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Categories: Engineering: Robotics Research, Space: The Solar System
Published Robotic grippers offer unprecedented combo of strength and delicacy


New robotic grippers are flexible enough to handle soft and fragile objects as well as heavier ones.
Published Gravitational arcs in 'El Gordo' galaxy cluster


A new image of the galaxy cluster known as 'El Gordo' is revealing distant and dusty objects never seen before, and providing a bounty of fresh science. The infrared image displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies that were only hinted at in previous Hubble Space Telescope images.
Published Dune patterns reveal environmental change on Earth and other planets



Researchers have analyzed the shifting patterns of entire dune fields on Earth and Mars, as seen from orbit, and found they are a direct signature of recent environmental change. This new tool can be applied anywhere with dunes, such as Mars, Titan, and Venus.
Published Earth's most ancient impact craters are disappearing



Earth's oldest craters could give scientists critical information about the structure of the early Earth and the composition of bodies in the solar system as well as help to interpret crater records on other planets. But geologists can't find them, and they might never be able to, according to a new study.
Published Thermal imaging innovation allows AI to see through pitch darkness like broad daylight


Engineers have developed HADAR, or heat-assisted detection and ranging.
Published Sun 'umbrella' tethered to asteroid might help mitigate climate change



Earth is rapidly warming and scientists are developing a variety of approaches to reduce the effects of climate change. An astronomer has proposed a novel approach -- a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth, combined with a tethered, captured asteroid as a counterweight. Engineering studies using this approach could start now to create a workable design that could mitigate climate change within decades.
Published New clues on the source of the universe's magnetic fields


Researchers offer insight into the source of cosmic magnetic fields. The research team used models to show that magnetic fields may spontaneously arise in turbulent plasma. Their simulations showed that, in addition to generating new magnetic fields, the turbulence of those plasmas can also amplify magnetic fields once they've been generated, which helps explain how magnetic fields that originate on small scales can sometimes eventually reach to stretch across vast distances.
Published New algorithm ensnares its first 'potentially hazardous' asteroid


An asteroid discovery algorithm -- designed to uncover near-Earth asteroids for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's upcoming 10-year survey of the night sky -- has identified its first 'potentially hazardous' asteroid, a term for space rocks in Earth's vicinity that scientists like to keep an eye on. The roughly 600-foot-long asteroid, designated 2022 SF289, was discovered during a test drive of the algorithm with the ATLAS survey in Hawaii. Finding 2022 SF289, which poses no risk to Earth for the foreseeable future, confirms that the next-generation algorithm, known as HelioLinc3D, can identify near-Earth asteroids with fewer and more dispersed observations than required by today's methods.
Published 3D display could soon bring touch to the digital world


Engineers have designed a new, shape-shifting display that can fit on a card table and allows users to draw 3D designs and more.
Published Reinforcement learning allows underwater robots to locate and track objects underwater


A team has shown that reinforcement learning -i.e., a neural network that learns the best action to perform at each moment based on a series of rewards- allows autonomous vehicles and underwater robots to locate and carefully track marine objects and animals.
Published This 3D printed gripper doesn't need electronics to function


This soft robotic gripper is not only 3D printed in one print, it also doesn't need any electronics to work.
Published James Webb Space Telescope sees Jupiter moons in a new light


Last year, JWST made spectral observations of Ganymede and infrared observations of Io. Absorption lines of hydrogen peroxide at Ganymede's poles indicate radiolysis of water ice by charged particles funneled by the moon's magnetic field. Io had two major eruptions, one associated with a forbidden emission line of sulfur monoxide. The latter supports a theory that SO is produced at volcanic vents in a thin atmosphere that allows forbidden emission before collisions destroy the excited state.
Published Researchers develop low-cost sensor to enhance robots' sense of touch


Researchers have developed an L3 F-TOUCH sensor to enhance tactile capabilities in robots, allowing it to 'feel' objects and adjust its grip accordingly.
Published Hubble sees evaporating planet getting the hiccups


A young planet whirling around a petulant red dwarf star is changing in unpredictable ways orbit-by-orbit. It is so close to its parent star that it experiences a consistent, torrential blast of energy, which evaporates its hydrogen atmosphere -- causing it to puff off the planet.
Published Using cosmic weather to study which worlds could support life


As the next generation of giant, high-powered observatories begin to come online, a new study suggests that their instruments may offer scientists an unparalleled opportunity to discern what weather may be like on far-away exoplanets.
Published A simpler method for learning to control a robot


A new machine-learning technique can efficiently learn to control a robot, leading to better performance with fewer data.
Published Robotic hand rotates objects using touch, not vision


Inspired by the effortless way humans handle objects without seeing them, engineers have developed a new approach that enables a robotic hand to rotate objects solely through touch, without relying on vision.
Published Robot preachers get less respect, fewer donations


As artificial intelligence expands across more professions, robot preachers and AI programs offer new means of sharing religious beliefs, but they may undermine credibility and reduce donations for religious groups that rely on them.
Published In new space race, scientists propose geoarchaeology can aid in preserving space heritage


The material record that currently exists on the moon is rapidly becoming at risk of being destroyed if proper attention isn't paid during the new space era, scientists say. They propose a new scientific subfield: planetary geoarchaeology, the study of how cultural and natural processes on Earth's moon, on Mars and across the solar system may be altering, preserving or destroying the material record of space exploration.
Published Ancient, high-energy impacts could have fueled Venus volcanism



A team has modeled the early impact history of Venus to explain how Earth's sister planet has maintained a youthful surface despite lacking plate tectonics. The team compared the early collision histories of the two bodies and determined that Venus likely experienced higher-speed, higher-energy impacts creating a super-heated core that promoted extended volcanism and resurfaced the planet.