Category Archives: Space Exploration

NASA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued its annual report for 2023, highlighting the challenges that lie ahead for the U.S. space agency.

The report recognizes innovations made by NASA since its creation in 1958 that have made it a global space science leader, including programs such as Apollo, the space shuttle, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and emerging technologies for sustainable aviation. It also highlights substantial cost growth and lengthy schedule delays as issues that continue to impact NASA programs ranging from space flight to major science and exploratory programs.

A major factor in the OIG report is the planned return of humans to the moon as part of the Artemis Program, and it also points to the forthcoming retirement of the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of the decade and the challenge this poses to NASA as it seeks to maintain an active human presence in low Earth orbit.

The report is broken down into seven different challenges that the OIG has identified as "top challenges" in relation to NASA's overall mission, NASA Inspector General Paul K. Martin wrote in the report. "These seven highlighted challenges are not the only significant issues that confront NASA, and identification of an issue as a top challenge does not denote a lack of attention on the Agency's part. Rather, most of these issues are long-standing, difficult challenges central to NASA's core missions and likely will remain top challenges for years to come."

Related: NASA's mighty SLS megarocket for Artemis moonshots 'unaffordable' for sustained exploration, audit finds

The Artemis program plans to send the first woman and person of color to the moon by no sooner than late 2024 or early 2025 during the Artemis 3 mission. As this target looms is a major element of the OIG report, which highlights the expense of operating Artemis' Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule.

The cost of each launch from Artemis 1 to Artemis 4 is estimated at $4.2 billion, and this figure does not include the $42 billion spent to bring these systems to the launch pad. As such, given these titanic costs and the ambitious schedule of Artemis, the OIG warns the program's sustainability poses a significant challenge to NASA's future crewed exploration goals.

Progress made in this area by NASA thus far includes the collection of data from the successful blast-off of the SLS rocket and the flight of the Orion capsule during the Artemis 1 mission which launched on Nov. 14, 2022.

The OIG also points to the effort of NASA to reduce the costs of lunar flights after Artemis 4, the development of key systems like spacesuits that will be used during humanity's first return to the moon for fifty years, and the improvement of NASA's management of the Artemis missions as other examples of progress over the last year.

The OIG says that NASA must tackle technical issues like the unexpected erosion of Orion's heat shield during the Artemis 1 flight and the unpredicted damage to the SLS and ground infrastructure during launch. The report adds that NASA must also identify and implement effective ways to reduce costs to enable fiscal sustainability for its flagship human exploration effort as Congress pushes for an increase in SLS and Orion launches.

For 22 years, humanity has maintained a presence in low-Earth orbit thanks to the ISS, so it is little surprise that the retirement of the space station at the start of the 2030s represents a huge change for NASA and other space agencies.

The ISS has been the site of revolutionary science conducted in microgravity that has vastly improved our understanding of human health in space, which will have ramifications for future space exploration. All of this has warranted NASA spending around a third of its budget on the space station, which will be decommissioned in 2030 and deorbited in 2031.

To maintain the presence of humans at altitudes between 100 and 600 miles over Earth after this ISS retirement, NASA plans to turn to commercial space stations. The main challenge this presents, according to the report, comes in the form of avoiding a gap between the end of the ISS and the advent of commercial platforms. NASA currently plans to have one low-Earth orbit site available for 2028, creating a two-year overlap with the ISS.

Maintaining this presence will also hinge on the reliability and cost-effectiveness of transport to low-Earth orbit. Much of this will rely on NASA teaming with SpaceX, which, as of August 2023, has successfully launched 28 cargo and 11 crewed missions to the ISS, and Axiom Space, which has conducted two private astronaut missions with a third currently being scheduled.

In July 2022, NASA also established an agreement to continue working with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, allowing Russian cosmonauts to fly on U.S. spacecraft in exchange for U.S. astronauts flying on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.

One of the recommendations the OIG puts forward in respect of this aspect of NASA's work is the development of a space tug deorbit vehicle to supplement the deorbit of the ISS and reduce the risk of it contributing to space debris around Earth that may threaten future space stations.

The ISS isn't the only piece of outdated NASA hardware that poses a challenge to the space agency. The report points out that nearly 83 percent of NASA's facilities are beyond their original design life. As much as two-thirds of NASA's infrastructure is located along coastlines, meaning rising sea levels threaten to damage this infrastructure. Potential damage is also being presented by storms, storm surges, and extreme weather events.

In addition to this, the OIG points out that NASA currently has more infrastructure than it actually needs for planned missions.

Issues with infrastructure, according to the report, arise from what the OIG says is "NASA's slow implementation of corrective actions, inconsistent implementation of Agency policies, inadequate life cycle cost considerations, decentralized strategies, and decision-making processes, questioned costs, and substantial cost increases and schedule delays due to poor contractor performance."

The OIG recommends that as NASA upgrades its facilities and infrastructure, including those required for critical Artemis missions, and that it improves decision-making to execute important decisions about facilities and consolidating unneeded infrastructure while better communicating these choices with stakeholders.

As of April 2023, the report states that NASA had over 18,000 civil service employees working at its facilities. The majority of these are working in science and engineering fields, with NASA continuing to seek ways to attract, promote, and retain a diverse, multigenerational workforce that possesses the technical skills needed for its operations.

The OIG identifies challenges in increasing the representation of women and minorities in its civilian and leadership ranks and developing a better pipeline for women and minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The report says that despite the efforts of NASA, the overall percentage of women and minority groups at NASA has not changed in 10 years.

NASA has also struggled to recruit, hire, and retain diverse STEM employees, with the shortage of STEM staff only set to deepen as competition increases as the commercial space industry expands.

The report points out that further compounding these issues is the fact that nearly 40 percent of NASA's science and engineering workforce is nearing retirement. This could impact NASA's preparations for future Artemis missions.

The OIG recommends NASA better collect diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiative data and analyze it to determine what barriers exist in recruiting, selecting, promoting, and retaining underrepresented groups.

No one can doubt the incredible achievements of NASA projects, with the space agency flying a helicopter on Mars and taking deeper images of the universe than ever before. The problem is that these innovative missions and programs have consistently cost more and taken longer to develop than promised, and the effects of this ripple across NASA, the report says.

