicago-based food company creating versatile alternative proteins to nourish the worlds growing population while nurturing the planet. Born out of research conducted for NASA on microbes with origins in Yellowstone National Park, the companys breakthrough fermentation technology grows Fy. Fy is a new-to-the-world nutritional fungi protein that uses only a fraction of the resources required by traditional agriculture. The company has raised over $500 million in equity and debt financing to date. Nature's Fynd's products are available in stores across the country, including Berkeley Bowl in California, Fairway Market in New York, Mariano's in Chicago and now select Whole Foods Markets stores in ten states across the West and Northeast. For more information visit http://www.naturesfynd.com Or follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn. The terms Natures Fynd, The Fynder Group, Fy, and Fy Protein are trademarks of the Company.

Contact Sarah Rosenberg at sarah@wickedgm.com for press inquiries.

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Natures Fynd collaborates with NASA to grow Fy, its revolutionary fungi-based protein in space - Yahoo Finance

In late June, NASA launchedCAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment), a spacecraft containing a nanosatellite called CubeSat.CAPSTONE, according to a NASA statement, will help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies and verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbit.

Currently, CAPSTONE is in low Earth orbit, and will only reach lunar orbit after four months. Once it gets to the Moon, it will take a week to complete a full orbit. A second CAPSTONE launch is slated for early November, and NASA is already expressing excitement about how promising these spacecraft are, and what theyll be able to achieve with its CubeSat technologies.

According to NASA, aCubeSat is a small satellite (nanosatellite) research spacecraft. No bigger than a microwave and weighing about three pounds, these mini-satellites are sent up on rockets to prepare for upcoming missions. Their small weight gives an easy payload for any rocket to carry.

CubeSats now provide a cost effective platform for science investigations, new technology demonstrations and advanced mission concepts using constellations, swarms disaggregated systems, a NASA FAQ page states. With the CAPSTONElaunch from New Zealand, its CubeSat was transported atop a 59-foot-tallRocket Lab Electron vehicle. Now that the CubeSat is in space, NASA can use it to assist in preparation for its upcoming launches.

The CAPSTONE launch and its CubeSat were specifically sent into space to prepare for NASAs Gateway, a proposed space habitat that will serve as a rest stop for astronauts traveling to and from the Moon.The CubeSat will test the Moons orbit to see if it is feasible for Gateway. Though the satellite collects and sends data for NASA and its scientists, it is actually operated by the Colorado company Advanced Space.

AsJim Reuter, an associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate, said in a statement, CAPSTONE is an example of how working with commercial partners is key for NASAs ambitious plans to explore the Moon and beyond. Were thrilled with a successful start to the mission and looking forward to what CAPSTONE will do once it arrives at the Moon.

Both CAPSTONE and CubeSat are helping to prepare for Gateway, which thereby is also helping to prepare for NASAs forthcoming Artemis missions. As part of the Artemis program, these missions will not only bring astronauts back to the Moon, but also work to set up nuclear power as well as an outpost on it.

Throughout its journey, NASA will be allowing viewers to follow along through the resources available at NASAs CAPSTONE webpage, as well as its social media accounts.

NASA partners will test cutting-edge tools for mission planning and operations, NASA said in a statement, paving the way and expanding opportunities for small and more affordable space and exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and other destinations throughout the solar system.

Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is a staff writer at the Debrief and the Science Communicator at JILA (a partnership between the University of Colorado Boulder and NIST). She focuses on deep tech, the metaverse, and quantum technology. You can find more of her work at her website: https://kennacastleberry.com/

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NASA's Launch of CAPSTONE's CubeSat Paves the Way for Next Phase of Space Exploration - The Debrief

Enabling & Support

14/07/20220 views0 likes

Developing new and innovative instrumentation, able to withstand new harsh and extreme environments is vital to future space exploration. Optical coated elements are often optimised for their performance characteristics, such as their transparency or reflectivity in a desired spectral region. Radiation in space, especially low energy electrons and ions are considered some of the most likely and critical sources of damage for optical components and coatings. The optical performance of the components strongly affects the data outcomes, and their degradation can lead to a misinterpretation

of the scientific data. In extreme scenarios, the failure of a component can affect the operational capacity of the whole instrument. An activity with GSTP and the National Research Council of Italy Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies has sought to investigate exactly how radiation might affect these coatings and how these degradations can be prevented from happening. The activity tested how different coatings react to radiation exposure, building a detailed protocol for how to prevent damage from occurring and finally developed a radiation robust component that the protocols could be tested on.

