NASA equips Curiosity to fire laser on its own

For the first time, NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover can fire its onboard laser all by itself, mission scientists say. New software is enabling ChemCam, the laser spectrometer on Curiosity, to select rock targets autonomously – the first time autonomous target selection is available for an instrument of this kind on any robotic planetary mission. The ChemCam aboard Curiosity “zaps” rocks on Mars and analyses their chemical make-up. While most targets are selected by scientists, the rover itself now chooses multiple targets per week. To select a target, the software uses adjustable criteria specified by scientists

Da Vinci's first record of laws of friction discovered

Scientists have identified a page of scribbles in a tiny notebook dating back to 1493 as the place where Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci first recorded the laws of friction. The detailed study of notes and sketches by Leonardo also shows that he went on to apply this knowledge repeatedly to mechanical problems for more than 20 years. The research by Ian Hutchings, professor at University of Cambridge in the UK, is the first detailed chronological study of Leonardo’s work on friction, and has also shown how he continued to apply his knowledge of the subject to wider woek on machines. It is widely known that Leonardo conducted the first systematic study of friction, which underpins the modern science of ‘tribology’, but exactly when and how he developed these ideas has been uncertain until now. Hutching has discovered that Leonardo’s first statement of the laws of friction is in a tiny notebook measuring just 92mm × 63mm. the book is now held in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK, contains a statement scribbled quickly in Leonardo’s characteristic “mirror writing” from right to left.

Europe and Russia jointly launched ExoMars 2016

On 14 March 2016, Europe and Russia launched an unmanned spacecraft named ExoMars 2016, to smell Mars atmosphere for gassy evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet, or may still be. ExoMars 2016, the first of a two-phase Mars exploration, was hoisted from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Russian Proton rocket. With its suite of high-tech instruments, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) shall arrive at the Red Planet on 19 October 2016 after completing a seven month long journey of 496 million kilometers through space. A key goal of the mission is to analyse methane, a gas which on Earth is created in large part by living microbes, and traces of which were observed by previous Mars mission.

What is ExoMars?

                The ExoMars programme is a joint endeavour between European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. The primary goal of the ExoMars programme is to address the question of whether life has ever existed on Mars. This relates to its name, with the ‘exo’ referring to the study of exobiology – the possible existence of life beyond Earth (sometimes also referred to as astrobiology).

NASA's Juno probe entered orbit of Jupiter on 5th July.

NASA’s solar powered Juno spacecraft, launched five year ago, is set for a rendezvous with Jupiter, when it enters the orbit of the largest planer in our solar system on 5^th July. The spacecraft eill complete a burn if its main engine, placing it in Jupiter’s orbit, NASA said. During its mission, Juno will circle the Jovian world 37 times, soaring low over the planet’s cloud tops – as close as about 4,100 kilometers. The burn will impart a mean change in velocity of 542 metres per second on the spacecraft.

Juno will probe beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and study its auroras to learn more about the planet’s origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere. The progress will be monitored by the mission teams at NASA’s Jet propulsion Laboratory and Lockheed Martin Space Systems in the US via signal reception by Deep Space Network antennas in California and Australia.

After the main engine burn, Juno will be in orbit around Jupiter. The spacecraft will spin down from 5 to 2 revolutions per minute, turn back toward sun, and ultimately transmit telemetry via its high gain antenna. Juno will start its tour of Jupiter in a 53.5 day orbit. The spacecraft saves fuel by executing a burn that places it in a capture orbit instead of going directly for the 14 day orbit that will occur during the mission’s primary science collection period. The 14 day orbit phase will begin after the final burn of the mission for Juno’s main engine on October 19.

“Jupiter is spectacular from afar and will be absolutely breathtaking from close up,” said Scott Bolton, principle investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, location in the US. Juno’s name comes from Greek and Roman mythology. The mythical god Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, and his wife – the goddess Juno – was able to peer through the clouds and unveil Jupiter’s true nature.

'Bionic' cardiac patch developed

Harvard scientists have developed a new “bionic” cardiac patch – nanoscale electronic scafforlds seeded with cardiac cells – that can act like a pacemaker. Doctors in recent years have made vast leaps in the treatment of cardiac problems – particularly with the development of “cardiac patches,” swaths of engineered heart tissues that can replace heart muscle damaged during a heart attack. “I think one of the biggest impacts would ultimately be in the area that involves replacement of damaged cardiac tissue with pre-formed tissue patches,” said Charles Lieber, from Harvard University. The bionic patch could act like a pacemaker – delivering electrical shocks to correct arrhythmia, Lieber said.

Using sewage sludge to make concrete?

Dried sewage sludge could be recycled by adding it to cement to make concrete, scientists in Malaysia have discovered. Sludge is what’s left after treating sewage water. Sludge disposal options are limited in Malaysia due to strict environmental norms, including a ban in burying it in soil due to the high heavy metal content. According to the researchers from University technology MARA, while there is a “potential” to use dried sludge to make concrete, more research is needed to yield a better quality product.

NASA is sending a 3D printer and a fire starter to the ISS

While NASA creates with one hand, it destroys with other. The next supply ship for the International Space Station will carry an advanced 3D printer and a test of how fire spreads in space when it blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The unscrewed Cygnus spacecraft is the fifth cargo delivery by spacecraft firm Orbital ATK and the second since one of the company’s rockets exploded on launch in 2014. In addition to carrying food, water and other regular supplies to the ISS, the craft will loft the Additive Manufacturing Facility, an upgraded version of the 3D printer already in use on the station. The printer that’s already up there is basically a prototype. The second printer will be able to print with multiple materials, has about eight times the print volume and faster with higher resolution. NASA will use the printer to manufacture objects in orbit, but made in space will also take orders from other paying customers who want to access to the ISS. Launching anything to the ISS is expensive and you have to wait for room on spacecraft like Cygnus, but plans for 3D printers can simply be emailed – it’s the closest thing we’ve got to teleportation. Eventually, made in Space plans to produce entire satellites. Also launching on Cygnus is NASA’s Spacecraft Fire Experiment, or Saffire. Once the spacecraft has reached the ISS and been unloaded by the astronauts, it will be stuffed full if waste and sent back down to Earth to burn up in the atmosphere. On the way down NASA researchers will start a fire inside a 1 meter-long box inside the craft and watch how it behaves. It will be the largest manmade fire ever created in space, and understanding how it spreads will help NASA design safety features to mitigate the risk of fire in crewed spacecraft.