NASA management also currently faces challenges in the stimulation of the new commercial space economy via shifting to develop service-based missions, which could save on costs.

A striking example of this challenge is the fact that between November 2018 and November 2019, NASA contracted with 14 U.S. companies until 2028 to develop rapid, frequent, and affordable access to the lunar surface. Costing as much as $2.6 billion, this was meant to see deliveries to the moon begin as soon as September 2020. Thus far, no payload deliveries to the moon have been made, and many contractors have been paid over the initial fixed-cost agreement.

The OIG says that overcoming the challenge of developing major projects on cost and schedule requires a concerted effort that begins with proper risk consideration. This should lead to credible, reasonable, and transparent cost and schedule expectations.

NASA should also take into account the continuing impacts of COVID-19 on the economy, labor shortages, supply chain issues, and inflation and incorporate it into its planning. This will all be essential as NASA moves toward a reliance on missions that incorporate a "service" element.

Information technology (IT) is vital to the day-to-day operations of NASA and presents challenges in the form of shifting NASA to an enterprise computing model. This arises from NASA's current decentralized management structure, which the OIG says negatively affects the space agency's ability to protect information and IT systems vital to its mission.

The report says implementing multifactor authentication, Data-at-Rest, and Data-in-Transit encryption, and zero-trust enterprise-wide are critical undertakings for NASA in the coming years. The space agency must also tackle issues with software license and asset management activities, which expose NASA to operational, financial, and cybersecurity risks.

The report also urges NASA to implement a single standard definition of Artificial Intelligence to manage its inventory of AI assets better and face challenges in implementing future federal AI cybersecurity controls.

During the financial year of 2022, NASA spent an estimated $19.9 billion on contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. During these 12 months, NASA awarded 1,787 grants and 270 cooperative agreements for the purposes of research and development and in the acquisition of essential services, supplies, and equipment for operations and missions.

Clearly, getting value for money in these investments meets the criteria of a major concern for NASA. The OIG has consistently stated that NASA's inadequate management and oversight of contracts and the like, in addition to substantial growth in both the cost and schedule of many NASA programs, has resulted in expenditure and wasted taxpayer money.

Even more troubling, the past investigations of the OIG have uncovered improper use of grant funds, fraud, and other waste and abuse within NASA, that over the past 3 years has resulted in 8 indictments, 8 convictions, 4 suspensions, and 7 debarments, costing NASA over $3.6 million in civil settlement fines.

The report says that over the last year, NASA has made progress in the improvement of contract management, but it needs to take further action to improve transparency, accountability, and oversight. Improvement is also recommended in understanding the needs of the SLS so that the management of contracts for the rocket is improved.

Additionally, it should continue improving the closeout of current and future grants to ensure funds are properly allocated, the report concludes.

See the article here:

Returning astronauts to the moon is NASA's biggest challenge, but ... - Space.com

Rio Tinto operates an autonomous long-distance railway system, AutoHaul. A recent conference in Australia discussed synergies between the space and resources sectors. Photo: Rio Tinto

PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA Global resources companies benefit from satellite-enabled solutions throughout the lifecycle of their projects, such as providing critical information thats used before exploration begins and after a project is completed to guide land rehabilitation.

But the relationship between the resources and space sectors is far from one-way. The inaugural Indo-Pacific Space and Earth Conference (IPSEC), in Perth, Western Australia in late October, showed that the resources powerhouse of Australia provides opportunities for space technology and future deep space missions.

Resources companies using Earth observation (EO) satellites is not new, but functionality and capabilities continue to increase. Sarah Coleman, president and CEO of mining technology solutions company Idoba, said parent company Perenti Group partnered with Lockheed Martin eight years ago to use satellites for mine reconciliation, measuring the performance of a mine, determining stockpiles and material movement. Satellites replaced the use of aircraft, which would require 10 days to process the data.

Even then, we could get to millimeter precision, and we were able to turn that data around in less than 72 hours, Coleman said.

EO satellite developments will lead to even more data, Coleman said, providing better models to predict whats happening at sites, allowing mining companies to meet environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) requirements.

Space-based EO provides resources companies with multiple layers of data, identifying where mineral deposits were found historically and allowing predictions for the future, narrowing the footprint of projects and delivering environmental and safety benefits, said David Flanagan, former executive chair of Delta Lithium and chair of the Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE) consortium.

The resources sector forms the bulk of clients for Australian company Arlula, which provides global, high resolution EO data from a variety of commercial and government satellites. Arlulas Geostack Terra solution integrates and manages EO satellite data feeds, providing satellite imagery supporting critical decision making. We have essentially built a platform for data to make sense, Esha Anura, growth marketing lead told Via Satellite.

She said Australia is an advanced spatial market and the countrys resources companies are sophisticated EO data users. Arlula provides these companies data to support the whole process, including evaluating exploration sites, operations, monitoring stockpiles through to regeneration and meeting regulatory requirements more efficiently and quickly than previous methods such as drones, said Anura. The companys solution is being used for individual mining projects and specific tasking, such as looking at a site over set periods or persistent monitoring.

Space technology clearly helps address some of our greatest challenges, like our need to reach net zero targets and transition to a clean energy future, said Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency (ASA). Prospecting can be complex, costly, invasive, with environmental impacts. Enter space and technology, he added, pointing to Adelaide-based Fleet Space Technologies, which developed a non-invasive space-based exploration solution.

Fleets Exosphere comprises seven nanosatellites in Low-Earth Orbit which connect to portable seismic sensors called Geodes on the ground to support resources exploration. Fleet deploys about 100 sensors over several square kilometers to record seismic vibrations. By cross correlating the noise using ambient noise typography, it can create a 3D model of the subsurface down to about 1 or 2 kilometers in depth, explained Hemant Chaurasia, chief product officer.

The Geodes provide continual transmission over four days via satellite. Chaurasia said using satellites is key to getting the data back to the system, which then produces a 3D model of the subsurface using AI and machine learning within a matter of days, rather than months using alternatives.

