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LaserMotive finally wins NASA's Elevator:2010 Beam Power Challenge, climbs at 3.9 meters/second (video)

by Tim Stevens posted Nov 9th 2009 at 6:43AM

LaserMotive finally wins NASA's Space Elevator:2010 Beam Power Challenge, climbs at 3.9 meters/second

NASA has been trying to find someone that could meet its rigorous Space Elevator demands since 2005 and, after some notable failures, we finally have a winner. A company called LaserMotive has won the Beam Power Challenge, tasked with creating a laser-powered robot able to lift a weight on a cable at a speed of greater than two meters per second. LaserMotive's bot nearly doubled that, managing 3.9 meters per second in one test. It was the only competitor to beat the requirement, meaning it gets the full $900,000 prize, and if anyone ever gets around to winning the Tether Challenge we might just be able to get somewhere. Nausea-inducing test video is embedded below.

[Via NewScientist]

Continue reading LaserMotive finally wins NASA's Elevator:2010 Beam Power Challenge, climbs at 3.9 meters/second (video)

AlterG's M300 treadmill: same 'anti-gravity' vibe, now 'only' $24,500

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2009 at 5:08AM

We've always heard that holiday calories "don't count," but disregarding urban legend for a minute, we'd say AlterG's timing here is nothing short of impeccable. Nearly 1.5 years after the outfit's P200 series was a-okay'd by the FCC, an all new walking machine has entered the fray. The M300 treadmill brings along the same "anti-gravity" feel (useful for rehabilitation and athletic training), but in a machine that's a third of the price and way, way sleeker. The idea here is to reduce the strain on joints and muscles as one exercises, and while that's certainly commendable, we're still thinking it'll take one or two more iterations to get one priced for the everyman. You know, unless you consider $24,500+ (or $499+ per month for the rest of your Earthly life) "affordable."

[Via MedGadget]

Ion propulsion engine could take you to Mars in 39 days

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 20th 2009 at 10:31AM

Ready for some interplanetary exploration? We've had the force shields, currency, and refuel stations all sorted out for a while, and now here come the ion thrusters we've been missing to make manned trips to Mars really viable. Currently, a return journey to Mars can take up to two years, with crew members having to wait a full year for the planets to realign, but with ion propulsion -- which uses electricity to accelerate ions and produce small but longevous thrust -- ships can get there within a reasonably tight 39-day window. Ion propulsion rocket engines were first deployed successfully by NASA in the Deep Space 1 probe in 1998, and the latest iteration's successful Earth-bound testing has led to plans for a flight to the moon and use on the International Space Station as test scenarios for the technology. It's all still very much in the early stages, of course, but should all that testing, checking, and refinement bear fruit, we might finally have a whole new world to colonize and sell sneakers on.

[Thanks, Davis]

NASA LCROSS moon impact in T-minus 15, water discovery expected in T-minus 19 (update: video!)

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 9th 2009 at 7:15AM

NASA's LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite) mission is coming to a glorious end. The mission launched on June 18, 2009 is just minutes away from making dual-impact on the face of the moon. The first impact sees the Centaur craft hitting the surface at a speed of about 1 mile per second ejecting about 350 tons of debris from a crater about 20-30-meters in diameter and 2- to 4-meters deep. A second Shepherding spacecraft will pass through the debris plume 4 minutes later, collecting and relaying data back to Earth in real-time before meeting its end. With any luck, we'll know shortly if the moon contains the water-ice theorized by scientists... and cheese. While the obvious use of lunar-based water is to sate the thirst of astronauts, it could also be used be make fuel for off-Earth exploration. Hit the read link for live streaming of the mission from NASA -- first impact occurs at 07:31:19 AM EDT.

Update: Impact occurred... are we still here? Data is now being analyzed and NASA is expected to know the facts in about an hour. Post-impact news conference scheduled for 10:00 AM EDT.

Update 2: Video added after the break showing the final minutes before impact. The highlight seems to be the denied high-5 at 5:00 minutes in.

Continue reading NASA LCROSS moon impact in T-minus 15, water discovery expected in T-minus 19 (update: video!)

