Daily Archives: September 20, 2022

Artists conception of SUSIE performing a vertical landing (video sped 2.5 times). Gif: ArianeGroup/Gizmodo

French aerospace company ArianeGroup has revealed a concept for a reusable upper stage spacecraft that would be capable of delivering heavy payloads to space and carry out crewed missions before landing vertically back on Earth.

SUSIE, short for Smart Upper Stage for Innovative Exploration, was introduced to the world at the International Astronautical Congress held in Paris from September 18 to 22. The fully reusable upper stage could eventually serve as an automated freighter and payload transporter, as well as a spacecraft for crewed missions carrying a crew of up to five astronauts. SUSIE remains a concept for now, but if realized, the spacecraft would support various European space endeavours for years to come.

Reusability is fast becoming a necessity in modern spaceflight, as launch providers work to keep costs down. It is our industrial duty to contribute to this ambition and offer European decision-makers smart and ambitious technological solutions capable of contributing to independent access to space, and also to open the door to European space exploration and address commercial and institutional needs for services in space over the coming decades, Morena Bernardini, head of strategy and innovation at ArianeGroup, said in a statement.

Europes private space industry has fallen a bit behind its American counterparts in terms of developing reusable vehicles. SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket is a reusable two-stage rocket that has flown to space nearly 200 times, while the companys reusable Dragon capsules, whether for cargo or crews, are now in steady circulation. Boeings Starliner, a reusable crew capsule, recently completed its first uncrewed end-to-end test flight (although it was a less-than-perfect mission). Reusable launchers and vehicles arent so much the future as they are the present.

G/O Media may get a commission

Pre-order

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

Releases September 23Featuring 2x stronger active noise cancellation., longer battery life granting up to 6 hours of listening time with ANC enabled and 30 hours of total listening time thanks to the MagSafe charging case, a new smaller silicone ear tip for tinier ears, a new chip, enhanced Bluetooth, and more

Artists conception of SUSIE shortly after detaching from the second stage. Screenshot: Ariane Group

SUSIE will initially launch onboard the companys heavy-lift Ariane 6 vehicle, which is scheduled for its inaugural flight in 2023. The large upper stage could be used to transport all sorts of payloads to orbit and even assist in the orbital construction of large infrastructure, such as space stations. For its return trip home, the spacecraft could be packed with upwards of 14,000 pounds (7 tons) of cargo and supplies.

Missions made possible by SUSIE include towing, inspecting and upgrading satellites and other payloads, and supplying fuel, food, and equipment to space stations. It will also be able to carry out crew changeovers and facilitate human in-orbit activities, ArianeGroup claimed in its statement. It will also help reduce orbital debris and assist with removing or deorbiting end-of-life satellites. SUSIE is meant to be entirely reusable and is designed to make a soft, vertical landing back on Earth. The upper stage would also be equipped with an abort safety system that covers the entire mission from liftoff to landing.

Aside from SUSIE, ArianeGroup is designing new heavy-lift reusable launchers as part of a proposal for the European Space Agency (ESA) for its NESTS (New European Space Transportation Solutions) initiative. The heavy-lift launchers could later be used to carry SUSIE to orbit. Europe may be late to the game, but its planning a solid entry into the business of reusable space vehicles.

More: Arianespace Reaches Deal With OneWeb, Setting Stage for Resumption of Suspended Launches

See the article here:

This Reusable Space Freighter Would 'Open the Door' to European Space Exploration - Gizmodo

In July this year, NASA shared the most profound images of the universe. People have always longed to know more about the universe. The Mayas, for example, turned to astronomy to guide their lives. The Apollo Program began in 1960, culminating in the first voyage to the moon. This historical moment was unprecedented in engineering, resulting from finding or creating new materials, methods, better technical and manufacturing systems, and even discovering new laws of nature. Space technology has impacted the world in areas not imagined previously, starting with satellite television, mobile phone signals, and geo-positioning systems (GPS).

