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Knowridge
3h
283
Image Credit: Knowridge
Early black holes fed 40x faster than should be possible
- Supermassive black holes are growing at rates that defy the limits of current theory.
- A recent discovery revealed a low-mass supermassive black hole that was devouring material at an extreme rate.
- The black hole, known as LID-568, is feeding on matter at a rate 40 times the Eddington limit.
- The discovery provides an opportunity for astronomers to study black holes in the early Universe and challenge the Eddington limit theory.
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Insider
7h
20
Image Credit: Insider
Why the US hasn't returned humans to the moon. The reasons are depressing.
- The reason people haven't returned to the moon is budgetary and political, not scientific or technical, say astronauts. With NASA's 2024 budget of $24.9 billion, the agency's budget has fluctuated between 0.4% and 1% of US spending since the 1970s. A 2021 report from NASA estimated the Artemis program to return to the moon would cost a total of $93 billion from 2012 through 2025, while the Apollo program cost about $257 billion in today's dollars. Another stumbling block is partisan political whiplash. For example, President Obama pushed to scrap the Constellation program when he took office in favor of the SLS rocket.
- The moon is no joke for humans. Its surface is exposed to the sun's harsh rays for about 14 days at a time, devoid of protection against solar radiation. Peggy Whitson, an experienced astronaut, previously noted the extraordinary problems that come with the dust that covers the lunar surface. Additionally, the US government spent billions to replace all the satellite equipment to map the surface of the moon to help make their landing safer.
- Lunar dust is known to cause serious health problems and sticks easily to equipment and skin. The moon's environment is also hazardous with eye-popping temperature fluctuations. NASA has been working to design spacesuits and rovers that can withstand the harsh conditions, but there's no telling when that equipment will be ready to launch. The US government has also started developing a fission power system that could supply electrical energy during weekslong lunar nights.
- Partisan political whiplash contributes heavily to the fact that the US hasn't returned humans to the moon. Incoming presidents and policymakers often scrap previous leaders' space-exploration priorities. NASA engineers and scientists take years designing spacecraft to get humans to other worlds, only for lawmakers to cancel those priorities. This has led to cancellation after cancellation, billions in wasted time, and a loss of momentum.
- Support for human lunar missions and manned Mars exploration isn't particularly strong, however. According to a 2023 Pew Research Poll, only 12% of around 10,329 respondents said NASA should prioritize human lunar missions and 11% for Mars exploration. Meanwhile, 60% said scanning the skies for dangerous asteroids was important, indicating limited public interest in lunar exploration.
- Many in the US space industry predict that private companies will finally take humans back to the moon. Billionaires such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have already been busy developing new space exploration ventures, fully aware that new transportation is needed to push humans beyond the moon. Musk has been vocal about how his Starship launch system could pave the way for affordable regular lunar visits. Bezos and Blue Origin have their own plans to use New Glenn rockets to build the first moon base.
- Another issue preventing a return to the moon is the aging NASA workforce. An estimated 14% personnel are over 40 years old. Of those polled in 2019, more American kids dreamed of becoming YouTubers than astronauts. Astronauts say innovation and excitement come from young people, meaning that NASA needs to attract more youngsters to the agency.
- NASA has designed dust- and sun-resistant spacesuits and rovers, but it is uncertain whether that equipment is ready to launch. Astronauts don't doubt whether humans will get back to the moon and onto Mars; it's just a matter of when.
- Public interest in lunar exploration has always been lukewarm despite landing 12 people on the moon being among NASA's greatest achievements. In comparison, NASA's 2024 budget represents about 0.36% of US spending, according to a report from the Planetary Society. Its portion of the federal budget peaked at 4% in 1965 before fluctuating wildly between 0.4% and 1% since the 1970s.
- "A permanent human research station on the moon is the next logical step. It's only three days away. We can afford to get it wrong and not kill everybody," Chris Hadfield, a former astronaut. A lunar station could, among other things, provide propellant for deep space missions, make it easier for humans to live on Mars, create space telescopes, and spur lunar space tourism. It could also solve longstanding scientific mysteries about Earth and the moon's creation.
- The moon is an unforgiving and harsh environment for humans. The sun's harsh rays beat down for about 14 days at a time, exposing the moon's surface to deadly solar radiation. The next 14 days are in total darkness, reducing temperatures to below minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit, making it one of the colder places in the solar system. NASA is working on a nuclear power system that could supply electricity during weekslong lunar nights.
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Livescience
7h
217
Image Credit: Livescience
An asteroid hit Earth just hours after being detected. It was the 3rd 'imminent impactor' of 2024
- An asteroid designated as 2024 UQ impacted Earth's atmosphere just hours after being detected.
- The asteroid measured 3 feet in diameter and posed little threat to Earth's surface.
- The impact monitoring systems did not receive tracking data until after the impact occurred.
- This is the third imminent impactor detected in 2024, following asteroids 2024 BX1 and 2024 RW1.
