Carnegie Mellon University researchers develop new approach for conducting automated science in space. NASA’s Mars rovers strive for groundbreaking scientific discoveries as they traverse the Martian landscape. At the same time, the crews operating the rovers do all they can to protect them and the billions of dollars behind the mission. This balance between risk and reward drives the decisions surrounding where the rovers go, the paths they take to get there and the science they uncover. Researchers in the…

Part distortion is a major cost factor in the production of metallic parts, especially in the case of large and thin-walled workpieces that play an important role in lightweight design or in aerospace. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen, together with partners, has now successfully developed a system for reducing part distortion caused by residual stresses: With model-based process design and a new type of clamping system, companies will be able to significantly reduce part distortion during…

Quantum computers are powerful computational devices that rely on quantum mechanics, or the science of how particles like electrons and atoms interact with the world around them. These devices could potentially be used to solve certain kinds of computational problems in a much shorter amount of time. Scientists have long hoped that quantum computing could be the next great advance in computing; however, existing limitations have prevented the technology from hitting its true potential. For these computers to work, the…

Rise and shine early to catch the next launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The next Antares launch is scheduled for 5:50 a.m. EST, Sunday, Nov. 6, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A on Wallops Island. The launch just before sunrise may be visible, weather permitting, to residents throughout the mid-Atlantic region and possibly the East Coast of the United States. This will be Northrop Grumman’s 18th commercial…

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a lush, highly detailed landscape – the iconic Pillars of Creation – where new stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. The three-dimensional pillars look like majestic rock formations, but are far more permeable. These columns are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust that appear – at times – semi-transparent in near-infrared light. Webb’s new view of the Pillars of Creation, which were first made famous when imaged by…

The Ferdinand-Braun-Institut exhibits space-qualified diode laser modules with narrow linewidth and optical frequency references for satellite and quantum technology applications at “Space Tech Expo Europe” in Bremen. From November 15-17, 2022, the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) will present its developments at the Berlin-Brandenburg joint stand in hall 6, R36. The Berlin-based research institute has many years of comprehensive experience in developing III-V semiconductor-based devices and subsystems for space and satellite-based applications along with the relevant technologies. It covers the entire value chain…

Focus on cybersecurity: Cybercrime incidents are on the rise: To protect information in electronic components from tampering or illicit use, a crack consortium of research institutes, private enterprises, and universities have formed the »Silhouette« project to develop solutions for encrypting data in the optical domain that is considered safe from tampering and eavesdropping. Researchers at Fraunhofer IZM are part of this campaign and are developing a cost-efficient method for the precise coupling of microelectronic components to make data transmissions safer…

… studied at unprecedented resolution: Researchers from the University of Tsukuba and collaborating partners have observed fine-scale exciton dynamics in atomically thin layered materials. This basic study for future optical communications could help replace charge transfer as the standard communications tool. Future optical communication that’s vastly more reliable and faster than what’s commonly available today will require new technology. Modern communication is based on charge transfer, which can result in large transmission losses during certain data-intensive applications. Excitons are alternatives,…

Spatial ALD, miniaturized filters, multi-radius BBM: The Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) will present future technologies of industrial optics at Optatec 2022. The trade fair will take place from October 18 to 20 in Frankfurt. The LZH can be found in hall 8 at stand G118. The department Optical Components of the LZH will present current research activities as well as its service and product portfolio at the international trade fair for optical technologies, components, and systems Optatec. LZH’s focus…

Imagine taking a star twice the mass of the Sun and crushing it to the size of Manhattan. The result would be a neutron star—one of the densest objects found anywhere in the Universe, exceeding the density of any material found naturally on Earth by a factor of tens of trillions. Neutron stars are extraordinary astrophysical objects in their own right, but their extreme densities might also allow them to function as laboratories for studying fundamental questions of nuclear physics,…

A team of researchers from MPI for Chemical Physics of Solids and the MPI for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in collaboration with researchers from Switzerland and Spain has reported the first observation in a structurally achiral crystal, the Kagome superconductor CsV₃Sb₅. Their work has been published in the current issue of Nature. Whether or not an object is indistinguishable from its mirror image has important consequences for its physical behavior. Say you watch a basketball player in a…

Using existing experimental and computational resources, a multi-institutional team has developed an effective method for measuring high-dimensional qudits encoded in quantum frequency combs, which are a type of photon source, on a single optical chip. Although the word “qudit” might look like a typo, this lesser-known cousin of the qubit, or quantum bit, can carry more information and is more resistant to noise — both of which are key qualities needed to improve the performance of quantum networks, quantum key distribution systems and, eventually,…

In the future, robots will support people with physical disabilities in their own homes. To assess and expand the suitability of robots for everyday activities, the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bremen equipped a new research laboratory with a kitchen and furniture. There is also an exact digital image of this lab, known as a “digital twin.” This enables the international research community to develop and test robotic technologies remotely. Carrying out everyday tasks like a human…

Researchers at the TUMCREATE research platform on the Singapore campus of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed CityMoS – City Mobility Simulator. This concept is now supporting the city state in southern Asia in the electrification of transportation. It is also helping to calculate the impact of transportation on the heat generated in the city. CityMoS is already being deployed in Germany, where it is helping with the e transformation of a DHL Freight logistics terminal. How would…

A new image obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope reveals a remarkable cosmic sight: at least 17 concentric dust rings emanating from a pair of stars. Located just over 5,000 light years from Earth, this stellar duo is collectively known as Wolf-Rayet 140. The research team led by US astronomer Ryan Lau includes Gerd Weigelt from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany. A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveals a remarkable…

Black hole spews out material years after shredding star. In October 2018, a small star was ripped to shreds when it wandered too close to a black hole in a galaxy located 665 million light years away from Earth. Though it may sound thrilling, the event did not come as a surprise to astronomers who occasionally witness these violent incidents while scanning the night sky. But nearly three years after the massacre, the same black hole is lighting up the…