Google Mobile - One can get Search, Maps, Gmail and more, designed especially for your mobile.

My Maps can anticipate your actions and add placemarks in advance:

Google Moon might show some things that you aren't supposed to know, like the fact that NASA never landed on the Moon.

Source: Google Operating System- Blog

Efter Fuglesangs rymdfärd har debatten om rymden försvunnit, och i likhet med många andra europeiska länder som sänt upp en astronaut på snabb-tur-och-retur så har det inte gett den där omtalade utväxlingen i höjt intresse för rymdfarten.

Frågan är vad vi får för utväxling på mer pengar till rymden? Det är inte alltid som de uppfinningar som sägs komma från rymdprojektet kommer därifrån eller att dess betydelse för forskningen är fullt så stor. ESA, den europeiska rymdorganisations budget är vad jag förstår en fjärdedel av NASAs, och där är Frankrike den största intressenten. Är det kanske på renodlat svenska projekt vi bör satsa våra pengar för att få utväxling?

Kruxet är hur vi kan ta oss tillbaka till rymden? Är lösningen mer pengar, eller att tänka i en öppen modell som är närmare oss andra i befolkningen så vi ser nyttan för oss själva?

Edward L. Hudgins skrev några bra förslag på Cato med den klart läsvärda boken Space: a free market frontier för hur vi kan ta oss ur den fälla i jorden omloppsbana som Wernher von Braun varnade oss för i rymdprogrammets barndom.

Mänskligheten har mycket att vinna från rymden, det är jag övertygad om, men då behöver vi tänka nytt. Vi behöver se ett skifte bort från rymden som ett big science projekt. Och vi behöver nog ha en politisk debatt kring hur rymdsatsningarna ska ske och vilka mål vi bör ha för rymdfarten.

Space is a place, not a program, som den amerikanska rymdrörelsen brukar säga. Inte för att NASA har varit så positiva till den, men avsaknaden av en folklig rymdrörelse i Europa har hållit intresset nere- även för att utveckla alternativa lösningar. Där, i människors entusiasm för rymdföretaget och rymdintresset kan man nog finna vägen ut till stjärnorna.

Pingat på Intressant.se

I've been saying for a while now that what the entertainment industry needs is a resurgence of science ficition films. Fantasy has been BIG for quite a while now: Harry Potter (although I would argue this isn't real fantasy) Lord of the Rings, Eragon, In The Name of The King (Ugh... did I really just mention that, strike that, this movie no longer exists in my mind), The Chronicles of Narnia, Spiderwick, The Golden Compass, Pan's Labyrinth, and Beowulf, to name a few have ruled the box office, along with various comic book adaptations. But what moviegoers need is a new slew of science ficiton films. I'm hoping this might get started with the release of JJ Abrams' Star Trek, and also the upcoming Watchmen (which I suposse is still a comic book superhero movies, but it's a superhero story unlike one we have ever seen, and is more alternate reality than true science fiction). It would be nice to see more films like Sunshine, a film which portrays a believable future space mission to restore life to our Sun.

With NASA planning on revamping their space program, sending humans to the Moon once again before attempting a maned mission to Mars, the world could benifit from science fiction/space related entertainment to generate interest and excitement for these missions.

Although many would argue that there is much to be resolved here on earth before we go off galavanting among the stars, I believe it is crucial to human evolution that we start exploring our solar system in greater detail.  With the Phoenix lander we are learning more about Mars and our solar system every day. And technology is getting to a point where it make a lot of scienfiction look dated. iPhones are much more sophisticated than Star Trek communicators (although communicators still seem to get better reception: from anywhere on Earth to outer orbit spacecrafts, I'd like to see Roger's or AT&T offer that kind of coverage), and we're starting to see more energy efficient forms of transportation (the Tesla for example).  Our love for computers and gadgets is practically shouting our love of science fiction, and the dream of making shows like Star Trek become closer to reality.

That's all I wished to say, I just hope I get to see some great new sci-fi in the next couple of years.