Mining companies including Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold, Kinross, Iluka, Core Lithium, and Hillgrove Resources are among those using the solution to provide a better picture of the subsurface, including greenfield exploration, drilling targets and providing better understanding of existing deposits. Fleet Space has completed more than 150 surveys to date.

Beyond that, Fleet is looking to space. From the outset, this technology was intended to be dual use, as a pathfinder towards similar exploration capability on the Moon and Mars, said Chaurasia.

ASA contracted Fleet to produce a Seismic Payload for Interplanetary Discovery, Exploration and Research (SPIDER), which is scheduled for a mission to the Moons South Pole on a commercial lunar lander to detect water ice. Fleet is also collaborating with NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) testing equipment on a rock glacier in Wyoming, ahead of exploration on the Moon or Mars.

This is the type of thing we could one day do on Mars with a very small number of sensors to find resources that will be critical for a sustained human presence, said Chaurasia. Seismic measurements could be combined with gravity measurements to provide an even richer understanding of the subsurface.

Technology and capability transfer between space and resources is a two-way benefit, with the space sector increasingly acknowledging the exploration and automation expertise of resources companies, as well as their experience in operating in harsh environments and asset monitoring all crucial for deep space exploration.

We are excited at the potential synergies with the mining, oil and gas industries as we journey far from home with missions that will require increased autonomy. To meet this challenge, we are looking at world-renowned technologies being used right here on Earth, said James Free, NASAs associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development. Australia is home to world-class facilities that train, test and control remote and autonomous operations from the deep sea to deep space, said Free, adding that the cutting-edge robotics and remote operations technology, developed in Western Australia (WA) in particular, will be invaluable for Moon and Mars exploration.

Free highlighted geotechnical survey company Fugro and its Perth-based Space Automation, AI and Robotics Control Complex (SpAARC), which has developed automation technology.

The technology initially focused on the offshore energy sector, and it has two uncrewed vessels currently operating in the North West Shelf natural gas location off Western Australias coast and controlled from Perth via satellite communications, said Samuel Forbes, director Fugro SpAARC. This technology is now being applied to space.

Fugro SpAARC is part of the consortium set up by Perth-based AROSE, and including Woodside Energy, Rio Tinto, and Australian engineering services and technology solutions company Nova Systems, to develop a remotely operated and semi-autonomous lunar rover to explore the Moon surface for NASAs Artemis program. Two teams are competing to design Australias first Lunar rover under ASAs Trailblazer program, which in turn is part of ASAs $95 million Moon to Mars initiative designed to drive the growth of Australias space sector. One of the rovers will be selected for a Moon mission to collect lunar soil, which will be delivered to a NASA processing facility to extract oxygen as part of efforts to support human presence.

NASA selected Australia for the rover due to its expertise in remote operations and automation technology, developed in the resources industry, with such capabilities vital to Artemis.

We cannot do our missions without having autonomous operations because of the significant time delay, the variable time delay, between deep space and Earth. It doesnt allow Earth-based remote control, said Dr. David Kormeyer, deputy center director, NASA Ames Research Center. Deep space exploration drives the need for autonomy and developing autonomous operations is one of the most significant and challenging efforts.

Australias resources and energy giants know a thing or two about remote and autonomous operations. Rio Tinto operates the worlds first fully autonomous, long-distance railway system, AutoHaul, delivering iron ore from mines in WAs Pilbara to shipping terminals using AI and monitored remotely from Perth, more than 1,500 km away. Rio Tinto also deploys autonomous heavy trucks at its mine sites.

Woodside has the worlds first remotely operated LNG plant in the world, with its Pluto LNG Plant in WAs north west entirely operated from a remote operations center in Perth, said Shawn Fernando, remote operations manager. Woodside has been working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement for some time, which resulted in an outcome that was mutually beneficial for both and we were able to see the parallels for the space sector and ours, he said.

Woodsides robotics developments include the Spector Boston Dynamics Spot robots, which autonomously navigate the Pluto plant and capture images in extreme and potentially hazardous environments. NASAs Johnson Space Center recently sent its Valkyrie robot to Woodside to develop and test remote mobile dexterous manipulation capabilities for remote caretaking of uncrewed and offshore energy facilities, which could be developed for Artemis missions.

No one does automation at scale like the major resources companies in Australia, said Michelle Keegan, AROSE program director. AROSE was established in 2020 specifically to leverage existing remote operations expertise in the Australian resource sector and catalyze knowledge transfer between terrestrial and off-Earth domains.

In the last couple of years, weve really been starting to understand the commonalities, Keegan told Via Satellite, with the resources sector bringing decades of exploration experience, as well as automation expertise.

Theres still a lot of uncertainty around the Moons surface. But the resources sector, [has] been exploring for decades so the space sector is keen to understand the process by which we go and explore. How do we find a resource and then go about processing it and how can we take that thinking to the Moon, Keegan said.

At the same time, the focus on environmental considerations in Earth-based mining will be vital for sustainable Moon missions, while Moon-based exploration could support the resource industrys need to accelerate the discovery of critical minerals for decarbonization. The sectors need to collaborate to address these urgent and common challenges, Keegan added.

AROSE is working with NASA and the USGS to bring together the expertise. Earlier this year a workshop was hosted by NASA/USGS focusing on new technologies to detect and assess off-world mineral resources. It was an early indication that some investments that Australia has made in new technology have a potentially really big role to play in this subsurface question, said Jonathan Stock, director of the USGS National Innovation Center. Another workshop is planned for next February.

This work is vital to plug the gaps in knowledge about the subsurface of the Moon, Stock said, but the joint development of technology, sensors and concepts of operation could also provide significant benefit on Earth: We are at an exciting time where there might be this common denominator, this aligned interest, to improve this technology.

Emma Kelly is an aviation journalist, based in Perth, Western Australia. Following a career in the U.K. with industry publications and organizations including Flight International and Inmarsat, Emma has been freelance for the last 20 years since her move to Australia, writing for aviation publications and online services around the world.

