Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
It would not be wrong to say that the universe has caught everyone’s curiosity, at some point or the other, and it has been believed that it consists of three primary components: ‘normal matter,’ ‘dark energy,’ and ‘dark matter.’ However, as per a new research by Rajendra Gupta, a seasoned physics professor based at the University of Ottawa, we might not be needing dark matter or dark energy to explain the universe and its working. His study also claims how the universe is actually 27 billion years old, and the claim has created a massive stir in the scientific community.
The European Space Agency (ESA) at the International Astronautical Congress has recently launched its Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services (LCNS) programme. It is said that the ESA is now developing infrastructure to help with future lunar missions, and thereby offer critical support for over 400 moon missions by space agencies and private companies in the next two decades. The programme, which will have a constellation of about five lunar satellites, will help in data transfer over 2,50,000 miles or 4,00,000 kilometres between the Earth and the Moon.
In rather shocking news, a US-based company has come up with an offer to allow wealthy couples to test their embryos for IQ. According to The Guardian, the concerns of genetic enhancement are put to the front with this controversial technology, and has led to discussions if genome editing can focus on changes to the human germline. The company, Heliospect Genomics, has reportedly worked with several couples undergoing IVF, and is marketing its services at up to $50,000 (Rs 42,03471) for clients.
Billionaire entrepreneur and Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, who was the first person to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon 40 years ago, is set to fly again. He will now be co-piloting the world’s first crewed flight of a hydrogen “space balloon” titled ‘Spaceship Neptune’. Operated by Florida-based space tourism company Space Perspective, the flight will take a group of eight people on a journey that will go up 20 miles into Earth’s stratosphere, and is touted to be the safest, and first carbon-neutral human spaceflight experience.