PS. I've clearly been watching A LOT of Star Trek based on the direction this rant took.

Several snowmobiles navigated speedily over arctic ice and snow in Alaska's outback in late June. This scene might seem ordinary except that the recently unveiled snowmobiles are unmanned, autonomous, toy-size robots called SnoMotes - the first prototype network of their kind envisioned to rove treacherous areas of the Arctic and Antarctic capturing more accurate measurements that will help scientists better understand what is causing the well-documented melting of ice in those regions.

Ayanna Howard, associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, worked with scientists at Penn State to create the toy-like robots.

The robots are designed to traverse terrain often too dangerous for scientists, in pursuit of barometric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity measurements that will help scientists improve climate models.

Howard, a former member of NASA's Mars technology program team who developed SmartNav, an autonomous, next-generation Mars rover, believes that science-driven robotics could be just as useful of a vehicle to new discoveries on Earth as it has been in the quest to learn more about Mars.

Delightful project. I'd love to see a documentary about it. Read the details.

Foto divulgação da NASA

BBC Brasil

Astrônomos da Nasa identificaram uma estrela que pode ser a segunda mais brilhante da Via Láctea.

Identificada como "estrela da nebulosa Peony", o astro foi revelado por meio de imagens do telescópio espacial Spitzer. A descoberta foi divulgada pela em artigo na publicação científica Astronomy and Astrophysics. Segundo os astrônomos, ela brilha com a intensidade estimada de cerca de 3,2 milhões de Sóis como o do sistema solar.

The problem with this is that in the next 15 years (just in time for those college-level people to be of astronaut age) we will be shifting from the Shuttle and ISS to the moon and Mars exploration.  NASA needs to create now a definition for what the requirements and guidelines for these astronauts will be.  They need to create the concept of an Astronaut Exploration Corps. 

Many of the basic requirements are going to remain the same.  They will still need to pass a rigorous physical and will require conditioning to survive the trials of space travel; they will still need a technical education; the pilots for NASA's future exploration systems will still need experience as a pilot.  The differences are going to be in what technical backgrounds, crossover skills, and areas of experience they possess. 

The astronauts in the Astronaut Exploration Corps are going to need extensive experience with SCUBA equipment since the EVA activity involved in lunar and Martian exploration will be more extensive than the ISS construction.  They will need experience in planetary geology, astrobiology, construction, nuclear power systems, chemical processing (for in situ activities), radio astronomy, rocket launch systems from a ground systems perspective, space weather, robotics, and they will have to operate more autonomously than astronauts in the shuttle or space station.

The children and college students of today that aspire to be astronauts need to know what will be expected of them and what experience they should get if space is their goal.  A decision to creating an Astronaut Exploration Corps would demonstrate the commitment that the agency has for succeeding with the Vision for Space Exploration and its call for the exploration of the moon, Mars, and beyond.  It would show a commitment to the millions that NASA inspires.

NASA Home & City Click on the image on the right side of the page. Grab your kids too...they'll love it.

See the news report here

Looking overshoulder

Space Science Is for Everyone: Creating and Using Accessible Resources in Educational Settings

Over the past seven years, the Southeast Regional Clearinghouse, or SERCH, convened seven highly successful “Exceptional Space Science Materials for Exceptional Students” workshops. The workshops offered professional development training and resources for the teachers of students with disabilities, science educators (both formal and informal), and product developers who are working to make Earth and space science concepts more accessible for persons with disabilities.

This collection of helpful hints and resources is based on the seven workshops, the expertise of the participants and product testing in classrooms around the United States following these workshops. The brochure is offered as a tool for science, technology, engineering and mathematics educators who are working with students and/or audiences with disabilities. Some activity descriptions are supplemented with case study examples addressing a particular disability. In addition, contributing educator-authors have provided a variety of lessons learned from formal education (Pre-K-12), home school education and informal or “free-choice” education learning venues, such as science centers, museums and planetariums.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Space_Science_Is_for_Everyone.html

The mission of Spaceward Bound is to train the next generation of space explorers. The mission has students and teachers participate in the exploration of scientifically interesting but remote and extreme environments on Earth as analogs for human exploration of the moon and Mars. Spaceward Bound Field Expeditions involve teachers in authentic fieldwork so that they can bring that experience back to their classrooms and assist in the development of curriculum related to human exploration of remote and extreme environments.