The developed testing procedures include assessing the robustness of optical components against the operational environment, which is pivotal to preventing in-flight failures and to manufacture coatings that can withstand. The activity studied a representative family of coatings that is already widely employed in space instrumentation. These coatings were systematically irradiated with low energy protons, He ions and electrons. The optical characteristics of the coating were assessed before and after irradiation to precisely estimate the damage threshold for each type of sample and the post-irradiation condition.

Morphological and scattering analysis on the post-irradiation samples was carried out to investigate the specific ways they were damaged and to propose eventual strategies for avoiding their failure. Tests and analysis performed on the irradiated samples determined the damage threshold for many different coatings. The results will potentially serve as a first-level analysis for some of the optical components on board of the ESA JUICE mission. G617-234MM closed in 2021

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ESA - Radiation Testing of Optical Coatings - ESA Science & Technology

The James Webb Space Telescopeor JWSTlaunched on Christmas day, 2021. I expect by now you've seen the results (opens in new tab). The telescope is giving us the deepest look we've ever seen into the universe, and, while I'm not having an existential crisis about how small and insignificant humans are, I am struck with wonder.

These images are awesome. And not the version of the word we use when your friend says they can pick you up on the way to the cinema. Awesome as in awe-inspiring. Awesome as in jaw-dropping and perspective-changing. The pictures from the JWST even made me cry a little bit. But they also made me want to play Starfield more than Bethesda ever has.

Until recently, my primary excitement about Starfield has been the return of the developers' weird-ass characters (opens in new tab). Their over-elasticated faces stretching with emotion and strange inter-battle quips are one of my favourite parts of Bethesda's previous works, and seeing how that translates to space will be a personal highlight. While others on the PC Gamer team debated if the 1,000 planets will be boring (opens in new tab) or not (opens in new tab), I was focused on the interpersonal relationships of spaceflight. But with the arrival of those images from NASA, I have this overwhelming feeling that I need to know what's out there. And Starfield is gaming's next big adventure into space.

Of course, I've always been interested in the exploration aspect of Starfield, but the JWST amplified that curiosity. Just the first image, the SMACS 0723 (opens in new tab), was enough to baffle me. We're used to seeing stars and galaxies in concept. But an image where those items are warped by gravity to show us some of the oldest galaxies is conceptually ridiculous. And then to be told that what you're seeing is the equivalent of if you were holding a grain at arms length of the sky is brain-breaking. And the SMACS 0723 was just the warm up act for what NASA revealed on July 12.

Yesterday we got the images (opens in new tab) of the Southern Ring Nebula, Stephan's Quintet, and the Carina Nebula. And as they went up on Twitter, I was caught in rapture. Even if science and astronomy isn't a philosophical hobby of yours, these images capture your undivided attention if only for a second. Thousands if not millions of us set these as our backgrounds on PCs, phones, and tablets, unable to move on from these extraordinary concepts. Those images exist. There is a point in physical space where you could theoretically see that. It's up there somewhere. And through the incredible efforts of some of the smartest people on the planet, we get the smallest slice, no, crumbs of the universe to gorge ourselves on.

Bethesda may never have seen it coming, but I think the JWST's images may have inspired more than just myself. It's not only its game I'm intrigued by following these images but it's the most modern, and grounded in reality game we'll have on the market for landing on a planet and messing about to your heart's content.

Bethesda's best bit of marketing is now NASA itself rather than any of those round-table discussions or even its initial gameplay reveal. I want to see space. I want to find planets and traverse galaxies. I want to gaze at the sky and think there is something actually out there that I can see myself. Even if Starfield is fiction, the existence of the phenomena observed by the JWST are almost fictional to me too. We know they're real but they're so far from our reality that those clouds of spacedust register in my head as closer to art than science.

I know Bethesda's been hard at work moulding the world of Starfield as it is, but those pictures symbolise what exploring space means. They encapsulate the wonder of looking beyond anything we've ever seen before. Your gameplay trailer even says that's the purpose of the faction the protagonist in Starfield joins. Constellation's manta is: "We're all here because we're committed to the biggest question of all: What's out there?" And with the images from the JWST, that's what I want to know more than ever.

Oh, and another thing. NASA-punk (opens in new tab) is a ridiculous thing to call Starfield's aesthetic, not because it's not fulfilling a functional militaristic space purpose, but because NASA blows Starfield out the water with the cool shit it makes. Come on, have you seen what the JWST looks like? All that gold and silver, it's closer to a Met Gala outfit than anything we've seen from Starfield yet. NASA is cool as shit and games are yet to get to the lofty heights of its designs.

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NASA's awesome space photography makes me want to explore Starfield more than Bethesda ever could - PC Gamer