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The author of In Ascension, the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club, on why he wrote his novel, cultivating a sense of wonder and the role of fiction in the world today

The author of In Ascension, the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club, on why he wrote his novel, cultivating a sense of wonder and the role of fiction in the world today

Science in Space: March 2024

Optical fibers are used on Earth and in space for applications in medicine, defense, cybersecurity, and telecommunications. Parabolic research showed that optical fibers produced in microgravity can be higher quality than those made in normal gravity, and the International Space Station provides a potential platform for commercial production of these fibers. The Production of Flawless Space Fiber (Flawless Space Fibers-1) investigation is using the space station to demonstrate new manufacturing technology developed by Flawless Photonics to improve the quality and length of optical fiber produced in space.

NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara conducting Flawless Space Fibers operations in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG).NASA

Preliminary results have been promising. From mid-February to mid-March, the investigation manufactured a total of more than seven miles (11.9 km) of optical fiber. Eight of the runs (called draws) produced more than 2,200 feet (700 meters) of fiber, demonstrating that the results are repeatable. The investigation also drew more than 3,700 feet (1141 meters) in one day, surpassing the prior record of 82 feet (25 meters) for the longest fiber manufactured in space. Seven of the draws exceeded 2,296 feet (700 meters), demonstrating for the first time that commercial lengths of fiber can be produced in space. The space-drawn fibers are set to return to Earth soon for analysis of their quality.

These fibers are made using ZBLAN, a glass alloy made of zirconium, barium, lanthanum, sodium, and aluminum fluorides, each with different densities and crystallization temperatures. Its unique properties allow light to travel through a fiber over a broader range, providing more than ten times the capacity of traditional silica-based fibers and transmitting considerably more data over the same length of fiber. If fibers can be made long enough and of high enough quality, the increased efficiency of ZBLAN could translate into significant energy savings by reducing the need to boost the signal on long-distance transmissions.

However, when ZBLAN is drawn into fibers on the ground, crystals form that scatter signals and make the fiber brittle. Because crystals grow more slowly in microgravity, the approach is to cool drawn fibers before crystals have a chance to form. Microgravity also counters effects of sedimentation, convection, and buoyancy that limit the length and quality of fibers drawn on Earth. Manufacturers use drop towers to manufacture ZBLAN on Earth, but in-space manufacturing provides much more time to draw longer and eventually better fibers.

Scanning electron microscope images of ZBLAN fibers pulled in microgravity (bottom) and on Earth (top) show the crystallization that occurs in ground-based processing.NASA

The Flawless Space Fibers investigation is sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory and involves support from the  Luxembourg Space Agency, University of Adelaide in Australia, and NASA’s InSpace Production Applications (InSPA). InSPA advances sustainable, scalable, and profitable in-space manufacturing in low Earth orbit, working with the ISS National Lab to provide companies with access to the space station for demonstrating production of advanced materials and products for terrestrial applications. Flawless Space Fibers has achieved three of four goals for ZBLAN set by InSPA, including achieving 20 meters on a single run, repeating that amount on a separate draw, and scaling up to runs of commercial length. The analysis of fibers after return to ground is needed to determine whether the investigation meets InSPA’s fourth goal, producing fiber of ten times greater quality than on Earth.

Results may help reduce gravity-induced defects in optical glass products developed on Earth and advance in-space manufacturing models. The investigation also opens the door to creating other valuable specialty fibers in space.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Norishige Kanai with the Made in Space fiber optics hardware.NASA

NASA conducted early work processing ZBLAN in microgravity through Marshall Space Flight Center in the 1990s and early 2000s. Development of ZBLAN manufacturing on the space station began in 2014.

Other investigations that examined manufacturing ZBLAN optic fibers in microgravity include Optical Fiber Production in Microgravity (Made In Space Fiber Optics), which conducted the first privately funded ZBLAN fiber draw, Fiber Optic Production, and Fiber Optic Production-2 (FOP-2), which first demonstrated repeated production of 20-meter lengths of fiber in microgravity. Another investigation, Fiber Optics Manufacturing in Space (Space Fibers), developed by FOMS Inc, first demonstrated a fully operational space facility for fiber manufacturing.1

These efforts support commercial development of space and low Earth orbit and offer opportunities for development of next-generation technologies in space for applications on Earth.

John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist
Expedition 70

Search this database of scientific experiments to learn more about those mentioned above.

