News Space Science Update : NOD For ISRO To Launch Five British Satellites On Friday

Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) XL variant will launch five British satellites on Friday night, said an Indian space agency official.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) official said the Launch Authorization Board (LAB) at its meeting on Tuesday has given the go ahead for the July 10 night rocket launch.

According to him, the four stage/engine PSLV rocket in XL variant is slated to blast off at 9.58 p.m. on Friday and the 62.5-hour countdown is expected to start at 7.28 a.m. on Wednesday.

Of the five British satellites, together weighing around 1,440 kg, three are identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites weighing 447 kg. These will be put into a 647-km sun-synchronous orbit.

Of the other two satellites, CBNT-1 weighs 91 kg and also is an optical earth observation technology demonstration micro-satellite, while the De-Orbit Sail weighs 7 kg. This is an experimental nano satellite for demonstration of large thin membrane sail and drag deorbiting.

The three DMC3 and the CBNT-1 satellites are built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. The De-Orbit Sail is built by Surrey Space Centre.

According to ISRO, accommodating the three DMC3 satellites each with a height of about three meters within the existing payload fairing or the heat shield of the PSLV was a challenge. Thus, a circular L-adaptor and a triangular Multiple Satellite Adapter-Version 2 (MSA-V2) were newly designed and realized by ISRO for this specific purpose.

France's SPOT 7 satellite weighing 714 kg was the heaviest single foreign satellite carried by a PSLV rocket till now. It was launched on June 30, 2014.

Posted by Unknown Wednesday, July 08, 2015

News Update On Scientific Update : Scientists Develop Spectrometer That Can Be Fits Inside Smartphones.

WASHINGTON: MIT scientists have created a spectrometer small enough to fit inside a smartphone camera that could enable the devices to diagnose diseases, especially skin conditions, or detect environmental pollutants.

Spectrometers measure the properties of light and are widely used in physical, chemical, and biological research.

These devices are usually too large to be portable, but Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientists have created spectrometers small en ..

 "Such devices could be used to diagnose diseases, especially skin conditions, or to detect environmental pollutants and food conditions," said Jie Bao, a former MIT postdoc and the lead author of a paper describing the quantum dot spectrometers in the journal Nature.

Quantum dots, a type of nanocrystals discovered in the early 1980s, are made by combining metals such as lead or cadmium with other elements including sulfur, selenium, or arsenic.

By controlling the ratio of these starting materials, the temperature, and the reaction time, scientists can generate a nearly unlimited number of dots with differences in an electronic property known as bandgap, which determines the wavelengths of light that each dot will absorb.

The new quantum dot spectrometer, about the size of a US quarter, deploys hundreds of quantum dot materials that each filter a specific set of wavelengths of light.

The quantum dot filters are printed into a thin film and placed on top of a photodetector such as the charge-coupled devices (CCDs) found in cellphone cameras.

The researchers created an algorithm that analyses the percentage of photons absorbed by each filter, then recombines the information from each one to calculate the intensity and wavelength of the original rays of light.

The more quantum dot materials there are, the more wavelengths can be covered and the higher resolution can be obtained.

In this case, the researchers used about 200 types of quantum dots spread over a range of about 300 nanometres. With more dots, such spect ..

If incorporated into small handheld devices, this type of spectrometer could be used to diagnose skin conditions or analyse urine samples, Bao said.

They could also be used to track vital signs such as pulse and oxygen level, or to measure exposure to different frequencies of ultraviolet light, which vary greatly in their ability to damage skin.

Posted by Unknown Wednesday, July 08, 2015

News Science Update : NASA Has Discovered A Weird, Never-Before-Seen Aurora And A Mysterious Dust Cloud Around Mars

Weird things are happening on Mars again.

As space technology improves, our ability to understand the cosmos gets better and better. But the latest advancements in satellites and imaging systems also create new questions about the universe.

Case in point: NASA’s MAVEN space probe, which is orbiting Mars and studying its atmosphere, has uncovered two separate new mysteries in the Martian atmosphere. It detected a strange high-altitude dust cloud—the origin of which is unknown—as well as a dazzling aurora light show that’s much lower in the atmosphere than scientists anticipated.

First, the dust cloud. According to NASA, it extends from 93 miles (150 kilometers) above the planet’s surface to 190 miles (300 km). Not only did researchers not expect a dust cloud to be present at those altitudes, but they’re also unsure how exactly it got there.

If the dust originates from the atmosphere, this suggests we are missing some fundamental process in the Martian atmosphere,” said Laila Andersson, one of the scientists working on MAVEN at the University of Colorado Boulder, in a press release.