For more information, visit http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/projects/spacewardbound/arctic2008/index.html

A imagem, obtida pela Mars Reconaissance Orbiter já neste mês de Julho, mostra-nos uma cratera de Marte, a Jezero, com um tratamento de cor que nos mostra, nas zonas verdes, uma concentração de filosilicatos, um indicador de que noutros tempos, esta zona terá sido um lago que se terá mantido durante alguns milhares de anos. É uma zona propícia a, caso existam, encontrar vestígios de antigas formas de vida, uma vez que estas zonas ricas em filosilicatos são excelentes conservantes de matéria orgânica.

Crédito da imagem: NASA/JPL

Lieberman demonstrates how sensors on the iShoe insole can diagnose balance problems.

That’s because Erez Lieberman and researchers at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology are designing new sensory insoles that may soon help doctors diagnose balance problems in senior citizens before major falls occur.

It’s based on a technology astronauts now use every time they return to earth, and one that Lieberman himself helped develop while an intern at NASA.

“The problem NASA faces is that the altered-gravity environment of spaceflight messes with the astronaut’s sense of balance,” says Lieberman, “[This technology] is currently being used to evaluate astronaut balance after return from zero-G.”

Lieberman and the iShoe team are now testing a new version of the technology; one that can help the elderly by analyzing pressure distribution on their feet.

“If we flag the existence of the problem early, a doctor or physical therapist can come in and make a better determination of the causes,” says Lieberman, “We can detect all kinds of effects. If a patient closes their eyes, our insole will know.”

With more than 250,000 Americans breaking their hips each year during major falls and 1-in-4 dying within a year of their injury, the device would be a welcome help to doctors, patients, and their families. In fact, it was his grandmother’s death after a fall that first inspired Lieberman to apply the NASA technology to senior citizens.

In the future, Lieberman hopes that iShoe will be equipped with technology that would help correct a patient’s balance issue as it occurs. It could even sound an alert when a fall occurs.

“Eventually we hope to provide subtle auditory and vibrational cues which will help the person adjust their balance. These cues will help them stand up straight and walk around confidently,” Lieberman says.

The iShoe team expects their product to be on the market with in two years.

-- Julia Griffin, CNN Science & Technology

Efforts to harness the energy potential of Earth's ocean winds could soon gain an important new tool: global satellite maps. After visiting the NASA website, I found out that scientists have been creating maps using nearly a decade of data from NASA's QuikSCAT satellite, that reveal ocean areas where winds could produce wind energy.

The new maps, called Winds, have many potential uses including planning the location of offshore wind farms to convert wind energy into electric energy.

Wind energy has the potential to provide 10 to 15 percent of future world energy requirements, according to Paul Dimotakis, chief technologist at JPL. If ocean areas with high winds were tapped for wind energy, they could potentially generate 500 to 800 watts of energy per square meter, according to Liu's research. Dimotakis notes that while this is slightly less than solar energy (which generates about one kilowatt of energy per square meter), wind power can be converted to electricity more efficiently than solar energy and at a lower cost per watt of electricity produced.

QuikSCAT, which was launched in 1999, tracks the speed, direction and power of winds near the ocean surface. Data from QuikSCAT, collected continuously by a specialized microwave radar instrument named SeaWinds, also are used to predict storms and enhance the accuracy of weather forecasts.

According to Liu, new technology has made floating wind farms in the open ocean possible. A number of wind farms are already in operation worldwide. Ocean wind farms have less environmental impact than onshore wind farms, whose noise tends to disturb sensitive wildlife in their immediate area. Also, winds are generally stronger over the ocean than on land because there is less friction over water to slow the winds down - there are no hills or mountains to block the wind's path.