Ethan R. Siegel, an American theoretical astrophysicist and science writer, wrote an article for Forbes describing why it is important to explore space. He explained that space technology, especially terrestrial satellites, can survey and examine vast land areas quickly, improving land use for farmers, livestock, and fishing. Satellite monitoring records the state and condition of crops, soil, the effects of droughts, rains, and other factors. "It has been estimated that even a modest system of terrestrial satellites equipped with terrestrial resources and sensors programmed for agricultural improvements could increase annual harvests by an equivalent of many billions of dollars worldwide," Siegel wrote.

NASA, together with various private companies, is developing the Artemisprogram that plans to establish human life on the moon and "lay the groundwork for private companies to seed a lunar economy and eventually send humans to Mars, starting in 2033." For many of the new generations, it is hard to believe that just 53 years ago, humans landed on the moon for the first time. Now, one does not need to be an astronaut to get into space, as SpaceX demonstrated in September last year when American Jared Isaacman (the founder and CEO of Draken International), a pilot, philanthropist, and commercial astronaut, financed a private voyage orbiting the earth. Medical assistant Hayley Arceneaux, data engineer Chris Sembroski, and geoscientist and science communication specialist Sian Proctor joined him.

Even if a student does not dream of exploring space as an astronaut, education about space and its discoveries is crucial because it emphasizes STEAM subjects and motivates students to dream of something beyond their current knowledge and experience. It is essential to teach students that space exploration is not limited only to industry; academic institutions also play a vital role. At Georgia Tech, for example, teams are building Lunar Flashlight,a small satellite that will orbit the moon and search for lunar ice.

Sandy Magnus, a former NASA astronaut and professor at Georgia Tech explains that the new challenges and technologies facing NASA require multidisciplinary expertise. The challenges go beyond avionics, thermal, or materials problems; much interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research is needed. At Georgia Tech, students participate in designing flying activities and building prototypes. They enter design competitions where they analyze and build various aerospace systems and compete against teams from other universities.

Such activities do not occur only at the university level. For example, in K-12, tools like Mimio MyBot and ShareSpace Giant Mars Map allow students to create and program rovers that simulate what scientists and engineers do to explore Mars. There are even activities that focus on maneuvering the challenging Martian terrain, which requires understanding the topography of Mars. Also, STEAM kits are available, having teacher guides, lessons, activities, and even curricula where students learn how the sun affects the temperature on different planets, which affects the viability of growing living things on the earth. NASA has also created specialized material for educators and students.

An article published in the 6th International Conference on Space Science and Communication (IconSpace) called Using Space Science as a Tool To Promote STEM Education to High School Students in Malaysiadiscusses how teaching about space science brings together two key concepts ofSTEAMeducation: 1) it combines many separate disciplines (chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics), assuming that their shared synergies promote advances in understanding the natural world, leading to innovation, and 2) it connects logic and the multidisciplinary conceptual frameworks of the differentSTEAMfields, thus, treating education holistically. The article highlights "astrobiology," as "a relatively new multidisciplinary domain of science that raises specific questions about the origins of life, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the future of life; it integrates physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, computer science,big data,and artificial intelligence."

According to the authors, STEAM topics are often stigmatized as challenging to learn. Still, space science has risen due to science fiction and the genre's curiosity and imagination.Precisely because space science is intertwined with imagination, in 2019, Jeff Bezos created the Club for the futurethrough his space transport company, Blue Origin.He invites students, educators, and parents who comprise the millions of people living and working in the industry to draw or write their vision and send it to the club by email or traditional mail. Once received, these are packed and flown into space with the flight crew. When the spacecraft returns to earth, the written visions are stamped to show they've gone out of orbit and returned to their owners. The idea behind this is to inspire new generations to pursue aSTEAM career to turn their vision of the world in space into reality and demonstrate to students that space is something achievable. The program also offers various resources to include space topics in the classroom and work on collaborative activities.

