Technology - Blog Posts
Curiosity Self-Portrait at Martian Sand Dune
This self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at "Namib Dune," where the rover's activities included scuffing into the dune with a wheel and scooping samples of sand for laboratory analysis.
The scene combines 57 images taken on Jan. 19, 2016, during the 1,228th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. The camera used for this is the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) at the end of the rover's robotic arm.
Namib Dune is part of the dark-sand "Bagnold Dune Field" along the northwestern flank of Mount Sharp. Images taken from orbit have shown that dunes in the Bagnold field move as much as about 3 feet (1 meter) per Earth year.
The location of Namib Dune is show on a map of Curiosity's route athttp://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=7640. The relationship of Bagnold Dune Field to the lower portion of Mount Sharp is shown in a map at PIA16064.
The view does not include the rover's arm. Wrist motions and turret rotations on the arm allowed MAHLI to acquire the mosaic's component images. The arm was positioned out of the shot in the images, or portions of images, that were used in this mosaic. This process was used previously in acquiring and assembling Curiosity self-portraits taken at sample-collection sites, including "Rocknest" (PIA16468), "Windjana" (PIA18390) and "Buckskin" (PIA19807).
For scale, the rover's wheels are 20 inches (50 centimeters) in diameter and about 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide.
MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.
More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl andhttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/.
New Gravity Map Gives Best View Yet Inside Mars
A new map of Mars' gravity made with three NASA spacecraft is the most detailed to date, providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet.
"Gravity maps allow us to see inside a planet, just as a doctor uses an X-ray to see inside a patient," said Antonio Genova of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts. "The new gravity map will be helpful for future Mars exploration, because better knowledge of the planet's gravity anomalies helps mission controllers insert spacecraft more precisely into orbit about Mars. Furthermore, the improved resolution of our gravity map will help us understand the still-mysterious formation of specific regions of the planet." Genova, who is affiliated with MIT but is located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is the lead author of a paper on this research published online March 5 in the journal Icarus.
The improved resolution of the new gravity map suggests a new explanation for how some features formed across the boundary that divides the relatively smooth northern lowlands from heavily cratered southern highlands. Also, the team confirmed that Mars has a liquid outer core of molten rock by analyzing tides in the Martian crust and mantle caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the two moons of Mars. Finally, by observing how Mars' gravity changed over 11 years – the period of an entire cycle of solar activity -- the team inferred the massive amount of carbon dioxide that freezes out of the atmosphere onto a Martian polar ice cap when it experiences winter. They also observed how that mass moves between the south pole and the north pole with the change of season in each hemisphere.
The map was derived using Doppler and range tracking data collected by NASA's Deep Space Network from three NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars: Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (ODY), and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Like all planets, Mars is lumpy, which causes the gravitational pull felt by spacecraft in orbit around it to change. For example, the pull will be a bit stronger over a mountain, and slightly weaker over a canyon.
Slight differences in Mars' gravity changed the trajectory of the NASA spacecraft orbiting the planet, which altered the signal being sent from the spacecraft to the Deep Space Network. These small fluctuations in the orbital data were used to build a map of the Martian gravity field.
The gravity field was recovered using about 16 years of data that were continuously collected in orbit around Mars. However, orbital changes from uneven gravity are tiny, and other forces that can perturb the motion of the spacecraft had to be carefully accounted for, such as the force of sunlight on the spacecraft's solar panels and drag from the Red Planet's thin upper atmosphere. It took two years of analysis and computer modeling to remove the motion not caused by gravity.
"With this new map, we've been able to see gravity anomalies as small as about 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) across, and we've determined the crustal thickness of Mars with a resolution of around 120 kilometers (almost 75 miles)," said Genova. "The better resolution of the new map helps interpret how the crust of the planet changed over Mars' history in many regions."
For example, an area of lower gravity between Acidalia Planitia and Tempe Terra was interpreted before as a system of buried channels that delivered water and sediments from Mars' southern highlands into the northern lowlands billions of years ago when the Martian climate was wetter than it is today. The new map reveals that this low gravity anomaly is definitely larger and follows the boundary between the highlands and the lowlands. This system of gravity troughs is unlikely to be only due to buried channels because in places the region is elevated above the surrounding plains. The new gravity map shows that some of these features run perpendicular to the local topography slope, against what would have been the natural downhill flow of water.
An alternative explanation is that this anomaly may be a consequence of a flexure or bending of the lithosphere -- the strong, outermost layer of the planet -- due to the formation of the Tharsis region. Tharsis is a volcanic plateau on Mars thousands of miles across with the largest volcanoes in the solar system. As the Tharsis volcanoes grew, the surrounding lithosphere buckled under their immense weight.
The new gravity field also allowed the team to confirm indications from previous gravity solutions that Mars has a liquid outer core of molten rock. The new gravity solution improved the measurement of the Martian tides, which will be used by geophysicists to improve the model of Mars' interior.
