Science, Space, Health & Robotics News - Page 1

Space is barren of resources, which means recycling is extremely important and that nothing should go to waste if it can be reused again.

NASA is aiming for 100% recyclability of its space stations, and while that number is extremely difficult to get to, the space agency has reached a score of 98% of all water astronauts bring aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is recycled by the International Space Station's Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). NASA's technological achievement means all sweat and urine are being converted back into water used in the space station's life support systems.

How is all this water captured? One aspect of the system is an "advanced dehumidifiers" that capture any moisture that is expelled by astronauts, whether that be through breathing or sweat that is left floating in the air. As for the urine, the space station is equipped with a filtration system that distills the urine and converts it back into drinkable water.

The emergence of artificial intelligence and the power it has demonstrated has many people fearing what the future looks like employment-wise. While many of those concerns are valid, not every aspect of artificial intelligence is a future ruiner.

One example of how AI can assist humans in our quest for more knowledge about the past, present, and future has been demonstrated by a team of archaeologists and computer scientists that have specifically designed an AI to translate ancient or dead languages from our past human ancestors.

The team highlighted their achievement in a new study published in the PNAS Nexus, where they explained that this AI has been designed to translate tablets with Akkadian texts using cuneiform script. Some of these tablets date back as far as 2,500 BCE, making them approximately 5,000 years old.

A space probe has made its way past Mercury for the third time has captured several incredible shots of the innermost planet.

A mission that's a combined effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan dubbed the BepiColombo mission, which involves six flybys of Mercury each proving to unique opportunity to capture photographs of the planet's scarred surface.

The latest fly by occurred on June 19 with the space probe coming 146 miles above the planet's surface, snapping a series of photographs that show the rocks geological features such as large craters and even a newly named crater.

OceanGate sent its Titan submersible containing five passengers to the wreckage of the Titanic. One hour and 45 minutes into the submersible's descent communications were lost.

US Coast Guard confirmed today that debris was found of the Titan submersible and that on its way to the Titanic wreck, which is located 12,500 feet below the surface of the ocean, it imploded under pressure. At that extreme depth objects are subjected to extreme pressure. Comparatively, Earth's atmosphere exerts 14.7 pounds per square inch (Psi) of pressure, but 12,500 feet below the surface of the ocean the Titan was being pounded with 5,500 Psi, or 300 times what is normally felt by most people.

According to military insiders that spoke to the Journal, a top-secret US Navy system that's used for detecting enemy submarines detected an implosion shortly after the communications dropped out an hour and 45 minutes into the Titan's descent, which would have placed them close to the seafloor. Notably, the Titan was designed to withstand this amount of pressure and underwent safety tests. However, the submersible wasn't certified by regulators and all passengers signed a waiver that said they acknowledge the safety risks of the Titan.

Throwflame, a company that specializes in all things to do with throwing flame, has announced it will be selling a robot dog that can launch a stream of fire 30 feet.

Throwflame took to its official Twitter account to introduce the world to Thermonator, the world's first flame-thrower-wielding robot dog. Throwflame has built Thermonator on the Unitree Go1 quadruped robot, which is a smaller and lighter iteration of the Boston Dynamic's iconic robot dog Spot. Notably, Boston Dynamics requires buyers that their robot dogs can't be used to harm people.

Thermonator weighs 37 pounds, is 30 × 20 × 20 inches, and features an ARC Flamethrower with a built-in fuel tank that can be filled with gasoline or a gasoline/diesel mixture. The flaming robot dog will be able to launch fire up to 30 feet for approximately 45 minutes when using the largest possible battery pack. If you already think that you need a robot dog equipped with a flamethrower, you, unfortunately, can't buy one at the moment, but the company expects shipping will begin sometime in Q3.

Officials have announced a grim ending to the missing OceanGate submarine that contained five passengers on a journey to visit the wreckage of the Titanic, 12,500 feet below the surface of the ocean.

US Coast Guard announced that debris from the Titan submersible that went missing on Sunday was discovered on the sea bed, approximately 1,600 feet from the hull of the Titanic. The debris indicated that the Titan submersible imploded on its way down to the sea floor, killing all five passengers. James Cameron, the director of the Titanic movie, has compared the tragedy of the OceanGate submersible with the events that led to the sinking of the Titanic.

"I'm struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result. For us, it's a very similar tragedy where warnings went unheeded," said Cameron to ABC. Cameron is referring to the many signs OceanGate's submersible wasn't at regulatory standard to be journeying at such depts of extreme pressure.

Officials have given an update on the missing OceanGate submersible that disappeared on Sunday, and according to the US Coast Guard, the Titan was destroyed.

The deep-sea submersible entered the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday carrying five passengers on a journey to the wreckage of the Titanic. One hour and forty-five minutes into its descent, communications were lost, and the search for the submersible called Titan began. Days of searching went by, with the only sign of Titan coming on Wednesday when Canadian aircraft reported hearing a "banging noise" coming from within the search area.

The story came to its grim end when a Canadian ship discovered debris from the submersible on the sea bed, approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic wreckage. According to the US Coast Guard, major fragments of the submersible were located, including the tail cone and pressure hull. Officials said the debris indicated the Titan and its occupants experienced a "catastrophic implosion".

The future of restaurants with robot servers taking your order and bringing you food and drink is one step closer to becoming a reality, thanks to the LG CLOi ServeBot. LG describes it as a "restaurant-focused service robot" that has even been awarded some certification, deeming it safe for operation in consumer environments.

The LG CLOi ServeBot is ready to take your order, image credit: LG.

The LG CLOi ServeBot we see here is a new and improved model with more carrying capacity and shelf space and other improvements aimed to make the lives easier for the human employees at a restaurant.

It's not a full-fledged waiter or waitress, but it can be set up to automate looking at menus, letting customers drop off their finished plates and stuff on the LG CLOi ServeBot, and more. It can even handle soup!

Dutch archaeologists unveiled a 4,000 religious site that also included a burial mound that contained more than 60 individual human remains.

The site was unveiled on Wednesday and is being described as the "Stonehenge of the Netherlands". Reports indicate that the burial mound contained men, women, and children, while also serving as a solar calendrer with passages specifically designed to allow the sun to shine through during the longest/shortest days of the year.

"What a spectacular archaeological discovery! Archaeologists have found a 4,000-year-old religious sanctuary on an industrial site," the town of Tiel said on its Facebook page. "This is the first time a site like this has been discovered in the Netherlands," it added in a statement.

During a press conference, the US Coast Guard announced that a "banging noise" was heard by Canadian aircraft. The source of the banging sound is currently unknown.

Reports indicate that on Wednesday, authorities detected these banging noises, which were coming from underwater within the OceanGate submersible search area. According to the US Coast Guard, these banging sounds came in 30-minute intervals, and efforts to pinpoint exactly where they were coming from have so far been unsuccessful. The data was sent to the US Navy for analysis, and unfortunately, the US Navy said the data was "inconclusive".

Captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard said, "The important piece is we're searching in the area where the noises were detected." Adding, "We don't know what they are, to be frank with you. We have to remain optimistic and hopeful." It should be noted that the five passengers aboard the submersible had 70 to 90 hours of oxygen left, which means the total oxygen supply could be spent on Thursday morning.