Citations:

1 Starodubov D, McCormick K, Dellosa M, Erdelyi E, Volfson L. Facility for orbital material processing. Sensors and Systems for Space Applications XI, Orlando, Florida. 2018 May 2; 10641106410T. DOI: 10.1117/12.2305830.

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This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows LEDA 42160, a galaxy about 52 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. The dwarf galaxy is one of many forcing its way through the comparatively dense gas in the massive Virgo cluster of galaxies. The pressure exerted by this intergalactic gas, known as ram pressure, has dramatic effects on star formation in LEDA 42160.

3 Min Read Partnerships that Prepare for Success: The Research Institution Perspective on the M-STTR Initiative Dr. Darayas Patel (left), professor of mathematics and computer science at Oakwood University, and four Oakwood University students record data related to their NASA STTR research. Credits: Oakwood University

Editor’s Notes (March 2024): Oakwood University and its small business partner—SSS Optical Technologies, LLC—were awarded a STTR Phase II in November 2023 to continue their work. Also in 2023, M-STTR awards became part of what is now MPLAN.

In 2022, Oakwood University, a Historically Black College based in Huntsville, Alabama, became a first-time research institution participant in NASA’s Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. Partnering with SSS Optical Technologies, LLC (SSSOT) of Huntsville, Alabama, the team received a 2022 Phase I award to develop UV protective coating for photovoltaic solar cells in space. The PANDA (Polymer Anti-damage Nanocomposite Down-converting Armor) technology could be used to protect solar cells, which convert sunlight into energy but can suffer damage from UV rays.

Prior to this STTR award, Oakwood University and SSSOT prepared for the solicitation by participating in a pilot NASA opportunity. In 2021, NASA launched the M-STTR initiative for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) to propose for Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research planning grants. The program is a partnership between NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP).

The 2021 solicitation resulted in 11 selected proposals to receive M-STTR planning grants—six from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and five from Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Oakwood University was among the selected research institution teams; with its grant, the university developed a partnership with SSSOT.

Dr. Darayas Patel, professor of mathematics and computer science at Oakwood University, shared the university perspective on how the M-STTR program helped the team form a partnership and prepare for the 2022 STTR solicitation. Dr. Patel is supporting the Phase I STTR contract, which is the university’s first time working with the SBIR/STTR program. Prior to the NASA STTR award, Oakwood University has received grants from other government agencies, including the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. Oakwood University also has past involvement in NASA’s MUREP program, which helps engage, fund, and connect underserved university communities. Learning about opportunities from the MUREP network, the Oakwood University team proposed to the pilot M-STTR program, working together with SSSOT on photovoltaic solar cell technology.

“M-STTR helped us solidify the collaboration with SSSOT by focusing our team on specific, tangible goals.”

Dr. Darayas Patel

Professor at Oakwood University

Oakwood University and SSSOT formed a partnership based on Dr. Patel’s existing relationship with SSSOT’s founder Dr. Sergey Sarkisov, who was on Dr. Patel’s Ph.D. committee at Alabama A&M University. According to Dr. Patel, the M-STTR grant allowed the team to generate preliminary data about the solar cell technology that would later be proposed for the 2022 STTR award. In addition to providing supplementary data for the STTR solicitation, Dr. Patel said, “M-STTR helped us solidify the collaboration with SSSOT by focusing our team on specific, tangible goals.” The result was a more unified team with a defined action plan for approaching the STTR proposal.

When asked what advice he had for other research institutions interested in participating in the NASA SBIR/STTR program, Dr. Patel shared, “Keep your eyes wide open and try to reach out to nearby small businesses interested in transferring your technology to the market. And remember: it should line up with what NASA is looking for.” From working with NASA on these initiatives, Dr. Patel says he has broadened his network within the NASA community, which helps him stay informed of future opportunities.

Changes in wind patterns and desertification may be increasing the amount of dust from the Sahara desert blown over western Europe and the frequency of these events

Changes in wind patterns and desertification may be increasing the amount of dust from the Sahara desert blown over western Europe and the frequency of these events

Like-charged objects were found to clump together while opposites repelled because of the newly discovered "electrosolvation force."

“Don’t be afraid to go after the things that you’re dreaming about that aren’t necessarily possible right now. We do things all the time now that were impossible 10 years ago! Figure out how to make the impossible possible, if it’s what you want to do.

