Date: August 26, 2014

Martian Mystery: What Is Odd Cell-Like Structure in Mars Meteorite? ~ Video

August 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments


Scanning electron microscope image of a mysterious oval structure in the Nakhla Mars meteorite.
Elias Chatzitheodoridis, Sarah Haigh and Ian Lyon

 
 news.discovery.com

Scientists have found a strange structure resembling a microbial cell inside a Martian meteorite, but they're not claiming that it's evidence of Red Planet life.
Recently NASA scientists found evidence of water on a meteorite from the Red Planet! Dr. Ian O'Neill from Discovery News steps in to report on this finding, and reveal some of the possible implications.
The researchers discovered the microscopic oval object within the Nakhla Mars meteorite, which fell to Earth in Egypt in 1911. While the structure's appearance is intriguing, it most likely formed as a result of geological rather than biological processes, team members said.
"The consideration of possible biotic scenarios for the origin of the ovoid structure in Nakhla currently lacks any sort of compelling evidence," the scientists write in a new study published this month in the journal Astrobiology. "Therefore, based on the available data that we have obtained on the nature of this conspicuous ovoid structure in Nakhla, we conclude that the most reasonable explanation for its origin is that it formed through abiotic processes." 
A Cell-like Structure
The hollow ovoid is about 80 microns long by 60 microns wide, researchers said — far larger than most terrestrial bacteria but in the normal size range for eukaryotic Earth microbes (single-celled organisms that possess nuclei and other membrane-bound interior "organelles"). The study team is confident that the object is native to the sample and not the result of terrestrial contamination.

The scientists studied the structure using a number of different techniques, including electron microscopy, X-ray analysis and mass spectrometry. This work revealed that the ovoid is composed of iron-rich clay and contains a number of other minerals.
The researchers run through a number of possible formation scenarios in the new study, eventually concluding that the ovoid most likely formed when materials partially filled in a pre-existing vesicle — a vapor bubble, for example — in the rock.
But this supposition doesn't rule out the possibility that Martian lifeforms had something to do with the structure, team members said.
"Despite the extremely biomorphic overall shape of the ovoid, it is highly unlikely that it itself was an organism," said lead author Elias Chatzitheodoridis, of the National Technical University of Athens in Greece.
"However, it could have been formed directly by micro-organisms, or it could trap organic material that came from elsewhere," Chatzitheodoridis told Space.com via email. "That the ovoid is hollow means that there is enough space to accommodate colonies of microorganisms."

Making a firm link to Mars life would require further study and further discoveries, he added.
"We would be happy if we could have found more than one ovoid, with exactly the same texture both in the micro and the nanoscale," Chatzitheodoridis said. "However, we require to open up enough sample in a very careful way. Compelling evidence, though, would be if we could really find many of the same, clearly in a form of a colony, together with chemical and mineralogical biosignatures that are common for terrestrial microbes."
Nakhla is a well-studied meteorite — scientists have spotted possible signs of Mars life within it before —and previous research has mapped out its history in some detail. Nakhla's parent rock apparently crystallized about 1.3 billion years ago, Chatzitheodoridis and his colleagues write in the new study, then experienced two shock events that heated it up considerably.

The first of these shocks likely occurred around 910 million years ago and the second 620 million years ago. This latter event, which was triggered by a nearby meteorite strike on Mars, apparently included the flow of hot water through Nakhla's parent outcrop, the authors write. Finally, about 10 million years ago, another impact blasted Nakhla free of Mars, sending it on a looping trip through space that ended with its arrival at Earth in 1911.
Whether or not the Nakhla ovoid has some connection to Martian life, study of the meteorite can help researchers better understand the Red Planet's past (and, perhaps, present) potential to support life, Chatzitheodoridis said.
Martian meteorites contain "important information, and latest work has shown that now one has to look more carefully at them and in finer detail," he told Space.com.
"In our case, it is such work that allowed us to see from a small volume of sample a big story, i.e., that hydrothermal waters have actually acted also in the latest periods of Martian history, even if they were caused by a bolide impact, and that they were capable of initiating a number of complicated processes that resulted in the formation of niche environments which can sustain life, if life emerged on the planet," Chatzitheodoridis added.

 Click to zoom

View Article Here Read More

NASA wants to explore planets with robot armies

August 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments




techtimes.com

NASA is exploring the idea of sending swarms of autonomous robots to explore other worlds.
Robotic innovations by NASA scientists have greatly aided in space exploration. The Mars rover Curiosity is a recent example of what can be accomplished in lieu of sending human explorers. And NASA continues investing in robotic research because it is currently easier to send robots into space than it is to send humans.
Scientists are now working on robots much smaller than current rovers, and equipped with only a small handful of instruments, such as a webcam, GPS and WiFi. Engineers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida have dubbed these little bots “swarmies.”
Space.com describes these swarmies like this: “The swarmies function in a way similar to an ant colony. When one ant stumbles across a food source, it sends out a signal to the rest of the colony, and then the ants work together to cart the food back to the nest.” Engineers envision these robots eventually working on asteroids, moons, or planets, where they will “scan the soil for infinitely valuable water-ice or other resources that can be turned into rocket fuel or breathable air for astronauts.”
NASA says the four swarmies currently being tested are very basic models that resemble stripped-down radio-controlled trucks. Engineers control the bots using special software. NASA explains that, currently, “They are being programmed to work on their own to survey an area, then call the others over when they find a cache of something valuable.”
Swarmies could also be put to work here on Earth. NASA explains that these mini rovers could be used as pipeline inspectors, drilling machines and they could even aid in search-and-rescue operations.
But these robot armies probably won’t be swarming alien worlds anytime soon.
Testing is still in the preliminary stages, and NASA engineers are only driving the swarmies around the parking lots surrounding Kennedy's Launch Control Center.

