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NASA uses smart sandals to stop astronauts cheating their exercise routines
A happy byproduct of zero gravity is an astronaut's ability to totally fake a power-lifting session. (Oh gosh this barbell is so heavy, Houston, do you copy?) Then again, given the rate at which the human body loses bone and muscle strength in a weightless environment, such cheating would almost certainly backfire. NASA has therefore decided equip its space travelers with Xsens ForceShoes, aka smart sandals, to ensure that each crew member is getting their necessary 2.5-hour daily dose on the agency's dedicated Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED). The sandals can wirelessly report back torque and load forces at various points on the wearer's foot -- enough data to monitor whether dead lifts, squats and even bicep curls are being performed wholeheartedly. Then again, we should probably point out that none of this is official. NASA is publicly saying that the deployment of ForceShoes is merely to "validate the technology," and it is unrelated to the recent outbreak of laziness aboard the ISS.
NASA investigates how to keep crew healthy during deep space missions
Now that we're this close to sending humans to Mars, NASA thought it best to start preparing for one of its biggest goals: deep space exploration. Three NASA Ames Research Center studies that aim to explore the effects of deep space exploration on astronauts' health just got a total of $17 million in funding. One of the proposals is looking for ways to mitigate spatial disorientation after a lengthy space flight, while another will use rats to determine how the skeleton will respond to a long exposure to microgravity. The last proposal hopes to develop augmented displays for robotic missions sent to the surfaces of planets, moons, asteroids and the like. NASA's hoping these studies can shed light on how deep space missions affect human eyesight, bone density, and cardiovascular functions, not to mention their impact on people's behavioral and mental health. Of course, $17 million likely won't be enough to get all the answers we're looking for, but that can at least keep those studies chugging along for one to three years. [Image credit: NASA]
Mars Explorer Barbie: yeah, Ken's over the moon for this one
Technologically inclined Barbie's aren't exactly new, but a Mars Explorer Barbie? Yeah, that's worth mentioning. In cooperation with NASA, the "Career of the Year Mars Explorer Barbie" is being "launched"... presumably right into Ken's ever-loving heart. We're told that she's ready to "add her signature pink splash to the red planet," and should be hitting Earthly shelves now for $12.99. The best part? Curiosity won't have to sing a birthday song alone ever again.
NASA picks eight astronaut trainees that may go to asteroids and Mars (video)
If you like space exploration, you'll want to get used to these eight faces -- odds are that you'll see at least some of them again. They represent NASA's 2013 astronaut candidate class, and they'll start training in August for a chance at going on missions to the International Space Station, asteroids and even Mars. The trainee pool is more eclectic than usual this time around. Half the picks are women, while three of the candidates come from non-military outfits such as Harvard Medical School and NOAA. Check out the full roster after the break.
2012: The year of the MMO Kickstarter
Kickstarter is perhaps the biggest story in the world of gaming since the birth of the home video console or the integration of online components into consumer entertainment. No new product, innovation, or invention has carried with it such immense potential for shifting the way the industry plans, builds, and delivers its products. And with projects covering everything from hardware to companion apps, it's almost impossible now to imagine a gaming world without Kickstarter, even though it was our reality just a few short months ago. The legacy of Kickstarter is one that we're witnessing in real-time. Most of the major successful projects are slated for late 2013/early 2014 releases, giving us plenty of time to speculate on what may or may not go wrong with the crowd-funding model and the products it bears. Over the next year, games will either make it to market or they won't. Developers will squander their budgets or release on time. It's all up in the air. With that in mind, we thought now would be a good time to look back on some of the biggest MMO Kickstarter projects of 2012. The fate of some of these titles is inexorably tied to the fate of Kickstarter as a viable game-creating platform -- and maybe even crowd-sourcing as a whole.