“One of my cornerstone pinnacles [is], ‘Show up to work [and] life with integrity and intent.’ So, accomplish your goals with integrity, intent, and a mission. Stick to that and have the confidence to do that, and be OK with messing up and failing, and have fun with those things.

“And if you are not doing something that you love, and you’re not having fun, then think about what those things are and go towards that.”

— Meghan Everett, International Space Station Program Deputy Chief Scientist, NASA’s Johnson Space Center

Image Credit: NASA / Josh Valcarcel
Interviewer: NASA / Michelle Zajac

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The Worm Moon underwent a slightly undramatic lunar eclipse on Sunday, March 24, two weeks before the main event: April's total solar eclipse.

Here's why clouds might not be a big issue for the total solar eclipse on April 8 and what you can see if they decide to make an appearance.

Japanese tits sometimes flutter their wings in an apparent gesture of encouraging their mate to enter their shared nest first

Japanese tits sometimes flutter their wings in an apparent gesture of encouraging their mate to enter their shared nest first

3 min read

Hubble Sees New Star Proclaiming Presence with Cosmic Lightshow This new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope features the FS Tau star system. NASA, ESA, and K. Stapelfeldt (NASA JPL); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Jets emerge from the cocoon of a newly forming star to blast across space, slicing through the gas and dust of a shining nebula in this new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

FS Tau is a multi-star system made up of FS Tau A, the bright star-like object near the middle of the image, and FS Tau B (Haro 6-5B), the bright object to the far right obscured by a dark, vertical lane of dust. The young objects are surrounded by gently illuminated gas and dust of this stellar nursery. The system is only about 2.8 million years old, very young for a star system. Our Sun, by contrast, is about 4.6 billion years old.

FS Tau B is a newly forming star, or protostar, surrounded by a protoplanetary disk, a pancake-shaped collection of dust and gas leftover from the formation of the star that will eventually coalesce into planets. The thick dust lane, seen nearly edge-on, separates what are thought to be the illuminated surfaces of the flared disk.

FS Tau B is likely in the process of becoming a T Tauri star, a type of young variable star that hasn’t begun nuclear fusion yet but is beginning to evolve into a hydrogen-fueled star similar to our Sun. Protostars shine with the heat energy released as the gas clouds from which they are forming collapse, and from the accretion of material from nearby gas and dust. Variable stars are a class of star whose brightness changes noticeably over time.

FS Tau A is itself a T Tauri binary system, consisting of two stars orbiting each other.

Protostars are known to eject fast-moving, column-like streams of energized material called jets, and FS Tau B provides a striking example of this phenomenon. The protostar is the source of an unusual asymmetric, double-sided jet, visible here in blue. Its asymmetrical structure may result from the difference in the rates at which mass is being expelled from the object.

FS Tau B is also classified as a Herbig-Haro object. Herbig–Haro objects form when jets of ionized gas ejected by a young star collide with nearby clouds of gas and dust at high speeds, creating bright patches of nebulosity.

FS Tau is part of the Taurus-Auriga region, a collection of dark molecular clouds that are home to numerous newly forming and young stars, roughly 450 light-years away in the constellations of Taurus and Auriga. Hubble has previously observed this region, whose star-forming activity makes it a compelling target for astronomers. Hubble took these observations as part of an investigation of edge-on dust disks around young stellar objects.

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Media Contact:

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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Last Updated

Mar 25, 2024

Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location Goddard Space Flight Center

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• Goddard Space Flight Center
• Hubble Space Telescope
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A 3D-printing ink developed from wood waste recombines its natural components back into wooden products

Earth just experienced the strongest solar storm since September 2017. It opened a crack in our planet's magnetosphere but failed to spark impressive auroras. Why?

A 2023 expedition to the Pacific Ocean, searching for debris from a suspected extraterrestrial object, may have been looking in the wrong place. A new look at the infrasound data used to locate the point of impact suggests that they may have been confused by the rumblings of a truck driving past.

On 14 January 2018, a space rock hit the Earth’s atmosphere off the coast of Papua New Guinea. It was detected by what are mysteriously described as “US Government Sensors”, and given the catalogue entry “CNEOS 2014-01-08”. Based on the brightness of the fireball and its apparent speed, the physical rock likely survived without burning up completely. The observation was logged in a database kept by the Center for Near Earth Object Studies. Bolides like this can be a spectacular sight, when spotted by human eyes, but they are not rare; several are detected each week.