View Article Here Read More

Experimental U.S. hypersonic weapon destroyed seconds after launch over safety fears

August 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments


This Monday, Aug. 25, 2014 photo provided by Scott Wight shows the horizon from Cape Greville in Chiniak, Alaska, after a rocket carrying an experimental Army strike weapon exploded after taking off from a launch pad in Alaska. The rocket carrying the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon was terminated near a pad of the Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island shortly after liftoff, Department of Defense spokeswoman Maureen Schumann said.
This Monday, Aug. 25, 2014 photo provided by Scott Wight shows the horizon from Cape Greville in Chiniak, Alaska, after a rocket carrying an experimental Army strike weapon exploded after taking off from a launch pad in Alaska. The rocket carrying the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon was terminated near a pad of the Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island shortly after liftoff, Department of Defense spokeswoman Maureen Schumann said.

news.nationalpost.com

KODIAK, Alaska — A rocket carrying an experimental Army strike weapon exploded early Monday after taking off from a launch pad in Alaska, the Department of Defense said.

The rocket carrying the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon was terminated near a pad of the Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island shortly after liftoff, spokeswoman Maureen Schumann said.
After an anomaly was detected, testers made the decision to destroy the rocket to ensure public safety, Schumann said.

“It came back down on the range complex,” she said. “Fortunately, no people on the ground were injured. There was damage, but I’m not sure of the extent of it at this time.”

The launch complex is about 40 kilometres from the city of Kodiak.

Witnesses watched the rocket lift off at 12:25 a.m., quickly head nose-down and explode, KMXT radio reported.

Kodiak photographer Scott Wight watched the launch from Cape Greville in Chiniak, about a dozen miles from the launch site. He described the explosion as quite loud and scary. A fire afterward burned brightly.

The rocket was the booster for the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon, a glide vehicle designed to quickly reach a target. The design is one of several being tested by the Army under the umbrella of the Conventional Prompt Global Strike program, Schumann said.

“It’s a concept that will allow the Department of Defense to engage any target anywhere in the world in less than an hour,” she said.
The first flight test of the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon on Nov. 17, 2011, flew the weapon from Hawaii to Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific.

The test Monday was designed to enhance previous ground testing, modeling and simulation, Schumann said. Traveling at hypersonic speed, the glider also was aimed at Kwajalein and was supposed to cover the 3,500 miles in less than an hour, Schumann said.
The booster and glide vehicles were built by Sandia National Laboratories of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The glide vehicle’s thermal protection system was designed by the Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

Click to zoom

View Article Here Read More

This Genius Project Will Create Tiny Homes For People Making Less Than $15,000 A Year

August 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments



tiny homes portland or

 huffingtonpost.com

Another American city is embracing the idea of small homes that'll make a big difference. 

The city of Portland, Oregon, is nearing approval of construction for tiny home communities on public land in order to house homeless and low-income residents, the Oregonian reported. Josh Alpert, the city's director of strategic initiatives under Mayor Charlie Hales, said it's not so much a question of if, but rather, when the homes will be built in partnership with Multnomah County, according to the news source. The city will ask various public branches in the area -- including Portland Public Schools -- to provide surplus land for the homes.

"Before people can get back on their feet and take advantage of job training and drug and alcohol counseling, they need a place to live," Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury said Wednesday, according to the Oregonian. "This helps accomplish that."

Creating tiny home communities has proven to be a successful strategy for other cities around the country combating homelessness. Similar projects in Wisconsin, Texas and New York have put permanent roofs over heads in recent years, Reuters reported, allowing residents to focus more on moving forward in other areas of their lives.

"It's exciting. I've never owned my own house,” Betty Ybarra, a formerly homeless woman who'd lived in a tent in Madison, Wisconsin, told NBC 15 News last December.

Portland hopes to have the first micro-community in place by February of next year. 

Nonprofit Micro Community Concepts teamed up with TechDwell, an area company specializing in micro-home design, to work on concepts with the city.

tiny homes in portland
portland tiny homes
portland oregon tiny homes
All images courtesy of TechDwell.

Initial plans include 25 housing units on a given plot of land, with laundry, administrative services and other amenities present on-site. The 192 square-foot homes, which would cost $250 to $350 per month to rent, would allow individuals making just $5,000 to $15,000 a year to be able to afford them, according to Dave Carboneau of TechDwell. 