US and Russian space agencies to launch first year-long mission on the ISS
If you thought that year out around Europe was an eye opener, how about 12 months on the International Space Station? That's what's in store for two unnamed astronauts. Currently, the maximum stay on the ISS is six months, but in 2015, one Russian, and one American will work their way through the whole calendar, in a trip that could help pave the way for deep space travel. Plenty of data has already been collected about the effect microgravity has on the body, but less is known of the longer-term implications. NASA is already considering sending manned expeditions to near-Earth asteroids and Mars in the coming decades -- but the results from this excursion could prove invaluable. The names of the chosen two haven't been revealed, and the Soyuz capsule's (currently unaccounted for) third-seat has also sparked talk of another person possibly coming along for the ride. Time to re-plan that gap year?
Alt-week 8.18.12: Graphene sponges, zero-g athletics and tweets in space
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. We see a lot of crazy stories here at Engadget, especially when we spend our week poking around in dark and scary corners of the internet specifically in search of them, just so you don't have to. We consider it a service almost. One that we're delighted to provide, we must add. When else would we be able to share such delights as an astronaut triathlete, soft, color-changing robots and a recent response to a thirty-year-old alien broadcast? Exactly. This is alt-week.
NASA, GM working on a 'Robo-Glove' to assist astronauts and autoworkers alike
We've seen power assist technology designed to help people walk, bike or just tote luggage around, and now we've for the Human Grasp Assist aka Robo-Glove. Under development from GM and NASA, the project takes inspiration from technology designed to give Robonaut 2 a hand capable of using tools designed for humans to embed actuators in the top of the glove that provide additional grip for the hands of meatbags. Once its pressure sensors detect the wearer is picking up a tool the synthetic tendons retract, holding them there until the sensor gives the signal to release. Current prototypes still weigh about two pounds and run off of a belt-mounted lithium-ion battery, although we still find the idea preferable to humanoid replacement like the impervious-to-baseball-bats DLR Hand System. By reducing the amount of force factory workers need to hold a tool from 15 to 20 pounds to just 5 to 10 pounds its expected to cut down the risk of repetitive motion injuries -- we'll wait for the fourth generation model to see what they can do for bloggers or Lee Evans. Until then, check after the break for a press release and quick demonstration video.
Record-breaking freefall advances space suit technology (video)
Jumping to Earth from the edge of space is no mean feat. Not only are you dropping like a stone, there's also the minor issue of your blood boiling as you do so. These are challenges daredevil Felix Baumgartner and the Red Bull Stratos team will be taking head-on -- literally -- with their record-breaking 120,000 foot "spacedive." To ensure Baumgartner lives to claim his honors, the Stratos team is using a custom spacesuit. It's designed by the David Clark Company, which made the first pressurized suits for World War II fighters, and includes a gas-filled bladder and integrated valve to maintain pressure over the various altitudes. While Baumgartner hopes to set new freefall distance, and time (5 minutes 30 seconds) records, there'll also be a lasting contribution to science, with team medical director Dr. Jonathan Clark hoping the developments can lead to advances in space travel and tourism. So in the future when you're opening your pretzels, looking down upon the Earth, raise a complimentary glass to Felix
Kinect sensor wants to guess astronauts' weight, tell them to hit the space gym
How do you weigh yourself when there's no gravity keeping you down? Well, you can calculate your mass by sitting on an oscillating spring and comparing its standing frequency to your riding frequency (NASA's current method), or you could rig up a Kinect sensor to tell you when you're getting fat. Carmelo Velardo, a Eurocom computer scientist in Alphes-Maritimes, France, is developing the latter option. Working with colleagues at the Italian Institute of Technology's Center for Human Space Robotics, Velardo paired the Kinect sensor's 3D modeling digs with a database of weight to body measurements of 28,000 people -- the resulting system can guess your weight with a 97 percent accuracy. NASA scientist John Charles notes that while the rig works well on the ground, it might hit some snags in space. Microgravity can shift water around in an astronaut's body, changing their density and potentially throwing off the Kinect setup's readings. Still, Charles says the technique "appears feasible," and suggests pairing it with the existing weight measurement tools might "provide insights into changes in body density that might be illuminating." Velardo hopes to test the system in parabolic flight soon. If he succeeds, not even outer space will protect us from the shameful judgment of video game peripherals. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some squat-thrusts to get to.
