Category Archives: space exploration

Back to school: Stanford University (California) brings nanoscience to teachers and Ingenium brings STEAM to school

Leave a reply

I have two stories that fit into the ‘back to school’ theme, one from Stanford University and one from Ingenium (Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation).

Stanford, nanoscience, and middle school teachers

h/t to Google Alert of August 27, 2024 (received via email) for information about a Stanford University programme for middle school teachers. From an August 27, 2024 article in the Stanford Report, Note: Links have been removed,

Crafting holographic chocolate, printing with the power of the sun, and seeing behind the scenes of cutting-edge research at the scale of one-billionth of a meter, educators participating in the Nanoscience Summer Institute for Middle School Teachers (NanoSIMST) got to play the role of students, for a change.

Teachers hailed from the Bay Area and Southern California – one had even come all the way from Arkansas – for the professional development program. NanoSIMST, run by nano@stanford, is designed to connect middle school teachers with activities, skills, and knowledge about science at the scale of molecules and atoms so they can incorporate it into their curriculum. NanoSIMST also prioritizes teachers from Title I schools, which are low-income schools with low-income student populations that receive federal funding to improve academic achievement.

…

Debbie Senesky, the site investigator and principal researcher on the nano@stanford project, highlighted the importance of nanoscience at the university. “It’s not just about focusing on research – we also have bigger impacts on entrepreneurs, start-ups, community colleges, and other educators who can use these facilities,” said Senesky, who is also an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics and of electrical engineering. “We’re helping to train the next generation of people who can be a workforce in the nanotechnology and semiconductor industry.”

The program also supports education and outreach, including through NanoSIMST, which uniquely reaches out to middle school teachers due to the STEM education outcomes that occur at that age. According to a 2009 report by the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam Initiative, even among teens who were interested in and felt academically prepared in their STEM studies, “nearly two-thirds of teens indicated that they may be discouraged from pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics because they do not know anyone who works in these fields (31%) or understand what people in these fields do (28%).”

A teacher from the Oakland Unified School District, Thuon Chen, connected several other teachers from OUSD to attend NanoSIMST as a first-time group. He emphasized that young kids, especially in middle school, have a unique way of approaching new technologies. “Kids have this sense where they’re always pushing things and coming up with completely new uses, so introducing them to a new technology can give them a lot to work with.”

Over the course of four days in the summer, NanoSIMST provides teachers with an understanding of extremely small science and technology: they go through tours of the nano facilities, speak with scientists, perform experiments that can be conducted in the classroom, and learn about careers in nanotechnology and the semiconductor industry.

Tara Hodge, the teacher who flew all the way from Arkansas, was thrilled about bringing what she learned back with her. “I’m not a good virtual learner, honestly. That’s why I came here. And I’m really excited to learn about different hands-on activities. Anything I can get excited about, I know I can get my students excited about.”

…

They have provided a video,

One comment regarding the host, Daniella Duran, the director of education and outreach for nano@stanford, she comments about nano being everywhere and, then, says “… everything has a microchip in it.” I wish she’d been a little more careful with the wording. Granted those microchips likely have nanoscale structures.

Ingenium’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) programmes for teachers across Canada

An August 27, 2024 Ingenium newsletter (received via email) lists STEAM resources being made available for teachers across the country.

There appears to be a temporary copy of the August 27, 2024 Ingenium newsletter here,

STEAM lessons made simple!

Another school year is about to begin, and whether you’re an experienced teacher or leading your first class, Ingenium has what you need to make your STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) lessons fun! With three museums of science and innovation – the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum and the Canada Science and Technology Museum – under one umbrella, we are uniquely positioned to help your STEAM lessons come to life.

Embark on an exciting adventure with our bilingual virtual field trips and meet the animals in our barns, explore aviation technology, and conduct amazing science experiments.

Or take advantage of our FREE lesson plans, activities and resources to simplify and animate your classroom, all available in English and French. With Ingenium, innovation is at your fingertips!

…

Bring the museum to your classroom with a virtual field trip!

Can’t visit in person? Don’t worry, Ingenium will bring the museum to you! All of our virtual field trips are led by engaging guides who will animate each subject with an entertaining and educational approach. Choose from an array of bilingual programs designed for all learners that cover the spectrum of STEAM subjects, including the importance of healthy soil, the genetic considerations of a dairy farm operation, the science of flight, simple machines, climate change and the various states of matter. There is so much to discover with Ingenium. Book your virtual field trip today!

…

Here’s a video introduction to Ingenium’s offerings,

To get a look at all the resources, check out this temporary copy of the August 27, 2024 Ingenium newsletter here.

Super-black wood from the University of British Columbia (UBC)

Leave a reply
The researchers have developed prototype watches and jewelry using the new super-black wood. Photo credit: UBC Forestry/Ally Penders

Generally stories about very black materials will mention carbon nanotubes but not this time. A July 30, 2024 University of British Columbia (UBC) news release (also on EurekAlert and received via email) announces the discovery of a technique for making super-black wood,

Thanks to an accidental discovery, researchers at the University of British Columbia have created a new super-black material that absorbs almost all light, opening potential applications in fine jewelry, solar cells and precision optical devices. 

Professor Philip Evans and PhD student Kenny Cheng were experimenting with high-energy plasma to make wood more water-repellent. However, when they applied the technique to the cut ends of wood cells, the surfaces turned extremely black. 

Measurements by Texas A&M University’s department of physics and astronomy confirmed that the material reflected less than one per cent of visible light, absorbing almost all the light that struck it. 

