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Science Tech

All articles tagged with #science tech

science-tech3 days ago•11 min saved

NASA Overhauls Artemis Timeline, Sets Two Moon Landings for 2028

NASA is reshaping the Artemis program: Artemis III will conduct in‑orbit technology tests instead of a lunar landing, while Artemis IV will become the first crewed Moon landing in 2028, with two Moon landings that year and a cadence of annual missions thereafter. The plan emphasizes testing life support, propulsion and communications in orbit, potential docking with commercial lunar landers, and upgrades to the Orion/AxEMU suits, with the Lunar Gateway not mentioned in the current briefing. The shake‑up follows delays, a multi‑year mission gap, and a workforce reduction, and aims to speed up missions by standardizing the Space Launch System upper stage.

via The Conversation|

#artemis #artemis-ii #canadarm3

science-tech7 days ago•12 min saved

Megaconstellations Could Turn Earth's Atmosphere Into a Crematorium

Researchers warn that the rapid push to satellite mega-constellations—SpaceX and other operators planning up to a million satellites—could cause vast amounts of debris to re-enter and burn up in the upper atmosphere, releasing alumina and other particulates that heat the atmosphere and deplete ozone, with potentially lasting climate impacts. Ground debris and casualty risks rise as more satellites are launched, and a million-satellite scale could significantly alter atmospheric chemistry. The piece calls for global regulation and a defined atmospheric carrying capacity for launches and re-entries, plus full lifecycle environmental assessments, urging SpaceX to take a leadership role.

via The Conversation|

#atmosphere #megaconstellations #ozone-depletion

science-tech10 days ago•11 min saved

Infrared fingerprints tie some 3D-printed guns to their filament

A Curtin University study published in Forensic Chemistry shows that infrared spectroscopy of 3D-printing filaments can distinguish many filament types and link seized ghost guns to their source, challenging the notion that ghost guns are truly untraceable; however, some filaments remain indistinguishable, and researchers plan to add more analytical techniques to strengthen traceability.

via The Conversation|

#3d-printing #filaments #forensic-chemistry

science-tech16 days ago•12 min saved

Megaconstellations Threaten the Night Sky and Cultural Heritage

SpaceX filed for a megaconstellation of up to a million satellites to power space-based data centers, joining a boom of proposals that could raise the number of active satellites from about 14,000 today to millions. The article warns this will permanently alter the night sky, disrupt astronomy and Indigenous cultural practices, and raise environmental and regulatory gaps, noting the lack of unified space traffic management. It advocates a Dark Skies Impact Assessment to document cumulative effects, explore mitigation, and inform licensing—aiming to improve decision-making rather than veto space development.

via The Conversation|

#astronomy #cultural-impact #megaconstellations

science-tech1 month ago•10 min saved

Space-grown mushrooms test future nutrition for deep-space missions

Researchers grew edible fungi (lion’s mane, turkey’s tail, cordyceps) as mycelium aboard the ISS in 2024 to explore space nutrition for long missions. After returning to Earth, the samples were cultivated into mushrooms on Earth, eaten in recipes, and shown to continue producing harvests in various environments, suggesting microgravity doesn’t hinder their growth and hinting at space-provisioned food for future expeditions like Artemis II.

via The Conversation|

#international-space-station #long-duration-spaceflight #science-tech

science-tech1 month ago•11 min saved

Canada's Hansen Heads on Artemis II, NASA's First Crewed Moon Mission in 54 Years

NASA's Artemis II mission launches from Kennedy Space Center with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen aboard the Orion spacecraft on the Space Launch System, marking the first crewed Moon flight since 1972. Over about 10 days the crew will test essential life-support and onboard systems, perform a lunar fly-by on a free-return trajectory, and reinforce international collaboration under the Artemis Accords as groundwork for a lunar base and eventual Mars missions.

via The Conversation|

#artemis-ii #canadian-astronaut #jeremy-hansen

science-tech1 month ago•11 min saved

Brain sculpting isn’t fantasy: adulthood can change its structure and function

For much of the 20th century, scientists believed the adult brain was fixed, but neuroplasticity now shows the brain can change throughout life in response to experience—though changes are gradual and bounded. The article traces this shift from Hebb’s 1949 idea to modern imaging that reveals learning reshapes brain activity and connectivity, with the hippocampus showing limited adult neurogenesis. Change is strongest with effortful, meaningful engagement and is enhanced by practice, regular exercise (which raises BDNF) and sleep, while chronic stress can impair plasticity. Plasticity can be maladaptive, reinforcing harmful patterns like chronic pain or addiction, but therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy and rehab can steer it toward recovery. The piece also debunks myths of rapid, limitless change, emphasizing that real brain remodeling comes from challenging, real-life activities like language learning, playing music, and complex social interaction.

via The Conversation|

#brain #learning #memory

science-tech1 month ago•13 min saved

Four advances aim to outpace antibiotic resistance and reboot modern medicine

Antibiotic resistance threatens a century of medical progress, but four broad advances are reshaping the landscape: faster, on-site diagnostics; expansion beyond traditional antibiotics through nontraditional therapies (including bacteriophages and microbiome-based approaches and CRISPR antimicrobials); recognizing resistance spreads across ecosystems with One Health approaches; and policy reforms to incentivize antibiotic development, aiming to diagnose earlier, widen treatment options, and safeguard medicines for the future.

via The Conversation|

#antibiotic-resistance #bacteriophage-therapy #diagnostics

science-tech1 month ago•13 min saved

Tiny atomic leaks undermine the promise of a nano-thin electronic insulator

A 2010 claim that an aluminum oxide/titanium oxide nanolaminate could deliver a giant dielectric constant was later shown to be a measurement artifact caused by leakage paths in the first aluminum oxide layer formed during atomic layer deposition. The aluminum oxide layer didn’t grow evenly because the TMA precursor pulled oxygen from the underlying TiO2, creating weak spots. Once the process used ozone as the oxygen source, leakage was suppressed and the material behaved as a true insulator, highlighting that chemistry at a few atomic layers can be as decisive as thickness for reliable dielectrics.

via The Conversation|

#aluminum-oxide #atomic-layer-deposition #dielectrics

science-tech1 month ago•14 min saved

A turning point in space: 2026 blends cosmic mapping with lunar ambitions

2026 is poised to reshape space exploration: NASA plans Artemis II to circle the Moon, India presses ahead with the Gaganyaan program and China expands its crewed missions, while flagship telescopes like NASA’s Roman Space Telescope, ESA’s PLATO and China’s Xuntian, plus the Vera Rubin Observatory on the ground, aim to map the cosmos and probe dark matter and dark energy. International cooperation continues even as competition heats up, with joint efforts such as SMILE illustrating a shared drive to understand the Moon’s origins, lunar water resources, and the broader evolution of the solar system.

via The Conversation|

#artemis-ii #gaganyaan #moon

science-tech1 month ago•12 min saved

Cosmic clocks in zircon reveal Australia’s ancient landscape history

Scientists read a “cosmic clock” in tiny zircon crystals to trace Australia’s ancient surface changes. By measuring cosmogenic krypton trapped in zircon from buried beach sands near the Nullarbor Plain, they estimate extremely slow erosion about 40 million years ago, revealing a long-stable landscape and explaining zircon-rich deposits. The approach provides a new long-term clock for Earth’s surface history and could illuminate landscape responses to major events like the rise of land plants, with implications for mineral wealth as well.

via The Conversation|

#cosmogenic-krypton #erosion-rate #landscape-evolution