NASA-sponsored study finds lengthy spaceflight can impair astronauts' vision
NASA has of course long been monitoring the effects of spaceflight on astronauts' health, but a recent study sponsored by the space agency is now shedding some new light on one potentially significant problem: their eyesight. While the study only involved seven astronauts, all reported that they suffered some degree of blurry vision while on the space station for more than six months, and some reported that the effects persisted for months after they returned to Earth. The study also found specific abnormalities in all of the astronauts affected, including changes in tissue, fluids, nerves and other structures in the back of the eye. Those problems are all relatively minor and correctable, but researchers are now also taking the findings and working on ways to determine who might be most resistant to any such changes, which could be critical on something as long as a three-year mission to Mars. Additional details of the study are in the press release after the break, and the full report is published in the latest issue of Ophthalmology. [Image: NASA]
Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond handing out trips to the (virtual) moon!
As Project Whitecard wraps up its Kickstarter fundraiser to raise funds for Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond, it wants to give a little extra incentive for any would-be donors. Anyone -- past, present and future -- who gives to the NASA project will be entered into a drawing for one of 50 free copies of Project Moonwalk. Project Moonwalk is a video game simulation of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, designed to be not only fun but also educational. The game hits the high points of space race history, from Sputnik's launch to the lunar landing and subsequent return to Earth. Made with the Unreal Engine, Project Moonwalk will be released this fall. Currently, Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond has raised over $41,000 through Kickstarter, well exceeding its $25,000 goal. If you're interested in helping in the second great space race, then you have six days to get your pledge in to the cause before the fundraiser ends!
Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond prepares to plumb the depths of space for adventure
While NASA's shuttle mission may be over and the International Space Station's future in doubt, there is one place that space exploration is moving forward: online. Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond is looking more promising by the day, especially now that the team has secured almost $40,000 via Kickstarter to help fund the project. So why did NASA agree to an MMO of all things? Daniel Laughlin, project manager of NASA's Learning Technologies, sees the two as having a lot in common. Talking with Universe Today, Laughlin said, "Based on the existing literature as well as my own experiences gaming, an MMO was the logical choice for a game project for NASA." While NASA is partnered with the development team, the space agency is not funding the game -- hence the use of Kickstarter to raise money for Astronaut. It takes place in 2035 as mankind is just starting to colonize the solar system, and it promises to use real physics and technology to simulate these efforts. Khal Shariff says that players should expect a lot of crafting, use of proper gear, and missions that flow together for a bigger storyline. Interestingly enough, it seems that even NASA has room for a few new heroes. "We have protagonists in the game, and I won't say much about them, because I don't want to spoil the opening scene of Chapter One," Shariff said. He hopes that players will enjoy the melding of science fiction with science fact: "We want you to sit down and curl up with one session and have a feeling like you had when you read the best short science fiction stories, especially like those of Clarke. There is plenty of adventure to plumb."
Nexus S takes to space aboard Atlantis, does astronauts' dirty work
The last time Google's jet-setting smartphone took to space, it wasn't exactly flying in style. Well, the Nexus S has ditched its styrofoam trappings for more respectable digs -- specifically, NASA's last manned space shuttle, Atlantis. Its mission: "explore how robots can help humans experiment and live in space more efficiently." Affixed to a series of three robotic satellites, known as SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) the phones engaged in tasks usually done by their human travel companions, like recording sensor data and capturing video. A special sensor-logging app was customized by NASA to capture sensor data and is now available for download in the Android Market. To see the space traveling smartphone at work, hop on past the break, or hit up NASA's project page at the coverage link below.
Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond developer talks educational mission
Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond has been in the news a lot lately, but just who are the folks behind the educational MMO from NASA and Project Whitecard? A new piece at Gamasutra sheds a bit of light on that as well as a few more details about the project as a whole. "I'm originally a developer," says Project Whitecard CEO Khal Shariff. "I thought, 'oh, I could be a developer for the rest of my life, or I could start my own company.'" That company has some pretty lofty goals for its first MMO, including reaching out to millions of kids worldwide and getting them interested in STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). "We are dedicated to using game technology to do things that, when somebody interacts with the game, it maybe leaves the world better or leaves somebody smarter," Shariff says.
