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Category: space travel

This aerospike rocket engine designed by generative AI just completed its first hot fire test

The reason these aerospike style engines haven’t been used more in the past is they’re difficult to design and make. While generally thought of as having the potential to be more efficient, they also require intricate cooling channels to help keep the spike cool. CEO and Co-Founder of LEAP 71, Josefine Lissner, credits the company’s computational AI, Noyron, with the ability to make these advancements.

“We were able to extend Noyron’s physics to deal with the unique complexity of this engine type. The spike is cooled by intricate cooling channels flooded by cryogenic oxygen, whereas the outside of the chamber is cooled by the kerosene fuel.” Said Lissner “I am very encouraged by the results of this test, as virtually everything on the engine was novel and untested. It’s a great validation of our physics-driven approach to computational AI.”

Lin Kayser, Co-Founder of LEAP 71, also believes the AI was paramount in achieving the complex design, explaining “Despite their clear advantages, Aerospikes are not used in space access today. We want to change that. Noyron allows us to radically cut the time we need to re-engineer and iterate after a test and enables us to converge rapidly on an optimal design.”

SpaceX officially announced Starship Flight 10 Launch Date after…No More This Month!

🧑🚀 Q: What are the details of the upcoming Crew-11 mission? A: Crew-11 is set to launch on July 31st, 2025, with NASA astronaut Zena Cartman as commander, for a 6-month stay on the ISS.

Technical Improvements.

🔧 Q: What new system has SpaceX installed at Pad A for Starship? A: SpaceX installed a new Ship Quick Disconnect (QD) system at Pad A, which is smaller, temporary, and designed for static fire tests only.

🪂 Q: What upgrades have been made to the Dragon spacecraft Endeavor? A: Endeavor now features the Drogue 3.1 parachute system with reinforced crown material and a new packing system for more controlled deployment.

Program Challenges.

🚁 Q: What issues is Boeing’s Starliner program facing? A: Starliner is experiencing helium leaks and thermal management problems affecting its thrusters, delaying the next mission.

Continue reading “SpaceX officially announced Starship Flight 10 Launch Date after…No More This Month!” | >

“We Engineered the Perfect Space Food”: US Scientists Unveil Super-Dwarf Plant Designed to Keep Astronauts Alive and Thriving on Years-Long Missions to Mars

IN A NUTSHELL 🌾 The Moon-Rice project is developing “super-dwarf” rice to support long-duration space missions and extreme Earth environments. 🛰️ Led by the Italian Space Agency, the project involves collaboration between three Italian universities specializing in rice genetics, crop physiology, and space crop production. 🔬 The research focuses on using CRISPR-Cas technology to create

Elon Just Made Tesla Unstoppable

Questions to inspire discussion.

🚀 Q: How might Elon Musk’s diverse projects contribute to Tesla’s value? A: Musk’s involvement in AI, energy, transportation, and communication through projects like Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink demonstrates his capacity to make progress on multiple fronts, potentially creating significant value for Tesla.

Political Involvement and Economic Strategy.

🏛️ Q: Why is Elon Musk getting involved in politics? A: Musk’s political involvement aims to create a better political system on Earth, addressing the unsustainability of US government spending and debt to avoid a fiscal doom loop.

📊 Q: What is Musk’s strategy to improve the US economy? A: Musk plans to accelerate GDP growth through AI-driven growth, humanoid bots, and reducing government spending and waste, potentially breaking free from the constant 7% growth line of the US stock market.

💰 Q: How could reducing government spending benefit the economy? A: By cutting wasteful spending and implementing a balanced budget requirement, the US could potentially grow its economy faster than its spending, reducing interest costs and freeing up money for other investments.

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Life in 2525 AD (Episode 500)

In the year 2,525, humans, post-humans, and new species navigate a vast and vibrant future. Join us as we explore the lives, dreams, and struggles of a trillion-strong civilization.