Instead of discarding this accidental finding, the team decided to shift their focus to designing super-black materials, contributing a new approach to the search for the darkest materials on Earth.

“Ultra-black or super-black material can absorb more than 99 per cent of the light that strikes it – significantly more so than normal black paint, which absorbs about 97.5 per cent of light,” explained Dr. Evans, a professor in the faculty of forestry and BC Leadership Chair in Advanced Forest Products Manufacturing Technology.

Super-black materials are increasingly sought after in astronomy, where ultra-black coatings on devices help reduce stray light and improve image clarity. Super-black coatings can enhance the efficiency of solar cells. They are also used in making art pieces and luxury consumer items like watches.

The researchers have developed prototype commercial products using their super-black wood, initially focusing on watches and jewelry, with plans to explore other commercial applications in the future.

Wonder wood

The team named and trademarked their discovery Nxylon (niks-uh-lon), after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night, and xylon, the Greek word for wood. 

Most surprisingly, Nxylon remains black even when coated with an alloy, such as the gold coating applied to the wood to make it electrically conductive enough to be viewed and studied using an electron microscope. This is because Nxylon’s structure inherently prevents light from escaping rather than depending on black pigments.

The UBC team have demonstrated that Nxylon can replace expensive and rare black woods like ebony and rosewood for watch faces, and it can be used in jewelry to replace the black gemstone onyx.

“Nxylon’s composition combines the benefits of natural materials with unique structural features, making it lightweight, stiff and easy to cut into intricate shapes,” said Dr. Evans.

Made from basswood, a tree widely found in North America and valued for hand carving, boxes, shutters and musical instruments, Nxylon can also use other types of wood such as European lime wood.

Breathing new life into forestry

Dr. Evans and his colleagues plan to launch a startup, Nxylon Corporation of Canada, to scale up applications of Nxylon in collaboration with jewellers, artists and tech product designers. They also plan to develop a commercial-scale plasma reactor to produce larger super-black wood samples suitable for non-reflective ceiling and wall tiles. 

“Nxylon can be made from sustainable and renewable materials widely found in North America and Europe, leading to new applications for wood. The wood industry in B.C. is often seen as a sunset industry focused on commodity products—our research demonstrates its great untapped potential,” said Dr. Evans.

Other researchers who contributed to this work include Vickie Ma, Dengcheng Feng and Sara Xu (all from UBC’s faculty of forestry); Luke Schmidt (Texas A&M); and Mick Turner (The Australian National University).

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper (and hat’s off to the writers for an accessible introduction),

Super-Black Material Created by Plasma Etching Wood by Kenneth J. Cheng, Dengcheng Feng, Luke M. Schmidt, Michael Turner, Philip D. Evans. Advanced Sustainable Systems DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202400184 First published: 16 June 2024

This paper is open access.

I can’t resist; this is such a good introduction, keeping in mind it’s written for an academic journal, from Super-Black Material Created by Plasma Etching Wood.

Super-black materials have very low reflectivity due to structural absorption of light.[1] They are attracting considerable scientific and industrial attention because of their important applications in many fields: astronomy,[2, 3] photovoltaics,[4, 5] and optical science,[6] among others. In these applications, super-black materials minimize unwanted reflection of light enabling devices to operate more accurately or efficiently.[6] In other fields, for example art and design, the attraction of super-black materials lies in their ability to create bizarre visual effects because of huge contrast between black and adjacent colored objects or surfaces.[7] This artistic application of super-black materials is analogous to the juxtaposition of super-black and brightly colored courtship display patches in birds and peacock spiders.[8, 9] In birds, super-black patches have been defined as those having less than 2% directional reflectance at normal incidence.[8] Reflectance values of super-black patches in 32 bird species ranged from 0.045 to 1.97% with an average of 0.94% (300–700 nm).[8] Other studies have associated super-blackness with reflectance values of 1%[10] or 0.5%.[3] Far lower reflectance values have been achieved with materials containing aligned carbon nanotubes (CNT), for example a low-density CNT array (0.045%),[11] the coating Vantablack (0.035%)[7] and a CNT-metal foil (0.005%).[12] The current holder of the “record” for a low reflectivity material (<0.0002%) is an ion-track micro-textured polymer with anti-backscatter matrix.[13]

The low reflectivity of materials such as Vantablack is due to the high absorption of light by graphene and the ability of vertical arrays of CNT to lower surface reflection.[6, 7] In the case of a low-density CNT array, its low reflectivity was ascribed to its random surface profile and presence of a loose network of entangled nanotubes, in addition to vertically oriented nanotubes.[11] Other structures can also be used to reduce reflectivity of synthetic materials including nanopores, and microcavities.[6] Even more diverse structures are found in natural super-black materials, including complex barbule microstructures in birds,[1] cuticular micro-lens arrays in peacock spiders,[9] and polydisperse honeycomb configurations in the wings of butterflies.[14] The structural features of butterfly wings have been used as biomimetic models to create super-black polymer films.[4, 10] This biomimetic route to creating super-black materials has the advantages that “the films are thinner than known alternatives and can be fabricated at lower temperatures via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, instead of being grown from CNT.”[4, 14]

