General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - August 2015

Aug 2015

Dec 14, 2019

NASA Selects Nightingale Crater for Asteroid Sample Collection

After a year scoping out asteroid Bennu's boulder-scattered surface, the team leading NASA's first asteroid sample return mission officially selected a sample collection site.
The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex) mission team concluded a site designated "Nightingale" – located in a crater high in Bennu's northern hemisphere.
The OSIRIS-REx team spent the past several months evaluating close-range data from four candidate sites in order to identify the best option for the sample collection. The candidate sites – dubbed Sandpiper, Osprey, Kingfisher and Nightingale – were chosen for investigation because, of all the potential sampling regions on Bennu, these areas pose the fewest hazards to the spacecraft's safety while still providing the opportunity for great samples to be gathered.
After thoroughly evaluating all four candidate sites, the final decision based on which site has the greatest amount of fine-grained material and how easily the spacecraft can access that material while keeping the spacecraft safe. Of the four candidates, site Nightingale best meets these criteria and, ultimately, best ensures mission success.

Dec 13, 2019

Nova Innovation to Develop Tidal Array in Canada

A Scottish energy firm was granted a licence to deploy a tidal array in Canada.
Edinburgh-based Nova Innovation said that the move would lead to 15 new turbines being installed in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, by 2023.
The project will provide enough electricity to power 600 homes.
In 2016, Nova said that its offshore tidal array at Bluemull Sound off Shetland had become the first in the world to deliver electricity to the grid.

First Liquid Hydrogen Ship Debuts in Japan

The world's first liquefied hydrogen carrier made its debut at a shipyard in Japan, a step towards tapping the carbon-free energy potential of the element. Kawasaki Heavy Industries christened the tanker Suiso Frontier at a ceremony at the Kobe Works yard.
The ship will be used for technology demonstration to establish a hydrogen energy supply chain. The construction is expected to be complete by late 2020.

Dec 12, 2019

ISRO Launches Radar Imaging Satellite RISAT-2BR1

In a big boost to India's space-based surveillance, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched Radar Imaging Satellite RISAT-2BR1 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota. This was PSLV's fiftieth mission. With RISAT-2BR1, PSLV is also carrying nine other commercial foreign satellites from countries such as the US, Italy, Japan and Israel under a commercial contract with New Space India Limited (NSIL). The 628 kg Earth observation satellite is set to be positioned at an orbit of 576km altitude.

Dec 11, 2019

'Horse Ridge', Intel's New Chip for Commercial Quantum Computers

Quantum computers aim to carry out tasks in just a few minutes that would take today's best conventional computers thousands of years. But in nearly every photograph of the devices, there's a tangle of wires in the background connected to equipment that controls the quantum computer.
Intel Corp announced a chip that it hopes will change that. The Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker announced a chip called "Horse Ridge" that is designed to take all the work being done by the wires and shrink it down to a chip and electronics about the size of a tea cup saucer.
Quantum computers remain years away from everyday use but have drawn the interest of major technology companies. In October, researchers at Alphabet Inc's Google said they had created a machine that can outpace conventional computers. Other major technology firms such as International Business Machines and Microsoft Corp are also pursuing the technology.

Dec 10, 2019

Sustainable New Material for Carbon Dioxide Capture

In a joint research study scientists have developed a new material for capturing carbon dioxide. The new material offers many benefits -- it is sustainable, has a high capture rate, and has low operating costs.
The new material is a bio-based hybrid foam, infused with a high amount of CO2-adsorbing 'zeolites' -- micro porous alumino silicates. This material has been shown to have very promising properties. The porous, open structure of the material gives it a great ability to absorb the carbon dioxide.

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