Category Archives: Transhuman News

Wider Stance

In an exchange on Twitter this week, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk elaborated on the design tweaks his space company is considering to allow its massive Starship spacecraft to safely land on the Moon.

Were working on new legs, he wrote in a tweet. Wider stance & able to auto-level. Important for leaning into wind or landing on rocky & pitted surfaces.

Responding to YouTuber Tim Dodd, better known as Everyday Astronaut, Musk explained that the atmospheric Starship variant meant to one day make it back to Earth or perhaps land on other planets with an atmosphere such as Mars will have forward thrusters to stabilize ship when landing in high winds.

But the Lunar Starship will be different. If goal is max payload to moon per ship, no heatshield or flaps or big gas thruster packs are needed, he added.

Starship, in its final configuration, will have the ability to launch 100 tons of cargo into space or in a different configuration, 100 passengers at one time.

In fact, why make the long trip back when a pressurized vehicle could double as a place for astronauts to weather the harsh conditions on the Moon? No need to bring early ships back, Musk added in the tweet. They can serve as part of moon base alpha.

The news comes after SpaceXs fourth Starship prototype called SN4 blew up during a fuel test on May 29 though it had already been put through its paces.

SpaceX got a lot further with SN4 than previous vehicles, and SN5 seems about ready to go for testing, senior space editor at Ars Technica Eric Berger wrote in a tweet at the time. They also have begun working on a second launch stand in Boca Chica, [Texas].

READ MORE: SpaceX Starship: Elon Musk Details Tweaks to Support Moon Base Missions [Inverse]

More on Starship: Elon Musk in Leaked Email: Starship Now Top SpaceX Priority

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SpaceX Trying to Figure Out How to Land Starship on the Moon - Futurism

Playing God

A team of scientists believe that theyve recreated the biochemical processes that gave rise to the earliest forms of life on Earth.

Researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen recreated the harsh conditions deep within the Earths crust as it existed some 3.8 billion years ago, which is where they suspect life began. Under those conditions, they say they managed to create and destroy 1,500 vesicles bubble-like biological structures similar to a cells membrane over a period of two weeks.

The work, described in a book the duo will publish next month, could shed vital new light into exactly how life began and developed if it holds up under scientific scrutiny.

As they continued to generate and destroy vesicles like vengeful gods, the scientists say some generations were able to better survive the harsh pressures and geochemical conditions they were subjected to. Thats because they had absorbed certain biomolecules into their membranes that gave them an advantage, they say, potentially illustrating how biological structures first managed to survive.

We concluded that this way, the vesicles were able to compensate for destructive pressure, Duisburg-Essen chemist Christian Meyer said in a press release. As a survival strategy, if you will.

The question, then, is how tiny biomolecular blobs forming inside the Earths crust led to a planet rich with life. For that, the scientists credit the activity of the planet itself.

We have simulated in time-lapse, billions of years ago, geologist Ulrich Schreiber said in the release, such vesicles might have become stable enough to come to the surface during geyser eruptions.

READ MORE: Potential beginning of life simulated in lab [Universitt Duisburg-Essen]

More on early life: We May Have Just Uncovered the Earliest Direct Evidence of Life on Earth

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Scientists Claim to Have Recreated Earth's First Life - Futurism

Free Falling

Yet again, scientists have validated a major component of Einsteins theory of general relativity.

Specifically, a trio of two white dwarf stars and a collapsed neutron star demonstrated the concept of freefall, according to research published this month in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. Thats the idea, famously illustrated by Galileos Leaning Tower of Pisa thought experiment, that gravity accelerates every falling object at the same rate. The idea has been challenged under extreme conditions, but incredibly precise measurements of the three stars upheld it and with it, Einsteins theory.

Scientists from the University of Manchester identified the unusual instance of freefall among three stars. First, theres a white dwarf star and a pulsar a dead star 1.44 times as massive as the Sun that collapsed into a 15.5-mile-wide sphere that rapidly orbit each other.

Both also orbit another white dwarf, similar to how the Earth and Moon orbit both the Sun and one another. This presented an unusual opportunity: while astronomers could perform similar experiments on our solar system, scientists have speculated that objects held together by their own gravitational pull like pulsars might violate the universality of freefall.

Such a violation would also violate general relativity, which assumes a constant gravitational acceleration across all scenarios.