Extrasolar objects

A few years later, Oumuamua was discovered. Oumuamua was traveling at a high speed, along a path that showed it was not orbiting the Sun. Instead, it had come from interstellar space and was merely passing through. This was very exciting because it was the first time anybody had observed an interstellar rocky object, and so it attracted a lot of attention.

Some observations showed that Oumuamua’s path wasn’t steady, but kept making tiny changes. Most scientists agreed that this was almost certainly because of pockets of ice melting and jetting away in the Sun’s heat. This is a common phenomenon, that we often see happening with comets. More detailed observations and simulations showed that it had a long and skinny shape, more like a splinter than a boulder, which is very unusual among the asteroids and comets that we’re used to. But Oumuamua only really hit the mainstream press when a well-known and prestigious astrophysicist decided, in a surprising leap of logic, that all these details proved that it could be an alien spacecraft!

The Oumuamua discovery led many scientists to start searching for other interstellar objects. CNEOS 2014-01-08, with its high reported speed, looked like a promising candidate. The physicist who had made such a big deal about Oumuamua being artificial took a closer look at the bolide reports and concluded that it must have been traveling fast enough to be another extrasolar object. This claim was controversial, not only because the government sensors appear to be classified and so cannot be verified, but because meteor speeds are notoriously difficult to measure. Observers have mistakenly reported extrasolar meteors as far back as 1951!

But if CNEOS 2014-01-08 truly was from outside the Solar System, and we could find pieces of it, that would be an incredible discovery: The first actual geological samples from a planetary system outside our own!

The expedition

This is why an expedition was launched in 2023 to try and find it. The research team used seismic and infrasound data from seismic research stations in the area to try and find the exact place where the meteoroid would have splashed into the sea. They identified two likely signals from Geoscience Australia’s Passive Seismic Network. The signals were recorded by Manus Island, Papua New Guinea (AU.MANU) and Coen, Queensland, Australia (AU.COEN), at around the same time that the fireball was detected. They triangulated a precise location based on those recordings, and sailed out to search the ocean floor.

The expedition was widely reported as a success, after they found “metallic spherules”. These spherules had an unusual composition, which the expedition leader said was proof of a possible extraterrestrial origin. Like the speed calculations, though, this interpretation was widely challenged. Specialists in other fields have weighed in to argue that there was nothing unusual about the debris, and that various natural and human processes could have created them (My personal favorite: 19th century pollution!). With so much doubt as to where the spherules came from in the first place, it’s probably not wise to say that they are of “extraterrestrial technological” origin.

The area near the seismic station in Manus Island, based on satellite images. Image credit: Roberto Molar Candanosa and Benjamin Fernando/Johns Hopkins University, with imagery from CNES/Airbus via Google. The truck

The most recent challenge to the results of this expedition come from a team led by Dr Benjamin Fernando of Johns Hopkins University. Their report focuses on the seismic and infrasound data used to locate the impact site.

They noticed a number of problems with the expedition’s analysis, starting with the fact that none of the detections happened within 30 seconds of the fireball. But beyond that, these stations are located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is very tectonically active. They detect a great many earthquakes and other natural seismic events every day, and some of these happened at the same time as the meteorite impact. Separating the two signals is hard to do without distorting both of them. This adds a lot of error to any calculations based on those data.

Along with seismic data, these stations also have infrasound detectors, meant to detect and monitor nuclear weapons tests. But infrasound has a limited range, and is strongly affected by geography.

Fernando’s team concluded that only one station recorded an infrasound signal that could have come from CNEOS 2014-01-08, and that none of the seismic detections had anything to do with the bolide. Based on this, they believe that the expedition was looking in the wrong place, and that the debris they discovered had nothing at all to do with the 2014 bolide.

But their most damning claim is this: The strongest signal had an unusual pattern, lasting a long time and coming from a direction which changed halfway. They noticed that there is a road passing near the station, with a curve in it that matches the change in direction of the signal. They point out that the signals recorded by trucks driving that road are a far closer match than any natural event.

In other words, they believe that the expedition based its search location for an extraterrestrial meteoroid on the noise of somebody in a truck going for a drive.

In their defense

It’s tempting to laugh at the researchers on the expedition, especially since their leader was a respected astrophysicist who has recently developed a reputation for having crackpot ideas about aliens. But I think there is value in investigating these questions.