See the original post:

Australias IPSEC Conference Shows Synergies Between the Space ... - Via Satellite

Most of the recent news about the International Space Station (ISS) hasn't been very positive recently, from Russian cosmonauts dodging a cooling leak during a space walk to NASA's ongoing plan to crash the ISS into the ocean (which will largely benefit private space exploration companies). Yet in a major leap forward for biological sciences, a new study in the journal iSciencesreveals that humans were able to successfully culture mouse embryos while aboard the ISS. This is the first time that any mammalian embryos have been cultivated and grown in space, which raises the prospect that humans will be able to someday successfully reproduce off of Earth, whether on Mars or beyond the stars.

The experiment involved freezing mouse embryos that had been cultivated to the two-cell stage, then shipping them off to space. Once they arrived at the ISS, they were carefully thawed and cultivated by astronauts in equipment especially designed for the purpose. Four days later the cultivated embryos were preserved inparaformaldehyde and shipped back to Earth, where a team led bymolecular biologist Teruhiko Wakayama of the University of Yamanashi studied the results. While fewer of the embryos on ISS survived compared to mouse embryo counterparts that had been cultivated back on Earth, those which did survive developed normally.

"There is a possibility of pregnancy during a future trip toMarsbecause it will take more than six months to travel there," WakayamatoldNew Scientist. "We are conducting research to ensure we will be able to safely have children if that time comes."

Visit link:

Mice embryos successfully grown in space, a promising milestone ... - Salon

In a recent talk for the Center for Arts and Society and their Planetary Hospitality mission, Dr. Dava Newman visited Carnegie Mellon. Dr. Newmans contributions to this field are wide-spanning, with her current roles as an Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and the Director of MIT Media Lab, as well as her history as the NASA deputy director under President Obama. During this talk, she discusses both the current state of and her contributions to space exploration, and how this sets up humanity for the future.

To start, Dr. Newman highlighted the top three questions that humans have regarding exploration: Are we alone? Are there other habitable planets? And is there life? Among these questions, she noted, scientists believe we will find the answer in the next decade, with potential sources like fossil evidence on Mars providing options for that answer.

When looking beyond our solar system, though, Dr. Newman noted that at our current state, human exploration is infeasible due to our fragile bodies and lack of adequate life support technologies. Instead, she said, we want to send our brain out there, highlighting the successes of various spacecraft launches in collecting data, as well as our telescope missions like Webb, which has given us information dating back 13.4 billion years.

Despite recent focus on returning to the moon (with Dr. Newman recognizing Carnegie Mellons journey in December as well as her own MIT media lab on a following mission), Newmans focus has largely been on Mars it offers the best medium to focus on becoming interplanetary and has a lot to teach us about taking care of our own planet. Her previous design work has focused on the former of these goals with BioSuit MCP a new type of spacesuit that aims to reduce the bulkiness of current space suits with new designs. She described it as shrink wrapping people, based on the idea of a second skin suit with materials and design that work as well as skin does but is able to pressurize a person to a third of an atmosphere. New advancements like 3D knitting machines and radiation-protective materials have helped with her design work.

She similarly notes that the recent trend for privatizing space has done a lot for the innovation space. While she pushes back on the assertion that space exploration has pivoted to private industry (noting that government support is ongoing and has provided billions to get to where we are now), the private sector has helped democratize space and democratize accessibility. With her own research, shes been able to send versions of her suit to the International Space Station with private astronauts, giving her team a chance to test them earlier as opposed to years down the line. A similar benefit is seen with launching our astronauts because this innovation is centered in the US, we now have other options besides Russia to send our astronauts to the International Space Station and beyond. Such recent advancements have meant everyone has access to space to inspire them.

On this subject of inspiration and learning from Mars, Dr. Newman noted the importance of telling the story of the work scientists are doing. Were the real martians. Were exploring Mars every single day, she said. Through the rover programs, people can listen to the wind on Mars, immersing themselves in the environment that scientists are studying. Through initiatives like OnSight, people can virtually visit Mars through technology like augmented reality, offering a chance not just for people to experience this environment, but for scientists to virtually study the rocks in the path of the rover. Dr. Newmans current work with the MIT Media Lab focuses on telling the stories of the artists and designers working with engineers and scientists, focusing on the fact that such advancements are truly multi- and interdisciplinary. Such communication has been particularly effective with regards to data visualization of climate change here on Earth.

In emphasizing this point, Dr. Newman noted the importance of humanities in these conversations we need everyone because it fundamentally starts with the stories. Her big emphasis is that if people cant imagine it, or see it, they wont see how it impacts them. She highlights the importance for diversity at the table when it comes to really hard societal problems.

At the end of her event, Dr. Newman leaves the audience with a call to action. When representing scientific issues, scientists and researchers are often drowning in data, with social scientists understanding more of how to communicate these problems to the public. For her, the best approach is to recognize the importance of personalized solutions and empowering people to take their own small steps to solving big problems in society. There needs to be an emphasis on paying it forward to the next seven generations, and everyone can be called to action every day, even if its something small.

After all, at NASA the first thing you learn is not to forget the future.

Read the rest here:

Dava Newman talks Mars exploration and comunication - CMU The Tartan Online

Event Details

Payload Blog

This is your opportunity to hear from people who are imagining the future alongside those who are actively building it!

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is hosting Science Fact or Fiction: Leveraging Space to Transform Medicine and Biotechnology on Earth, featuring VIPs from both Star Trek and NASA, beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 5.

Science fiction has inspired real space exploration projects including the launch of SpaceX CRS-29, which will carry innovative technology, science experiments, and supplies to the International Space Station. It has also influenced and inspired many scientists, engineers, and other professionals at NASA to join the space field. This unique panel discussion boldly explores synergies between the creators on both sides of science and storytelling.

Please Note: Seating in Universe Theater is limited, available on a first come, first served basis.

The Science Fact of Fiction: Leveraging Space to Transform Medicine and Biotechnology on Earth panel is included with admission.

