2023 will see several leaps forward in space exploration as countries and organizations around the world turn their attention back to the stars. In this article, we look back at some of the most exciting stories and take a look ahead at the future of spaceflight.
Artificial intelligence has grabbed the headlines this year, but NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other space agencies around the world have also made waves with trips to the moon, new explorations of Mars and advances in long-distance space communications.
return to the moon
Last summer, India became the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface. On August 23, the Indian Space Research Organization landed a spacecraft called Vikram at the south pole of the moon.
“It is a historic day for the Indian space sector. “Congratulations to (ISRO) for the remarkable success of Chandrayaan 3’s lunar mission,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. said On Twitter.
“Chandrayaan-3 opens a new chapter in Indian space travel. It soars high and lifts the dreams and ambitions of every Indian.” Modi said. “This significant achievement is a testament to the continued dedication of our scientists. I salute their spirit and creativity!”
The Vikram lander also includes a lunar rover to collect samples that scientists will use to analyze the lunar surface.
deep space communication
Last October, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) began a laser-based test experiment. infection. The project aimed to determine whether good data relay was possible in deep space. The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment was part of a six-year study. Psyche NASA is conducting a mission to a mineral-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun to improve communications capabilities.
“DSOC is NASA’s first experiment to conduct optical communications beyond lunar distances and into deep space,” said Malcolm Wright, DSOC project lead at JPL. decryption. “The beauty of optical communications is that previously all communications were done via wireless or microwave links.”
DSOC technology promises higher data transfer rates compared to traditional methods, but complications from weather remain a concern, Wright said.
Most space exploration deals with leaving Earth, but this year scientists also studied the impact of astronomical phenomena on technologies, including the internet.
solar activity monitoring
Last November, scientists at George Mason University predicted that a peak in solar activity in the form of sunspots and solar flares, expected in early 2024, could wreak havoc on Earth’s borders. technologyIncluding the Internet, despite its astronomical relative weakness.
Concerns stem from increased solar activity and dependence on the internet.
“The Internet matured during a period of relative quiet, and is now entering a more active period,” said Peter Becker, a professor at George Mason University. fox weather. “This is the first time in human history that increased solar activity intersects with our dependence on the Internet and the global economy’s dependence on the Internet.”
In addition to solar flares, researchers are also studying the impact of cosmic radiation on blockchain technology through space experiments to evaluate radiation-induced errors in blockchain data transmission.
“So there are two sources of radiation that we are concerned about in space, and one of them is from the sun,” said Hasshi Sudler, an associate professor at Villanova University. decryption. “If we have a very active sun passing through what we call Corona mass release (CME) can release huge amounts of radioactive particles at any time.”
I don’t think we are alone
In July, the concept was introduced to the world.Non-human biological products” Veterans have testified that they have seen unidentified flying objects, better known as UFOs. In the first of many hearings on UFOs, members of the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security heard testimony about unidentified flying objects (UFOs) visiting Earth.
“Some of the motions we saw in the operating area showed that these objects were at Mach 0.0, or zero airspeed,” Graves said. “These objects were completely stationary in Category 4 hurricane winds,” he said, adding that the objects would accelerate to supersonic speeds, noting their erratic flight paths.
Of course, cryptocurrency degens were created. meme coin Trying to capitalize on the new Alien hype.
Space exploration and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has also played an important role in astronomy. In October, a group of Northwestern University scientists and astronomers reported using: A.I Successfully identify and classify supernovae in real time.
“We’ve been working on this since 2018, when this program first launched.” Project co-leader and astronomy graduate student Naviel Lehemtullah said decryption. “Now we have tens of thousands of supernovae, and we can train and build models based on them and automate this process.”
Trained on more than 1.4 million historical images from 16,000 sources, the Bright Transient Survey (BTS) bot can automatically identify exploding stars, which it hopes will help astronomers cut out the “human middleman” and increase research efficiency. I hope so.
“What people adopting AI in astronomy need to consider is what kind of bias we are putting into our research,” Rehemtulla said.
Vitalik intervenes.
Ethereum co-founder wrote in an article about the importance of artificial intelligence development methods. Vitalik Buterin He warned that if an AI rebellion were to occur, even the Red Planet would not be a safe place.
“But if a superintelligent AI decides to turn against us, it could destroy humanity forever, leaving no survivors,” Buterin said. “Even Mars may not be safe.”
another october report Speaking about the red planet, Northwestern University researchers concluded that Mars’ core is surrounded by a layer of “soft, essentially molten rock” about 150 kilometers, or 93 miles, thick.
“The original intention was to learn more about the formation and evolution of Mars as a planet,” said Suzan Van Der Lee, director of computing and professor at Northwestern University. decryption. “The way we’ve been successful for our planet is by listening to it.”
Looking to the future
NASA isn’t satisfied with its performance in 2023, it’s also looking to the future. NASA plans to launch the spacecraft in 2024. Artemis This is the first time since American astronauts landed on the lunar surface in 1972.
According to NASA, for 10 days travel To the Moon will mark the first time Artemis has landed on the lunar surface, with mission experts Christina Hammock Koch, a woman, and Victor Glover, a pilot of color.
The Roman Mission, scheduled for May 2027, will use artificial intelligence for data analysis and leverage technology and other digital tools to make data more accessible to humans. that much roman missions It is named after NASA’s first female executive, Dr. Nancy Grace Roman.
“In the late ’60s, we started flying telescopes into space, and she was the one who made that happen,” said Dr. Dominic Benford, program scientist for the Nancy Grace Roman mission. decryption. “That’s why she is colloquially called ‘Hubble’s mother’ because her last large-scale project that she started was the Hubble Space Telescope.”
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