The International Space Station (ISS) created a community of students, teachers, and organizations called Space Station Explorers, which offers lessons to replicate specific experiments in the ISS. The aim is that with this "taste" of an astronaut's life, people become motivated to discover more about space and study something related. Space science positions go beyond astronauts; they include atmospheric scientists, aerospace engineers, avionics technicians, and data analysts. As Sandy Magnus mentioned, space science is an area that requires multidisciplinary disciplines.

Unlike 50 years ago, space exploration is more accessible, so motivating students to look up is vital. Technology and space science is used daily to improve living conditions on Earth, like ride-sharing apps or routing apps that help people avoid traffic congestion, determine where they are when driving, indicate how the road is to the destination, and so on. In construction, some companies use high-quality satellite imagery combined with space technology to quote particular jobs without visiting the site. Even insurance companies use this technology to assess the risk of buildings remotely. Also, dating apps show potential partners in the area. If space exploration has shown anything, it is that the sky is no longer the limit.

Read the original:

Space Science Teaches Students That the Sky Is No Longer the Limit - Observatory of Educational Innovation

When youre going into outer space for an extended period of time, Hilton and Voyager Space want astronauts and space tourists to know it matters where you stay. Voyager, a global leader in space exploration, today announced Hilton will be the official hotel partner of Starlab, Voyagers planned free-flying commercial space station.

Starlab will be more than just a destination, it will be an experience made infinitely more unique and artful with the Hilton teams infusion of innovation, expertise and global reach, said Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO, Voyager Space. Voyager and Hilton are acutely focused on creating innovative solutions for the future of humanity and this partnership opens new doors to what is possible for comfort-focused space exploration and habitation.

Voyager, and its operating company Nanoracks, were awarded $160 million in NASA funding in 2021 for the Starlab space station, which is set to replace the International Space Station. Starlab is planned to have the capacity to continuously host up to four astronauts and house the George Washington Carver (GWC) Science Park, a state-of-the-art laboratory system and first science park in space. Starlab leverages Voyager and Nanoracks' experience managing global customer experience and research operations on the International Space Station for over a decade.

Hilton has been innovating to improve the guest experience and pioneering new destinations for travel for more than a century. We are thrilled to partner with Voyager to bring that expertise to Starlab, said Chris Nassetta, president and CEO, Hilton. For decades, discoveries in space have been positively impacting life on Earth, and now Hilton will have an opportunity to use this unique environment to improve the guest experience wherever people travel. This landmark collaboration underscores our deep commitment to spreading the light and warmth of hospitality and providing a friendly, reliable stay whether on the ground or in outer space.

This first-of-its-kind venture builds on Hiltons effect in new and emerging markets, its storied history with space, and its global lodging and hospitality leadership, welcoming more than three billion guests across a portfolio of 18 brands comprising 7,000 properties in 122 countries and territories. In partnership with Voyager, Hilton will bring this unique scale and customer focus to Starlab as it continues to serve every traveler for every trip occasion.

The research and design work being dedicated to Starlab could also lead to advancements driving sustainability and greater design efficiencies for future hotel owners in space and on Earth. Just as Hilton has done for its more than 100-year history, from creating the first central reservation system and being the first hotel to offer in-room air conditioning, to introducing Digital Key technology and pioneering Confirmed Connecting Rooms, the company will continue to set the standard for the industry - now bringing that legacy of innovation beyond Earth.

With its recently launched global platform, Hilton. For the Stay., bolstered by an ad campaign, It Matters Where You Stay, the company also brings a wealth of consumer insights that prove the stay is the crucial element that can make or break any trip, even to outer space. Hilton will bring the companys renowned hospitality expertise and experience to support the design and development of crew suites aboard Starlab, helping to reimagine the human experience in space, making extended stays more comfortable.