Astronaut MMO may finally launch (pun intended)
Just when Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond was about to be written off as vaporware, NASA has popped back on the scene to announce some commercial backing for the project from developers Project Whitecard, Wisdom Tools, and Virtual Heroes. According to the first announcement over two years ago, the MMO aims for a demographic of players age 5 to 24, setting them up as astronauts who are training to explore deep into Earth's star system in the year 2035. Imagine Space Camp... but actually in space. To assist in funding the project, the developers of the upcoming MMO have created a Kickstarter page that includes a four-minute video explaining what the game is about. CEO for Wisdom Tools Dr. Sonny Kirkley explains in the video that the game is meant to be fun, but at the same time the designers "want the learning to be authentic." To that end, NASA has granted the developers full access to the rich history of the space program so that a true sense of realism can be achieved. The game has been developed with the Unreal Engine 3 to work on PC, iPad, and some yet-to-be-announced consoles. Look for the beta testing to start in December of 2012, and watch the full Kickstarter video after the break.
Bonhams' Space History Sale includes spacesuits, memorabilia, and a Game Boy flown in space
Bonhams' upcoming Space History Sale -- happening May 5th in New York -- is filled with items that will make any space geek reconsider their current spending priorities, but we couldn't help but notice one particular item that hits a little closer to home. Mixed in with spacesuits expected to fetch upwards of $100,000 and other various memorabilia from both the US and Soviet space programs in this, a wholly ordinary Nintendo Game Boy (complete with Tetris, of course) that accompanied cosmonaut Aleksandr A. Serebrov on Soyuz mission TM-17 in 1993. Interested? The estimate is pegged at a somewhat reasonable $1,500 to $2,000, but we have a sneaking suspicion Bonhams might be underestimating the will of a considerable number of folks who are both space and video game nerds (we're speaking as one ourselves, of course). Hit up the source link below to check out everything up for auction.
First Orbit offers a glimpse at Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight 50 years later (video)
It's been exactly 50 years to the day -- in some places, anyway -- that cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's maiden voyage set off an international space race that defined an era, and while only Gagarin knew exactly what it was like to be the first man in space, documentarian Christopher Riley is giving us a glimpse of what the world might have looked like from the porthole of Vostok 1. As we reported before, First Orbit is a mashup of sorts that features original audio recordings from Gagarin's flight, coupled with footage taken by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli from aboard the International Space Station. The result is nothing short of stunning, but you don't have to take our word for it -- in fact, go ahead and grab yourself some popcorn, hit the play button, and prepare to be amazed.
NASA makes longer, straighter piezoelectric nanowires in microgravity, no flat iron needed
Piezoelectric nanowires are the stuff that make power-generating pants a possibility, and that prodigious potential has drawn the attention of NASA. You see, self-powered spacesuits are awfully attractive to our nation's space agency, and a few of its finest student researchers have discovered that the current-creating strands of zinc oxide can be made longer and straighter -- and therefore more powerful -- when freed from gravity's unrelenting pull. That means nanowires grown in microgravity could lead to higher capacity batteries and the aforementioned juice-generating interstellar garb. Of course, there's no such end-products yet, but let's see if NASA can do what others have not: give pants-power to the people.
Film recreation of Soviet cosmonaut Gagarin's historic spaceflight to be shown off next month
If you know anything about the history of spaceflight, you're probably already familiar with the historic journey of USSR cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who flew around the Earth in 1961, making him the first person to ever travel beyond our planet's atmosphere. While audio recordings of Gagarin's observations exist, there are no video recordings except for those recently shot at the ISS following a similar plot of his trip, directed by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli, who currently lives on the space station. This video has now been matched up with Gagarin's audio, and made into a film to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his flight, which is on April 12th. The movie will be made available on that date for free download on YouTube.