Biomimicry of nature’s structural material par excellence, wood, is being used to create lightweight stiff and tough composites,[15, 16] but wood is not a model for the creation of super-black materials because even the darkest woods such as ebony (Diospyros spp.) or African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon Guill. & Perr.) lack structural features that reduce reflectivity. Nevertheless, there is interest in using wood in applications where blackness is advantageous such as solar steam generation and desalination of water,[17-20] because wood is widely available, inexpensive, sustainable and can be fabricated into panels and objects. In these applications, wood is carbonized and retains its porous microstructure creating a black material with reflectivity of 3%.[18] The creation of additional porosity by micro-drilling the wood prior to carbonization further reduced reflectivity to 2%.[18] We serendipitously created a super-black wood during undirected investigations into the use of plasma etching to “machine” novel microstructures at basswood (Tilia americana L.) surfaces. We called this material Nxylon, a neologism created from Nyx (Greek goddess of the night) and xylon (Greek for wood materials). One of us published the reflectivity data for Nxylon in 2020.[21] Here we report on the structural features responsible for the super-blackness of Nxylon, describe how it is made and discuss its possible practical uses. During the preparation of this manuscript, we became aware of a novel approach to creating super-black wood involving high temperature carbonization of delignified balsa wood (Ochroma pyramidale (Cav. ex Lam.) Urb.).[22] This material is produced using “mature processing technologies” and can be used to create solid wood products with complex geometries. The surface plasma process we describe is liquid free, generates little waste and is more suited for the creation of super-black veneer which can be used on a small scale to manufacture luxury consumer products. Therein lies the novelty and significance of our work.

…

The most comprehensive piece I’ve published on the topic of the ‘really, really black’ is in a December 4, 2019 posting, “More of the ‘blackest black’.” At that point, some new work on creating the blackest black (up to 99.99% and 99.995% light absorption, respectively) had come from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I also included the latest about an artistic feud over Vantablack (mentioned in the paper’s introduction) and its 99.8% light absorption and provided a link back to my earliest stories on Vantablack.

BC-based company (Aluula) partners with MaxSpace to make expandable habitats for astronauts to live on the moon in 2026

Leave a reply

The media advisory/news release about Aluula and its role in NASA’s (US National Aeronautics and Space Agency) proposed moon habitat was received via email back in June 2024. I’m glad I waited as I found a very detailed story by Devin Coldeway about the proposed moon habitat that wasn’t published until late July.2024.

First, some early news about Aluula and NASA, from an April 22, 2024 article by Nelson Bennett for Business in Vancouver,

A Victoria [British Columbia, Canada] composite materials company that developed a super-strong, lightweight polyethylene material used in a range out outdoor recreation equipment could soon be used by astronauts in space in inflatable space habitats.

Max Space, an American company that is developing expandable space habitats, is now incorporating composite materials made by Aluula Composites (TSX-V:AUUA).

Aluula’s innovation was developing a heat fusion process for working with ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) to make a super-tough lightweight material.

It is being used as part of a custom laminate that adds strength and durability to structural elements to the Max Space habitat, “making it possible to create a large living and working area at a fraction of the weight and transport costs of traditional crew modules,” Aluula said in a press release.

…

Here’s more about the NASA mission from a January 3, 2024 NASA news release,

NASA announced Tuesday [January 2, 2024] updates to its Artemis campaign that will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all. To safely carry out these missions, agency leaders are adjusting the schedules for Artemis II and Artemis III to allow teams to work through challenges associated with first-time developments, operations, and integration.

…

With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems, and Orion spacecraft, along with the human landing system, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

…

The June 20, 2024 Aluula media advisory/news release (received via email) describes the company’s involvement this way,

…

A small company on Canada’s west coast is playing a big role to help astronauts return to the moon in 2026.

ALUULA Composites recently signed an agreement with Max Space, an American company, to use its innovative composite material to build space habitats on the moon. The company’s ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) laminate will be used to create a large living and working area for NASA’s astronauts when they return to the moon in September 2026. 

The innovative material was selected because it has eight times the strength-to-weight ratio of steel and is extremely durable, which is ideal for space travel.

The first Max Space inflatable space habitat is slated to launch with SpaceX in 2026. The Max Space inflatables can be delivered into space in very small packages and then unfolded and expanded to create a much larger work space.

…

Emily Mertz’s July 16, 2024 article for Global TV news provides a few more details, Note: Links have been removed,

A small West Coast company is helping astronauts return to the moon in 2026. ALUULA Composites has signed on to provide its durable, lightweight fabric to build space habitats.

The Max Space inflatables can be transported in very small packages and then expanded to create a much larger workspace.

…

“It [Aluula’s ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) laminate] was actually originated by a bunch of engineers, chemists and wind sport enthusiasts. When you’re on the water, using a kite or a wing, you need something that’s very durable and very light and it was developed in that context.” [said ALUULA president and CEO Sage Berryman]

…

The B.C. company, which is fairly young — it started in 2020 — is also committed to sustainability.

“It’s the first material that’s been done as a composite not using glues, so that also allows it to be recycled at the end of its useful life, which is pretty different in a material that’s polyethylene — plastic-based,” Berryman said.

“Our goal is to make products that are able to be fully circular and that’s an exciting thing as well.”

…

“Having these opportunities to have these unique materials in unique applications is really exciting. And when you start talking about a project that’s not a huge project for us, but it’s huge in its meaningfulness, when you’re working with Max Space that’s working with NASA that’s going up on SpaceX, it is exciting,” she said.

…

Mertz’s July 16, 2024 article contains some news videos and about the project and related space information.

