plant Nanobionic To Detect Buried Explosives

MIT engineers have developed nanobionic spinach plants that can detect buried landmines and hidden explosives.

The researchers were able to do this by embedding the leaves of the spinach with carbon nanotubes transforming them into sensors that can detect explosives and wirelessly transmit the information to a handheld device.

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reducing greenhouse gas emissions

The federal government is designating 48 electric vehicle charging corridors along 25,000 miles of major highways as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and make it easier for drivers to switch to electric cars,

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double fuselage

 Most current airliners are designed as a tube with wings – a single tube or fuselage.(a fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull. The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.)
 A twin-fuselage aircraft has two main fuselages. It is distinct from the twin-boom aircraft configuration which has a main body with two subsidiary boom structures.Twin fuselages have been adopted for various reasons, and a few types have entered production. For the future, engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who are working for the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate's Fixed Wing Project, are looking at the possible benefits of wider, double fuselages with wings.

A model of the so-called "double bubble" D8 airliner concept has returned to the 14 by-22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., for further testing. "The team is refining what it did last year," said Rich Wahls, Fixed Wing Project scientist. "We are getting higher accuracy data and more insight into the flow physics with a new measurement device."

Two questions engineers are trying to answer with the help of the model, which is one-eleventh the size of a real airplane, is whether engines embedded in the fuselage reduce drag and by how much. Reduced drag helps reduce fuel consumption.

The double bubble concept is one of a number of designs NASA is studying in an attempt to develop quieter, cleaner, more fuel-efficient airliners by 2035.new science discoveries

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LIVING IN MARS?

NASA is embarking on an ambitious journey to Mars and Tuesday announced a challenge inviting the public to write down their ideas w
, in detail, for developing the elements of space pioneering necessary to establish a continuous human presence on the Red Planet. This could include shelter, food, water, breathable air, communication, exercise, social interactions and medicine, but participants are encouraged to consider innovative and creative elements beyond these examples.

Participants are asked to describe one or more Mars surface systems or capabilities and operations that are needed to achieve this goal and, to the greatest extent possible, are technically achievable, economically sustainable, and minimize reliance on support from Earth. NASA expects to make up to three awards at a minimum of $5,000 each from a total award pool of $15,000.

NASA’s efforts for sending humans to Mars is well underway today, with spacecraft monitoring Mars from orbit and rovers on the surface. The International Space Station is testing systems and is being used to learn more about the health impacts of extended space travel. NASA also is testing and developing its next generation of launch and crew vehicles -- the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crewed spacecraft. 

NASA’s two-prong approach is to build reusable space capabilities and incorporate commercial and international partners. By developing new technologies along the way and creating the systems necessary to maintain a permanent human presence in deep space, humanity will pioneer space, pushing out into the solar system to stay.

Given spacecraft limitations on weight and volume -- and a minimum 500 days between resupply opportunities -- innovative solutions are required for a mission to Mars that is not dependent on Earth for resources.

NASA seeks technical submissions that describe the development of capabilities and operational events necessary, in both the near- and long-term, to advance this bold journey. Submissions may consist of proposed approaches, capabilities, systems or a set of integrated systems that enable or enhance a sustained human presence on Mars. Solutions should include the assumptions, analysis, and data that justify their value. Submissions should include a process to develop, test, implement, and operate the system or capability.

Submissions will be judged on relevance, creativity, simplicity, resource efficiency, feasibility, comprehensiveness and scalability.

For more information about the challenge, and details on how to apply, visit:
http://go.nasa.gov/1JONps3


hat do you need to bring, and how do you minimize the need for delivery of future supplies in order to establish a sustained human presence on a planet 140 million miles away from Earth?

new science discoveries

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Greased Lightning or GL-10

A team at NASA's Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft. The prototype 10-foot wingspan (3.05 meters), eight electric motors on the wings, two electric motors on the tail and weighs a maximum of 62 pounds (28.1 kilograms)  is currently in the design and testing phase. The initial thought was to develop a 20-foot wingspan (6.1 meters) aircraft powered by hybrid diesel/electric engines, but the team started with smaller versions for testing, built by rapid prototyping.



new science discoveries

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understand the universe

Astrophysics is a branch of space science that applies the laws of physics and chemistry to explain the birth, life and death of stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae and other objects in the universe. It has two sibling sciences, astronomy(the study of the stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and nebulae) and cosmology( the study of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe), and the lines between them blur.
 At NASA, the goals of astrophysics are to discover how the universe work, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars, through the following projects
   Physics of the Cosmos
   Cosmic Origins
   Exoplanet Exploration
   Astrophysics Explorer Program
   Astrophysics Research


new science discoveries

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Understanding the sun

heliophysics (physics of the Sun): encompasses environmental science, a unique hybrid between meteorology and astrophysics, To understand the changing flow of energy and matter throughout the Sun, Heliosphere, and Planetary Environments,To explore the fundamental physical processes of space plasma systems, and to define the origins and societal impacts of variability in the Earth-Sun System.  as a single connected system is the goal of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program.
 In addition the study includes the interaction of solar plasma and radiation with Earth, the other planets, and the Galaxy. By analyzing the connections between the Sun, solar wind, planetary space environments, and our place in the Galaxy, through complementary missions of various sizes, timely development of enabling and enhancing technologies, and acquisition of knowledge through research, analysis, theory, and modeling. NASA are gradually uncovering the fundamental physical processes that occur throughout the Universe. Understanding the connections between the Sun and its planets will allow us to predict the impacts of solar variability on humans, technological systems, and even the presence of life itself, it is one of four divisions within NASA's Science Mission Directorate which includes Earth Science, Planetary Science and Astrophysics).

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