Nov 13
Data centers are some of the most power-hungry pieces of infrastructure that exist today, but Microsoft has plans to make them a little greener—by powering its racks with built-in fuel cells.
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Sep 20
[Click] Hi, is that David Bowie?
[Silence] …
It’s NASA here. We’ve got some news. While it’s not a conclusive answer, the Curiosity Rover wasn’t able to detect any traces of methane in the Gale Crater. Presence of the gas is one of the things that we were hoping would support our theories about life on Mars, so this comes as a bit of a blow. Now, there *are* terrestrial microbes that don’t generate methane, so it’s not as if this is a firm “no,” but it’s not looking anywhere near as likely as it was before. So, uh, does that help at all?
[Silence] …
Uh, well, thanks. Bye!
[Click]
Aug 10
Morpheus lander crashes, burns and explodes in untethered flight test, NASA remains optimistic (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
As noisy as we found Project Morpheus’ tethered flight test, its untethered follow-up was far, far louder. Yesterday, the experimental lander suffered a hardware component failure, which NASA says “prevented it from maintaining stable flight.” This caused it to crash into the ground and well, explode. On the upside, the space agency says that these kinds of failures were anticipated, stating that they are a normal part of the development process and will be used to build better systems moving forward. You didn’t think Curiosity made its touchdown on Mars without learning from a few mistakes, did you? Click onwards to check out the test — and its aftermath — in 5, 4, 3, 2, er…
Filed under: Transportation, Science
Morpheus lander crashes, burns and explodes in untethered flight test, NASA remains optimistic (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 07:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 07
NASA’s Morpheus lander detects hazards, noisily passes tethered flight test (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
While it’s not landing on Mars any time soon, NASA took a breather from Curiosity’s adventures to showcase the Morpheus Lander. The prototype went through its first (tethered) flight test at the Kennedy Space Center just before the weekend, showcasing its methane-powered rocket system. It’s this rocket setup which could make the Morpheus Lander a strong candidate for future landings. It’s both safer than rocket fuel and NASA suggests that methane gas discarded from the International Space Station could be enough to top up the lander’s fuel tanks without necessitating a visit back to Earth. Morpheus’ built-in guidance system also reduces the amount of input needed from mission control — the pod has been practicing hard on its own hazard field near the Space Center. After passing the test with its training wheels on, the first free flight descent has been tentatively penned in for later today. Crank the volume low — it gets loud — and watch Morpheus test those right rockets after the break.
Continue reading NASA’s Morpheus lander detects hazards, noisily passes tethered flight test (video)
Filed under: Transportation, Science
NASA’s Morpheus lander detects hazards, noisily passes tethered flight test (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jun 29
Scientists develop flush-efficient toilet system that can turn waste into energy, sort before it recycles
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Scientists from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University aren’t keen on being wasteful — that’s why they’ve developed a toilet that uses 90% less water than other commodes and is capable of generating energy. Aptly named the No-Mix Vacuum Toilet, the porcelain pedestal’s pot divides waste between two partitions — one side for liquids, the other for solids — and uses vacuum tech reminiscent of airline lavatories. Flushing solid and fluid wastes with 1 and 0.2 liters of H2O, respectively, the can will be able to route refuse to external processing facilities. Fertilizer ingredients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous would then be harvested from liquids. Similarly, methane can be coaxed from solids for conversion to electricity or as a replacement for other natural gasses. Two of the university’s restrooms are slated to have the toilets installed in the near future, and the team expects the thrones to roll out worldwide within three years.
[Thanks, Yuka]
Scientists develop flush-efficient toilet system that can turn waste into energy, sort before it recycles originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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