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Blue Origin unlocks 'unlimited solar power'
Blue Origin unlocks 'unlimited solar power'
Plus: This programming language could halve the land used by data centers.
Feb 20, 2023
…By using the Moon, apparently.
Blue Origin, the space firm owned by Jeff Bezos (of Amazon fame) has developed a method for producing solar cells and transmission wire using only lunar regolith.
This may now play a crucial role in helping to sustain lunar habitats thanks to its latest innovation, Blue Alchemist, which it says could produce “unlimited solar power.”
This is particularly cool as it could help NASA's mission to establish a permanent presence on the Moon as part of its Artemis program.
But before you get lit up about that, try and shed some light on the suggestions in this video. It asks whether humans are actually a disease… which makes sense when you watch it. Fascinating.
Good morning. I’m Alice, an Editor at IE.
This is The Blueprint. Let’s dive in.
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VIDEO OF THE DAY
It’s not as cut and dry as you might think…
MUST READ
Blue Origin, the space firm owned by Jeff Bezos (of Amazon fame), has announced it has developed a method for producing solar cells and transmission wire using only lunar regolith.
You’ll probably remember Blue Origin for famously filing a legal complaint against NASA, which snubbed its lunar lander design in favor of awarding SpaceX a contract for a modified Starship lander. Ouch.
But Blue Origin may now play a crucial role in helping to sustain lunar habitats thanks to its latest innovation, Blue Alchemist, which it says could produce “unlimited solar power.”
This could prove to be a vital part of NASA's mission to establish a permanent presence on the Moon as part of its Artemis program. Blue Origin says its solar cells could operate in the Moon's “harsh environment” for over a decade.
→ Blue Alchemist uses molten electrolysis to separate aluminum, iron, and silicon from bound oxygen in lunar regolith to extract the materials for solar cell construction. The technique can be used to build solar cells, cover glass, and aluminum wire. ..All that's required is sunlight and the reactor's silicon. Nifty.
READ MORE
INNOVATION
Usually, the decision about which programming language to use in any given project only matters to software developers using it and the customers who use the end product, but the programming language Rust offers something for all of us: a way to reduce data centers' massive carbon footprint.
According to a 2021 paper in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the need to run cloud computing systems (and store the unfathomable amount of data they produce and collect in massive data center sites) accounts for as much as 1.8 percent of all the electricity used in the U.S. in a given year.
READ MORE
SCIENCE
New, exciting research has revealed some of the oldest stone tools ever found — as old as 2.9 million years — to butcher hippos and pound plant material. The study unveils what could likely be the oldest examples of a significant stone-age innovation known as the Oldowan toolkit.
Led by an international group of scientists, the excavations related to the study were carried out at the site named Nyayanga, located on the Homa Peninsula in western Kenya.
READ MORE
CULTURE
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has reported that it has found 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves in the disputed Kashmir region. The mines are currently at the primary exploration stage.
Lithium is a primary component of rechargeable batteries that have assumed importance for their ability to power everything from smartphones to electric cars and even transport ships. Prices of lithium have increased sharply in the international market in recent years, and countries look to move away from fossil fuels to electrified transport.
READ MORE
MAIL & MUSINGS
Blue Origin claims its new method unlocks "unlimited solar power."
Why do you think this fairly stellar achievement hasn’t been shouted about more?
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
On Saturday, we asked you if you’d want to complete a Ph.D. in your seventies, and you were divided. 37 percent said no, you don’t think so, while 35 percent said sure, why not.
37%
I don’t think so
35%
Yes, why not?
23%
I’d find better things to do
5%
I have no idea
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Solar energy is bound to be in our future. There's a kind of inevitability about it.”
Jim Inhofe, American politician.
THINGS WE LOVE
AND ANOTHER THING
Blockchain skills have soared in popularity despite crypto crash.
What has Perseverance found in two years on Mars? (Science News)
Space cannon could fire payloads to orbit in 10 minutes at Mach 20.
We're hurtling into a new region of interstellar space. What now? (New Scientist)
NASA is developing AI-powered GPS for navigating the Moon.
Think twice before using ChatGPT for help with homework. (SN Explores)
Meta follows Twitter to launch paid verification services on its platforms.
Prepared by Alice Cooke
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