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Categories: Mathematics: General, Space: Exploration
Published MAVEN and EMM make first observations of patchy proton aurora at Mars


NASA's MAVEN and the United Arab Emirates' EMM missions have released joint observations of dynamic proton aurora events at Mars. By combining the observations, scientists determined that what they were seeing was essentially a map of where the solar wind was raining down onto the planet, opening new avenues for understanding the Martian atmosphere.
Published Researchers find spaceflight may be associated with DNA mutations and increased risk of developing heart disease and cancer


A new study could lead to ongoing health monitoring of astronauts to assess possible health risks and prevent disease progression.
Published Researchers use computer modeling to understand how self-renewal processes impact skin cell evolution


Scientists have used mathematical and computer modeling to demonstrate the impact of skin homeostasis on driver and passenger mutations.
Published Mixing things up: Optimizing fluid mixing with machine learning


Fluid mixing is an important part of several industrial processes and chemical reactions. However, the process often relies on trial-and-error-based experiments instead of mathematical optimization. While turbulent mixing is effective, it cannot always be sustained and can damage the materials involved. To address this issue, researchers have now proposed an optimization approach to fluid mixing for laminar flows using machine learning, which can be extended to turbulent mixing as well.
Published The sands of Mars are green as well as red, rover Perseverance discovers


The accepted view of Mars is red rocks and craters as far as the eye can see. That's much what scientists expected when they landed the rover Perseverance in the Jezero Crater, a spot chosen partly for the crater's history as a lake and as part of a rich river system, back when Mars had liquid water, air and a magnetic field. What the rover found once on the ground was startling: Rather than the expected sedimentary rocks -- washed in by rivers and accumulated on the lake bottom -- many of the rocks are volcanic in nature. Specifically, they are composed of large grains of olivine, the muddier less-gemlike version of peridot that tints so many of Hawaii's beaches dark green.
Published First underground radar images from Mars Perseverance Rover reveal some surprises


NASA's Perseverance landed on Mars in February 2021 and has been gathering data on the planet's geology and climate and searching for signs of ancient life. The rover's subsurface radar experiment has returned images showing unexpected variations in rock layers beneath the Jezero crater. The variations could indicate past lava flows or possibly a river delta even older than the one currently being explored on the crater floor.
Published NASA schedules PUNCH mission to launch in 2025


More than 60 engineers and scientists are gathering at Southwest Research Institute Aug. 23-24 to kick off the launch vehicle collaboration for NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission. PUNCH, which will study the inception of the solar wind, has secured its ride into Earth orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, sharing a ride into space with NASA's Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Re-ionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission.
Published Saturn V was loud but didn't melt concrete


Abundant internet claims about the acoustic power of the Saturn V suggest that it melted concrete and lit grass on fire over a mile away, but such ideas are undeniably false. Researchers used a physics-based model to estimate the rocket's acoustic levels and obtained a value of 203 decibels, which matched the limited data from the 1960s. So, while the Saturn V was extremely loud, that kind of power is nowhere near enough to melt concrete or start grass fires.
Published Seeing universe's most massive known star


By harnessing the capabilities of the Gemini South telescope in Chile, astronomers have obtained the sharpest image ever of the star R136a1, the most massive known star in the universe. Their research challenges our understanding of the most massive stars and suggests that they may not be as massive as previously thought.
Published Compact QKD system paves the way to cost-effective satellite-based quantum networks


Researchers report an experimental demonstration of a space-to-ground quantum key distribution (QKD) network using a compact QKD terminal aboard the Chinese Space Lab Tiangong-2 and four ground stations. The demonstration represents an important step toward practical QKD based on constellations of small satellites, a setup considered one of the most promising routes to creating a global quantum communication network.
Published Breaking in a new planet


Impacts affect the porosity and structure of moons and planets more dramatically than scientists suspected, increasing their potential habitability for life. Studying how those impacts affect planetary bodies, asteroids, moons and other rocks in space helps planetary scientists understand extraplanetary geology, especially where to look for precious matter including water, ice and even, potentially, microbial life.
Published Mars model provides method for landing humans on Red Planet


A mathematical model developed by space medicine experts could be used to predict whether an astronaut can safely travel to Mars and fulfill their mission duties upon stepping foot on the Red Planet.
Published Wobbling droplets in space confirm late professor's theory


At a time when astronomers around the world are reveling in new views of the distant cosmos, an experiment on the International Space Station has given researchers fresh insight into something a little closer to home: water.
Published Harvesting resources on Mars with plasmas


Researchers have devised a plasma-based way to produce and separate oxygen within the Martian environment. It's a complementary approach to NASA's Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment and may deliver high rates of molecule production per kilogram of instrumentation sent to space. The team presents the method for harnessing and processing local resources to generate products on Mars.
Published Safe havens for cooperation


Whether networks with a high level of cooperation emerge in a community depends on how quickly individuals leave -- for example, because they are exploited by others. Researchers investigated this problem by modeling a well-known cooperation game. They consider a spatial network, where players can relocate between different patches if they judge the local conditions to be unfavorable.
Published Building on the moon and Mars? You'll need extraterrestrial cement for that


Researchers are exploring ways to use clay-like topsoil materials from the moon or Mars as the basis for extraterrestrial cement that could be used by astronauts to create building materials for life in outer space. Scientists have converted simulated lunar and Martian soils into geopolymer cement, which is considered a good substitute for conventional cement.
Published Ultracold atoms dressed by light simulate gauge theories


Researchers have used the coldest systems in the universe to realize in the laboratory gauge theories, key models of modern physics that describe the fundamental forces of Nature and the behavior of complex quantum materials.
Published Robotic motion in curved space defies standard laws of physics


Researchers have proven that when bodies exist in curved spaces, they can in fact move without pushing against something.
Published Researchers discover major roadblock in alleviating network congestion


Researchers discovered that congestion control algorithms designed to ensure multiple users sending data over a network do so fairly are actually unable to avoid situations where some users are hogging all the bandwidth.
Published As reflective satellites fill the skies, students are making sure astronomers can adapt


Students have completed a comprehensive brightness study to characterize mega-constellation satellites cluttering the skies.