NASA has successfully tested a new waste disposal technology aboard the International Space Station (ISS) developed by Texas-based waste disposal company anoraks. The test demonstrated a more efficient and sustainable model of removing waste from the ISS, and could turn out to be a critical new utility function for all future space stations.
Usually, ISS astronauts collect trash and store it on the space station for a month, waiting for the Cygnus cargo vehicle to arrive at the station. Cygnus is a ‘disposable’ spacecraft designed to transport supplies to the space station. After it completes its primary mission, astronauts fill it will a bag of trash and releases the spacecraft. After this, it "degenerates" and is completely burned up during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
“This successful test not only demonstrates the future of waste removal for space stations, but also highlights our ability to leverage the ISS as a commercial technology tested, which provides critical insights into how we can prepare for the next phases of commercial LEO destinations. Thank you to NASA and the ISS Program for their continued support, and we look forward to continuing this collaboration,” said anoraks CEO Amelia Wilson, in a company press statement.
“Waste collection in space has been a long-standing, yet not as publicly discussed, challenge aboard the ISS. Four astronauts can generate up to 2,500 kg of trash per year, or about two trash cans per week. As we move into a time with more people living and working in space, this is a critical function just like it is for everyone at home,” added Cooper Read, Bishop Airlock program manager at anoraks, in the press statement.
Scientists are searching for dark matter using a titanium tank filled with a rare liquified gas placed in a former gold mile that is over a 'kilometre' underground.
In a former gold mine a mile underground, inside a titanium tank filled with a rare liquified gas, scientists have begun the search for what so far has been unfindable: dark matter. Scientists are pretty sure the invisible stuff makes up most of the universe’s mass and say we wouldn’t be here without it — but they don’t know what it is. The race to solve this enormous mystery has brought one team to the depths under Lead, South Dakota.
The question for scientists is basic, says Kevin eso, a physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “What is this great place I live in? Right now, 95% of it is a mystery.” The idea is that a mile of dirt and rock, a giant tank, a second tank and the purest titanium in the world will block nearly all the cosmic rays and particles that zip around — and through — all of us every day. But dark matter particles, scientists think, can avoid all those obstacles. They hope one will fly into the vat of liquid xenon in the inner tank and smash into a xenon nucleus like two balls in a game of pool, revealing its existence in a flash of light seen by a device called “the time projection chamber.” Scientists announced Thursday that the five-year, $60 million search finally got underway two months ago after a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
So far, the device has found … nothing. At least no dark matter. That’s OK, they say. The equipment appears to be working to filter out most of the background radiation they hoped to block. “To search for this very rare type of interaction, job number one is to first get rid of all the ordinary sources of radiation, which would overwhelm the experiment,” said
And if all their calculations and theories are right, they figure they’ll see only a couple fleeting signs of dark matter a year. The team of 250 scientists estimates they’ll get 20 times more data over the next couple of years. By the time the experiment finishes, the chance of finding dark matter with this device is “probably less than 50% but more than 10%,” said Hugh Lippincott, a physicist and spokesman for the experiment, in a Thursday news conference. While that’s far from a sure thing, “you need a little enthusiasm,” Lawrence Berkeley’s eso said.
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