BUY ADMISSION

Learn more about the greatest space adventure on Earth, with exclusive news on rocket launches, astronaut appearances and exciting space-related events.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is operated for NASA by Delaware North and is entirely visitor-funded. Images shown may not represent current operational and safety guidelines.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Space Commerce Way, Merritt Island, FL 32953

See the original post here:

Science Fact or Fiction: Leveraging Space to Transform Medicine - Kennedy Space Center

Have you ever wondered how astronauts stay oriented in space? Well, it turns out that it's not an easy task. When astronauts leave Earth's surface, they lose many of the cues that help them figure out which way is up. This can be dangerous, and that's where training comes in. But now, scientists have come up with a cool solution using wearable gadgets that vibrate to give astronauts a better sense of direction.

Dr Vivekanand P. Vimal from Brandeis University in the United States is the brain behind this idea.

He explains that long spaceflights can cause lots of stress on astronauts, making them more prone to getting lost in space. And when an astronaut gets disoriented, it's a big problem because they can't rely on their usual senses any more.

To see if these wearable gadgets, known as vibrotactors, could help, the scientists ran some tests.

They put participants in a situation where their regular senses, like seeing and hearing, were of no use.

Instead, they had to rely on these buzzing vibrotactors to guide them and prevent them from crashing into things.

The participants were divided into three groups. One group received training on how to balance themselves in a special spinning chair.

Another group used vibrotactors, and the third group got both training and vibrotactors.

They all wore blindfolds, earplugs, and listened to white noise to make the tests even tougher.

Here's how it worked

Those with vibrotactors had four of them strapped to each arm. These devices would vibrate whenever the participants started moving away from the balance point.

The goal was to keep a special spinning chair as close to balance as possible during 40 trials.

The catch was that in half of the trials, the chair mimicked Earth's movements, so the participants could use their natural senses. In the other half, it acted like they were in space, with no gravity to help them.

The results were pretty interesting.

Everyone felt disoriented at first in the space-like trials. But the participants using vibrotactors did better than those who only received training.

The group with both training and vibrotactors performed the best over time. Even so, they couldn't perform as well as they did when Earth's gravity helped them out.

Dr Vimal pointed out that trusting these vibrotactors at a deeper, almost instinctive level is essential.

This might require some special training to make it work.

So, why is all of this important?

Well, as space exploration continues, these wearable vibrotactors could be super helpful for astronauts.

They might make landing on a planet safer, and they could be a game-changer for astronauts working outside their spacecraft.

Read the rest here:

Now astronauts will not get lost in space - SAMAA

In science fiction films, nothing raises tension quite like the good guys' spaceship getting caught in an invisible tractor beam that allows the baddies to slowly reel them in. But what was once only a sci-fi staple could soon become a reality.

Scientists are developing a real-life tractor beam, dubbed an electrostatic tractor. This tractor beam wouldn't suck in helpless starship pilots, however. Instead, it would use electrostatic attraction to nudge hazardous space junk safely out of Earth orbit.

The stakes are high: With the commercial space industry booming, the number of satellites in Earth's orbit is forecast to rise sharply. This bonanza of new satellites will eventually wear out and turn the space around Earth into a giant junkyard of debris that could smash into working spacecraft, plummet to Earth, pollute our atmosphere with metals and obscure our view of the cosmos. And, if left unchecked, the growing space junk problem could hobble the booming space exploration industry, experts warn.

The science is pretty much there, but the funding is not.

The electrostatic tractor beam could potentially alleviate that problem by safely moving dead satellites far out of Earth orbit, where they would drift harmlessly for eternity.

While the tractor beam wouldn't completely solve the space junk problem, the concept has several advantages over other proposed space debris removal methods, which could make it a valuable tool for tackling the issue, experts told Live Science.

Related: 11 sci-fi concepts that are possible (in theory)

A prototype could cost millions, and an operational, full-scale version even more. But if the financial hurdles can be overcome, the tractor beam could be operational within a decade, its builders say.

"The science is pretty much there, but the funding is not," project researcher Kaylee Champion, a doctoral student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), told Live Science.

The tractor beams depicted in "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" suck up spacecraft via artificial gravity or an ambiguous "energy field." Such technology is likely beyond anything humans will ever achieve. But the concept inspired Hanspeter Schaub, an aerospace engineering professor at CU Boulder, to conceptualize a more realistic version.

Schaub first got the idea after the first major satellite collision in 2009, when an active communications satellite, Iridium 33, smashed into a defunct Russian military spacecraft, Kosmos 2251, scattering more than 1,800 pieces of debris into Earth's orbit.

Related: How many satellites orbit Earth?

In the wake of this disaster, Schaub wanted to be able to prevent this from happening again. To do this, he realized you could pull spacecraft out of harm's way by using the attraction between positively and negatively charged objects to make them "stick" together.

Over the next decade, Schaub and colleagues refined the concept. Now, they hope it can someday be used to move dead satellites out of geostationary orbit (GEO) an orbit around Earth's equator where an object's speed matches the planet's rotation, making it seem like the object is fixed in place above a certain point on Earth. This would then free up space for other objects in GEO, which is considered "prime real estate" for satellites, Schaub said.

The electrostatic tractor would use a servicer spacecraft equipped with an electron gun that would fire negatively charged electrons at a dead target satellite, Champion told Live Science. The electrons would give the target a negative charge while leaving the servicer with a positive charge. The electrostatic attraction between the two would keep them locked together despite being separated by 65 to 100 feet (20 to 30 meters) of empty space, she said.

Once the servicer and target are "stuck together," the servicer would be able to pull the target out of orbit without touching it. Ideally, the defunct satellite would be pulled into a "graveyard orbit" more distant from Earth, where it could safely drift forever, Champion said.

Related: 15 of the weirdest things we have launched into space

The electrostatic attraction between the two spacecraft would be extremely weak, due to limitations in electron gun technology and the distance by which the two would need to be separated to prevent collisions, project researcher Julian Hammerl, a doctoral student at CU Boulder, told Live Science. So the servicer would have to move very slowly, and it could take more than a month to fully move a single satellite out of GEO, he added.

That's a far cry from movie tractor beams, which are inescapable and rapidly reel in their prey. This is the "main difference between sci-fi and reality," Hammerl said.

The electrostatic tractor would have one big advantage over other proposed space junk removal methods, such as harpoons, giant nets and physical docking systems: It would be completely touchless.