But by tracking the three stars positions down to the nanosecond, the Manchester team found that the first white dwarf and the pulsar were both accelerating toward the second white dwarf at the exact same pace validating general relativity yet again.

READ MORE: Astrophysicists confirm cornerstone of Einsteins Theory of Relativity [University of Manchester]

More on general relativity: New Theory Could Solve Universes Biggest Paradox

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Collapsed Star Proves Another of Einstein's Theories - Futurism

Tesla Semi

According to a leaked email obtained by Reuters, Elon Musk has ordered the company to bring its commercial semi truck into volume production.

The news comes after the carmaker resumed production after a forced lockdown during the growing coronavirus outbreak.

Production of the battery and powertrain will take place at Giga Nevada, Musk wrote in the email, referring to the companys Gigafactory 1 in Nevada.

According to Teslas Q3 2019 earnings report, Teslas Semi was anticipated to be produced in limited volumes in 2020, as Electrek reported at the time.

The company first revealed its Semi during a flashy announcement event in November 2017. The truck will allegedly be able to rocket from 0 to 60 in 25 seconds,even with a load something that takes your average diesel truck a whole minute and carry 80,000 pounds for 500 miles.

The drivers seat inside the futuristic cockpit is centered, allowing for access to multiple touchscreens not unlike the controls in the Crew Dragon module built by Musks other venture, SpaceX.

Many companies have already placed orders for Teslas semi truck, including UPS, Walmart, Pepsi, and DHL.

Other carmakers like Volvo have already beaten Tesla to the punch by bringing fully electric trucks to the market.

READ MORE: Leaked email from Elon Musk reveals Tesla plans to start volume production of its electric semi truck [Reuters]

More on the truck: STARTUP TRANSFORMS TESLA SEMI INTO BEAUTIFUL MOTORHOME CONCEPT

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Elon Musk: Teslas Semi Truck is Officially Going Into Production - Futurism

Circling Back

While they were waiting out the pandemic lockdown, a team of astronomers revisited a pivotal discovery from the 1980s and walked away with new tools that could help them uncover the secrets of dark matter.

In 1987, scientists directly observed an Einstein ring a distant celestial object that appears to be a circle because of the way it warps spacetime and light around it for the first time. But critical information about the ring, formed by the quasar MG 1131+0456, was missing, according to Ars Technica. And by filling in the gaps, the unusual ring could be a powerful resource for studying the universe.

The team was able to dig back through public data collected over the years by NASA and various observatories in order to analyze the quasar, which has largely been neglected its discovery. In doing so, they were able to finally measure the rings distance from Earth 10 billion lightyears according to research published last week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

As we dug deeper, we were surprised that such a famous and bright source never had a distance measured for it, NASA researcher Daniel Stern said in a press release. Having a distance is a necessary first step for all sorts of additional studies, such as using the lens as a tool to measure the expansion history of the universe and as a probe for dark matter.

READ MORE: Astronomers have finally measured the distance of first observed Einstein ring [Ars Technica]

More on Einstein rings: For the First Time, Physicists Accelerated Light Beams in Curved Space in the Lab

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This Quasar Warps Itself Into a Ring by Distorting Spacetime - Futurism

Iron Man might be a one-of-a-kind hero in the Marvel Universe, but several major Justice League heroes have some striking similarities to the Avenger.

Thanks in no small part to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man has become one of the most popular superheroes in the world. While the DC Universe have characters like Batman or other members of the Justice League who share several qualities with Tony Stark, none of them are exactly the same as Iron Man.

After all, as a genius inventor, billionaire playboy, bleeding edge futurist and hi-tech superhero, Tony Stark has it all--but he's far from the only hero to which those titles could apply. Now, we're taking a look at some of the DC Universe's closest Tony Stark counterparts and what makes them similar to the Armored Avenger.

Related:Who Is The Silver Sorceress, DC's Answer To Scarlet Witch?

Debuting in 1939s Detective Comics #27 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, it's hard to think of Batman as filling any archetype other than the one that he originated. But upon closer inspection, its not hard to see the similarities between the Caped Crusader and Iron Man. After all, both characters are genius, billionaire playboy, philanthropists with a knack for inventing all sorts of crazy gadgets, and the similarities between them is especially apparent in their respective cinematic outigns.