It’s easy to get tired of cranks and fools wasting our time with conspiracy theories and crazy stories about abductions. And we should always be skeptical of any claims about aliens, given what we know about the physics of interstellar travel and the absurd scale of the Universe.

But most astronomers agree that life has to exist elsewhere in the Universe, and many think that it could well be intelligent and technologically capable, like us. Nobody’s saying that they can’t possibly exist, only that it’s extremely unlikely that they are over here!

So we should be skeptical of these reports. It’s good to not waste too much time studying them, when there are other mysteries that are far more likely to be true. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore the possibility altogether. It would be disastrous if, by some chance, it turned out to be real, and the scientific community had simply refused to acknowledge it! When new evidence comes in, we must revisit our assumptions and go back and check our previous conclusions. And it’s important that somebody do this even when we’re certain that they’ll get a negative result.

To learn more, visit https://hub.jhu.edu/2024/03/07/alien-meteor-truck/

The post The Sound of an Interstellar Meteor Might Have Just Been a Rumbling Truck appeared first on Universe Today.

Ailments of the mouth can put the body at risk for a slew of other ills. Some practitioners think dentistry should no longer be siloed

A fresh, icy crust hides a deep, enigmatic ocean. Plumes of water burst through cracks in the ice, shooting into space. An intrepid lander collects samples and analyses them for hints of life.

ESA has started to turn this scene into a reality, devising a mission to investigate an ocean world around either Jupiter or Saturn. But which moon should we choose? What should the mission do exactly? A team of expert scientists has delivered their findings.

This article is from the 2023 Technical Update.

The NESC Flight Mechanics Technical Discipline Team (TDT) provides support to all NASA Mission Directorates and throughout all mission phases. Highlights from this past year include three critical program support assessments, new discipline-advancing capabilities in simulation tools, and a preview of future efforts by the TDT to capture knowledge and expertise to pass on to the next generation. 

Independent modeling and simulation (M&S) enables new insights into critical subsystem designs and offers opportunities for analyses to reduce risk acceptance for programs. Several ongoing assessments have contributed to improved flight certification processes and risk reduction. The Flight Mechanics TDT sponsored improvements to simulation tools that enabled new solutions to complex problems, and recent NESC Academy recordings captured the latest advancements in the discipline. 

Notional risk scoring reduction through independent M&S

Modeling of crew seat acceleration during entry, decent and landing.

The TDT supported the Commercial Crew Program by independently modeling and simulating commercial providers’ trajectory designs and on-board deorbit, entry, descent, and landing software. This past year, the team assessed the return of additional crew on commercial capsules for contingency scenarios and used independent simulation analyses to confirm this capability poses no significant changes in splashdown conditions, thus ensuring additional options for returning crew safely if the primary return vehicle is disabled. Additionally, the NESC is providing key assessments for manual control using a “paper pilot” based on actual pilot responses. This study enabled manual control as a viable survival scenario if the flight computer fails during deorbit, entry, descent, and landing phases of flight. These efforts contributed to an independent verification and validation of commercial providers’ designs that supported certification of commercial flights to and from the ISS. 

Standing up a new independent M&S effort in support of the Mars Ascent Vehicle, a critical element delivering Martian soil and atmosphere samples for eventual return to Earth, provides value and increases confidence in the design of this key element for the Mars Sample Return Campaign. The Flight Mechanics team is contributing unique methodologies for studying the challenging dynamics of this two-stage solid motor design where the second stage is unguided and spin-stabilized. 

Frame of Mars ascent vehicle second stage separation dynamics from an M&S animation

Independent M&S of key staging and separation events for the SLS has resulted in affirmation of the SLS trajectory and guidance, navigation and control design. Flight Mechanics TDT members contributed analyses to evaluate the heliocentric disposal of the Interim Cyrogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). 

Monte Carlo modeling of the Artemis 1

This past year, the TDT also completed an assessment that explored the interoperability between common mission analysis tools and enabled trajectory sharing between tools to solve more complex mission design problems (page 31). An NESC Technical Bulletin (page 47) and Innovative Technique (page 65) have been published on this topic. 

NESC Academy recordings on trajectory optimization tools and frameworks, electric aircraft sizing methodologies, system optimization, and aerodynamic decelerator systems were important knowledge capture and transfer initiatives. These recordings are available to help train and educate engineers on the tools and processes NESC teams will use for future independent M&S efforts.