This week’s image comes from NASA’s Juno mission during a flyby back in March. It shows Jupiter’s smallest moon Amalthea orbiting Jupiter with the Great Red Spot in the background. The potato-shaped moon has a radius of 52 miles and completes an orbit of the giant planet in about half an Earth day.
You can read more about the photograph at this NASA site.
David Salvagnini, currently NASA’s chief data officer, will now also hold the title of Chief Artificial Intelligence (AI) Officer. It seems to be the trend these days as AI infiltrates organizations.
With regards to the new position, NASA noted:
This appointment is in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. Salvagnini now is responsible for aligning the strategic vision and planning for AI usage across NASA. He serves as a champion for AI innovation, supporting the development and risk management of tools, platforms, and training.
How important is AI to the future of the space industry? I asked deepai.org/chat and got back this self-important reply:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing a crucial role in the space industry, transforming various aspects of space exploration, development, and operations. Here are some key areas where AI is making a significant impact:
If this is true, then Mr. Salvagnini will be a very busy man.
On this day in 1944, George Walton Lucas Jr. was born in Modesto, CA. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1967, co-founded American Zoetrope with another filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, and started making films that eventually changed America cinema.
He would one day go on to create the Star Wars franchise, one of the most popular space-based science fiction empires in history. The Star Wars franchise now includes the nine primary movies, at lease two additional movie spin-offs, a whole bunch of TV series, both animated and otherwise, and many fan films as well.
Here are a few fun facts about Mr. Lucas:
While Star Trek has probably done more to push viewers towards questions about space travel and exoplanets, Star Wars did introduce some ideas that kept some scientists chattering.
No matter what set of Star Wars films you prefer (my favorites were the three original films), there has been plenty action-packed films and spin-offs since 1977. We are fortunate that Mr. Lucas did not give up on his science fiction dream.
Happy 80th birthday, Mr. Lucas.
Here are some recent stories of interest.
—NDTV: “NASA Announces Plans To Build First Railway System On Moon“
As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) readies to return astronauts to the moon, it has announced its plans to build a levitating robot train on the lunar surface. In a blog post, the American space agency provided details about the project called “Flexible Levitation on a Track (FLOAT)”, which aims to provide a “robotic transport system” to support future lunar activities of astronauts visiting the moon. The transport system will be critical to the daily operation of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s, NASA said in a statement.
—IEEE Spectrum: “Commercial Space Stations Approach Launch Phase“
A changing of the guard in space stations is on the horizon as private companies work toward providing new opportunities for science, commerce, and tourism in outer space. Blue Origin is one of a number of private-sector actors aiming to harbor commercial activities in low Earth orbit (LEO) as the creaking and leaking International Space Station (ISS) approaches its drawdown. Partners in Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef program, including firms Redwire, Sierra Space, and Boeing, are each reporting progress in their respective components of the program. The collaboration itself may not be on such strong ground. Such endeavors may also end up slowed and controlled by regulation so far absent from many new, commercial areas of space.
—Newsweek: “Russia Reveals New China Nuclear Moon Base Details“
Details about joint plans between Moscow and Beijing to put a lunar nuclear reactor within the next decade have been revealed by the head of Russia’s space agency. In March, Roscosmos announced plans to work with China to build an automated nuclear reactor to power a proposed lunar base that the two countries would operate together within the next decade. To construct the site, Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov said two months ago it was looking at using nuclear-powered rockets to transfer cargo to the moon, but had not yet figured out how to build these spacecraft safely. In an article published Wednesday by state news outlet RIA Novosti, Borisov said that development of the plant was underway and the countries were working on creating experimental and research facilities as part of the project.
Aeon is a website of ideas run by Aeon Media. It’s mission is to explore and communicate knowledge that addresses our shared need to make sense of the world.
While it covers quite a few topics, I wanted to highlight some of its videos on astronomy and space travel. Below are just a few I recommend. You should explore the site on your own to learn more.
Check them out and many more. It is a well organized site that operates on donations, so don’t be afraid to contribute if you really enjoy the pieces.
Our Awesome Universe 