Space habitat details

Devin Coldeway’s July 27, 2024 article for TechCrunch and republished yahoo! news tells a fascinating story about space habitats with a special emphasis on the one being developed for NASA’s Artemis campaign, Note: Links have been removed,

Max Space reinvents expandable habitats with a 17th-century twist, launching in 2026

Working and even living in space has shifted from far-off fantasy to seemingly inevitable reality, but the question remains: what exactly will the next generation of space habitation look like? For Max Space, the answer is clear, and has been for decades — centuries, even. A new generation of expandable habitats could offer both safety and enough room to stretch your legs, and the first one is going up in 2026.

The startup is led by Aaron Kemmer, formerly of Made in Space, and Maxim de Jong, an engineer who has studiously avoided the limelight despite being the co-creator of expandable habitats like the one currently attached to the International Space Station.

They believe that the breakout moment for this type of in-space structure is due to arrive any year now. By positioning themselves as a successor to — and fundamental improvement on — the decades-old designs being pursued by others, they can capture what may eventually be a multi-billion-dollar market.

…

Expandable habitats go back a long ways, but their first real use was in the TransHab project at NASA in the 1990s, where the fundamental approach was developed.

Contrary to their appearance, expandables aren’t just big balloons. The visible outer layer is, like with many spacecraft, just a thin one to reflect light and dissipate heat. The structure and strength lie inside, and since Transhab the established convention has been the “basket weave” technique.

In this method, straps of kevlar and other high-strength materials are lined up in alternating directions and manually stitched together, and upon expansion form a surface like a woven basket, with the internal pressure distributed evenly across all the thousands of intersections.

Or at least, that’s the theory.

De Jong, through his company Thin Red Line Aerospace, worked successfully with Bigelow Aerospace to develop and launch this basket-weave structure, but he had his doubts from the start about the predictability of so many stitches, overlaps, and interactions. A tiny irregularity could lead to a cascading failure even well below safety thresholds.

“I looked at all these straps, and as a field guy I was thinking, this is a cluster. As soon as you’re over or under pressure, you don’t know what percentage of the load is going to be transferred in one direction or another,” he said. “I never found a solution for it.”

He was quick to add that the people working on basket-weave designs today (primarily at Sierra Nevada and Lockheed Martin) are extremely competent and have clearly advanced the tech far beyond what it was in the early 2000s, when Bigelow’s pioneering expandable habitats were built and launched. (Genesis I and II are still in orbit today after 17 years, and the BEAM habitat has been attached to the ISS since 2016.)

But mitigation isn’t a solution. Although basket-weave, with its flight heritage and extensive testing, has remained unchallenged as the method of choice for expandables, the presence of a sub-optimal design somewhere in the world haunted De Jong [sic], in the way such things always haunt engineers. Surely there was a way to do this that was strong, simple, and safe.

…

Mylar and Bernoulli

…

As he [de Jong] balefully contemplated the helium-filled Mylar, something about it struck him: “Every volume that you can put something in has load in two directions. A kid’s Mylar balloon, though… there are two discs and all these wrinkles — all the stress is on one axis. This is a mathematical anomaly!”

The shape taken by the balloon essentially redirects the forces acting on it so that pressure really only pulls in one direction: away from where the two halves connect. Could this principle be applicable at a larger scale? De Jong [sic] rushed to the literature to look up the phenomenon, only to find this structure had indeed been documented — 330 years ago, by the French mathematician James Bernoulli.

…

This was both gratifying and perhaps a little humiliating, even if Bernoulli had not intended this interesting anomaly for orbital habitation.

“Humility will get you so far. Physicists and mathematicians knew all this, from the 17th century. I mean, Bernoulli didn’t have access to this computer — just ink on parchment!” he told me. “I’m reasonably bright, but nobody works in fabrics; in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. You have to be honest, you have to look at what other people are doing, and you have to dig, dig, dig.”

By forming Bernoulli’s shape (called an isotensoid) out of cords, or “tendons,” every problem with expandables more or less solves itself, De Jong [sic] explains.

“It’s structurally determinant. That means if I just take a cord of a certain length, that will define all the geometry: the diameter, the height, the shape — and once you have those, the pressure is the PSI at the equator, divided by the number of cords. And one cord doesn’t affect the others, you know exactly how strong one cord needs to be; everything is predictable,” he said.

…

It’s stupidly simple to make.”

All the important forces are simply tension on these cords (96 of them in the prototypes, each rated to 17,000 pounds), pulling on anchors at either end of the shape. And as you might guess from suspension bridges and other high-tension structures, we know how to make this type of connection very, very strong. Gaps for docking rings, windows, and other features are simple to add.

The way the tendons deform can also be adjusted to different shapes, like cylinders or even the uneven interiors of a Moon cave. (De Jong [sic] was very excited about that news — an inflatable is a highly suitable solution for a lunar interior habitat.)

With the pressurized structure so reliable, it can be skinned with flight-tested materials already used to insulate, block radiation and micrometeoroids, and so on; since they aren’t load bearing, that part of the design is similarly simple. Yet the whole thing compresses to a pancake only a few inches thin, which can be folded up or wrapped around another payload like a blanket.

The biggest inflatables anyone has made, and we did with a team of five people in six months,” De Jong [sic] said — though he added that “the challenges of its correct implementation are surprisingly complex” and credited that team’s expertise.

What De Jong [sic] had done is discover, or perhaps rediscover, a method for making an enclosure in space that had comparable structural strength to machined metal, but using only a tiny fraction of the mass and volume. And he lost no time getting to work on it. But who would fly it?