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Nasa
7h
151
Image Credit: Nasa
NASA Administrator to Visit, Sign Agreement with Peru’s Space Agency
- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will visit Lima and sign a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Peru's National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA).
- The memorandum of understanding will include safety training, a joint feasibility study for a potential sounding rockets campaign, and technical assistance for CONIDA on sounding rocket launches.
- Nelson will discuss the importance of international partnerships and celebrate Peru's signing of the Artemis Accords.
- For more information about NASA's international partnerships, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/oiir
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The Robot Report
8h
7
Image Credit: The Robot Report
Silicon Sensing to supply PinPoint gyros for Martian moons exploration
- Silicon Sensing Systems has been contracted by the German Aerospace Centre to supply PinPoint gyros for the Martian Moons eXploration mission.
- The gyros will be used in the vehicle exploring the larger moon, Phobos, to detect unintended movement and prevent instability during drive sessions.
- Silicon Sensing's PinPoint gyro is a miniature, low drift, single-axis, angular-rate sensor with proven reliability suitable for space requirements.
- The Martian Moons eXploration mission, led by JAXA, aims to explore Mars' moons with contributions from NASA, ESA, CNES, and DLR, with launch planned in 2026 and return to Earth in 2031.
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Nasa
8h
127
Image Credit: Nasa
Space Waste Revolution Challenge
- NASA is seeking innovative solutions for recycling food packaging and polymer waste in space and lunar missions.
- Managing waste becomes critical as we venture further into space and establish long-term presence on the Moon.
- The challenge consists of three research phases, focusing on technology identification and review, market analysis and commercial landscape, and solution evaluation and future opportunities.
- The total prize for the challenge is $5,000.
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Spaceflightnow
1h
101
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
- SpaceX is set to launch 24 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- The mission, known as Starlink 6-68, aims to expand the satellite internet constellation in low Earth orbit.
- The launch is scheduled for 5:33 a.m. EST with an 85% chance of favorable weather conditions.
- The Falcon 9 booster will make its 18th flight and attempt to land on the SpaceX droneship, 'Just Read the Instructions.'
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Arstechnica
2h
467
Image Credit: Arstechnica
Firefly Aerospace rakes in more cash as competitors struggle for footing
- Firefly Aerospace completes a $175 million Series D fundraising round, resulting in a valuation of over $2 billion.
- Firefly's diversified portfolio, including its Alpha rocket and orbital transfer vehicle, Elytra, prove attractive to investors.
- The company aims to become the second company to safely place a commercial lander on the Moon.
- Firefly's fundraising success follows a previous round in 2023, where $300 million was raised at a valuation of $1.5 billion.
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Knowridge
2h
0
Image Credit: Knowridge
How extraterrestrial civilizations could become “stellarvores”
- A series of papers by the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS) examines what Earth’s level of technological development will look like in the future.
- They offer a reinterpretation of the Kardashev Scale, which suggests that civilizations expand to harness greater levels of energy, and instead suggest that civilizations might circumvent this by harnessing stellar mass directly.
- The scenario proposed presents some new and interesting possibilities for advanced civilizations, for example, civilizations that consume stars, which scientists call ‘stellivores,’ would be able to expand in energy use beyond the luminosity limits of the Kardashev scale.
- The Kardashev Scale was proposed by Soviet-Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev to characterize the level of an extraterrestrial civilization’s development based on the amount of energy they could harness.
- The scale reflected the assumption that civilizations and their energy needs will grow exponentially, but traditional applications of the scale predict that growth will be exponential and have even considered how this could give rise to a civilization capable of utilizing the energy output of all stars in the Universe – a Type IV Cosmic Civilization!
- However, Haqq-Misra and his colleagues took a different approach and suggest that civilizations can follow different trajectories for their expansion in space and their energy consumption.
- These projections offer constraints on what SETI researchers should search for and provide hints about our future development.
- The author of the study recommends scientists observe accreting binaries to search for abnormal behavior, which could indicate technological activity.
- Future SETI surveys should examine “accreting binaries,” closely orbiting binary stars with mass flowing from one star to another.
- It is worth keeping our minds open and actually searching for such evidence of advanced and exotic civilizations rather than ruling them out before we look.
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Universe Today
2h
13
Image Credit: Universe Today
Congressional Hearing Fuels Fresh Debate About UFOs
- An 11-page document that’s attributed to a Pentagon whistleblower has provided new cases in the controversy over unidentified aerial phenomena — also known as UAPs, unidentified flying objects or UFOs.
- The document claims that the Immaculate Constellation program has imagery and other data relating to encounters with a variety of anomalous objects.
- Over the past few years, the Department of Defense has become more open to discussing UAP reports publicly, while insisting that there have been no substantiated reports of alien visitations.
- During today’s hearing, lawmakers called on the Pentagon to be more transparent in its investigations.
- The witnesses and the lawmakers seemed unanimous in their support for greater transparency about UAP sightings.
- Congress is currently considering legislation that would strengthen current requirements for UAP disclosure and whistleblower protection.