Voyager and Hilton will partner in the areas of architecture and design, leveraging Hiltons world-class creative design and innovation experts, to develop Space Hospitality crew headquarters aboard Starlab, including communal areas, hospitality suites and sleeping arrangements for the astronauts. Additionally, the teams will seek to explore opportunities together for longer-term efforts including the ground-to-space astronaut experience, global co-marketing and branding, and other tourism, educational and commercial efforts.

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 18 world-class brands comprising more than 6,800 properties and more than 1 million rooms, in 122 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, earned a top spot on the 2021 World's Best Workplaces list and been recognized as a global leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for five consecutive years. In 2021, in addition to opening more than one hotel a day, Hilton introduced several industry-leading technology enhancements to improve the guest experience, including Digital Key Share, automated complimentary room upgrades and the ability to book confirmed connecting rooms. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the nearly 128 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can't buy. With the free Hilton Honors app, guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone. Visit newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

See the article here:

Hilton and Voyager Space to Partner on Improving Stays in Space Designing Crew Lodging, Hospitality Suites for Starlab Space Station - Hospitality...

');});jQuery('.entry-content p.watermarked > div.watermarked_image > img').each( function() {if ( jQuery(this).hasClass('alignnone') ) {jQuery(this).parent().addClass( 'alignnone' );}if ( jQuery(this).hasClass('alignleft') ) {jQuery(this).parent().addClass( 'alignleft' );}if ( jQuery(this).hasClass('alignright') ) {jQuery(this).parent().addClass( 'alignright' );}if ( jQuery(this).hasClass('size-medium') ) {jQuery(this).parent().addClass( 'has-size-medium' );}if ( jQuery(this).hasClass('aligncenter') ) {jQuery(this).parent().addClass( 'aligncenter' );jQuery(this).parent().children().wrapAll('');}});}});});

Good afternoon, Everyone.

Thank you to the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs and to the International Astronautical Federation for co-organizing this workshop and for inviting me to speak today.

I am the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the State Departments Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, or OES.

Our bureau, together with many other parts of the U.S. Government, works to advance international cooperation in the area of civil and commercial space.

The late Christa McAuliffe, who perished during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 had trained to become the first teacher in space. She was committed to the mission, to becoming an astronaut because, in her words space is for everybody. Its not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts.

Space is indeed for everyone. In a technical sense we know that the space age is benefiting all of humanity: Through space-based earth observation technology we understand our home planet better. Farmers in East Africa can better plan their crops. Governments in SE Asia can better monitor typhoons and tsunamis. Scientists can map deforestation in South America and monitor the climate crisis from space benefiting everyone on the planet.

But space is for everyone in a deeper sense as well. Humanity dreams by gazing towards the stars. We better understand our limits and our potential when we contemplate the universe and that is truly a universal human experience. The new frontier is space, and its for all of us not just some of us.

One week ago, Vice President Harris chaired the second National Space Council meeting of the Biden-Harris Administration.

In this meeting, she affirmed that space is a priority for this Administration.

Its a priority because of the very fact that space is humanitys final frontier. Its an untapped, unclaimed resource that we all share and that can benefit all of us if we approach space exploration peacefully and sustainably.

Those ideals represent the driving ethos behind this Administrations commitment to facilitating international collaboration to develop norms of behavior and best practices that promote peaceful and sustainable space exploration there, I said it again to address some of our planets most pressing problems, like climate change.

To wit, the State Department has long engaged in productive bilateral civil space dialogues to identify areas of collaboration with international partners.

We have a bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue on Space with Japan, which ensures a whole-of-government approach to space cooperation.

Were beginning a Comprehensive Dialogue on Space with France as well.

And in just the coming weeks the United States is looking forward to dialogues with Singapore and Vietnam.

In each of these fora, were focusing on developing norms, guidelines, principles, and rules for promoting the long-term sustainability of the outer space environment.

Were also promoting the responsible and sustainable use of space in multilateral fora.