NASA's Desert RATS field tests the Lunar Electric Rover on simulated 14-day mission

by Paul Miller posted Sep 20th 2009 at 8:55AM

NASA just took its fancy Lunar Electric Rover for a spin around the Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona for a bit of simulated moon exploration. The 14 day mission had a couple of crew members holed up inside the vehicle for the duration, proving the suitability of the vehicle for such a lengthy jaunt -- and providing for a good amount of Odd Couple-esque hijinks inside, to be sure. The LER also managed to track down "lost" crew members in a trial to test out the navigation systems of the rover, and docked with a habitation module mounted on the ATHLETE vehicle. Sounds like a real party down there! Video is after the break.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

Continue reading NASA's Desert RATS field tests the Lunar Electric Rover on simulated 14-day mission

Video: NASA rockets inflatable heat shield 124 miles up, deploys it successfully

by Tim Stevens posted Aug 24th 2009 at 8:25AM

Space is mighty cool and the Earth's atmosphere isn't particularly hot either (most of it, anyway), but when you transition from one to the other a lot of friction can be generated. NASA typically uses gas-generating ablative shields for smaller orbiters and of course everyone is familiar with the silica tiles on the bottom of the space shuttle, but now it's tested a rather more lightweight and compact option: an inflatable shield. It's comprised of layers of silicon-coated kevlar fabric that, at least for this initial test, inflates in 90 seconds and forms a sort of saucer shape that's just perfect for keeping MUFON's phone lines busy. There's a dizzying video of it being blasted out of the atmosphere just after the break, and we think you'll be seeing plenty more of this tech deployed on future martian landers and the like.

[Via Gizmodo]

Continue reading Video: NASA rockets inflatable heat shield 124 miles up, deploys it successfully

Orbiting fuel stations proposed for trips to the Moon, Mars, and beyond

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 5th 2009 at 1:51AM

A US government panel, summoned by el presidente to review the future of human space travel, has expressed strong support for introducing fuel depots into Earth's orbit. Refueling between stops is expected to cut down significantly on the weight of spacecraft and, accordingly, eliminate the need to engineer ever more powerful rockets to launch missions. It would then be up to private companies to compete -- and NASA already knows a thing or two about privatizing space missions -- by reducing costs and developing more efficient methods. While by no means the only potion NASA has bubbling, if the panel concludes in favor of orbiting gas stations, they will form the backbone of all future extraterrestrial exploration. So we're just letting you know in advance -- we're nice like that.

Apollo 11 moon mission to be recreated on the web

by Darren Murph posted Jul 13th 2009 at 9:19AM

While the shuttle Endeavour is having a tough time getting off of the launch pad, the Apollo 11 moon mission should proceed as scheduled later this week. Some 40 years after Neil Armstrong and a host of behind-the-scenes workers at NASA made JFK's vision a reality, WeChooseTheMoon.org is being launched to recreate the whole spectacle. Starting a full 90 minutes prior to the 40th anniversary (that's 8:02AM on July 16th), the site will be fully operational, tracking the capsule's route from Earth to the moon. Reportedly, visitors will be able to peek "animated recreations of key events from the four-day mission, including when Apollo 11 first orbits the moon and when the lunar module separates from the command module." If you're one of those who remembers "exactly where you were on that fateful day," you should probably queue up a Google alert and bookmark your browser to relive the whole experience again.

Motorola's Aura Celestial Edition soon taking "giant leaps" for "mankind"

by Darren Murph posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 8:21AM

Here's a fact: the world really doesn't need another mildly tweaked Aura. Sorry, it just doesn't. That being true and all, we're still pretty jazzed to see Motorola giving the ultra-luxurious handset another go with the moon-themed Celestial Edition. Word on the street has it that this here handset won't deviate much from the predecessor, but it will come pre-loaded with multimedia from the original moon landing mission, a laser etched quote honoring the 40th anniversary of the journey and a price tag that's far, far beyond stratospheric. We're told that it's all set to go on sale next month, but good luck finding one.

[Via phoneArena]

NASA's new virtual tours of the Space Station and new Mars Rover exactly approximate the sensation of not being in space

by Paul Miller posted May 8th 2009 at 9:43PM

NASA's grabbed Microsoft's fancy Photosynth software once again to build virtual tours of the International Space Station and a full-scale model of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover. The interface lets you dive through endless, 3D-oriented photographs of the station's modules, both inside and out, and gives a really good impression of the size and complexity of the lab-on-wheels NASA is prepping for a 2011 mission to Mars. It's not like being there, but it's a good way to kill a lazy Saturday morning.