…

Thin Red Line has seen plenty of its creations go to orbit. But this new expandable faced a long, uphill battle. For spaceflight, established methods and technologies are strongly favored, leading to a catch-22: you need to go to space to get flight heritage, and you need flight heritage to go to space.

Falling launch costs and game investors have helped break this loop in recent years, but it’s still no simple thing to get manifested on a launch vehicle.

…

… Max Space, a startup built specifically to commercialize the new approach — the name is both a reference to having more space in space, and a tribute to (Maxim) De Jong, whom Kemmer [Aaron Kemmer, cp-founder] thought deserved a bit more recognition after working for decades in relative anonymity (“which suits me just fine,” he noted).

Their first mission will launch in 2026 aboard a SpaceX rideshare vehicle, and act as a proof of concept so they can get flight heritage, which is one advantage extant expandables have over isotensoids.

…

If you have the time and the interest, Coldeway’s July 27, 2024 article is a good read with a lot of informative images such as this one

Caption: The 20-cubic-meter habitat deflated to a 2-cubic-meter pancake, or “planar configuration.” Credit: Max Space? [downloaded from https://ca.news.yahoo.com/max-space-reinvents-expandable-habitats-150000556.html]

Aluula can be found here.

One last thing, it looks like the deal was originally announced with Thin Red Line Aerospace in a December 12, 2022 Aluula news release,

We are excited to announce that ALUULA Composites is supporting Thin Red Line Aerospace in the development of leading-edge application hardware for future NASA lunar and Mars missions. 

“Their unique range of technical attributes combined with impressive strength to weight ratio specifications, make ALUULA Composite materials very well suited to the demanding requirements of technology in space.” Stated Thin Red Line Aerospace President, Maxim de Jong. 

“We continue to find new and exciting ways in which our process enables and enhances composite materials to satisfy very specific technical objectives, and our work with Thin Red Line is another great example of what is possible with our materials and unique expertise.” Said ALUULA Composites COO, John Zimmerman. 

Air & Cosmos International Announcement: https://aircosmosinternational.com/article/aluula-composites-selected-for-future-nasa-lunar-and-mars-missions-3364

JEC Composites Announcement: https://www.jeccomposites.com/news/aluula-composites-selected-for-future-nasa-mars-missions/ 

I guess they needed one more player, i.e., Max Space, to get ready for the launch.

Invitation to collect data during April 8, 2024 eclipse for US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Leave a reply

An April 2, 2024 news item on phys.org is, in fact, an open invitation to participate in data collection for NASA during the April 8, 2024 eclipse,

On April 8, 2024, as the moon passes between the sun and Earth, thousands of amateur citizen scientists will measure air temperatures and snap pictures of clouds. The data they collect will aid researchers who are investigating how the sun influences climates in different environments.

Among those citizen scientists are the fifth- and sixth-grade students at Alpena Elementary in northwest Arkansas. In the weeks leading up to the eclipse, these students are visiting the school’s weather station 10 times a day to collect temperature readings and monitor cloud cover. They will then upload the data to a phone-based app that’s part of a NASA-led program called GLOBE, short for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment.

The goal, according to Alpena Elementary science and math teacher Roger Rose, is to “make science and math more real” for his students. “It makes them feel like they’re doing something that’s important and worthwhile.”

The GLOBE eclipse tool is a small part of the much broader GLOBE project, through which students and citizen scientists collect data on plants, soil, water, the atmosphere, and even mosquitoes. Contributors to the eclipse project will only need a thermometer and a smartphone with the GLOBE Observer app downloaded. They can access the eclipse tool in the app. [emphases mine]

…

An April 1, 2024 NASA article by James Riordon, which originated the news item, provides more information about the GLOBE program and the hopes for the April 8, 2024 eclipse initiative,

This is not the first time the GLOBE eclipse tool has been deployed in North America. During the 2017 North American eclipse, NASA researchers examined the relationship between clouds and air temperature and found that temperature swings during the eclipse were greatest in areas with less cloud cover, while temperature fluctuations in cloudier regions were more muted. It’s a finding that would have been difficult, perhaps impossible, without the assistance of numerous amateur observers along the eclipse path, said Marilé Colón Robles, a meteorologist based at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and the GLOBE project scientist overseeing the cloud study portion of the project.

GLOBE program volunteers across North America uploaded data coinciding with the July 21, 2017 event to this map. A high concentration of observers make the path of totality in the western part of the U.S. stand out. Credit: NASA Globe program

The number of weather stations along this year’s eclipse path is limited, and while satellites give us a global view, they can’t provide the same level of detail as people on the ground, said Ashlee Autore, a NASA Langley data scientist who will be conducting a follow-up to the 2017 study. “The power of citizen science is that people make the observations, and they can move.”

It’s still unclear how temperature fluctuations during a total eclipse compare across different climate regions, Colón Robles said. “This upcoming eclipse is passing through desert regions, mountainous regions, as well as more moist regions near the oceans.” Acquiring observations across these areas, she said, “will help us dig deeper into questions about regional connections between cloud cover and ground-level temperatures.” The studies should give scientists a better handle on the flow of energy from the Sun that’s crucial for understanding climate.

In many areas, citizen scientists are expected to gather en masse. “We’re inviting basically all of El Paso to campus,” said geophysicist and GLOBE partner John Olgin of El Paso Community College in Texas. The area will experience the eclipse in near totality, with about 80% of the Sun covered at the peak. It’s enough to make for an engaging event involving citizen scientists from the U.S. and Juarez, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande. 

