Space – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Nov 30
2018

AI Robot CIMON Debuts at International Space Station

The space station robot CIMON has exchanged its first words with its spacefaring crew.

German astronaut Alexander Gerst talked with the artificially intelligent crew-assistant CIMON during a 90-minute experiment on Nov. 15 aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

According to a statement from the manufacturer, Airbus, Gerst, the commander of the current space station crew, woke up CIMON (the Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN) with the words “Wake up, CIMON.” In response, CIMON said, “What can I do for you?” [This Flying Space Droid Wants to Make Friends with Astronauts].

Nov 30
2018

Success of Tiny Mars Probes Heralds New Era of Deep-Space Cubesats

Two pint-sized spacecraft, MarCO-A and MarCO-B, served as communications relays for NASA’s InSight lander.

By Mike Wall, SPACE.com on November 30, 2018

Nov 30
2018

Astronomers calculate the total amount of starlight ever produced in the observable universe

The universe has been making stars for a good 13 billion years or so, and a natural question to ask might be “how many stars have existed in that time?” But now astronomers have taken it several steps further and asked “how much light has been emitted in that time?” Using a new measurement method, the team has apparently managed to quantify all the starlight every produced in the observable universe – and the result is a figure that’ll make your eyes water.

Nov 30
2018

Are you using NASA land processes data?

Looking to download LP DAAC products directly from Data Pool for your research project via a script but unsure how to login using your NASA Earthdata account?

Check out newly released Python and R scripts for downloading files directly from the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) Data Pool. The Python and R scripts show you how to configure a connection to download data directly in Python/R from an Earthdata Login-enabled server, specifically the LP DAAC Data Pool.

Nov 29
2018

Scientists Discover a “Ghost of a Galaxy” Orbiting the Milky Way

It’s both massive and extremely diffuse.

The “oddball” satellite has astronomers wondering what else they’re missing.

Nov 29
2018

Moon Missions, Ancient Asteroids: Projects Of Pioneering Professor Span The Space Age

50 years of discovery — and he’s not done yet.

Nov 29
2018

Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity Just Survived a Massive Crash in Outer Space

Once again, the decades-old theory of gravity has survived a modern scientific onslaught. Einstein wins again.

Nov 29
2018

Mercury Pollution Is Way Up. One Huge Culprit? Gold Mines

The first big international effort to combat mercury pollution is zeroing in on small gold mines, which account for almost half of annual emissions.

Nov 28
2018

Astronomers Can Finally See This Galaxy Cluster

Explore the Fornax galaxy for the first time.

Nov 28
2018

Scientists Build Atomic Clocks Accurate Enough to Measure Changes in Spacetime Itself

Physicists have created atomic clocks so precise that they can measure deformations in spacetime itself, according to new research.

We don’t all experience time passing equally—time passes more slowly closer to something massive’s gravitational pull, as famously theorized by Albert Einstein. And since gravity is typically interpreted as the way mass warps space itself, that means a precise-enough atomic clock could serve as a scientific tool for measuring how objects change the shape of their surrounding space.