Here’s a video of the amazingly complex flying techniques of a robotic dragonfly called the BionicOpter developed by the company Festo (link via ralph.ewig):
Just like its model in nature, this ultralight flying object can fly in all directions, hover in mid-air and glide without beating its wings.
A scan of of what’s happening with the space related citizen science projects at Zooniverse:
Update May.9.13: Here is a report by Katy Maloney about a recent Zooniverse workshop held n Chicago at the Adler Planetarium :
A new citizen science project from Zooniverse is titled Space Warps.
This project is a gravitational lens discovery engine. Large astronomical surveys can use Space Warps to find gravitational lenses in their data through the collaborative efforts of citizen scientists.
Here is an animation of the gravitational lenses effect:
More information about the project is described here: New Project: Join the Search for ‘Space Warps’ – Zooniverse
Gravitational lenses – or ‘space warps’ – are created when massive galaxies cause light to bend around them such that they act rather like giant lenses in space. By looking through data that has never been seen by human eyes, our new Space Warps project is asking citizen scientists to help discover some of these incredibly rare objects. We need your help to spot these chance-alignments of galaxies in a huge survey of the night sky. To take part visit www.spacewarps.org.
Gravitational lenses help us to answer all kinds of questions about galaxies, including how many very low mass stars such as brown dwarfs – which aren’t bright enough to detect directly in many observations – are lurking in distant galaxies. The Zooniverse has always been about connecting people with the biggest questions and now, with Space Warps, we’re taking our first trip to the early Universe. We’re excited to let people be the first to see some of the rarest astronomical objects of all!
The Space Warps project is a lens discovery engine. Joining the search is easy: when you visit the website you are given examples of what space warps look like and are shown how to mark potential candidates on each image. The first set of images to be inspected in this project is from the CFHT (Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope) legacy survey.
[See above video.]
Computer algorithms have already scanned the images, but there are likely to be many more space warps that the algorithms have missed. We think that only with human help will we find them all. Realistic simulated lenses are dropped into some images to help you learn how to spot them, and reassure you that you’re on the right track. Previous studies have shown that the human brain is better at identifying complex lenses than computers are, and we know at the Zooniverse that members of the public can be at least as good at spotting astronomical objects as experts! We’re going to use the data from citizen scientists to continuously train computers to become better space warp spotters.
This is a really exciting project and you can read more on the Space Warps blog. As with our other projects it can also be found on Twitter (@SpaceWarps), on Facebook and you can discuss any interesting objects you find on Space Warps Talk. We’re really excited about this project and think you’ll be able to make some amazing discoveries through it.
The SGAC (Space Generation Advisory Council) has opened a Find an Asteroid project:
SGAC gives you the opportunity to take part in an Asteroid Search Campaign. Partnering with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration, and supported by the Minor Planet Center, SGAC has slots available for 10 -15 teams to participate. Team up with your SGAC friends and start hunting!
Registration is now open.
Form a team with 3 – 5 SGAC members and apply by June 1, 2013.
The search campaign will take place 14 August – 18 September, 2013.
More here: SGAC’s “Find An Asteroid” campaign — be part of the UKSEDS team! – UKSEDS
A US Air Force sponsored program has developed a non-toxic alternative propellant to the commonly used, but highly toxic and flammable, monopropellant hydrazine: New research key to revolutionary ‘green’ spacecraft propellant – US Air Force
The new fuel, labeled AF-M315E, is an “energetic ionic liquid, or EIL”. It was developed by Dr. Tom Hawkins of the Air Force Research Lab with funding from the Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) Program. AF-M315E offers nearly twice the energy density of hydrazine, has very low vapor flammability and is non-toxic.
The fuel will be tested in space by NASA in 2015 using an engine developed for the fuel by Aerojet in the project called the Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM)
The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) project will demonstrate the practical capabilities of AF-M315E, a high-performance green alternative to hydrazine. This innovative, low-toxicity propellant is expected to improve overall vehicle performance. It boasts a higher density than hydrazine, meaning more of it can be stored in containers of the same volume; it delivers a higher specific impulse, or thrust delivered per given quantity of fuel; and it has a lower freezing point, requiring less spacecraft power to maintain its temperature.