Just a few minutes of midday darkness will have the long-term benefits of increasing awareness of NASA citizen science programs, Olgin said: “It’s going to inspire people to say, ‘Hey look, you can actually do stuff with NASA.’”

More than 30 million people live along the path of the 2024 eclipse, and hundreds of millions more will see a partial eclipse. It will be another 20 years before so many people in North America experience another total solar eclipse again.

With this in mind, Colón Robles has a piece of advice: As the Moon actively blocks the Sun, set your phone and thermometer aside, and marvel at one of the most extraordinary astronomical events of your lifetime.

Visit NASA’s Citizen Science page to learn how you can help NASA scientists study the Earth during eclipses and all year round. The GLOBE Program page provides connections to communities of GLOBE participants in 127 countries, access to data for retrieval and analysis, a roadmap for new participants, and other resources.

For anyone who wants to experience all of the ways that NASA has made their citizen science April 2024 eclipse projects accessible there’s NASA’s ‘general eclipse’ webpage.

Transformative potential of Martian nanomaterials

Leave a reply

Yes, nanomaterials from Mars! A December 21, 2023 news item on Nanowerk makes the proposition, Note: A link has been removed,

Researchers at the University of Sussex have discovered the transformative potential of Martian nanomaterials, potentially opening the door to sustainable habitation on the red planet. They published their findings in (“Quasi–1D Anhydrite Nanobelts from the Sustainable Liquid Exfoliation of Terrestrial Gypsum for Future Martian-Based Electronics”).

Using resources and techniques currently applied on the International Space Station [ISS] and by NASA [US National Aeronautics and Space Administration], Dr Conor Boland, a Lecturer in Materials Physics at the University of Sussex, led a research group that investigated the potential of nanomaterials – incredibly tiny components thousands of times smaller than a human hair – for clean energy production and building materials on Mars.

Taking what was considered a waste product by NASA and applying only sustainable production methods, including water-based chemistry and low-energy processes, the researchers have successfully identified electrical properties within gypsum nanomaterials – opening the door to potential clean energy and sustainable technology production on Mars.

…

A December 21, 2023 University of Sussex press release (also on EurekAlert) by Stephanie Allen, which originated the news item, features the lead researcher’s hopes for the discovery, Note: A link has been removed,

Dr Conor Boland, said: 

“This study shows that the potential is quite literally out of this world for nanomaterials. Our study builds off recent research performed by NASA and takes what was considered waste, essentially lumps of rock, and turns it into transformative nanomaterials for a range of applications from creating clean hydrogen fuel to developing an electronic device similar to a transistor, to creating an additive to textiles to increase their robustness.

“This opens avenues for sustainable technology – and building – on Mars but also highlights the broader potential for eco-friendly breakthroughs here on Earth.”

To make the breakthrough the researchers used NASA’s innovative method for extracting water from Martian gypsum, which is dehydrated by the agency to get water for human consumption. This produces a byproduct called anhydrite—considered waste material by NASA, but now shown to be hugely valuable.

The Sussex researchers processed anhydrite into nanobelts –  essentially tagliatelle-shaped materials – demonstrating their potential to provide clean energy and sustainable electronics. Furthermore, at every step of their process, water could be continuously collected and recycled.

Dr Boland added: 

“We are optimistic of the feasibility of this process on Mars, as it requires only naturally occurring materials – everything we used could, in theory, be replicated on the red planet. Arguably this is the most important goal in making the Martian colony sustainable from the outset.”

While full-scale electronics production may be impractical on Mars due to the lack of clean rooms and sterile conditions, the anhydrite nanobelts hold promise for clean energy production on Earth, and could, later down the line, still have a profound effect on sustainable energy production on Mars.

Here’s what a Martian nanomaterial looks like,

Caption: Two raw rocks used by the researchers (left). Vials show the nanobelts in water, with a close up of the actual nanobelts (right). Credit: University of Sussex

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Quasi–1D Anhydrite Nanobelts from the Sustainable Liquid Exfoliation of Terrestrial Gypsum for Future Martian-Based Electronics by Cencen Wei, Abhijit Roy, Adel K. A. Aljarid, Yi Hu, S. Mark Roe, Dimitrios G. Papageorgiou, Raul Arenal, Conor S. Boland. Advanced Functional Materials DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202310600 First published: 14 December 2023

This paper is open access.

Recruiting for a citizen science project: become a Black Hole Hunter

Leave a reply

A January 17, 2024 news item on phys.org announced a citizen science recruitment drive for more Black Hole Hunters,

Could you help scientists uncover the mysterious world of invisible black holes? Become a Black Hole Hunter and you’ll be taking part in scientific research that has the potential to reveal more about one of space’s most intriguing aspects.

All you will need is a smartphone, tablet or other computer, some guidance on how to spot the tell-tale clues, and a bit of time.

By volunteering to take part in this online citizen science project, you’ll be assisting astrophysicists Dr. Matt Middleton and Adam McMaster from the University of Southampton, and Dr. Hugh Dickinson from the Open University, with their research into elusive black holes.

…

A January 17, 2024 University of Southampton press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, gives more details about black holes and what citizen scientists will be doing during this new phase of the project,

…

Dr Middleton said: “Black holes are invisible. Their gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape, making them incredibly hard to see, even with specialist equipment.

“But that gravitational pull is also how we can detect them because it’s so strong that it can bend and focus light, acting like a lens that magnifies light from stars. We can detect this magnification and that’s how we know a black hole exists.

“We know our galaxy is teeming with black holes, but we’ve only found a handful. You could help us change that.”

