Japanese researchers hope to launch a satellite made of wood in 2023

The satellite would burn instead of becoming more space debris.

Credit: Rumman Amin via Unsplash/Peter Jurik via Adobe Stock/Big Think
  • Orbiting around Earth are hundreds of thousands of bits of space debris.
  • Some of this stuff comes plummeting down eventually, but not enough of it.
  • Wood satellites would burn up in the atmosphere without falling on anyone or anything.
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Meet the robot 'dog' NASA is sending to Mars

Boston Dynamics' notorious robot goes on an interplanetary mission.

Credit: Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announces the deployment of a robotic "dog" for Mars exploration.
  • The robot is a modified Boston Dynamics cyberdog familiar to the internet from YouTube videos over the last few years.
  • The bot will be autonomous and smart enough to explore Martian caves that may one day provide shelter for human visitors to the Red Planet.
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This 'brine electrolyzer' can mine oxygen, hydrogen from water on Mars

Scientists at Washington University are patenting a new electrolyzer designed for frigid Martian water.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • Mars explorers will need more oxygen and hydrogen than they can carry to the Red Planet.
  • Martian water may be able to provide these elements, but it is extremely salty water.
  • The new method can pull oxygen and hydrogen for breathing and fuel from Martian brine.
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MIT breakthrough in deep learning could help reduce errors

Researchers make the case for "deep evidential regression."

Credit: sdeocoret / Adobe Stock
  • MIT researchers claim that deep learning neural networks need better uncertainty analysis to reduce errors.
  • "Deep evidential regression" reduces uncertainty after only one pass on a network, greatly reducing time and memory.
  • This could help mitigate problems in medical diagnoses, autonomous driving, and much more.
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Researchers 3D bioprint realistic human heart model for the first time

A new method is able to create realistic models of the human heart, which could vastly improve how surgeons train for complex procedures.

Credit: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering
  • 3D bioprinting involves using printers loaded with biocompatible materials to manufacture living or lifelike structures.
  • In a recent paper, a team of engineers from Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering developed a new way to 3D bioprint a realistic model of the human heart.
  • The model is flexible and strong enough to be sutured, meaning it could improve the ways surgeons train for cardiac surgeries.
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