- The document, released today in conjunction with a House subcommittee hearing on UAPs, lays out details about what’s said to be a special access program called Immaculate Constellation.
- Michael Shellenberger, an author and journalist who received the document from the purported whistleblower, said he verified the source’s credentials and assured lawmakers that the document was authentic.
- Mick West, a retired software engineer who specializes in analyzing UAP reports, was generally skeptical of the claims made during the hearing, which was conducted jointly by two subcommittees under the aegis of the House Oversight Committee.
- The witnesses at the UAP hearing included retired Navy Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, who served as the acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the Trump administration.
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Universe Today
3h
171
Image Credit: Universe Today
New Study Examines How Extraterrestrial Civilizations Could Become “Stellarvores.”
- A team of researchers examines what Earth's level of technological development (aka. “technosphere”) will look like in the future.
- The Kardashev Scale establishes upper limits on the amount of stellar energy a civilization can harness - a “luminosity limit”.
- Haqq-Misra and his colleagues proposed a scenario for advanced civilizations, where they could turn to harvesting stellar mass itself, which could provide a way for a civilization to reach energy use scales beyond those envisioned by the Kardashev scale.
- The scenario could have implications for future SETI surveys.
- Maqq-Misra and his colleagues recommend that scientists observe accreting binaries to search for abnormal behavior, which could indicate technological activity.
- The Kardashev Scale reflects the assumption that civilizations and their energy needs will grow exponentially.
- The Kardashev Scale describes an upper-limit to the tradeoffs between exploration and exploitation.
- Future SETI surveys should examine “accreting binaries,” closely orbiting binary stars with mass flowing from one star to another.
- If humanity ever reaches the limit of how much energy it can harness from our Sun, it may turn to harvesting stellar mass itself.
- The Kardashev Scale was first proposed in 1964 and categorizes civilizations into Type I, II, and III in relation to the amount of energy they can harness.
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Universe Today
6h
259
Image Credit: Universe Today
A Screw-Driven Robot Could Autonomously Mine Rocky Worlds
- A team of researchers in the EU has developed an autonomous mining robot that uses an Archimedes screw as its primary propulsion method.
- The robot, part of the ROBOMINERS project supported by the EU, is designed to navigate and mine rocky terrains on other worlds.
- The robot utilizes four individually controlled Archimedes screws for mobility, which have been tested successfully on different terrains.
- The team is working towards completing the final prototype of the robot, which could potentially be used on the moon or Mars in the future.
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Universe Today
6h
339
Image Credit: Universe Today
How Life Could Live Under the Ice on Mars
- A recent study by NASA suggests that sunlight could reach the layer of water ice beneath the surface of Mars, potentially allowing photosynthesis in the meltwater and supporting life.
- Exploration of Mars by space probes began in the 1960s, focusing on the hunt for water and analysis of the planet's climate and geology.
- While there has been no evidence of life on Mars so far, the discovery of ancient dried river beds and organic molecules indicate that Mars was once warmer and wetter, making it a potentially habitable place for primitive life.
- NASA researchers used computer modeling to show that sunlight can penetrate the Martian water ice, warming and melting it in shallow pools of meltwater, creating a possibly habitable environment for simple forms of life.
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Universe Today
8h
197
Image Credit: Universe Today
NASA’s JPL Lays Off Another 325 People
- NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab is set to lay off 325 people, or about 5% of its workforce, in a second round of layoffs for 2024.
- The layoffs come amid issues with the possible cancellation of the Mars Sample Return mission, and following the recent October 2024 launch of Europa Clipper which leaves no flagship mission in the pipeline.
- Like the previous layoffs, the cuts have nothing to do with individual performance; they’re budget-related and an attempt to balance the books.
- The announcement was made on Nov. 12 in a memo sent to employees. All employees were told to work from home on Nov.13 and were informed whether their position was being eliminated.
- The director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dr. Laurie Leshin, said that the reduction was spread across nearly all areas of JPL.
- "These are painful but necessary adjustments that will enable us to adhere to our budget while continuing our important work for NASA and our nation," said JPL in a statement.
- JPL has a long and storied history, developing robotic spacecraft and sending instruments to every planet in our Solar System. The Lab's motto is "Dare Mighty Things".
- However, Leshin said she believed this will be the last workforce reduction needed for the foreseeable future and that staffing levels are now stable and supportable.
- The JPL will be left with about 5,500 employees after these layoffs.
- JPL is offering laid-off employees personalized support, including dedicated time to discuss their benefits, and several other forms of assistance.
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Geek Wire
8h
67
Starfish Space raises $29M to bankroll development of orbital servicing vehicles
- Starfish Space has raised $29 million to support the development of its Otter orbital servicing vehicles.
- The funding round was led by Shield Capital, with participation from Point 72 Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures, and other investors.
- Starfish's Otter spacecraft is designed for satellite servicing and disposal, using innovative technologies.
- The company has contracts with the U.S. Space Force, NASA, and Intelsat to provide various orbital services.
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