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MIT device is converting carbon dioxide to oxygen – on Mars

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On the red and dusty surface of Mars, nearly 100 million miles from Earth, an instrument the size of a lunchbox is proving it can reliably do the work of a small tree.

The MIT-led Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, has been successfully making oxygen from the Red Planet’s carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere since April 2021, about two months after it touched down on the Martian surface as part of NASA’s Perseverance rover and Mars 2020 mission.

In a study published today in the journal Science Advances, researchers report that, by the end of 2021, MOXIE was able to produce oxygen on seven experimental runs, in a variety of atmospheric conditions, including during the day and night, and through different Martian seasons. In each run, the instrument reached its target of producing six grams of oxygen per hour – about the rate of a modest tree on Earth. [Read more…] about MIT device is converting carbon dioxide to oxygen – on Mars

Hyundai and Kia to develops mobile robots for space exploration

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South Korean automotive giants Hyundai and Kia have agreed a partnership to develop robotic technology for space exploration.

The two companies say they “are now expanding their vision beyond the bounds of Earth and into space” are specifically concentrating on robotics and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM).

Hyundai and Kia recently signed joint research agreements with six Korean research institutes and formed a consultative body to develop mobility solutions to explore the surface of the moon. This follows Korea’s successful launch of a domestically produced rocket in June. [Read more…] about Hyundai and Kia to develops mobile robots for space exploration

Motion capture is guiding the next generation of extraterrestrial robots

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“How do we build robots that can optimally explore space?” is the core question behind Dr Frances Zhu’s research at the University of Hawai’i. One part of the answer is, “with motion capture”.

“It is my hope that my research contributes to the way extraterrestrial robots move and make decisions on other planets,” explains Zhu (main image), an assistant researcher and deputy director at the University’s Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.

That research is in its early stages, but NASA has seen the value in it and awarded Zhu an EPSCoR grant by the name “Autonomous Rover Operations for Planetary Surface Exploration using Machine Learning Algorithms”. [Read more…] about Motion capture is guiding the next generation of extraterrestrial robots

China launches robot to collect space debris and mine asteroids

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A Chinese startup company called Origin Space has launched a prototype robot designed to collect space debris and eventually mine asteroids while in low-Earth orbit.

The Neo-01 robot was launched on the Chinese state-backed rocket Long March recently, and weighs about 30 kg. The system will use a net to catch debris.

Satellites of all kinds – military and civilian – have been launched in their thousands in the past few decades. And when these become obsolete, they just end up floating in space, accounting for a large portion of the debris floating around in space above Earth’s atmosphere. [Read more…] about China launches robot to collect space debris and mine asteroids

Scientists develop soft robot for exploration in the deepest underwater place on Earth

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Scientists at Zhejiang University in China have developed a soft robot which has been able to navigate the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Earth.

The research team led by Professor LI Tiefeng from the Center for X-Mechanics at the Zhejiang University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Zhejiang Lab conducted inter-disciplinary research with its partners and pioneered in proposing the principle of pressure adaptation in mechatronic systems, and their findings were reported in the journal Nature.

Typically, at such depths in the oceans, a vessel without a pressure-resilient “armor” would be “destroyed by the overwhelmingly hydrostatic pressure”. [Read more…] about Scientists develop soft robot for exploration in the deepest underwater place on Earth

Cost reduction in aerospace through additive manufacturing

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Spacecraft are developed on Earth, tested, fully assembled and transported in one piece by a launch vehicle to their respective places of operation. Each component must be designed to withstand the high loads of the launch phase.

In most cases, in addition to complex test procedures, this leads to an oversized structure of the spacecraft components, because in orbit they experience only a fraction of the stresses they must endure during rocket launch.

The maximum take-off mass required for transport with the launch vehicle and the volume of satellites, for example, thus cause high space transport costs. [Read more…] about Cost reduction in aerospace through additive manufacturing

30 critical raw materials: EU prioritizes lithium but launches plan to avoid dependency

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The European Commission, the administrative arm of the European Union, has listed 30 “critical raw materials” that it wants to secure the supply of while at the same time avoiding becoming dependent on any of them.

The four new additions to the list are bauxite, lithium, titanium and strontium.

Lithium, a fundamental material in the manufacturing of batteries of all kinds, is increasingly gaining importance as more and more people buy electric cars. [Read more…] about 30 critical raw materials: EU prioritizes lithium but launches plan to avoid dependency

Airbus adds new satellite to its SpaceDataHighway constellation

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Aerospace company Airbus has added a new satellite to its SpaceDataHighway constellation.

The company says its EDRS-C satellite, the second node of Airbus’ SpaceDataHighway constellation, has completed its commissioning tests and is now ready to start operational services.

Following its successful launch in August 2019 and manoeuvring to its geostationary orbital slot at 31 degrees east, in-orbit testing has been executed and laser communication links have been established to the Copernicus programme’s Sentinel Earth observation satellites. [Read more…] about Airbus adds new satellite to its SpaceDataHighway constellation

Brainy alien hunter obsessed with finding life on Mars

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A brainy alien-hunter is apparently obsessed with finding life on Mars. The Purdue scientist is playing a critical role in the 2020 NASA Mars rover mission.

Briony Horgan (main picture), associate professor of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University, is working to determine whether we are alone in the universe or if life once existed on other planets such as Mars.

When the NASA Mars rover Perseverance launches in the next few weeks, it will travel to Jezero Crater, which preserves evidence of a time when rivers flowed on Mars. [Read more…] about Brainy alien hunter obsessed with finding life on Mars

Airbus and Xenesis to demo 10 Gbps networking on ISS for robotics and other applications

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Airbus and Xenesis have signed a contract for a payload slot on the International Space Station Bartolomeo platform for the demonstration of their Xen-Hub optical communication space terminal.

The Xen-Hub is a greater than 10 gigabyte per second optical communications terminal. The terminal was enabled with a technology transfer from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is designed to increase satellite communications bandwidth.

The Airbus-built Bartolomeo platform offers external science and payload hosting capabilities on the ISS, providing new opportunities for science and research. [Read more…] about Airbus and Xenesis to demo 10 Gbps networking on ISS for robotics and other applications