Volunteers will be asked to search through telescope data and indicate anything that could reveal the presence of a black hole.

Adam added: “Anyone of any age can do this, and you don’t need to be an expert to take part. All you really need is an interest in space and as little or as much time as you can give for looking at the graphs and helping us spot the patterns that could reveal a black hole.

“Your work will directly contribute to real scientific research and you’ll be helping to make the invisible become visible.”

Black Hole Hunters previously analysed data from a ground-based telescope but the project is moving on – and up. It’s relaunching with a new set of data to analyse from a space-based telescope, called TESS.

Dr Hugh Dickinson, of The Open University, said: “We’re really excited to see the launch of this new Black Hole Hunter project.

“Using the amazing data from the TESS satellite means that there’s a good chance that one or more citizen scientists will be able to spot one of the elusive gravitational lensing events that we’re looking for.”

To get involved go to: Black Hole Hunters

The researchers are offering a training tutorial and a practice tutorial prior to getting started.

SCWIST + Canadian Space Society (CSS) present Experiences of women in space and tech & Quantum Leaps (both online on August 24, 2023)

Leave a reply

The Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) is co-hosting and hosting two events in one day. By the way, both events are free.

SCWIST x Canadian Space Society (CSS)

From the August 14, 2023 SCWIST newsletter (received via email),

SCWIST x CSS: Experiences of Women in Space and Technology

August 24 | 5:30-6:30pm | Online

Join us for a conversation on technology, innovation and legacy! We’ll explore thought-provoking topics such as our role within the vast expanse of time, the idea of living a legacy rather than just leaving one and navigating stimulating careers in the fascinating industries of space and technology. Register.

I have a bit more information from the event page on the SCWIST website,

Women in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,] sharing their journeys, challenges and triumphs in the space and tech industries.

Since 1981, SCWIST has made great strides in promoting and empowering women in STEM. When you register, please consider adding a small donation to support our programs so all interested women and girls can see where a future in STEM can take them.

The Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) and the Canadian Space Society (CSS) have joined to bring you a captivating panel event, Exploring Frontiers – Women in Space and Technology.

We will be shining a spotlight on four extraordinary women who have charted their own paths in the space and technology sectors and delve into their remarkable journeys, challenges, and triumphs.

This event will be an excellent opportunity to explore the current state of women’s representation in STEM, gain insights into the diverse career options within space and technology industries, get valuable advice on seeking mentors and being one yourself and learn about their journeys from academia to industry.

SPEAKERS

Natalie Cook

Intermediate Geospatial Technician/Remote Sensing Operator, MDA [Mcdonald, Detweiler, and Associates]

Samantha Yueh

A versatile tech enthusiast with a solid grounding in emerging technologies (VR/AR/MR, AI, BCI) [virtual reality/augmented reality/mixed reality, artificial intelligence, and brain-computer interface]. Samantha has a proven track record in digital transformation, project management, and product development in cross-disciplinary teams. She is passionate about leveraging cutting-edge tech to innovate, inspire, and create impactful user experiences.

Other panellists to be announced.

MODERATOR

Mahima Kapoor

Mahima is a polymath and thrives at the intersection of science, business, and technology! Guiding organizations through disruptive technological changes and deeply understanding and solving for end user needs excites her. Her spare time is filled with a multitude of passion projects, producing a space podcast to highlight underrepresented narratives of those working in Canada’s budding space sector, working at a professional Bollywood dance company, and mentoring university women in STEM.

PRESENTED BY

The Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to empowering and supporting women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in Canada. With a focus on promoting gender equality and diversity, SCWIST offers mentorship, professional development, and networking opportunities to foster a thriving community of women professionals. Through their advocacy and transformative programs, SCWIST aims to break down barriers, inspire future leaders, and create a more inclusive and equitable landscape in the world of STEM. scwist.ca

The Canadian Space Society (CSS) is a leading organization at the forefront of space exploration and technology in Canada. Established to promote and advance the development of space activities, CSS serves as a platform for space enthusiasts, professionals, and researchers to collaborate and share knowledge. With a strong commitment to education, outreach, and advocacy, CSS strives to inspire and engage the next generation of space enthusiasts while contributing to Canada’s significant role in the global space community. css.ca

…

[Register.]

Do check out the event page for frequently asked questions and information about photo and video consent.

Quantum Leaps Career Conference – Cell Biology and Photochemistry

From the August 14, 2023 SCWIST newsletter (received via email),

Quantum Leaps: Cell Biology and Photochemistry
August 24 | 5-6pm PDT | Online

Quantum Leaps are our virtual career conferences that give grade 8-12 girls a glimpse into what people in all fields of STEM do in their careers. This Quantum Leaps will focus on women professionals working in careers related to cell biology, photochemistry and science communication. Register.

Here’s more from the event page,

This is a career conference event for high school girls to interact with women professionals in STEM and learn about science careers.

“Since 1981, SCWIST has made great strides in promoting and empowering women in STEM. When you register, please consider adding a small donation to support our programs so all interested women and girls can see where a future in STEM can take them.“

SCWIST Quantum Leaps is a virtual career conference uniquely designed for girls from grade 8-12 interested in or curious to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This conference gives girls a glimpse into what women in STEM fields do in their careers.

During these events, girls can meet professionals who have been successful in their STEM fields and meet other like-minded girls who have similar aspirations and interests. This event will help them know more about the STEM fields they are interested in and discover new STEM fields. Quantum Leaps also aims to aid students in the transition between high school and higher education.