As everyone here knows well, the primary forum for international cooperation in civil space remains the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOUS).

And one of our top priorities in this forum is to promote the safe and responsible use of outer space and, specifically, the implementation of the 21 Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities.

These non-legally binding, voluntary commitments to guide nations space activities and protect the outer space environment represent a monumental achievement of over a decade of work within the Committee.

Of course, as weve already established, outer space is no longer limited to the purview of a handful of government actors. So, we make a point of inviting private sector advisors from academia, NGOs, and the commercial space industry to serve on U.S. delegations.

Their participation is essential to capturing the dynamic and innovative nature of U.S. outer space activities.

Outside of COPUOUS, the United States is also working with our regional partners. As an example, we are part of the Quad Space Working Group together with our Australian, Japanese, and Indian colleagues which is focused on working in space to address some of the worlds most pressing challenges, including the climate crisis, marine conservation, and space sustainability.

And I cant continue here without mentioning the Artemis program and the Artemis Accords. These efforts serve to inspire and guide the international communitys commitment to upholding and strengthening a rules-based international order. They present an opportunity for this generation to positively define the guidelines and principles that we use to guide our civil space exploration for generations to come.

NASAs Artemis program is inspiring the world as it seeks to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and conduct a historic first crewed mission to Mars.

The Artemis program will soon launch a successful Artemis I mission, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions intended to be the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration coalition in history.

Inspired by the Artemis program, in 2020, NASA and the State Department launched the Artemis Accords.

The Artemis Accords are a nonbinding, whole of government declaration of principles and rules, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, to guide safe and transparent civil space exploration and promote peaceful cooperation in space exploration and scientific endeavors.

The Artemis Accords represent a bold vision for the future of space exploration. They advance bilateral and multilateral space cooperation between signatories, expanding our knowledge of the universe and benefiting the whole world.

The theme of this workshop is Access to Space for All: Bridging the Space Divide, an idea central to our work on the Artemis Accords because space belongs to all of us, not just some of us. As a leader in space exploration, the United States is strongly committed to ensuring the benefits of space are enjoyed by all people, no matter their background or where on earth they happen to live.

Artemis Accords signatories are a diverse set of nations with a variety of space capabilities and interests. In less than two years, we have gathered 21 like-minded nations spanning the globe that are committed to sustainable space exploration.

The United States invites all spacefaring nations to join the growing coalition of Artemis Accords signatories. Together, we are setting the standard for safe, peaceful, and transparent exploration of outer space.

And just as the United States is dedicated to responsible exploration of the universe with our international partners under the Artemis Accords, we are also collaborating with other nations in observing our own planet.

The United States continues to advance an array of programs of space-based observation, research, and analysis of the Earths surface, oceans, and atmosphere, with the goal of increasing the quality and safety of life on Earth.

Remote sensing satellites are revolutionizing our understanding of weather forecasting, disaster mitigation, agricultural productivity, epidemiological outbreaks, and, importantly, climate change.

Good science is helping us develop good policy: this enhanced understanding is driving new strategies to combat the global climate crisis.

In the United States, for example, Earth observations have helped wildfire-prone regions contain damage and mitigate loss of life from wildfires.

We are also exchanging data and resources internationally. After the January 2022 REPSOL oil spill outside the port of Callao in Lima, Peru, the U.S. provided satellite data to Peruvian responders to effectively map the extent and movement of the spill and mitigate damage. Following this incident, the United States finalized a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Peru to continue to advance this type of open data sharing and scientific collaboration.

Free, open access to data has made all of this possible. Through bilateral data sharing agreements and through multilateral organizations like the Group on Earth Observations, the United States is committed to making data and applications from our satellites openly discoverable, accessible, and usable to the public. We encourage our international partners to do the same.

This is another way we demonstrate our dedication to Access to Space for All. Earth observations transcend national boundaries, impacting every one of us. Sharing this data widely ensures we all learn and benefit from space science.