Researchers have a few theories, assuming the dust didn’t originate from Mars itself. It could have drifted in from Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos, or from comet debris orbiting the sun. It also could have blown in with solar wind coming from the sun. Bruce Jakosky, the lead investigator, told New Scientist that MAVEN will conduct a flyby of Phobos to see if there’s any dust meandering away from it.

The second mystery is a bizarre aurora—similar to Earth’s northern lights—observed in a place (like the dust cloud) where scientists didn’t expect to find it.
“What’s especially surprising about the aurora we saw is how deep in the atmosphere it occurs—much deeper than at Earth or elsewhere on Mars,” said Arnaud Stiepen, another MAVEN team member at the University of Colorado. “The electrons producing it must be really energetic.”

The ultraviolet light show, which spans Mars’ northern hemisphere, was nicknamed the “Christmas lights” because it was detected right around Dec. 25 of last year. Aurorae are created when charged particles from the sun strike the atmosphere and cause the gases there to shine in cool colors.

Just last month, researchers admitted that they had no idea what was causing a recently detected plume over Mars. It could be linked to the dust clouds observed by MAVEN, although those were found in the planet’s northern hemisphere, while the mysterious plume was discovered in the southern hemisphere

Posted by Unknown Saturday, March 21, 2015

Science Update : Google's Boston Dynamics Unleashes Kick-Proof Robot Dog: What Can It Be In the Future?

Boston Dynamics released on Monday, Feb. 9, a video about a robot dog called Spot. The company has not been vocal about what it's been up to after being acquired by Google in 2013, but the video offers a glimpse at what they have been working on most recently.

Spot is a 160-pound, four-legged robot meant for both indoor and outdoor use. Electrically powered and fitted with hydraulics, the robot dog has a sensor head that helps it navigate around even rough terrain. It's smaller than the 260-pound beast that is the BigDog but is obviously big brother to the handier, puppy-sized LittleDog.

In the video, Spot walks into a hallway much like how any dog would. As it passes by cubicles in the Boston Dynamics office, it receives a surprise from one of the employees: getting kicked but not going down. There is sufficient force in the kick to topple a table, but Spot shows it can take a hit, quickly regaining its composure to continue walking.

Outside, Spot gets kicked again. It still doesn't go down but it has a harder time taking the hit while just standing up on the pavement. Maybe the carpet floors in the office offer better traction?

The robot dog continues exploring outside, easily making work of inclines whether it's going up or down. Even a rougher patch, with rocks and small branches or some stairs, doesn't give it any trouble. Going up side by side with BigDog, Spot is nimbler, which is probably due to its reduced heft.

What's a (robot) dog if you can't jog with it, right? The video also shows how Spot can easily keep up with faster strides either with a person or another robot dog.

The two-minute video can get a bit uncomfortable at times because it's hard to believe you're watching a robot dog (given Spot reacts the same way a real dog does), but it gets the job done, showing what Boston Dynamics is capable of.

Still, no information has been released regarding what Google actually plans for the company. Not that Boston Dynamics needs guidance or anything. It has, after all, produced nine robots, including the human-like ATLAS, which has some serious karate moves.

It's anyone's guess at this point as to what applications a kick-proof robot dog like Spot would be useful for. However, imagination is the only limit:

Future Bomb-Sniffing Robot Dog:

When fully developed, this robot dog can replace real bomb sniffing K-9s. Of course, they need to be properly equipped with the right sensors that can at least match the sense of smell of dogs. With Spot then there wil be no need to risk the lives of dogs or human bomb experts.

Police Dog:

When chasing for criminals, Spot might be equipped to go after criminals. Instead of a big bite from a real canine, Spot can perhaps use a stun gun to sudue subjects or pehaps tear gas or pepper spray to force criminals out of hiding. However, we need to wait until Spot can jump over fences. Ah, Spot will be a good partner for Robocop.

Search And Rescue:

Spot might also be deployed to find survivors during a natural calamity. If the environment is too dangerous for human rescuers, this quadruped robot can be in tandem with drones to look for victims and point them out to rescuers. It can also carry vital basic supplies like food or drink if people cannot be pulled out immediately from danger.

Guide Dog:

Spot can also be a guide dog for the blind or for the deaf. It has the technoogies needed to navigate a crowded walkway, cross a street, and other daily tasks that might be considered dangerous for the handicapped.

Herding Dog:

Put a GPS tracker on cows, sheeps, and other animals and this Boston Dynamics robot can easily herd them for you. Right from one's tablet, Spot can update farmers with the latest head count of animals or alert them in case it has trouble with an animal that has strayed away. It might also be able to serve as a guard dog to deter predators such as wolves, bears, and big cats.

Posted by Unknown Sunday, February 15, 2015