Batman has even developed a few of his own Iron Man-esque suits for all sorts of occasions, like the Justice Buster seen in Endgame during Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and Danny Miki's Batman run, or the Hellbat armor that debuted in the Robin Rises story arc of Batman and Robin by Peter Tomasi, Pat Gleason, and Mick Gray. Though, with Batman's more extensive history, an argument could be made that Iron Man could be Marvel's version of the Dark Knight.

Even though he starred in his own movie, one of the lesser known entries on this list isJohn Henry Irons, a.k.a. Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove in Adventures of Superman #500. Much like Tony Stark, Irons is a genius-level engineer and former weapons designer who became disillusioned with the damage his inventions caused on innocent lives.

After his life was saved by Superman, he saw it as his duty to make his life mean something, especially in the wake of Supermans death at the hands of Doomsday. Designing a state of the art suit of armor, including homages to both the Last Son of Krypton and his own namesake, the legendary John Henry, this Man of Steel used his tech to protect his community and the world many times over, both on his own and as a member of the JLA.

Related: Justice League: Who Is Lord Havok, DC's Doctor Doom?

Created by Steve Ditko and first appearing in Charlton Comics Captain Atom #83 in a backup story by Ditko and Gary Friedrich, Ted Kord is the second character to operate as the Blue Beetle in comics history. While the other holders of the Blue Beetle mantle may have fantastic powers of their own, Ted is one of the smartest characters in the DC Universe and a self-made hero who used his intelligence and his wealth to make it as a crime-fighter.

Like Iron Man, Ted is an incredible inventor with a genius-level intellect that is often said to at least equal, if not surpass, that of Batman himself. His company, Kord Enterprises, is also one of the most prominent R&D companies in the DC Universe, rivaling other corporations like WayneTech or S.T.A.R. Labs. Plus, his bromance with Booster Gold could give the the MCU's Science Bros a serious run for their money.

The only non-genius on this list, Green Arrow, created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp in 1941s More Fun Comics #73, earned his spot as a worthy inclusion more for his personality and motivations than anything else. Like Tony Stark, Oliver was a selfish billionaire industrialist who went through a traumatic period of isolation--on an island, not a cave--that inspired him to make a difference in the world.

Related:Green Arrow: DC May Be Setting Up Oliver Queen's Arrowverse Fate in Comics

Using a bow and high-tech arrows as opposed to a suit of armor, there is also something to be said for Green Arrows ingenuity when it comes to designing his weapons. And while the playboy schtick may only be an act for other characters, its an aspect of Olivers personality, much like Iron Man, that has gotten him into trouble more time than he can count.

The second man to call himself Mister Terrific, Michael Holt, created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake in The Spectre #54, is an Olympic decathlete, a self-made multi-millionaire, and the third smartest man on the planet. As a Tony Stark-level polymath with 14 different degrees in engineering, physics, mathematics, and more, Holts intellect makes him one of the most formidable heroes in the DC Universe and one of the JSAs most valuable members.

While he may not use that intellect to build suits like Iron Man or some of the other entries on this list, his skills as an inventor should not go unstated. His T-Spheres are so advanced that even Batman once stole his designs and the state-of-the-art mask of his own invention renders him completely undetectable and unrecordable to all times of machinery, which is an achievement that would even impress Tony Stark.

KEEP READING:Who Is Thunderer, DC's Answer To Thor?

Small Favors Is The Most Adorable 'Adult' Comic About a Woman and a Fairy

Tristan Benns is a freelance writer, grad student, and lifelong geek. He's worked as a tutor, an editor, and even a salesman in a comic book store. If he isn't asking you about your feelings on the Oxford comma, he's probably asking you to name your favorite Green Lantern. Then he'll tell you why it should be Hal Jordan.

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Justice League: Who Is the DC Universe's Tony Stark? | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Even as a young person, I have always held a long-term vision of humanity being a true spacefaring people. When I co-founded Tethers Unlimited in 1994 with the late sci-fi author and space physicist Dr. Robert L. Forward, Im certain many thought our ideas were very far-fetched. But we were dedicated to figuring out how far-out space technologies ideas can be made practical, so we werent surprised.

In fact, we sought to push the boundary of what is science fiction versus science reality to enable mankind to explore beyond the status quo. Our main focus when we launched, for example, was solving the problem of space debris so that NASA, the DoD, and commercial space enterprises could continue to safely operate in Earth orbit.