"You have these large, dead spacecraft about the size of a school bus rotating really fast," Hammerl said. "If you shoot a harpoon, use a big net or try to dock with them, then the physical contact can damage the spacecraft and then you are only making the [space junk] problem worse."

Scientists have proposed other touchless methods, such as using powerful magnets, but enormous magnets are both expensive to produce and would likely interfere with a servicer's controls, Champion said.

Related: How do tiny pieces of space junk cause incredible damage?

The main limitation of the electrostatic tractor is how slowly it would work. More than 550 satellites currently orbit Earth in GEO, but that number is expected to rise sharply in the coming decades.

If satellites were moved one at a time, then a single electrostatic tractor wouldn't keep pace with the number of satellites winking out of operation. Another limitation of the electrostatic tractor is that it would work too slowly to be practical for clearing smaller pieces of space junk, so it wouldn't be able to keep GEO completely free of debris.

Cost is the other big obstacle. The team has not yet done a full cost analysis for the electrostatic tractor, Schaub said, but it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars. However, once the servicer were in space, it would be relatively cost-effective to operate it, he added.

The researchers are currently working on a series of experiments in their Electrostatic Charging Laboratory for Interactions between Plasma and Spacecraft (ECLIPS) machine at CU Boulder. The bathtub-sized, metallic vacuum chamber, which is equipped with an electron gun, allows the team to "do unique experiments that almost no one else can currently do" in order to simulate the effects of an electrostatic tractor on a smaller scale, Hammerl said.

Once the team is ready, the final and most challenging hurdle will be to secure funding for the first mission, which is a process they have not yet started.

Most of the mission cost would come from building and launching the servicer. However, the researchers would ideally like to launch two satellites for the first tests, a servicer and a target that they can maneuver, which would give them more control over their experiments but also double the cost.

Related: 10 stunning shots of Earth from space in 2022

If they can somehow wrangle that funding, a prototype tractor beam could be operational in around 10 years, the team previously estimated.

While tractor beams may sound like a pipe dream, experts are optimistic about the technology.

"Their technology is still in the infancy stage," John Crassidis, an aerospace scientist at the University at Buffalo in New York, who is not involved in the research, told Live Science in an email. "But I am fairly confident it will work."

If you shoot a harpoon, use a big net or try to dock with them, then the physical contact can damage the spacecraft and then you are only making the [space junk] problem worse.

Removing space junk without touching it would also be much safer than any current alternative method, Crassidis added.

The electrostatic tractor "should be able to produce the forces necessary to move a defunct satellite" and "certainly has a high potential to work in practice," Carolin Frueh, an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue University in Indiana, told Live Science in an email. "But there are still several engineering challenges to be solved along the way to make it real-world-ready."

Scientists should continue to research other possible solutions, Crassidis said. Even if the CU Boulder team doesn't create a "final product" to remove nonfunctional satellites, their research will provide a stepping stone for other scientists, he added.

If they are successful, it wouldn't be the first time scientists turned fiction into fact.

"What is today's science fiction could be tomorrow's reality," Crassidis said.

Read more here:

Sci-fi inspired tractor beams are real, and could solve a major space ... - Livescience.com

Tapping into the abundance of resources in space opens up new avenues for exploration and progress. In the mining industry, a subtle transformation is currently underway, fueled by insights and advancements gained from space exploration. This transformation seeks to improve productivity, reduce emissions, and create more favorable working conditions for laborers and communities.

Image Credit:NicoElNino/Shutterstock.com

Space exploration is currently experiencing a rapid transformation, marked by a surge in groundbreaking discoveries. This dynamic shift is introducing an exciting new paradigm for space endeavors, characterized by the emergence of new players, evolving trends, promising opportunities, and accompanying challenges. These developments are driven by the convergence of advanced technologies, central to the ongoing and expansive Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Advancements in materials science and the advent of 3D printing have led to significant cost reductions in space launches, causing profound impacts across the entire space industry. Brookings has stated that the United States of America is the leading investor in both public space (around $54.6 Billion) and private-type space exploration.

The contemporary space race is primarily centered on commercial space ventures, and its economic importance has surged dramatically. In the 15 years from 2005 to 2020, there had been an increase of over 250 billion dollars in the valuation of the space industry.

In the last decade, companies such as Space-X, Blue Origin, and Virgin have been investing in space research and technologies.

Recent developments have led to progress in space exploration and mining that extend from space-to-Earth missions to space-to-space operations. There has been a massive reduction in launch costs of space vehicles due to better fuel and propulsive systems.

This transformative landscape provides fertile ground for cross-industry collaborations, as exemplified by the convergence of the mining sector with space exploration. Moreover, the prospect of space mining, which focuses on extracting precious metals and rare elements, holds the potential to become the next competitive frontier.

The mining of these rare minerals will counter the ever-increasing demand for raw materials on Earth. The space exploration sector and Earth mining owing to the recent revolution in mining capabilities will continue to flourish.

Essential minerals and precious resources are present abundantly in celestial bodies present in space. The mining of these resources from bodies such as asteroids etc. is termed as space mining. This process involves deploying robotic probes with the mission of collecting samples for subsequent transport back to Earth.

The potential advantages of space-based mining are manifold. The traditional mining practices are time-consuming and cause environmental degradation. The space-based mineral resources can be mined with no harmful emissions along with lower costs.

The utilization of satellites is another major positive aspect of this process. Satellites can pinpoint the areas with substantial resources of useful minerals. In this way, geologists can remotely identify the targeted areas and then exhaust the resources rather than using a trial-and-error approach or traditional data-based approach. This has led to a massive boost in the efficiency of the mining process.

Moreover, space exploration offers an opportunity to develop new technologies specifically designed for the mining industry. For instance, robotic spacecraft can be employed to explore hazardous terrains, such as the deep sea or extreme climates, which present significant challenges for human access. This pioneering approach paves the way for innovative solutions in mining that were previously beyond reach.

Space exploration has the potential to provide valuable insights into the composition of minerals and various resources. By analyzing samples collected during space missions, scientists can deepen their understanding of the unique properties associated with different minerals. This enhanced knowledge can then be utilized to improve the efficiency of mining operations, leading to advancements in mineral extraction techniques.