Bridging the space divide has never been more important. As we pursue new and extraordinary discoveries in space and face unprecedented, planet-wide challenges here on Earth, it is essential that we work together to advance smart science and policy.

The clock is ticking, and our time to address some of our planets most pressing issues is finite so lets focus today on creating new opportunities through collaboration. The time is now.

Read the original post:

The United Nations/International Astronautical Federation 29th Workshop on Space Technology for Socio-Economic Benefits: Access to Space for All:...

The Mars landers seismometer has picked up vibrations from four separate impacts in the past two years.

NASAs InSight lander has detected seismic waves from four space rocks that crashed on Mars in 2020 and 2021. Not only do these represent the first impacts detected by the spacecrafts seismometer since InSight touched down on the Red Planet in 2018, it also marks the first time seismic and acoustic waves from an impact have been detected on Mars.

A new paper published Monday in Nature Geoscience details the impacts, which ranged between 53 and 180 miles (85 and 290 kilometers) from InSights location, a region of Mars called Elysium Planitia.

The first of the four confirmed meteoroids the term used for space rocks before they hit the ground made the most dramatic entrance: It entered Mars atmosphere on Sept. 5, 2021, exploding into at least three shards that each left a crater behind.

Then, NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over the estimated impact site to confirm the location. The orbiter used its black-and-white Context Camera to reveal three darkened spots on the surface. After locating these spots, the orbiters team used the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, or HiRISE, to get a color close-up of the craters (the meteoroid could have left additional craters in the surface, but they would be too small to see in HiRISEs images).

After three years of InSight waiting to detect an impact, those craters looked beautiful, said Ingrid Daubar of Brown University, a co-author of the paper and a specialist in Mars impacts.

After combing through earlier data, scientists confirmed three other impacts had occurred on May 27, 2020; Feb. 18, 2021; and Aug. 31, 2021.

Researchers have puzzled over why they havent detected more meteoroid impacts on Mars. The Red Planet is next to the solar systems main asteroid belt, which provides an ample supply of space rocks to scar the planets surface. Because Mars atmosphere is just 1% as thick as Earths, more meteoroids pass through it without disintegrating.

InSights seismometer has detected over 1,300 marsquakes. Provided by Frances space agency, the Centre National dtudes Spatiales, the instrument is so sensitive that it can detect seismic waves from thousands of miles away. But the Sept. 5, 2021, event marks the first time an impact was confirmed as the cause of such waves.

InSights team suspects that other impacts may have been obscured by noise from wind or by seasonal changes in the atmosphere. But now that the distinctive seismic signature of an impact on Mars has been discovered, scientists expect to find more hiding within InSights nearly four years of data.

Seismic data offer various clues that will help researchers better understand the Red Planet. Most marsquakes are caused by subsurface rocks cracking from heat and pressure. Studying how the resulting seismic waves change as they move through different material provides scientists a way to study Mars crust, mantle, and core.

The four meteoroid impacts confirmed so far produced small quakes with a magnitude of no more than 2.0. Those smaller quakes provide scientists with only a glimpse into the Martian crust, while seismic signals from larger quakes, like the magnitude 5 event that occurred in May 2022, can also reveal details about the planets mantle and core.

But the impacts will be critical to refining Mars timeline. Impacts are the clocks of the solar system, said the papers lead author, Raphael Garcia of Institut Suprieur de lAronautique et de lEspace in Toulouse, France. We need to know the impact rate today to estimate the age of different surfaces.

Scientists can approximate the age of a planets surface by counting its impact craters: The more they see, the older the surface. By calibrating their statistical models based on how often they see impacts occurring now, scientists can then estimate how many more impacts happened earlier in the solar systems history.