Ideally, offshore wind farms should be located in areas where winds blow continuously at high speeds. The new research identifies such areas and offers explanations for the physical mechanisms that produce the high winds.

An example of one such high-wind mechanism is located off the coast of Northern California near Cape Mendocino. The protruding land mass of the cape deflects northerly winds along the California coast, creating a local wind jet that blows year-round. Similar jets are formed from westerly winds blowing around Tasmania, New Zealand, and Tierra del Fuego in South America, among other locations. Areas with large-scale, high wind power potential also can be found in regions of the mid-latitudes of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, where winter storms normally track.

The new QuikSCAT maps, which add to previous generations of QuikSCAT wind atlases, also will be beneficial to the shipping industry by highlighting areas of the ocean where high winds could be hazardous to ships, allowing them to steer clear of these areas.
Scientists use the QuikSCAT data to examine how ocean winds affect weather and climate, by driving ocean currents, mixing ocean waters, and affecting the carbon, heat and water interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere.

Click here to view the Winds map website.

Einstein's Universe - part 1 of 2

Einstein's Universe - part 2 of 2

Water Found on the Moon

By BRANDON KEIM
July 10, 2008

Though the moon has many seas, scientists thought it was dry.

They were wrong.

In a study published today in Nature, researchers led by Brown University geologist Alberto Saal found evidence of water molecules in pebbles retrieved by NASA's Apollo missions.

The findings point to the existence of water deep beneath the moon's surface, transforming scientific understanding of our nearest neighbor's formation and, perhaps, our own. There may also be a more immediately practical application.

"Is there water there? That's important for lunar missions. People could get the water. They could use the hydrogen for energy," said Saal.

The pebbles were scattered by lunar volcanoes that erupted three billion years ago, when the moon was still a cooling hunk of magma cast into orbit by the collision of a Mars-sized asteroid with Earth.

That impact enveloped the Earth in temperatures reaching 7000 Kelvin -- more than enough, it was thought, to obliterate all traces of hydrogen and oxygen.

Though NASA's Lunar Prospector appeared to have struck ice in 1999, its findings proved inconclusive. Had they been supported, scientists predicted that any water would have come from gases emitted by meteorites striking the moon.

With so little reason to believe in native lunar water, said Saal, it took three years to secure the minimal funding necessary to take another look at the Apollo pebbles, gathered between 1969 and 1972.

But a high-powered imaging technique known as secondary ion mass spectrometry revealed a wealth of so-called volatile compounds, among them fluorine, chlorine, sulfur, carbon dioxide -- and water.

Critically, telltale hydrogen molecules were concentrated at the center of samples rather than their surfaces, assuring Saal's team that water was present in an infant moon rather than added by recent bombardment.

"That was not known," said William Feldman, a Los Alamos National Laboratory geophysicist who was not involved in the study.

If that water in fact came from the Earth, then planetary geologists can be certain that our planet contained water 4.5 billion years ago. That would change the dynamics of models of Earth's formations.

"Volatile elements play a fundamental role in planetary formation through their influence on melting," said Feldman. "Melting temperatures are lower, you get different kinds of volcanic flows and magma crystallization. It's important for a lot of the processes that determine surface mineralogy."

Alternatively, water could have been added after the moon was ejected into space but before it cooled, raising new questions about the water's origin.

"This opens up so many lines of study," said Saal.

More practically, the widespread presence of water beneath the moon's surface could prove a boon to future lunar colonies, who could harvest it for breathable oxygen and hydrogen fuel.

Whether that is possible depends on the water's extent and concentration. This is not now known.

Materials collected by the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter, which will scour the moon's south pole later this year, and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, scheduled for launch in 2009, should provide further insight.

"Could a colony use the water? That's like asking the final score of a football game in the first five minutes of the first quarter," said Saal. "But at least we know there's a game on."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=5342399&page=1

To skip over the technical jargon that no one will understand (I'm included in that group), basically a really small part on a really big crane overheated and burned a little. Naturally this causes an uproar so we went to investigate. However I did not realize that this really small part was at the top of the really big crane. We took off up this narrow staircase in the corner. It should have been my first indication of the situation when there was a sticker that read "WARNING: Hand Rail is a Pinch Hazard, May Sever Appendage" or something to that effect.

