Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
Elon Musk-owned SpaceX is working on a Starlink equivalent for Mars that will allow relatively quick communication to and fro from the Red Planet to Earth. Under the proposed ideas to NASA, SpaceX will install multiple satellites in Mars orbit to provide "full visibility and interoperability for the ground and orbital assets," as mentioned during Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG). Starlink will utilize its state-of-the-art laser communication tech to maintain a constant data flow between two planets. The high-speed data relay system will transmit data of 4 MBPS or more, across 1.5 astronomical units which is the distance between Earth and Red Planet. This network will be used in upcoming Mars missions for real-time images and data streams.
NEWS: For the first time, SpaceX's Dragon capsule just successfully performed a reboot demo using its Draco thrusters to alter the International Space Station's altitude.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 8, 2024
NASA gave @SpaceX the contract to deorbit the ISS & send it into the ocean at the end of its lifetime in… pic.twitter.com/QSQHB0YFlM
(Credit - X/@SawyerMerritt)
SpaceX’s Dragon has conducted an orbit-raising maneuver or reboost demonstration to stabilise the International Space Station’s (ISS) trajectory in low-Earth orbit for the first time. It was performed during Dragon’s 31st commercial resupply mission. Meanwhile, these maneuvers are routine for the orbital lab. Dragon’s Draco thrusters fired for approximately 12.5 minutes, slightly adjusting the ISS’s orbit by raising its apogee by 0.07 miles and its perigee by 0.7 miles. Such periodic boosts are required to maintain its altitude above the Earth and prevent any orbital decay into the planet's atmosphere. NASA has already decided to retire the space station around 2030 because of aging technology, increasing maintenance requirements and rising costs.
Famous Biologist Kathy Willis revealed how touching wood makes us calmer and how walking through a forest changes our gut microbes. Known as forest bathing, the meditative practice of looking and soaking the essence of nature can promote healing. “Gallbladder operation patients who could look out the window and see trees had less drugs for pain and they recovered much faster than those who looked onto brick walls,” revealed Kathy. The major reason behind such magic is direct relationship between human sense of sight and recovery rate. Meanwhile, visualizing green and white leaves promote heart health.
Scientists of Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at the University of Chicago have proposed a radical plan for stopping the melting of massive Antarctic glaciers, which can lead to catastrophic flooding on the US East Coast. The Thwaites Glacier or Doomsday Glacier has been melting at an alarming rate due to climate change. It is likely to raise global sea levels by at least 10 feet, flooding coastal cities like New York, Charleston, Atlantic City, and Miami. The scientists reported installing a giant underwater curtain can thicken the artificial glaciers with seawater or they can cool the bedrock to mitigate warm waters from entering the Thwaites Glacier.
