Apollo 13: “Houston, We’ve Had a Problem”

“Houston, we’ve had a problem” (see notes 1 below this post) is the now-famous phrase radioed from Apollo 13 to Mission Control upon the catastrophic explosion that dramatically changed the mission. On the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, NASA recognizes the triumph of the mission control team and the astronauts and looks at the lessons learned. The American space agency commemorates the most “successful failure” in the history of space exploration with the video titled “Apollo 13: Houston, We’ve Had a Problem”.

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Here’s how scientists planning to deflect asteroids that might damage Earth

Asteroids – the bits and pieces left over from the formation of the inner planets – are a source of great curiosity for those keen to learn about the building blocks of our solar system, and to probe the chemistry of life.

Humans are also considering mining asteroids for metals, but one of the crucial reasons scientists study this ancient space rubble is planetary defense, given the potential for space debris to cause Earth harm.

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What is the impact of the Urban Heat Island Effect?

With summer around the corner, city dwellers are planning their shoreline retreats to escape unbearable heat. Urban regions typically stay warmer during this season due to their structure. What if there were ways to reduce this effect by making minimal changes to metropolitan lifestyles?

Cities can effectively preserve natural land by permitting one region to house many individuals. When we build up rather than out, we allow many areas to remain untouched by humans.

However, although cities can conserve organic areas, they also contribute to a dangerous warming phenomenon known as urban heat islands.

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Astronomers image the magnetic field of a black hole for the first time – here’s what it reveals

There was a lot of excitement when the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration showed the world the first-ever image of a black hole back in April 2019. Weighing in at 6.5 million times the mass of our Sun, this supermassive black hole is located in the galaxy Messier 87, or M87, some 55 million light-years away from Earth.

Ziri Younsi, UCL

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Creating Power Foods with Gene Technology

At least 820 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition globally and human population growth is likely to exacerbate this problem in the future. It is becoming increasingly important to develop sustainable and efficient methods to meet food demands. To address this global issue, Dr. Sanju A. Sanjaya and Bagyalakshmi Muthan from West Virginia State University and their colleagues from Michigan State University have developed genetic technologies to improve the nutritional and energy content of crops. Their technology could increase production and improve profitability and sustainability across a range of important crop plants.

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Ingenuity the Mars helicopter carries a swatch from Wright Brothers’ first aircraft

In April 2021, Ingenuity (the small helicopter stored in NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover) will perform the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. And NASA put a small piece of fabric on the Mars helicopter from the wing of the Wright Brothers’ first aircraft, the “Flyer 1”, which performed the first powered, controlled flight here on Earth on December 17, 1903. The swatch is bound in insulating tape to a wire under Ingenuity’s solar panel.

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Regrowing a tropical forest – is it better to plant trees or leave it to nature?

The destruction of tropical forests is a major contributor to biodiversity loss and the climate crisis. In response, conservationists and scientists like us are debating how to best catalyze the recovery of these forests. How do you take a patch of earth littered with tree stumps, or even a grassy pasture or palm oil plantation, and turn it back into a thriving forest filled with its original species?

David Burslem, University of Aberdeen; Christopher Philipson, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Mark Cutler, University of Dundee

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Environmental Dangers of Stormwater Runoff

Rain is a euphoric natural occurrence. Homeowners often install tin roofs, sheltered sunrooms, and skylights to maximize the calming effects of rainfall. Unfortunately, this tranquil weather pattern can negatively impact the global ecosystem if the built environment isn’t prepared for it.

As precipitation increases in the atmosphere, Earth’s surface experiences a rise in stormwater runoff. As rain and snowmelt travel along streets, roofs, and fields to reach a drain, it collects debris. The excess material then finds its way into essential bodies of water, introducing multiple types of environmental degradation.

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