Changes in Martian gravity over time have been previously measured using the MGS and ODY missions to monitor the polar ice caps. For the first time, the team used MRO data to continue monitoring their mass. The team has determined that when one hemisphere experiences winter, approximately 3 trillion to 4 trillion tons of carbon dioxide freezes out of the atmosphere onto the northern and southern polar caps, respectively. This is about 12 to 16 percent of the mass of the entire Martian atmosphere. NASA's Viking missions first observed this massive seasonal precipitation of carbon dioxide. The new observation confirms numerical predictions from the Mars Global Reference Atmospheric Model – 2010.
The research was funded by grants from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and NASA's Mars Data Analysis Program.
Bill Steigerwald
See what goes on behind the gates of the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC)!
Working on it.
The US desperately needs computer science majors, so keep coding
The United States is paradoxically home to some of the world’s biggest tech companies and yet doesn’t have enough people studying computer science to fill those jobs.
The U.S. will have 1 million open computing jobs by 2024, according to a recent report by the App Association.
In 2013, the Obama Administration issued a similar statistic estimating that there would be 1.4 million computer science jobs even sooner — by 2020 — but fewer than 400,000 people will graduate with the right skills to fill them. Read more (7/21/17)
follow @the-future-now
"virtual insanity" is what we living in. #oculus #oculusrift #virtualreality #gadget #technology #future #toys #blessed #luxury #beautiful #money #motivation #inspiration #realtalk #coffee #drinks #i #love #life #lol #jokes #goodmorning #good #goodtimes #photooftheday #instagramers #instagram #instapic #instagramhub
Having Black Mirror flashbacks... 😐
Robotic “Bees” Are About to Join Astronauts in Space
There are some things only humans can do in space. The rest can be left to robots. To free up valuable time for astronauts living and working aboard the International Space Station, we’re sending three robotic helpers to the orbiting outpost. Developed and built at our Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, the cube-shaped Astrobee robots will each stay as busy as a bee flying around the space station and assisting crew with routine tasks like maintenance and tracking inventory. The robots will also help researchers on the ground carry out experiments, test new technologies and study human-robot interaction in space. Learning how robots can best work with humans in close proximity will be key for exploring the Moon and other destinations. Get to know more about our new robots headed to space:
The Astrobee robots were tested inside a special lab at our Ames Research Center where researchers created a mockup of the space station’s interior.
The flying robots are propelled by fans. They can move in any direction and turn on any axis in space.
Each robot is equipped with cameras and sensors for navigating inside the space station and avoiding obstacles.
Claw power! Astrobees have a robotic arm that can be attached for handling cargo or running experiments.
Astrobee is battery powered. When its battery runs low, the robot will autonomously navigate and dock to a power station to recharge.
The robots can operate in either fully automated mode or under remote control by astronauts or researchers on Earth.
Astrobee builds on the success of SPHERES, our first-generation robotic assistant that arrived at the space station in 2006.
Two of the three Astrobee robots are scheduled to launch to space this month from our Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia! Tune in to the launch at www.nasa.gov/live.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
The future is here – The transition from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in under 12 minutes
IS VIRTUAL RALITY A HINGING FRUIT?
![[DIGITAL REALITY] is A Writing Mix About A Universe Simulated Within A Machine, Virtual Transcendence,](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e897836a91f69650225e39d89c108e09/tumblr_nb3dgcyoNz1rstdiyo1_500.jpg)
![[DIGITAL REALITY] is A Writing Mix About A Universe Simulated Within A Machine, Virtual Transcendence,](https://64.media.tumblr.com/b55c7101f2d21bbe7ecfc7d60e510119/tumblr_nb3dgcyoNz1rstdiyo2_500.jpg)
[DIGITAL REALITY] is a writing mix about a universe simulated within a machine, virtual transcendence, and technology without morality. It’s a different sort of future, one where every individual can be The God of the Machine.
This playlist contains 16 of my favorite tracks for writing a futuristic setting, cyberpunk, and science-fiction. The music is heavily digitized, harsh, electronic, and yet… somehow peaceful. You have logged-in to a place without law, to a land without boundaries. But– such a place is full of danger. The System’s watchdogs will be hunting you down. Illegal applications can save you, and kill you. And, of course, sexually transmitted malware is always a possibility. Wear protection. You have a personal firewall, use it.
This is not a game.
♪ Listen to this mix on 8tracks ♪
Looking for more writing playlists? Check out my other mixes:
[Writing In The Dark] Unobtrusive & relaxing!
[Writing About Love] Welcome to Feels City, population: You.
[Writing & Fighting!] Round One, Fight!
[Writing About Horror] Don’t look, it’s right behind you!
[Royalty And Noble Blood] Crowns for thieves, daggers for kings!
Oh, and if you want more writerly content, then follow my blog for your daily dose of prompts, advice, and writer positivity: maxkirin.tumblr.com!
THE MOTION OF PLANETS!
First real footage released from Magic Leap, the 3D visual technology company Google invested in
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLD
So have you heard that thing about andromeda colliding with the milky way? It would obviously happen a LONG time from now, but I'm wondering if our solar system will even last long enough to see it. Like will our sun last long enough to get us there?