As part of the Australian Space Agency's Moon to Mars initiative, Australian companies are actively involved in developing technologies and services to support NASA in its ambitious goals. In a significant collaboration, NASA has entrusted Australia, through the Australian Space Agency, with the responsibility of providing a Lunar Foundation Services Rover for an upcoming mission called "Trailblazer."

The Trailblazer mission involves remotely operating the rover, with its primary objective being the collection of lunar soil and its subsequent delivery to NASA's dedicated processing facility on the Moon for the extraction of essential oxygen. This marks a critical step toward establishing a sustainable human presence on both the Moon and Mars.

The AROSE consortium has emerged as one of the two accomplished teams selected to participate in Stage 1 of the prestigious Trailblazer mission, a flagship endeavor. During Trailblazer Stage 1, these successful applicants are actively involved in developing foundational service rover solutions, advancing through the initial mission phases until they reach the crucial Preliminary Design Review stage.

Following this, Trailblazer Stage 2 will witness the selection of a single successful applicant, chosen from among the participants in Trailblazer Stage 1, to further develop their foundational service rover for launch and subsequent lunar operations. This marks a significant progression in this monumental mission.

As the need for automation and sensing continues to grow, the use of AI and data analytics techniques, especially in rapidly analyzing geological and physical characteristics of rock within the mining sector, has experienced exponential growth. As data streams become more complex and the need for quick decision-making intensifies, the demand for advanced AI methodologies is expected to soar.

At the same time, the space industry faces an even more compelling need for real-time management and interpretation of intricate data to support mission-critical decisions. In this context, there are clear opportunities for collaborative exploration and cooperation, leveraging the expertise developed in both fields to mutual advantage.

The mining industry embraces adopting new technologies and operational approaches to achieve long-term advantages. Automation is a key emphasis, especially in implementing instrumentation and monitoring systems for various aspects like shafts, underground tunneling, and storage facilities. These automated systems offer crucial data about mine conditions, integrate enhanced safety measures, and offer early warning solutions.

However, challenges remain, particularly in the domain of navigation and positioning within mining tunnels. The inherent instability arises when external reference points are widely spaced, leading to a notable margin of error within the internal network.

Researchers have recently published a paper in Minerals presenting a simulation of an innovative analytical and numerical solution aimed at improving positioning accuracy in mining operations while simultaneously reducing measurement time. The study, conducted using actual tunnel dimensions, explores various configurations of control networks. Statistical analysis carried out on simulated environments and virtual measurements, achieved through the combination of various instrumentation methods, confirms the achievement of centimeter-level positioning precision.

The novel approach to designing a mining control network centers on the use of fixed-length bars, resulting in shorter measurement sessions while maintaining consistent accuracy across the network. The concept is rigorously evaluated across 27 simulated network configurations. The results obtained, along with the accompanying statistical analysis, support the feasibility of achieving reliable centimeter-level accuracy within the network.

Furthermore, this pioneering approach has the potential to be extended to space mining, a growing field focused on the extraction of rare-earth elements (REEs), offering promising prospects for the space resource exploration industry.

The mining industry on Earth and space exploration can shape the future of human civilization. The techniques developed for a particular industry can lead to improvements in the other with just minor adjustments. Latest inventions, such as autonomous vehicles, are utilized for both Mars exploration and used extensively in mining operations all over the world. The collaboration of these industries and environmental benefits will lead to cost savings and a significant reduction in operational time.

Continue Reading: Mining on the Moon: The NASA Space Robotics Challenge

AROSE, 2023. Moon to Mars. [Online] Available at: https://www.arose.org.au/moon-to-mars/%5BAccessed 21 September 2023].

Frckiewicz, M., 2023. The impact of space exploration on our understanding of the potential for space-based mining of precious metals and minerals. [Online] Available at: https://ts2.space/en/the-impact-of-space-exploration-on-our-understanding-of-the-potential-for-space-based-mining-of-precious-metals-and-minerals/%5BAccessed 20 September 2023].

Gleeson, D., 2023. Mining and space sectors collaborate to solve the biggest challenges. [Online] Available at: https://im-mining.com/2023/09/11/mining-and-space-sectors-collaborate-to-solve-the-biggest-challenges/%5BAccessed 19 September 2023].

Stupar et. al. (2022). Analytical and Numerical Solution for Better Positioning in Mines with Potential Extending Application in Space Mining.Minerals. 12(5):640. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/min12050640

Signe, L. & Dooley, H., 2023. How space exploration is fueling the Fourth Industrial Revolution. [Online] Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-space-exploration-is-fueling-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/%5BAccessed 19 September 2023].

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.

Read the rest here:

Mining Meets Space: Revolutionizing Industry Innovation with Cross ... - AZoMining

October 31, 2023

For decades, scientists have studied the seasonal dynamics of upper-atmosphere weather that causes atmospheric waves using imagery and radar data. How and why the waves form and what causes them may provide clues on the conditions that support the wave events.

The atmosphere is full of waves. Sound waves, for example, are easy for our ears to detect, especially if youve ever visited an amusement park with roller coasters. However, some of the most powerful waves in the atmosphere are silent and much harder to detect. These atmospheric waves are known as gravity waves. Earth's airglow at the edge of space. Image courtesy Bossert and Berkheimer/ASU Download Full Image

Jessica Berkheimer, an astrophysics PhD student at Arizona State Universitys School of Earth and Space Exploration, and Assistant Professor Katrina Bossert, a space physicist in the School of Earth and Space Exploration, are among a team of scientists who have set out to learn more about gravity waves with the help of volunteers or citizen scientists.

The project, Gravity Wave Zoo, asks citizen scientists to identify gravity waves, instabilities and aurora using images and short video clips.

Based at the Poker Flat Observatory, just north of Fairbanks, Alaska, the project and the images are taken using an OH (hydroxyl)airglow imager that views the near-infrared at an altitude of 86 kilometers (53.5 miles above the Earth's surface) thats approaching the near-space environment where satellites orbit.