[Via PhysOrg]

NASA's new e-nose can detect scent of cancerous brain cells

by Ross Miller posted May 2nd 2009 at 11:41AM

NASA's recently developed electronic nose, intended for air quality monitoring on Space Shuttle Endeavour and later the International Space Station, has a rather fortunate and unintended secondary role. In addition to being able to detect contaminants within about one to 10,000 parts per million, scientists have discovered it can also sniff out the difference in odor between normal and cancerous brain cells -- not a new use for e-noses, but certainly one that helps to advance the field. Groups such the as Brain Mapping Foundation, City of Hope Cancer Center, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been testing the technology and hope it one day leads to a new understanding of cancer development. We'd also wager it can accurately detect what cologne or perfume you're wearing, another unintended side effect and probably not as fun of a party trick as it seems.

[Via Slashdot; image courtesy of RSC]

Odyssey Moon hopes to bring lunar payloads to the masses with MoonOne

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Apr 22nd 2009 at 4:27AM

Looks like our civilian space agency is serious about getting their little robot outpost on the moon, and now they've teamed up with a company called Odyssey Moon to develop small robotic lunar landers based on NASA's Common Spacecraft Bus. The firm hopes to provide regular commercial services (the craft supports a roughly 110 lb payload) in the event of an oncoming "moon rush," a magical future time where everyone and their mother are looking to get a piece of the lunar surface. Who knows what sorts of new discoveries (and new practical jokes) await those of us who are brave enough to exit the gravity well and live amongst the stars? To peep that far out Engineering TV episode where they break it all down for us, hit the read link.

J-ware odor-free underwear could hit Targets, midsections soon

by Darren Murph posted Mar 25th 2009 at 4:21PM

Truthfully, there's just not enough work being done in the area of advanced underpants, so we're absolutely elated to hear that textile experts at Japan Women's University in Tokyo are picking up the slack and moving forward with an amazing development. Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to live on the International Space Station, is current testing the "odor-free" clothing, and it's said that he can rock the same drawers without any pungent smells for a solid week. The garb is designed to "kill bacteria, absorb water, insulate the body and dry quickly," and as if that wasn't awesome enough, they're also flame-resistant and anti-static. The best news? There are already talks of bringing this stuff to the commercial realm. Don't deny it -- you're already thinking of how stellar it'd be to wash clothes just once per month.

NASA's Kepler spacecraft ready to begin searching for other, cooler "earths"

by Laura June posted Mar 6th 2009 at 3:50AM

NASA's just declared its Kepler spacecraft "ready to launch." In case you're not already in the know on this one, the Kepler's mission will be to jaunt out into space, then watch a massive patch of it for 3.5 years to see if there are any signs of habitable planets similar to Earth. The craft will be looking mostly for planets that revolve around stars similar to the Sun, and it will be able to watch about 100,000 of them continuously, unlike the beleaguered but awesome Hubble telescope. The Kepler has a 0.95-meter diameter telescope, and the project has been in the works for about 25 years. It will finally launch tonight, on a Delta 2 rocket. Check out a few images of the Kepler after the break, hit up NASA's Kepler site for the full details of the mission.

[Thanks, Matthew]

Continue reading NASA's Kepler spacecraft ready to begin searching for other, cooler "earths"

NASA ruminating a robot-built lunar outpost to make way for manned missions

by Paul Miller posted Mar 1st 2009 at 3:10AM

NASA commissioned a study on the feasibility of using little smallish tractor bots to prep a lunar outpost before the humans show up, and the research seems to show it as a good idea. The theoretical plan is for 330 pound mower-sized bots to show up on the moon and prep the surface for actual buildings, landing sites, roads and so forth. The robots are basically glorified tractors (or perhaps simplified tractors) so lunarnauts shouldn't expect a palace by the time they show up -- just a bunch of displaced dirt. Berms seem to be a big theme of construction, since a sort of "blast shield" is needed to make sure debris from takeoff and landing don't damage the actual settlement.

[Via ComputerWorld; warning: PDF read link]