• Technology

    Liftoff For NASA's Ares I-X Rocket (Video and Photos)

    By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 10.30.2009 21 Comments

    Ares I-X roared off its launch pad at 11:30 EST at Cape Canaveral. This marks success for NASA's second launch attempt to get the Ares I-X rocket off the ground after weather delayed the launch on Tuesday.

    10.31.2009 at 11:54pm - Comment by skullshock

    The 90 deg. separation is only expected for a 1st stage rocket test. The 2nd stage was never intended to fire and was only there for aerodynamic stability. I guess the separation was part of the test, and if the 2nd stage had fired, the original trajectory would have held.

  • The Environment

    Solar Collectors Covering 0.3 Percent of the Sahara Could Power All of Europe

    By Dan Smith Posted on 6.22.2009 16 Comments

    Solar power is an exciting source of renewable energy, but has so far mostly been used to power little things like homes, cars and small villages. But what if solar energy was used on a scale that would power the majority of Europe?

    10.31.2009 at 11:33pm - Comment by skullshock

    P.Eng/nosquid, Green is the way. Put that in your traditional heads.

  • Technology

    Monotony Dominates During 105-Day Simulated Mars Mission

    By Stuart Fox Posted on 7.30.2009 17 Comments

    The recent anniversary of Apollo 11 has sparked a revived call for manned exploration of Mars. And many have responded to that call by listing the vast technical challenges that such a journey would entail. However, some have worried that the psychological challenge of sending men to the red planet far outweighs any engineering issue. To test the psychological effect of such a trip, the European Space agency set up simulated Mars missions where six "astronauts" were locked in a tube for months on end. The volunteers for the initial, 105-day, test have just emerged from their titanium chrysalis, and it seems like it wasn't a day to soon.

    8.11.2009 at 06:44am - Comment by skullshock

    The only way to go is suspended animation, or deep sleep. If scientists can develop a method to make a person sleep for a couple of weeks or more at a time, that's good enough to prevent boredom.

  • Science

    Rent a Robotic Suit Named HAL

    By John Brandon Posted on 10.8.2008 12 Comments

    Starting this Friday, disabled and elderly people in Japan will be able to rent a robotic suit to help them become more mobile. Available in a two-leg (for a $2200-per-month rental fee) or one-leg version ($1500/month), the suit -- called HAL, for Hybrid Assistive Limb -- reads brain signals and directs leg movement. Yoshiyuki Sankai, the creator of the robot suit, is a professor at the University of Tsukuba and the CEO of Cyberdyne, which is manufacturing and renting the suits.

    10.8.2008 at 07:44pm - Comment by skullshock

    The exoskeleton robot is not an original idea. However, discovering how to read the bio-electrical signals of the skin is a technological feat in cyborg research. A few more years down the road, and remotely-controlled humanoid machines using the bio-electrical signals of a human controller will become reality. One application that comes to mind is doing tasks in dangerous or hostile environments. For example, an astronaut-explorer on Mars could control a robot to do some tasks, while the astronaut is inside his command module. This type of machine control is more intuitive and natural than joystick-type remote control systems of today. Having the technology to transfer complex human movements efficiently and quickly to a remote machine further expands human capabilities, don't you think?

  • Technology

    Flight of the Jetpack

    By Posted on 7.29.2008 23 Comments

    Today marked the public debut of the Martin Jetpack, a ducted-fan-equipped personal flying vehicle that could keep pilots aloft for 30 minutes or more. Inventor Glenn Martin has been working on the jetpack—which isn't technically a "jet" pack, given the fans—for 27 years, but he has kept it secret until now. Even his son, Harrison, the 16-year-old test pilot, wasn't allowed to tell his friends that he'd been cruising around the yard back home in Christchurch, New Zealand in a revolutionary flying vehicle.

    7.30.2008 at 07:49am - Comment by skullshock

    what did the naysayers say again when the telephone was invented? they said it was just a toy. and look what we have now: cellphones!



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December 2009: Best of What's New

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