In the year By 2023, space exploration has seen leaps and bounds as nations and organizations around the world turn their attention to the stars. In this article, we take a look at some of the most fascinating stories and the future of spaceflight.
Artificial intelligence dominated the headlines this year, with NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other agencies around the world making waves with trips to the moon, new explorations on Mars and advances in deep space communication.
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ToggleReturn to the moon
Last summer, India became the fourth country to land a craft on the moon. On August 23, the Indian Space Research Organization's Vikram probe landed on the South Pole of the Moon.
“Historic day for Indian space sector. Congratulations [the ISRO] For amazing success [the] Chandrayaan-3 Moon Mission, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi he said. On Twitter.
“Chandrayaan-3 writes a new chapter in India's space odyssey. It will elevate, elevate the dreams and aspirations of every Indian.” Modi he said.. “This major achievement is a testament to the tireless efforts of our scientists. I salute their spirit and ingenuity!”
The Vikram lander also includes a lunar rover to collect samples that scientists use to analyze the moon's surface.
Deep space connections
In October, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) launched a laser-based experiment. Transgression. The project aims to see if advanced data transmissions from deep space are possible. It was part of the six-year Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) experiment. Psyche NASA's mission to orbit a mineral-rich asteroid to boost its communications capabilities.
“DSOC is NASA's first attempt at optical communication beyond lunar distances into deep space,” said Malcolm Wright, JPL's DSOC project leader. Decrypt. “The advantage of optical communications is that before now all communications were over radio or microwave links.”
DSOC technology promises to provide a higher speed of data transmission compared to traditional methods, but problems caused by weather are a concern, Wright said.
Although most space exploration has left Earth behind, this year scientists studied the effects of celestial phenomena on technology, including the Internet.
Tracking the movement of the sun
In the year In November, George Mason University scientists predicted that the peak of this solar activity in sunspots and solar flares, expected in early 2024, could disrupt communications on Earth. TechnologiesIncluding the Internet, although relatively weak in astronomical terms.
The concern stems from increasing solar activity and reliance on the Internet.
George Mason University professor Peter Becker said, “The Internet started its age when the Sun was relatively quiet and now it is entering a more active period.” Fox Weather. “Our dependence on the Internet and the increased global economic dependence on the Internet has led to a disruption of solar activity for the first time in human history.”
In addition to solar radiation, researchers are also studying the effects of cosmic rays on blockchain technology.
“So there are two sources of radiation that we're concerned about in space, one is from the Sun,” said Hashi Sudler, adjunct professor at Villanova University. Decrypt. “If we have a very active sun passing through the so called. Chronic mass ejection (CMEs), can eject massive particles of light at any time.
We are not alone, it seems
In July, the world was introduced to the “” concept.Non-human biologists” Military veterans have testified about seeing unidentified flying objects, better known as UFOs. In what is being called the first of many hearings on UFOs, members of the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security heard testimony about the veracity of UFOs that have visited Earth.
“From some of the characteristics that we've seen in our workplace, we see that these objects are at Mach 0.0, which is zero airspeed,” Graves said. “These objects would remain completely stationary in a category four hurricane,” the director said, adding that the objects would travel at supersonic speeds, indicating a distorted flight path.
Of course, crypto degens have been created meme-coins To try and take advantage of the new alien incentive.
Space exploration and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has also played a major role in astronomy. In October, a team of scientists and astronomers from Northwestern University said they used it Artificial intelligence to successfully detect and classify supernovae in real time.
“This program has been around since 2018,” says a project associate and astronomy graduate student. Nabey Rehemtula They spoke Decrypt. “So now we have tens of thousands of supernovae that we can train and build the model and automate this process.”
Trained on more than 1.4 million historical images from 16,000 sources, the Bright Transient Survey (BTS) bot can detect exploding stars on its own, which astronomers hope will improve research efficiency and eliminate the “human middleman.”
“One thing people taking AI for astronomy should think about is what biases we're putting in place. [the] Research,” said Rehemtulla.
Vitalik shouted
In a post about how artificial intelligence will be developed, the founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin He warned that even the Red Planet would not be a safe place if an AI rebellion broke out.
But a super-intelligent AI, if it decides to turn on us, could leave no survivors and end humanity for good, Buterin said. “Even Mars may not be safe.”
Another October Report From Northwestern University, speaking of the Red Planet, he concluded that Mars' core is surrounded by “soft, essentially molten rock” about 150 kilometers or 93 miles thick.
“The original goal was to learn more about the formation and evolution of Mars,” said Susan van der Lee, professor and director of computing at Northwestern University. Decrypt. By listening to the planet, the way we have successfully done it for Earth.
Looking ahead
In the year Not content with the achievement of 2023, NASA is also looking to the future. In the year NASA plans to launch this in 2024 Artemis The mission will be the first time American astronauts have landed on the moon since 1972.
According to NASA, ten days road trip The first woman to land Artemis on the moon, mission specialist Christina Hammock Koch and colored man pilot Victor Glover on the lunar surface.
The Roman mission, planned for May 2027, will use artificial intelligence for data analysis, technology and other digital tools to make data more easily accessible to humans. of Roman mission It is named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, the first female executive director of NASA.
“We started sending telescopes into space in the late '60s, and she was the one who made that happen,” said Dominic Benford, program scientist for the Nancy Grace Roman mission. Decrypt. “That's why she's literally called the ‘mother of the Hubble', because the last big project she started was the Hubble Space Telescope.”
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