InSights data, in combination with orbital images, can be used to rebuild a meteoroids trajectory and the size of its shock wave. Every meteoroid creates a shock wave as it hits the atmosphere and an explosion as it hits the ground. These events send sound waves through the atmosphere. The bigger the explosion, the more this sound wave tilts the ground when it reaches InSight. The landers seismometer is sensitive enough to measure how much the ground tilts from such an event and in what direction.

Were learning more about the impact process itself, Garcia said. We can match different sizes of craters to specific seismic and acoustic waves now.

The lander still has time to study Mars. Dust buildup on the landers solar panels is reducing its power and will eventually lead to the spacecraft shutting down. Predicting precisely when is difficult, but based on the latest power readings, engineers now believe the lander could shut down between October of this year and January 2023.

More About the Missions

NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for the agencys Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASAs Discovery Program, managed by the agencys Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission.

A number of European partners, including Frances Centre National dtudes Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to NASA, with the principal investigator at IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris). Significant contributions for SEIS came from IPGP; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland; Imperial College London and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spains Centro de Astrobiologa (CAB) supplied the temperature and wind sensors.

News Media Contacts

Andrew GoodJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-393-2433andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Alana JohnsonNASA Headquarters, Washington301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

Read the original:

NASA's InSight 'Hears' Its First Meteoroid Impacts on Mars NASA Mars Exploration - NASA Mars Exploration

ASTANA The Kazakh capital hosted the opening of an exhibition titled Space Exploration. Metamorphosis of Time, unveiling bright artworks made by Polish artist Wojciech Fangor and Kazakh artist Mazhit Baitenov, on Sept. 15 in the Kulanshi Art Space gallery. The exhibition will last until Oct. 20.

Guests of the exhibition. Photo credit: Kulanshi Art Space gallerys press service

Fangor, who passed away in October 2015, was a Polish graphic artist, sculptor and a co-creator of the Polish School of Posters. His works were included in shows at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Baitenov is member of Kazakh Union of Artists, whose paintings are kept in Almaty-based Kasteev State Art Museum, Museum of Karagandy and Pavlodar cities as well as in private collections of Kazakhstan, the United States, Israel, Russia and Germany.

Artworks made by Baitenov. Photo credit: Kulanshi Art Space gallerys press service

In an interview with The Astana Times, Kulanshi Art Gallery curator Leila Makhat told how they came up with the idea to launch this project and what binds two artists.

A few months ago employees of the Polish Embassy in Kazakhstan contacted us Kulanshi Art Center, and we discussed the organization of an exhibition of the famous Polish artist Wojciek Fangor, whose anniversary is celebrated this year. This year is also significant for both countries as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, so we decided to reflect this occasion in our project through art, noted Makhat.

Kulanshi Art Gallery curator Leila Makhat with Chair of the ForteBank Bekzhan Pirmatov. Photo credit: Kulanshi Art Space gallerys press service

According to her, Fangor and Baitenov are artists from different worlds, but, in fact, they talk about the same thing in their art about human and the space around him. It is not so much about physical, but more about philosophical meaning. Their reflections on connection and the inner world of the personality are very similar, Makhat explained.

Baitenovs grandson, Anuarbek Akylbekov, who attended the event with his grandfather and acts as his manager, said in an interview that his grandfather exhibited paintings from different collections some of them have national style and belong to Uly Dala Kupiyasy (Mystery of the Great Steppe) collection, while other art works are made in avant-garde style.

Artworks made by Fangor. Photo credit: Kulanshi Art Space gallerys press service

In Uly Dala Kupiyasy collection, my grandfather used the techniques of Western artists, but added a folk style, because he wanted to show the Kazakh identity. In turn, the abstract works are also made in accordance with the rules of Western style, but some of them have national elements, said Akylbekov.

According to Baitenov, some paintings represent the past of the Kazakh nation and others abstract future, serving as bridges between past and future.

Read this article:

New Exhibition Unveils Polish and Kazakh Artists Views on Space and Time in Kazakh Capital - Astana Times

News and research before you hear about it on CNBC and others. Claim your 1-week free trial to StreetInsider Premium here.