After braving the metal hand rails I found myself standing at the bottom of a series of those access ladders that you always see but think no one ever uses. Sitting beneath those ladders was a yellow safety cone with a blinking red light on top. It seemed pretty safe until an audio warning indicated I was in an area that was a "Personnel Crush Hazard" (that was a direct quote). I then reluctantly climbed up the ladder.

Next came the steel grates of death. Underneath was a floor that was really far away. The steel grates didn't last very long, but it led to the seriously worst ladder of all time.

The next ladder went up to the crane equipment and was covered by a door at the top. A brilliant engineer had it designed so the door opened up onto the walkway so that when you got up you had to step over the opening on the floor and climb around a huge open door to slide through a space 2 inches wide. After tackling this accomplishment I stood quietly on more steel grates hanging on the middle of the floor with crane equipment next to me that was continuing to smell like smoke.

To help Illustrate, I am providing an image captured during this course of events.

The yellow arrow and circle show my hand. This is the approximate location where an imprint of my hand can now be found in the metal hand rail.

The red circle indicates a DANGER sticker. No further comments.

Now I know I am smiling in the picture but this was to confuse the actual engineers up there. No one wants to hire a sissy afraid of ladders.

To finish the story, I scurried (yes scurried) back down to the ground and remained content with poorly lit photo I got out of the situation. As another plus, I get to continue living.

Fostex se complace en anunciar que su Grabador de Campo FR-2LE ha sido seleccionado por la NASA para viajar en el transbordador espacial (STS) y la Estación Espacial Internacional (ISS) en el otoño de 2008 como el principal dispositivo de captura de audio.

Es que habiendo pasado de casete analógico a un grabador DAT, la NASA considera que IMAX está listo para volar de nuevo después de un largo paréntesis, y era necesario actualizar la grabadora.

Greg Smith, quien durante más de 20 años ha estado trabajando con IMAX Space Systems para el desarrollo de sistemas de grabación de sonido para volar a bordo del Transbordador Espacial y la Estación Espacial Internacional, señala que su función fue "elegir un grabador viable y capacitar a los astronautas que hacen la grabación en el espacio. "

Los factores considerados para la elección dela grabador de Fostex fueron: su tamaño (cabe en la mano), su peso, la facilidad de operación, el uso de pilas alcalinas y la facilidad para el intercambio de baterías, la robusta caracasa, las entradas de micrófono XLR con preamplificadores de micrófono, y la amplia disponibilidad de formatos de grabación.

Según Smith, "el FR-2LE es, como dice Ricitos de oro, el punto justo". Después de extensas pruebas de la NASA, el equipo fue aprobado para el proyecto.

El vuelo inaugural de la Fostex FR-2LE será durante el otoño del hemisferio norte en el corriente año. Smith dice, "IMAX está muy entusiasmado por ver cómo la unidad se desempeña en el desafiante y prohibitivo medio ambiente de la navegación espacial. Tenemos grandes esperanzas ... tan altas como las estrellas y dondequiera que nuestros viajes nos lleven."

Más info en Fostex

Vía Harmony Central

Here is the explanation of the image ===>

da muss natürlich was getan werden. allerdings scheint die zusammensetzung des urins nicht chemisch simulierbar zu sein, also hat die nasa einen elf tage dauernden "volunteer urine collection drive" (frei übersetzt von mir: urin-einsammlung von freiwilligen "spendern") gestartet. dabei sollen dreißig liter pro tag gesammelt werden, um nach abschluss der tour endlich etwas gegen die verstopften abwasserrohre im weltraum tun zu können. allerdings gibt es ein limit von 350 millilitern pro person, um die mischung des "urin-cocktails" nicht zu verfälschen.

einen ganzen artikel dazu gibt es hier beim guardian, wo ich darauf gestoßen bin.