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NASA's MAVEN spacecraft shrinking its Mars orbit to prepare for Mars 2020 Rover![]() Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 12, 2019 NASA's 4-year-old atmosphere-sniffing Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission is embarking on a new campaign to tighten its orbit around Mars. The operation will reduce the highest point of the MAVEN spacecraft's elliptical orbit from 3,850 to 2,800 miles (6,200 to 4,500 kilometers) above the surface and prepare it to take on additional responsibility as a data-relay satellite for NASA's Mars 2020 rover, which launches next year. "The MAVEN spacecraft has done a phenomenal job teach ... read more |
Developing a flight strategy to land heavier vehicles on MarsUrbana IL (SPX) Feb 12, 2019 The heaviest vehicle to successfully land on Mars is the Curiosity Rover at 1 metric ton, about 2,200 pounds. Sending more ambitious robotic missions to the surface of Mars, and eventually humans, w ... more
Bezos, world's richest man, shows won't be pushed aroundSan Francisco (AFP) Feb 8, 2019 He built one of the world's most valuable companies from scratch, becoming the richest person on the planet. ... more
Programming autonomous machines ahead of time promotes selfless decision-makingAberdeen Proving Ground MD (SPX) Feb 12, 2019 A new study suggests the use of autonomous machines increases cooperation among individuals. Researchers from the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory, the A ... more
Trumps orders government to prioritize artificial intelligenceWashington (AFP) Feb 11, 2019 President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the US administration to give greater priority to artificial intelligence, a move seen as firing up a battle for leadership with China. ... more |
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First private spacecraft shoots for the moonColumbus OG (The Conversation) Feb 04, 2019 "Moon of Israel" is an epic 1924 film from the golden era of silent movies, and helped launch the directing career of Michael Curtiz, of "Casablanca" fame. Sequels seldom live up to the original. ... more
Engineers build a soft robotics perception system inspired by humansSan Diego CA (SPX) Feb 01, 2019 An international team of researchers has developed a perception system for soft robots inspired by the way humans process information about their own bodies in space and in relation to other objects ... more
Building Trusted Human-Machine PartnershipsWashington DC (SPX) Feb 01, 2019 A key ingredient in effective teams - whether athletic, business, or military - is trust, which is based in part on mutual understanding of team members' competence to fulfill assigned roles. When i ... more
A step closer to self-aware machinesNew York NY (SPX) Feb 01, 2019 Robots that are self-aware have been science fiction fodder for decades, and now we may finally be getting closer. Humans are unique in being able to imagine themselves - to picture themselves in fu ... more
Most people overlook artificial intelligence despite flawless adviceAdelphi MD (SPX) Feb 01, 2019 If you were convinced you knew the way home, would you still turn on your GPS? Army scientists recently attempted to answer a similar question due to an ongoing concern that artificial intelligence, ... more |
![]() Engineers program marine robots to take calculated risks
Curiosity Says Farewell to Mars' Vera Rubin RidgePasadena CA (JPL) Jan 29, 2019 NASA's Curiosity rover has taken its last selfie on Vera Rubin Ridge and descended toward a clay region of Mount Sharp. The twisting ridge on Mars has been the rover's home for more than a yea ... more |
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Why do beaked whales return to Navy sonar range despite disturbancesMoss Landing CA (SPX) Jan 30, 2019 Using data from underwater robots, scientists have discovered that beaked whales prefer to feed within parts of a Navy sonar test range off Southern California that have dense patches of deep-sea sq ... more
Automation to hit most jobs, but overall impact 'muted': studyWashington (AFP) Jan 24, 2019 Artificial intelligence and automation will lead to job losses in "virtually all occupational groups" over the coming decades in the United States, but the overall impact on employment will be "muted," a prominent think tank study said Thursday. ... more
Is the world ready for the 'digital transformation'?Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 24, 2019 The annual business rendezvous in Davos is a hothouse of insider tech jargon, but this year's buzzword of "digital transformation" could translate into profound and painful changes for companies and workers. ... more
Information theory holds surprises for machine learningSanta Fe NM (SPX) Jan 25, 2019 New research challenges a popular conception of how machine learning algorithms "think" about certain tasks. The conception goes something like this: because of their ability to discard useles ... more
The first tendril-like soft robot able to climbRome, Italy (SPX) Jan 25, 2019 Researchers at IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia obtained the first soft robot mimicking plant tendrils: it is able to curl and climb, using the same physical principles determining water transpor ... more |
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Hughes satellite modems power beyond-line-of-sight comms for UAVs Germantown MD (SPX) Feb 11, 2019
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, has announced the first shipments of its specialized, multiband HM400 SATCOM modems to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), powering beyond-line-of-sight communications for their next-generation Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) known as the MQ-9B SkyGuardian.
Customized to m ... more |
Scientists discover new type of self-healing material Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
A research group from RIKEN and Kyushu University has developed a new type of material, based on ethylene, which exhibits a number of useful properties such as self-healing and shape memory. Remarkably, some of the materials can spontaneously self-heal even in water or acidic and alkali solutions. The new material is based on ethylene, a compound that is the source of much of the plastic in use ... more |
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Researchers report advances in stretchable semiconductors, integrated electronics Houston TX (SPX) Feb 04, 2019
Researchers from the University of Houston have reported significant advances in stretchable electronics, moving the field closer to commercialization.
