Author: NeRD

OpenET: Balancing Water Supply and Demand in the West

NeRD

15 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) At the end of 2022, 65 percent of the Western United States was in severe drought, the result of a two decades long mega drought in the Colorado River Basin that had captured headlines around the world.  However, it was flooding, not drought, that was making headlines when we began our research for this story about OpenET, a revolutionary new online platform geared towards helping farmers and water managers monitor and reduce water use in watersheds where supplies were…

Read More

‘Predator: Hunting Grounds’ scores a striking makeover for PS5 and Xbox X/S

NeRD

Rising production costs for A-list video game projects are entering the stratosphere these days, but one way for publishers to deliver new products without going bankrupt is to upscale older games with a modern makeover for next-gen consoles. While we’re still waiting to hear about the next entry in the “Predator” movie franchise, the most recent Predator video game — the four-year-old “Predator: Hunting Grounds — recently got the deluxe treatment with a shiny new update for modern consoles.”  This revamped game entered into the sci-fi horror gaming sphere on…

Read More

James Webb Space Telescope takes center stage in ‘Infinite Cosmos’. Author Ethan Siegel explains it all (exclusive)

NeRD

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been an astonishing piece of technology for the advancement of humankind’s understanding of the universe, and the source of awe-inspiring images of black holes, galaxies, and nebulae it’s returned to scientists and astronomers since it was deployed into a solar orbit back in 2022. “Infinite Cosmos: Visions From the James Webb Space Telescope” is a 224-page hardback published Oct. 8, 2024 from National Geographic that breaks down the history of this remarkable $10 billion observatory platform from conception to deployment, and reveals the…

Read More

HTC threw us into the Squid Games to preview their new VR headset — the Vive Focus Vision

NeRD

It’s fair to say that virtual reality has transitioned from a flashy wonder technology of the future into something that we’re just kind of used to. New VR headsets are constantly trickling out, and while some of them cause a big splash because of their outrageous price tag (looking at you Apple Vision Pro), they’ve still yet to truly deliver on the space-age promise of the technology that will help it smash through into the mainstream. Now HTC is here with their latest VR headset — the HTC Vive Focus…

Read More

Liftoff! NASA’s Europa Clipper Sails Toward Ocean Moon of Jupiter

NeRD

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. After launch, the spacecraft plans to fly by Mars in February 2025, then back by Earth in December 2026, using the gravity of each planet to increase its momentum. With help of these “gravity assists,” Europa Clipper will achieve the velocity needed to reach Jupiter in April 2030. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett NASA’s Europa Clipper has embarked on its…

Read More

NASA Spotlight: Felipe Valdez, an Inspiring Engineer

NeRD

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Felipe Valdez, a NASA engineer at Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, stands next to a subscale model of the Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ-90) aircraft. NASA / Charles Genaro Vavuris Felipe Valdez is someone who took advantage of every possible opportunity at NASA, working his way from undergraduate intern to his current job as a flight controls engineer.  Born in the United States but raised in Mexico, Valdez faced significant challenges growing up.   “My mom worked…

Read More

NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter: Live updates

NeRD

2024-10-14T03:32:07.823Z Europa Clipper “GO” for launch A triple booster SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on the launch pad. (Image credit: SpaceX/NASA/JPL) NASA and SpaceX are both “GO” to launch the Europa Clipper spacecraft toward Jupiter’s moon Europa on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024 after days of delays caused by the impacts of Hurricane Milton on its Florida launch site. Europa Clipper, a $5 billion flagship mission to an icy moon of Jupiter, is currently scheduled to lift off at 12:06 p.m. EDT (1606 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy…

Read More

What time will SpaceX launch NASA’s Europa Clipper to icy Jupiter moon today (and how to watch online)?

NeRD

Watch live! SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch NASA’s Europa Clipper – YouTube Watch On NASA’s first mission to another ocean world in our solar system will launch toward Jupiter on Monday (Oct. 14), but if you want to watch it live, you’ll need to know when to tune in. Europa Clipper, a $5 billion NASA mission to study the salty ocean beneath the ice of Jupiter’s moon Europa, will launch on its way Monday atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Liftoff is set for 12:06 p.m. EDT (1606 GMT) from…

Read More

Sols 4331-4333: Today’s Rover ABC – Aurora, Backwards Driving, and Chemistry, with a Side of Images

NeRD

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 4 min read Sols 4331-4333: Today’s Rover ABC – Aurora, Backwards Driving,…

Read More

Journey to a Water World: NASA’s Europa Clipper Is Ready to Launch

NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Europa Clipper spacecraft aboard is seen at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the mission, Sunday, Oct. 13, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA Find details about the launch sequences for the orbiter, which is targeting an Oct. 14 liftoff on its mission to search for ingredients of life at Jupiter’s moon Europa. In less than 24 hours, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is slated to launch from the agency’s…

Read More