The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result. He does not expect that his advanced ideas will be readily taken up. His work is like that of the planter for the future. His duty is to lay the foundation for those who are to come, and point the way. Nikola Tesla

At the time, the traditional way of removing a spacecraft from orbit was to load extra fuel onto the satellite and use the satellites thrusters to bring the satellite down when its mission was completed. But that required the satellite to still be functioning at the end of its lifetime, and required dedicating a significant portion of the satellites mass to getting rid of it.

It is not a popular option for satellite operators since it is in their best interest to wring as much revenue and operational data out of the satellite as possible. In many instances, a satellite dies and is abandoned in place before it can be actively removed from orbit.

So, we explored a rather unconventional way of dragging satellites down out of orbit, which involved using a conductive tether, or long wire, deployed from the spacecraft. This wire can interact with the space environment to create additional forces that drag the satellite down out of orbit much more rapidly than would normally happen. We called this solution a Terminator Tether.

Although we could foresee a significant problem in the future, we were unfortunately 20 to 25 years ahead of the market, and no customer was willing to take a chance on such an unconventional and unproven technology. We were caught in the technology valley of death. As a result, at the time we did not succeed at selling or commercializing any of these products.

Believing the time was coming, however, we put those solutions on the back shelf for a while and explored other technology opportunities. And, sure enough, within the last decade, space debris has become a problem that the industry is much more aware of, with government agencies imposing strict requirements upon satellite operators ensuring that their spacecraft will be disposed of properly.

Today, a handful of our products are on orbit, which not only demonstrates that there is a practical and affordable solution to meet the growing challenge of space debris but also that for new and particularly unconventional technologies, it can take a long time from development into adoption and commercial sales. In other words, patience pays off, along with forward thinking. The hard-won lesson, however, is that timing is crucial to success.

While I think there are lessons to learn from the past, its equallymaybe moreimportant to realize that nothing stays the same. Change is inevitable. As John F. Kennedy, Jr. famously stated, Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. As a CEO, I am the futurist of the company but admittedly still learning how to be an effective manager as the company evolves from a start-up to a reliable provider of solutions for the space industry.

What I have learned, however, is that Ive been able to identify brilliant engineers and managers who are self-starters and pull together teams have been able to develop and commercialize these future technologies. Over the past few years in particular, weve been able to mature as a company by finding the people with the right talent and the right mindset to move us from being a primarily research and development company to a producer of products now on orbit.

Typically, people who are very good at R&D tend to be free thinkers and want to explore technology and lots of different ideas. They are insatiably curious, and often follow their intuition, all of which requires a different mindset at the leadership level. On the other hand, people good at managing programs, projects, quality and production tend to be more analytical. While integrating these different mindsets together has been a challenge, it has been far more beneficial and exciting in terms of what we have been able to create.

Today, many businesses are facing the tremendous challenge of how to work in a future that looks dramatically different than it did just six months ago, while knowing that going back to the way it was is highly unlikely.

As a CEO that lives more comfortably in the future, I can say with certainty that in order to survive the ups and downs, it helps to have both a diverse technology portfolio and a diverse workforce, so that you can rapidly adapt to changing market conditions. Sticking to one type of employee, approach, process, or technology that was successful in the past is no longer enough to guarantee success in the present or future.

In our case, we went against conventional industry wisdom. We expanded and tested our own capabilities by trying and testing new ideas, even if the market wasnt ready for it. We also hired highly adaptable people who could switch from one project to another fairly quickly. Thats how we built an innovative and successful company over the past 25 years and how I hope it will continue to evolve long after I am gonebecause if we want to achieve this kind of long-term vision of humanity being a true spacefaring people, we need to have an economy in space to support people living and working there.

With a burst of new ideas and increased activity in commercial and government development of space, that future vision may not be so far-fetched now. It may take a long time to get to that point considering there are quite a lot of technical challenges that well have to overcome. But humanitys natural inclination to explore and expand is eventually going to get us out there, and those who can navigate through the unknown with patience, persistence, and vision will lead the way.

Written by Robert P. Hoyt. Heres what youve missed?

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A Futurist's Advice on Navigating through the Technology Valley of Death - CEOWORLD magazine