Author: NeRD

Trump appoints SpaceX’s Elon Musk to help head regulation-slashing ‘Department of Government Efficiency’

NeRD

Elon Musk will have a place in the second Trump administration. The SpaceX founder and CEO will lead the new “Department of Government Efficiency” along with entrepreneur and politician Vivek Ramaswamy, President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday evening (Nov. 12). “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies — Essential to the Save America Movement,” Trump wrote in a statement on Tuesday (capitalization his). “It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of…

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Entrevista con Instructora de OCEANOS María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias

NeRD

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias (izquierda), profesora asociada de biología e instructora de la pasantía OCEANOS, de pie en la arena de Playa Melones, Isla Culebra, durante la sección de trabajo de campo de la pasantía. NASA ARC/Milan Loiacono Read this interview in English here ¿Cuál es tu nombre y tu rol en OCEANOS? Mi nombre es María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias. Soy una profesora asociada al Departamento de Ciencia Natural, específicamente Biología, en la Universidad Interamericana, en el Recinto Metropolitano. Para OCEANOS,…

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NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab laying off 5% of its workforce

NeRD

NASA’s chief center for robotic planetary exploration is conducting another round of layoffs. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California — which manages many of NASA’s high-profile robotic missions, such as the Perseverance and Curiosity Mars rovers — announced Tuesday (Nov. 12) that it will lay off about 325 employees, or roughly 5% of its workforce. “The impacts are occurring across technical, business and support areas of the Laboratory,” JPL officials wrote in an update on Tuesday. “These are painful but necessary adjustments that will enable us to adhere…

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Colorado Students to Connect with NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station

NeRD

(Oct. 25, 2024) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams is pictured at the galley inside the International Space Station’s Unity module at the beginning of her day. Credit: NASA Students from Colorado will have the opportunity to hear NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams answer their prerecorded questions aboard the International Space Station on Thursday, Nov. 14. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 1 p.m. EST on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms, including social media. The JEKL Institute for Global Equity…

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Kibo Robot Programming Challenge Breaks New Ground in Robotics 

NeRD

On Sept. 20, 2024, four students experienced the wonder of space exploration at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, taking part in an international competition that brought their work to life aboard the International Space Station.   Now in its fifth year, the Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC) continues to push the boundaries of robotics, bringing together the world’s brightest young minds for a real-world test of programming, problem-solving, and innovation. The Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC) students tour the Gateway Habitation and Logistics Outpost module at NASA’s Johnson Space Center…

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A black hole’s secrets could hide in its dizzying light ‘echoes’

NeRD

To measure the masses and spins of black holes, scientists want to follow clues left behind by light that takes a round-a-bout journey, bends around these voids, and ultimately shines toward us. The crew, from Princeton University and Los Alamos National Laboratory, has performed complex computer simulations to show how two telescopes — one on Earth, the other in space — can work together to make the idea a reality. In other words, these devices could help us detect light that has basically been on a trip around a black…

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Top 10 best Lego deals we’ve spotted: Black Friday 2024

NeRD

Black Friday 2024 is just a matter of weeks away, and we’re already thinking about what great Lego deals we might be able to pick up. We don’t have to wait, however: there are already plenty of great deals available now, with retailers getting a head start on rolling out their Black Friday deals. Of course, we anticipate that as Black Friday gets closer, we’ll be getting more deals on space-themed Lego sets, with potentially even bigger savings to be had. But for now, you can save big, beat the…

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Scientists found ‘nitriles’ in an interstellar cloud — here’s why that could be huge

NeRD

In the Taurus molecular cloud, one of the closest stellar nurseries to Earth, scientists found two nitrile-containing molecules — and this is incredibly interesting because these very molecules could reveal information about the origins of life as we know it in the universe. The Taurus molecular cloud (TMC-1) is an interstellar cloud in the constellations Taurus and Auriga, and the newly discovered molecules within are known as malononitrile and maleonitrile. The molecules were detected using data from the ongoing QUIJOTE line survey of TMC-1 that is being carried out with…

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Station Science Top News: Nov. 8, 2024

NeRD

Researchers demonstrated the feasibility of 3D bioprinting a meniscus or knee cartilage tissue in microgravity. This successful result advances technology for bioprinting tissue to treat musculoskeletal injuries on long-term spaceflight or in extraterrestrial settings where resources and supply capacities are limited. BFF Meniscus-2 evaluated using the BioFabrication Facility to 3D print knee cartilage tissue using bioinks and cells. The meniscus is the first engineered tissue of an anatomically relevant shape printed on the station. Manufactured human tissues have potential as alternatives to donor organs, which are in short supply. Bioprinting…

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