We wanted to create something that invites the public to participate in scientific thinking and data collection: a project that contributes to learning, scientific understanding, science awareness and enjoyment. Most importantly, Gravity Wave Zoo is designed to be fun, Berkheimer said. To help people get started, the project offers easily accessible tutorials and a field guide with example videos, pictures and demonstration classifications. Using Gravity Wave Zoo, citizen scientists engage in real scientific data while helping us evaluate large data sets. Ideally, its a win-win situation.

The three main science aims for Gravity Wave Zoo are to:

Identify gravity waves, instabilities and breaking.

Learn what conditions are needed for these different events to take place.

Compile observations over multiple years to study seasonal variations in gravity wave events.

Gravity waves have become of great interest to scientists because of their essential role in energy and momentum transport throughout the atmosphere and their huge impacts on weather and climate.

Citizen scientist contributions to the Gravity Wave Zoo project will help the research team provide valuable data to weather and climate models and provide helpful training data for machine learning algorithms.

Thousands of images from the hydroxyl airglow imager in central Alaska will be used to classify events of instabilities and waves in the lower thermosphere. The project will engage a broad range of people including K12 students, college students and any interested person from the general public.

We want to know if there are certain times of the year or seasons where there are more instabilities and waves present in this region known as the 'edge of space,'" Bossert said. "Just as ships sailing in the ocean may encounter rougher waters or seasons with more storms, spacecraft orbiting Earth can also be impacted by weather both from Earths atmosphere and the sun. Citizen scientists will be able to help us answer the question of whether there are seasonal aspects of this polar region of the lower thermosphere that can potentially impact spacecraft in low Earth orbit.

Gravity Wave Zoo is part of Zooniverse, the worlds largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. This research is made possible by volunteers more than a million people around the world who come together to assist professional researchers. Their goal is to enable research that would not be possible, or practical, otherwise. Zooniverse research results in new discoveries, data sets useful to the wider research community, and many publications.

Additional scientists on the Gravity Wave Zoo team are Jessica Norrell and Sophie Phillips of ASU, and Denise Thorsen, Richard Collins and Jintai Li at Alaska State University.

This project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Under the CAREER awards NSF AGS 1944027 and NSF FDSS 1936373.

Read more from the original source:

Surf's up: Catch an atmospheric wave as ASU research team ... - ASU News Now

By Nathan Vardi

The billionaire investor has beaten the market by betting on Elon Musk. He lands on the MarketWatch 50 list and, in this interview, remains as bullish as ever.

When Ron Baron was starting an investment business, he got some advice from Steve Wynn. The casino magnate told Baron to name his investment company after himself as a way to show clients and customers that he promised to stand behind it. Some four decades later, Baron Capital has made its most important investment in Elon Musk, Inc.

Baron invested $570 million in Tesla (TSLA), mostly between 2014 and 2016, which was about 2% of his assets under management at the time. Today, after selling some shares, Tesla represents about 10.9% of Baron Capital's $41 billion under management, and the winning position has helped Baron's main mutual fund become the only mutual fund to beat the Nasdaq COMP over the last 5, 10 and 15 years, according to a recent Bloomberg analysis, during which time it returned 17% annualized.

"You get rich by being long-term and by being focused, by owning a small amount of companies," Baron said in an interview.

Baron epitomizes a bullish buy-and-hold investing style that has worked in the current environment, where a few big tech stocks, like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL), have accounted for a disproportionate share of the stock market's gains. Baron runs a concentrated portfolio and owns one of the best performing big tech companies, Tesla, and has benefitted from the electric-car maker's remarkable stock-market run. As a result, he lands on The MarketWatch 50 list of the most influential people in markets.

Musk himself may have just thrown cold water on Tesla's long-anticipated cybertruck and expressed concern about the ability of consumers to buy his expensive cars in the face of high interest rates. But Baron says Tesla's stock will keep rising over time and its market capitalization can grow from its current $630 billion to as much as $4 trillion in 10 years.

"In the case of Tesla, we are convinced that people cannot do what they're doing and that, ultimately, it's not just going to be a car company and it's not just going to be a battery company," said Baron. "All the other car companies, which 50 years ago, elected to become much more profitable and outsource supplies and compute to other people. We're going to be like Intel was inside of computers. This is going to be Tesla inside of cars. All the cars are going to be using Tesla autonomous driving. No one else can possibly compete."

But Baron is even more bullish on Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX. The world's busiest rocket-launching company and its large satellite-Internet subsidiary remain private, but Baron said he expects SpaceX will go public and list on a stock exchange within the next three years.

Baron invested about $700 million in SpaceX several years ago and a recent secondary share sale in the private market implied a nearly $150 billion valuation recently for the entire company.

"We think that by 2030 it likely will be worth somewhere around $500 or $600 billion," Baron said. "And then in the 2030s, that's when I expect to make another 10 times our money. So we can make over the next 15 or 20 years, we can make 30 to 50 times our money in SpaceX."

Baron added, "I think SpaceX has a chance to be even bigger than Tesla in the 2030s."

Baron called SpaceX's satellite-Internet business as "Internet for the planet" and said that it will be much lower cost in many places than what any competitor could hope to provide.

"In the case of SpaceX, what they're going to be doing there, the innovation that other people can't possibly do, is the fact that they are able to launch rockets and re-use them over and over and over again," said Baron. "So as a result of that, it costs other people to get to space $100 million, $200 million. It costs us a fraction of that amount ... Basically, we can get our satellites to space for a very low cost."

What is the risk of betting so big on one man? Baron said the risk was greater when Tesla and SpaceX were smaller companies with fewer people, a period when he thinks the two companies were even more dependent on Musk. But now, Baron said, those companies are teeming with excellent engineers and talented professionals. He added that 3.5 million people applied for jobs at Tesla and SpaceX last year.

"It's harder to get a job at Tesla and SpaceX than to get into Harvard," said Baron. "He has the most brilliant people working there, and that isn't going to change."

At the same time, Baron said, Musk is a unique and irreplaceable force.

"I'm betting he's going to stay alive for at least 5 or 10 years," said Baron. "I think that's a good bet."

-Nathan Vardi

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-04-23 1316ET

Read more from the original source:

Ron Baron says Tesla's valuation can hit $4 trillion, but 'SpaceX has ... - Morningstar