It will happen quite a long time from now (about four billion years), but yes, our sun will still be there. It won’t be a red giant yet, but it will be considerably warmer and brighter than it is now, as it will be nearing the end of its life as a main sequence star.
For a while beforehand, Andromeda will grow larger than larger. At some point, the Milky Way and Andromeda will get so close that they will begin to gravitationally distort each other. The night sky will look like this (albeit somewhat dimmer to our eyes):
However, by this time, the sun will be about 40% more luminous. The habitable zone, a ring around the Sun where liquid water (and life as we know it) can exist, will have moved further out into the solar system. Earth will be too warm for liquid water. The oceans will have evaporated, and life on Earth will fade away into memory. Of course, humans are getting more and more advanced all the time. Considering how far we’ve come in just a hundred years, if we don’t manage to kill ourselves first (which is a big if), and if the current trends in the rate of advancement in technology hold, it’s virtually certain that our technology will be so advanced that preserving life on Earth will be trivial.
Historic Milestone in Space Flight Technology
Today, March 30, 2017, marks a significant and critical step in making affordable space travel more possible than ever.
Last April, the whole scientific community worldwide was watching as Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched and landed the Falcon 9 rocket booster, proving for the first time in space flight history that it was possible to save and collect rockets after being launched into space. This March, SpaceX aims to up its standards by relaunching and re-landing the same rocket booster, which will deliver a communications satellite into orbit for a Luxembourg-based telecommunications company.
Why is this important? Simply put, rocket boosters are the most expensive part to build for any type of rocket. While SpaceX claims to have the most affordable rocket launches in the world, solidifying the concept of 100% reusable rocket boosters can save space programs $18 million per launch and open more doors for cost-effective commercial space travel.
If 100% reusable rocket boosters become a reality, the cost of launching rockets, experiments, and people into space can be significantly lowered to the point where non-scientific commercial space travel can be a common occurrence.
I can only wonder, then, how much and how far this development will impact not only the space industry, but the whole world itself. If this pushes through, there can be few excuses, then, for not recognizing the potential in looking beyond our own orbit and planet. With incredible scientific progress and discoveries happening almost every day, I think it’s only a matter of time before everyone sets their sights on the stars and starts pushing for interstellar travel.
We are no longer limited to our own solar system, and the possibilities that come with recognizing and answering to that are as unfathomable as space itself.
You can learn more about the surprisingly long history of the SR-71 over at Gizmodo.
Tim Cook says augmented reality is "a big idea like the smartphone"
Facebook is closing in on 2 billion monthly users
Reddit bans two prominent alt-right subreddits
Samsung Galaxy S8 image leaks, rumored to launch March 29
Technology has become so omnipresent that it is impossible for us to spend a single second without our gadgets. Even though most of the modern gadgets come with product warranty, damage by water is not covered in that warranty and it is definitely not worth to rely on your luck for the safety of your expensive gadgets when you have the option to go for waterproof gadgets. Waterproof technology has come a long way indeed. So whether you are planning your next adventure trip or a simple pool party or even gearing up for the upcoming rainy season, it is worth to get some waterproof viral gadgets. Let’s have a look at 10 waterproof gadgets that you can’t ignore:
Headphones at the Consumer Electronics Show this year were a subdued affair. No huge and dramatic launches; no nervous energy about the impact of a future iPhone without a headphone jack, as there was in 2016. It seems like everyone is still busy working on new wireless models that aren’t quite ready for launch this early in the year. But that’s left a lot of room at CES for headphones to distinguish themselves along the classic lines of awesome sound and excellent comfort. Here are my top three picks from among the many headphones I listened to during the big show in Las Vegas.
Isn't it true guys?
This just might be one of the coolest teen wearables we’ve seen >>
8:15PM: The Blue Hour is a time for taking your own way home. With the Gear Fit2, you can track all the calories you burn.
BIODEGRADABLE CELL PHONE
Designer, Je-Hyun Kim fabricated a cell phone to last for as long as the length of its functional lifecycle. The Natural Year Phone is conceptualized to run for at least a year resulting in the final step of the phone to biodegrade and the screen and soft keys can be easily recycled and integrated into a new phone. It’s almost surprising and ground breaking to design a cell phone that automatically biodegrades as it reaches the end of its functional life. This biodegradable phone is deemed a great, convenient idea, but with many limitations and weaknesses.
7 Unique Ways to Keep Yourself Updated With Innovations and Latest Technology Developments
Sometimes, it’s overwhelming to stay abreast of innovations and latest technology developments, especially when you’re head-first and juggling between professional and personal routines every day. Reminding yourself over and over to read the latest news or catch up on a particular website that you’ve bookmarked on your browser to read what’s latest feels like a breeze of Titanic information taking you further and further away, leaving you exhausted and uninterested.
Read more : http://bit.ly/2bEH3iP
Buy Top Class Dash Grab Suction Phone Mounts