Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By Amazing Space
      LIVE NOW: Sun Close up Views/ AR4100 31st May Backyard Astronomy with Lunt Telescope
    • By European Space Agency
      Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission shows us a rare, cloud-free view of Iceland captured on 17 May 2025. View the full article
    • By USH
      A mysterious object within our own galaxy is emitting a bizarre pulsing signal directed at Earth, one that scientists say is unlike anything ever recorded, and they haven’t ruled out an alien origin. 
      NASA astrophysicist Dr. Richard Stanton, who led the research team, described the signal as “strange” and said its properties defy all known astrophysical explanations. “In more than 1,500 hours of observations, we’ve never seen a pulse like this,” 

      Stanton noted. The signal originates from a sun-like star approximately 100 light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). It was first detected as a flash of light that abruptly brightened, dimmed, and then brightened again, an unusual pattern that immediately drew attention.
      Even more puzzling, the pulse repeated exactly four seconds later, matching the first in every detail.
      According to Stanton’s findings, published in Acta Astronautica, the signal also triggered bizarre activity in the host star, causing it to partially vanish in just a tenth of a second, a phenomenon with no clear scientific explanation. 
      It's noteworthy that this object was specifically targeting Earth with its signal, not just broadcasting randomly into space, but directing its transmission toward our planet. 
      Whatever the intention behind it, that alone is intriguing. Even more interesting is that NASA publicly acknowledged this discovery. While NASA’s statements aren't always fully transparent, could this be a prelude to something bigger, perhaps a forthcoming revelation about the discovery of a Dyson Sphere, or even confirmation of intelligent extraterrestrial life?
        View the full article
    • By Amazing Space
      LIVE NOW: Sun Close up Views/ 28th May Backyard Astronomy with Lunt Telescope
    • By NASA
      3 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      Artist concept highlighting the novel approach proposed by the 2025 NIAC awarded selection of the Breathing Beyond Earth concept.NASA/Alvaro Romero-Calvo Alvaro Romero-Calvo
      Georgia Tech Research Corporation
      The reliable and efficient operation of spacecraft life support systems is challenged in microgravity by the near absence of buoyancy. This impacts the electrolytic production of oxygen and hydrogen from water by forcing the adoption of complex multiphase flow management technologies. Still, water splitting plays an essential role in human spaceflight, closing the regenerative environmental control and life support loop and connecting the water and atmosphere management subsystems. Existing oxygen generation systems, although successful for short-term crewed missions, lack the reliability and efficiency required for long-duration spaceflight and, in particular, for Mars exploration.
      During our Phase I NIAC effort, we demonstrated the basic feasibility of a novel water-splitting architecture that leverages contactless magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) forces to produce and separate oxygen and hydrogen gas bubbles in microgravity. The system, known as the Magnetohydrodynamic Oxygen Generation Assembly (MOGA), avoids the use of forced water recirculation loops or moving parts such as pumps or centrifuges for phase separation. This fundamental paradigm shift results in multiple operational advantages with respect to the state-of-the-art: increased robustness to over- and under-voltages in the cell stack, minimal risk of electrolyte leaching, wider operational temperature and humidity levels, simpler transient operation, increased material durability, enhanced system stability during dormant periods, modest water purity requirements, reduced microbial growth, and better component-level swap-ability, all of which result in an exceptionally robust system. Overall, these architectural features lead to a 32.9% mass reduction and 20.4% astronaut maintenance time savings with respect to the Oxygen Generation Assembly at the ISS for a four-crew Mars transfer, making the system ideally suited for long-duration missions. In Phase II, we seek to answer some of the key remaining unknowns surrounding this architecture, particularly regarding (i) the long-term electrochemical and multiphase flow behavior of the system in microgravity and its impact on power consumption and liquid interface stability, (ii) the transient operational modes of the MHD drive during start-up, shutdown, and dormancy, and (iii) architectural improvements for manufacturability and ease of repair. Toward that end, we will leverage our combined expertise in microgravity research by partnering with the ZARM Institute in Bremen and the German Aerospace Center to fly, free of charge to NASA, a large-scale magnetohydrodynamic drive system and demonstrate critical processes and components. An external review board composed of industry experts will assess the evolution of the project and inform commercial infusion. This effort will result in a TRL-4 system that will also benefit additional technologies of interest to NASA and the general public, such as water-based SmallSat propulsion and in-situ resource utilization.
      2025 Selections
      Facebook logo @NASATechnology @NASA_Technology


      Share
      Details
      Last Updated May 27, 2025 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms
      NIAC Studies NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program Keep Exploring Discover More NIAC Topics
      Space Technology Mission Directorate
      NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts
      NIAC Funded Studies
      About NIAC
      View the full article
  • Check out these Videos

×
×
  • Create New...