One Year Into their Collaboration, The Teams Plan to Expand Search to Include Greater Volume and Complexity of Life-Indicating Molecules

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zapata Computing, the leading enterprise quantum software company, today announced that it has made significant headway in its mission to get the University of Hull quantum-ready for future space exploration. One year into the collaboration both teams have seen enough progress to extend their plans for expanding the search for indicators of life in deep space.

Together, Zapata and the University of Hull developed new techniques to extrapolate meaningful data from noisy quantum devices and used it to calculate the ro-vibrational spectrum of hydrogen to obtain results that are comparable with the state-of-the-art classical simulations, as well as the experimental results. The results obtained with these new quantum techniques can already be used to detect molecular hydrogen in space.

A big part of the progress is due to the University of Hulls successful migration of Big Compute capabilities from classical to quantum computers. Big Compute is Zapatas term for the market category for heterogeneous and distributed compute resources needed to address enterprise and other technologically advanced organizations most computationally complex problems. It builds on previous technical revolutions like Big Data and AI and leverages a wide spectrum of classical (e.g., GPU, TPU, CPU), high-performance (HPC) and quantum compute resources (e.g., quantum-inspired computers, NISQ devices, fault-tolerant quantum computers).

In practical terms, this means that when more powerful and fault-tolerant quantum computers are available, the team of scientists at the University of Hull will be able to greatly increase the range of their exploration, the complexity and number of molecules that they can search for, and the speed with which they analyze their findings as they search for life beyond planet Earth.

The scale of what we are trying to accomplish today is daunting, said Dr. David Benoit, senior lecturer in Molecular Physics and Astrochemistry at the University of Hull. There are over 16,000 different life-indicating molecules that were searching for in space, but we could increase our search significantly with quantum computers as they become more powerful in the future. And were going to need that power. Were not looking for a needle in a haystack here. That would be easy. This effort is more like looking for a speck of dust in a warehouse through a straw.

Throughout the project, the teams have achieved several new discoveries and scientific breakthroughs. These discoveries led them to expect that the quantum algorithm will scale better than the classical one in the future, making it possible to study larger molecules that would not be possible with a classical computer. Zapata Computing and the University of Hull also documented this research and recently published a paper regarding the findings titled, A pathway to accurate potential energy curves on NISQ devices. The teams will also share the overview of the project and the results of the first year of work at Quantum.Tech London in their presentation on September 20 titled, Using quantum computers to look for alien life in deep space.

The sheer scale of what the University of Hull is trying to accomplish technically is a clear indication that the need for Big Compute capabilities today are critical to prepare for the quantum future ahead, said Christopher Savoie, CEO and co-founder of Zapata Computing. Theres no question that the discovery of life in deep space is difficult, but its a challenge that is perfect for a quantum computer and there are steps that the University of Hull is taking, similar to those many enterprises are taking, to make iterative progress and prep for these more powerful machines as they come online.

For more information about the presentation at Quantum.Tech and Zapata Computing and its work with the University of Hull, please visit http://www.zapatacomputing.com or stop by the Zapata Computing Booth (A3) at Quantum.Tech London.

About Zapata Computing

Zapata Computing, Inc. is the leading enterprise quantum software company. The Companys Orquestra platform supports the research, development, and deployment of quantum-ready applications for enterprises most computationally complex problems. Zapata has pioneered new methods in ML, optimization, and simulation to maximize value from near-term quantum devices, and partners closely with ecosystem hardware providers such as Amazon, D-Wave, Google, Quantinuum, IBM, IonQ and Rigetti. Zapata was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit http://www.zapatacomputing.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220920005423/en/

Dan BrennanICR[emailprotected]

Source: Zapata Computing

Follow this link:

Zapata Computing and The University of Hull Get Quantum-Ready For Ongoing Search for Life in Space - StreetInsider.com