The tiny homes project being led by Mayor Hales -- who Alpert said is "infatuated" with the idea -- reflects a significant change in dealing with homelessness from city leadership. In February, protesters carrying lit torches descended upon Portland City Hall, angered by the mayor's attempts to clear out homeless campsites in public spaces, according to the Portland Mercury.

View Article Here Read More

NASA spacecraft en route to historic look at mysterious Pluto

August 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this view of the planet Neptune and its large moon Triton on July 10, from a distance of about 2.45 billion miles,  more than 26 times the distance between the Earth and sun.  New Horizons traversed ...

View Article Here Read More

Chinese reportedly working on super-fast submarine that would ‘fly’ in an ‘air bubble’

August 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments


A 'supercavitating' submarine creates a bubble of air that encompasses the whole vehicle by ejecting gas through the nose with enough force that it forms water vapor. This greatly reduces drag and allows it to travel at high speeds not possible by standard submarines.

smh.com.au

A 'supercavitating' submarine creates a bubble of air that encompasses the whole vehicle by ejecting gas through the nose with enough force that it forms water vapor. This greatly reduces drag and allows it to travel at high speeds not possible by standard submarines. Photo: The Washington Post
In the annals of vehicular locomotion, the submarine is the equivalent of the Walkman. It dazzled the masses when it hit, flexing nuclear-tipped missiles that completed the "nuclear triad" of deterrence.
But other technologies soon surpassed it in terms of speed and agility. Now, years later, the submarine may be making a comeback — at least theoretically. Researchers at the Harbin Institute of Technology in northeast China tell the South China Morning Post that they're hard at work on a submarine that the newspaper claims could travel the 6,100 miles from "Shanghai to San Francisco in 100 minutes."
That's not in the cards. But there's plenty of reason to believe a submarine could be built that would significantly exceed the speed of today's fastest models, which lumber along at a speed of 40 knots (about 46 mph.) It all has to do with friction and how to conquer it.
The reported plans for the super-fast Chinese submarine draw on research that reaches back to the Cold War on "supercavitation," a technology that creates a friction-less air "bubble" around a vessel that allows it to "fly" underwater, facilitating incredible speeds. The Russians have developed torpedoes that travel faster than 230 mph using that approach.
Advertisement
Now researchers at Harbin's Complex Flow and Heat Transfer Lab are reportedly figuring out how to use that science to build submarines.  "We are very excited by its potential," lead researcher Li Fengchen, a professor of fluid machinery and engineering, told the South China Morning Post. "… Our method is different from any other approach, such as vector propulsion," which involves engine thrust. Rather, he would lubricate the vessel in a special liquid that would reduce water friction until the vessel would reach speeds high enough to enable "supercavitation."
How could a vessel reach such high speeds in the first place? And how would it be steered? Li says the liquid membrane would navigate the vessel. "By combining liquid-membrane technology with supercavitation, we can significantly reduce the launch challenges and make cruising easier," he told the Chinese publication.
Increasing or decreasing the liquid membrane would manipulate friction to steer the ship. The specifics of the research are being kept under wraps for now, South China Morning Post reporter Stephen Chen told the Washington Post.
"These studies in China do not go to academic papers, but the technology is being tested in the laboratory," he wrote in an e-mail. "The scientists have received pressure from authorities due to the sensitivity of the research and they hope the matter can cool down a bit."
The potential of supercavitation has not gone unnoticed by the US Navy. "Some technologies innovations have so significant an impact on our way of doing business that they are often described as 'disruptive technologies,' with the potential to change the future," said a 2002 paper published in Undersea Warfare, the official publication of the submarine force. One of them, it said, was " 'supercavitation' techniques."
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was once reported to be doing much the same, and Popular Science says the project would have allowed the "delivery of men and material faster than ever." That's exactly the end game for the Chinese research team: civilian transportation — or even swimming.
"If a swimsuit can create and hold many tiny bubbles in water, it can significantly reduce the water drag," Li explained. "Swimming in water could be as effortless as flying in the sky."
Still, questions remain. Wang Guoyu, who leads the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at Beijing Institute of Technology, expressed doubt at its success. "The size of the bubble is difficult to control, and the vessel is almost impossible to steer," he told the South China Morning Post, adding that if any part of the ship breaches the bubble, it would snap off due to the density difference.
Plus, he said, "the primary drive [behind the research] still comes from the military, so most research projects are shrouded in secrecy."

View Article Here Read More

More Proof that Near-Death Experiences are Real and Diminish the Fear of Death

August 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Is Death Really Something to Fear?Here is a story of Tom Kennard, a 60-year old intensive care patient who went on a life-changing journey during a 3 hour stretch of unconsciousness. To nurses and doctors, Tom’s condition seemed critical, with plummeting blood pressure and oxygen levels, but, Tom’s mind traveled into an alternate dimension where he spent time with his dead father. Tom’s experience included telepathic communication with his father and feelings of calm [...]

View Article Here Read More

Deep Space Leaderboard 728x90

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License.
unless otherwise marked.

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy



— Up ↑ —