In a paper published Friday, Feb. 1, in Science Advances, they outlined advances in creating stretchable rubbery semiconductors, including rubbery integrated electronics, logic circuits and arrayed sensory skins fully based on rubber materi ... more |
Storage of nuclear waste a 'global crisis': report Paris (AFP) Jan 30, 2019
Nuclear waste is piling up around the world even as countries struggle to dispose of spent fuel that will remain highly toxic for many thousands of years, Greenpeace detailed in a report Wednesday.
An analysis of waste storage facilities in seven countries with nuclear power revealed that several were near saturation, the anti-nuclear NGO said.
All these nations also confronted other pro ... more |
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Russia 'repatriates' 27 IS children from Iraq Baghdad (AFP) Feb 10, 2019
A group of 27 Russian children whose mothers are being held in Iraq for belonging to the Islamic State group arrived home in Russia Sunday.
The children landed at Ramenskoye airport, near Moscow, on Sunday evening, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, quoted by TASS agency.
"Twenty-seven Russian children have been repatriated from Baghdad," a Russian foreign ministr ... more |
S.Africa imposes severe power cuts ahead of election Johannesburg (AFP) Feb 11, 2019
South Africa on Monday introduced its most severe electricity rationing in nearly five years, presenting President Cyril Ramaphosa with a major political challenge just months ahead of a May general election.
The debt-laden state power utility Eskom is at the centre of the country's economic troubles and has been hit by allegations of government graft.
Ramaphosa who last week admitted th ... more |
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Chinese company wins bid to build lithium factories in Bolivia La Paz (AFP) Feb 7, 2019
Bolivia's public mining company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) has reached agreement with China's Xinjiang TBEA Group-Baocheng to build eight lithium producing factories in the Andes, YLB said on Thursday.
The agreement aims to develop "strategic cooperation" between the two companies to ensure the "financing and realization of industrial projects" in the saline lakes of Coipasa and P ... more |
China improves Long March-6 rocket for growing commercial launches Beijing (XNA) Feb 12, 2019
China announced Monday that it is developing the modified version of the Long March-6 rocket to add four solid boosters to increase its carrying capacity.
The improved medium-left carrier rocket will be sent into space by 2020, according to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which designed the rocket.
The Long ... more |
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Richard Branson says he'll fly to space by July Washington (AFP) Feb 8, 2019 British billionaire Richard Branson plans to travel to space within the next four or five months aboard his own Virgin Galactic spaceship, he told AFP Thursday.
"My wish is to go up on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, that's what we're working on," the head of the Virgin group said on the sidelines of an event to honor Virgin Galactic at the Air and Space Museum in Washington.
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Curiosity Mars Rover Departs Vera Rubin Ridge Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 11, 2019
After exploring Mars' Vera Rubin Ridge for more than a year, NASA's Curiosity rover (https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl) recently moved on. But a new 360-video lets the public visit Curiosity's final drill site on the ridge, an area nicknamed "Rock Hall." The video was created from a panorama taken by the rover on Dec. 19. It includes images of its next destination - an area the team has been calling ... more |
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Raptor engine beats Russian RD-180 record in combustion chamber pressure says Musk Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 12, 2019
The new methane-fueled Raptor engine developed by US SpaceX aerospace company for its Starship interplanetary craft has outperformed the Russian RD-180 rocket engine in terms of pressure level in the combustion chamber, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday.
"Raptor reached 268.9 bar [approximately 274.2 kilograms of power per square centimeter], exceeding prior record held by the awesome Ru ... more |
Holloman Air Force Base receives notice for groundwater contamination Washington (UPI) Feb 8, 2019
New Mexico's Environment Department served Holloman Air Force Base with a notice of violation after monitoring wells tested at twice the acceptable levels for suspected carcinogenic contaminants.
Violations of the discharge permit trigger corrective action requirements for the Air Force, according to a state environment agency news release this week.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl subs ... more |
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Injuries pile up with e-scooter craze: survey Washington (AFP) Feb 7, 2019
More than 1,500 people have been treated for injuries from using battery-powered electric scooters in the United States since the craze began in late 2017, a Consumer Reports survey showed.
The nonprofit consumer magazine said its tally, based on reports from hospitals and emergency officials, is incomplete and does not include four reported fatalities linked to e-scooters.
Still, it cou ... more |
Research details sticky situations at the nanoscale Providence RI (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
Brown University researchers have made a discovery about the way things stick together at tiny scales that could be helpful in engineering micro- and nanoscale devices.
In a series of papers, the latest of which is published in Scientific Reports, the researchers show that miniscule differences in the roughness of a surface can cause surprising changes in the way two surfaces adhere to eac ... more |
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Scientists discover new type of self-healing material Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
A research group from RIKEN and Kyushu University has developed a new type of material, based on ethylene, which exhibits a number of useful properties such as self-healing and shape memory. Remarkably, some of the materials can spontaneously self-heal even in water or acidic and alkali solutions. The new material is based on ethylene, a compound that is the source of much of the plastic in use ... more |
Gypsum as an agricultural product Washington DC (SPX) Feb 07, 2019
Warren Dick has worked with gypsum for more than two decades. You'd think he'd be an expert on drywall and plastering because both are made from gypsum. But the use of gypsum that Dick studies might be unfamiliar to you: on farmland.
"Gypsum is a good source of both calcium and sulfur, which crops need for good yields," says Dick. "We also found that it improves many other soil characteris ... more |
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