This particular Quantum Leaps event will focus on women professionals working in careers related to cell biology and photochemistry. They also have expertise in science communication and facilitating learning. Did they have a fixed plan for what they would like to do five years after high school? How do they ease into changing their career focus? Did they know that they wanted to pursue these careers when they were in university? Girls will get the opportunity to interact with these women to get the answers they need at the event.

AGENDA

5:00-5:25: Speaker 1 and Q&A session
5:25-5:55: Speaker 2 and Q&A session
5:55-6:00 Conclusion

SPEAKERS

Vaishnavi Sridhar completed a PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of British Columbia, Canada. She studied proteins required for parts of a cell to contact each other and the relevance of these contacts for cellular function and disease for her PhD. She completed an Integrated BS-MS, majoring in Biology from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali prior to her PhD.

As a scientist, she believes that science should be accessible to all and that it is important to communicate science to diverse audiences in engaging ways. In this regard, she has communicated her research and science in general via presentations, poems, articles, videos, and hands-on science activities. She enjoys writing and has adapted life science research articles for diverse audiences. She has mentored high school, undergraduate and graduate students, discussing careers in science, how to apply to graduate school, how to tailor statements of purpose and work-life balance.

Dr. Sree Gayathri Talluri (she/her) is a photo-chemist by training with expertise in self-assembled systems. She is currently a Scientist working towards developing advanced nucleic acid therapeutics at Cytiva. Sree graduated with a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Victoria in 2022. Her research focused on developing fluorescence methods to study the mobility of small molecules in drug delivery systems.

Sree is passionate about science communication and outreach. She served as the national and regional organizer of ComSciCon CAN, a workshop designed to provide science communication training to graduate students across Canada. In her previous role as the interview coordinator for UVic Women in Science, Sree worked towards amplifying the voices and highlighting the experiences of women in the scientific community across Vancouver Island. She served as a STEM specialist at BC girl guides, where she worked on designing and developing STEM experiments for girls. She is the acting director of mentorship at the Student Biotechnology Network in Canada.

[Register.]

This time there’s no mention of photo or video releases on the event page.

Anti-dust technology paves way for self-cleaning windows and more

Leave a reply

I’m always interested in a ‘self-cleaning window’ story’. From a February 22, 2023 news item on phys.org,

Dust is a common fact of life, and it’s more than just a daily nuisance—it can get into machinery and equipment, causing loss of efficiency or breakdowns.

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin partnered with North Carolina-based company Smart Material Solutions Inc. to develop a new method to keep dust from sticking to surfaces. The result is the ability to make many types of materials dust resistant, from spacecraft to solar panels to household windows.

…

A February 22, 2023 University of Texas at Austin news release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, describe the research in more detail,

“What we’ve demonstrated here is a surface that can clean itself,” said Chih-Hao Chang, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and a lead author of the study. “Particulates aren’t able to stick to the surface, so they come off using just the force of gravity.”

In tests, the researchers piled lunar dust on top of their engineered surfaces and then turned each surface on its side. The result: Only about 2% of the surface remained dusty, compared with more than 35% of a similarly smooth surface.

The researchers said the discovery boils down to things the human eye can’t detect. In the experiments, the team altered the geometry of flat surfaces to create a tightly packed nanoscale network of pyramid-shaped structures. These sharp, angular structures make it difficult for the dust particles to stick to the material, instead sticking to one another and rolling off the material via gravity.

These structures provide a passive solution, meaning they don’t require any extra energy or materials to remove dust. Compare that with more active solutions such as a car windshield that requires the use of windshield wipers and wiper fluid to clean off dust.

The research was funded via a grant from NASA’s [US National Aeronautics and Space Administration] Small Business Innovation Research program, so the first applications focus on space technology. Space dust is especially pesky because of how high-risk everything becomes in that environment, and the conditions make cleaning off dust challenging. Dust wreaked havoc on the Apollo missions and has caused Mars rovers to fail.

“There’s not much you can do about lunar dust in space – it sticks to everything and there’s no real way to wipe it off or spray it off,” said Samuel Lee, a lead author who was an undergraduate researcher in Chang’s group. “Dust on solar panels of Mars rovers can cause them to fail.”

This technology also could have tremendous impact on Earth. It could prevent solar panels from collecting dust and losing efficiency over time. It could protect glass windows and someday even digital screens such as phones and TVs.

Anti-dust technology has been around for decades, but it has not gained much traction outside of the lab because of scaling challenges. The researchers used fabrication concepts called nanocoining and nanoimprinting, which prints patterns on objects in a modernized version of the way newspapers and photographs were mass produced during the 1800s.

Chang and Lee led the work for UT Austin, along with Stephen Furst, founder and CEO of Smart Material Solutions, which is working to commercial the technology. Other members of the team are Andrew Tunell, Kun-Chieh Chien and Saurav Mohanty of UT Austin; and Lauren Micklow and Nichole Cates of Smart Material Solutions.

There’s no indication this self-cleaning glass is coming to a window near me or you soon but we can always dream about this video,

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Engineering Large-Area Antidust Surfaces by Harnessing Interparticle Forces by Samuel S. Lee, Lauren Micklow, Andrew Tunell, Kun-Chieh Chien, Saurav Mohanty, Nichole Cates, Stephen Furst, and Chih-Hao Chang. CS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2023, 15, 10, 13678–13688 SOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c19211 Publication Date:February 22, 2023 Copyright © 2023 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

You can find the North Carolina company mentioned in the news item, Smart Material Solutions, here.