Watch my exclusive video Antimatter Propulsion: Harnessing the Power of Annihilation — https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur–… Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isa… Use the link gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $30. Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Join Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a… Facebook Group: / 1,583,992,725,237,264 Reddit: / isaacarthur Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: Life in 2525 A.D. Episode 500; May 22, 2025 Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Editors: Merv Johnson II & Thomas Owens Graphics: Anthrofuturism Jarred Eagley Jeremy Jozwik Ken York YD Visual Space Resources CGI Udo Schroeter Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator Chris Zabriskie, “Unfoldment, Revealment”, “A New Day in a New Sector” Taras Harkavyi, “Alpha and…” Stellardrone, “Red Giant”, “Billions and Billions” Sergey Cheremisinov, “Labyrinth” 0:00 Intro 0:35 Dinner & Tales of the Future (Story Arc) 7:36 The Captain’s Concerns (Story Arc) 16:37 Episode 500 28:36 Antimatter Propulsion 30:08 On Colonizing Gas Giants and Energy Economics 44:45 Voyage Interrupted.
Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur.
Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isa…
Use the link gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $30.

Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net.
Join Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur.
Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur.
Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a…
Facebook Group: / 1583992725237264
Reddit: / isaacarthur.
Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content.
SFIA Discord Server: / discord.

Credits:
Life in 2525 A.D.
Episode 500; May 22, 2025
Written, Produced \& Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Editors: Merv Johnson II \& Thomas Owens.

Graphics:
Anthrofuturism.
Jarred Eagley.
Jeremy Jozwik.
Ken York YD Visual.
Space Resources CGI
Udo Schroeter.

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.

Continue reading “Life in 2525 AD (Episode 500)” | >

Mining the Moon begins: US firm’s robot to extract rare helium-3 and launch payloads back to Earth for futuristic energy use

In a bold move that could transform the future of clean energy and quantum computing, a Seattle-based startup, Interlune, is taking the first steps toward mining the Moon for a rare isotope called helium-3. This new venture has the potential to challenge the boundaries of technology, as well as the frameworks for space exploration and international resource management.

“We’re Finally Fast Enough”: Nuclear Propulsion and Solar Sails Could Blast a Spacecraft to Sedna in Just 7 Years

IN A NUTSHELL 🚀 Scientists are developing two experimental propulsion methods—nuclear fusion and solar sails—to reach Sedna. 🌌 Sedna, named after the Inuit goddess of the ocean, offers a rare chance to explore the outer solar system. 🔬 Exploring Sedna could unlock insights into the early solar system and the formation of celestial bodies. 🌍

Extraterrestrial Habitats: Bioplastics for Life Beyond Earth

If humans are ever going to live beyond Earth, they’ll need to construct habitats. But transporting enough industrial material to create livable spaces would be incredibly challenging and expensive. Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) think there’s a better way, through biology.

An international team of researchers led by Robin Wordsworth, the Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, have demonstrated that they can grow green algae inside shelters made out of bioplastics in Mars-like conditions. The experiments are a first step toward designing sustainable habitats in space that won’t require bringing materials from Earth.

In lab experiments that recreated the thin atmosphere of Mars, Wordsworth’s team grew a common type of green algae called Dunaliella tertiolecta. The algae thrived inside a 3D-printed growth chamber made from a bioplastic called polylactic acid, which was able to block UV radiation while transmitting enough light to allow the algae to photosynthesize.

The algae was kept under a Mars-like 600 Pascals of atmospheric pressure – over 100 times lower than Earth’s — and in a carbon dioxide-rich environment, as opposed to mostly nitrogen and oxygen like on Earth. Liquid water cannot exist at such low pressures, but the bioplastic chamber created a pressure gradient that stabilized water within it. The experiments point to bioplastics as potentially key to creating renewable systems for maintaining life in a lifeless environment.

The concept the researchers demonstrated is closer to how organisms grow naturally on Earth, and it contrasts with an industrial approach using materials that are costly to manufacture and recycle.