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NASA uses AI to design spacecraft parts
NASA uses AI to design spacecraft parts
Plus: 'Moonlight': World's first force-controlled parallel robot is here.
Feb 21, 2023
NASA’s new parts look a little out of this world.
…and they were designed by AI.
The agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland has been using commercially available AI software to design specialized, bespoke parts, called “evolved structures,” for its missions.
Starting with the mission's requirements, a computer-assisted design specialist draws the surfaces where the part connects to the instrument or spacecraft; then, the AI software connects the dots to produce complex structure designs in as little as an hour or two. Nifty.
But before you gaze at those, cast your eye over this video. It shows the world's first force-controlled parallel robot, and it's pretty impressive.
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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland has been using commercially available AI software to design specialized, bespoke parts, called “evolved structures,” for its missions.
And it’s fair to say they look a little out of this world.
“They look somewhat alien and weird,” Research Engineer Ryan McClelland said, “but once you see them in function, it makes sense.”
Starting with the mission's requirements, a computer-assisted design specialist draws the surfaces where the part connects to the instrument or spacecraft; then, the AI software connects the dots to produce complex structure designs in as little as an hour or two.
According to Ryan McClelland, who pioneered the design of the parts, the evolved structures can save up to two-thirds of the weight compared to standard components and reduce the risk of failure.
→ The evolved structures can tolerate higher structural loads, weigh less, and can be produced in as little as a week. They also need less help from people, which gives designers more time to work on other parts of the mission.
READ MORE
SCIENCE
Cutting-edge research, which required the deployment of a robot named Icefin into a 600-meter-deep borehole, delivered a never-before-seen perspective on the changes occurring beneath the Thwaites glacier in western Antarctica.
Nicknamed the 'Doomsday Glacier,' it is the size of Great Britain or the state of Florida in the U.S.
Researchers concluded that although melting beneath the floating ice shelf has increased, it's currently at a rate lower than many computer models predict.
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INNOVATION
Chinese military researchers have allegedly made a big advancement in improving the effectiveness of air-breathing engines that utilize solid-state fuel for hypersonic flight.
The development may expand China's operational range of hypersonic missiles, doubling their combat potency.
Such efficiency was considered 'remarkable' – nearly doubling that of a traditional scramjet engine working in similar conditions.
READ MORE
HEALTH
A cohort study of U.K. Biobank participants has found a relationship between increased usage of free sugars with the rising possibility of heart diseases.
Free sugars are those sweeteners that are added and those naturally present in honey and fruit juice. Sounds confusing? Sugars are classified as 'free' as they're not inside the cells of the food we consume.
When fruit is turned into fruit juice, the sugar is released from their cells, and they become free sugars. They lose fiber content as well.
READ MORE
MAIL & MUSINGS
NASA uses AI to design complex spacecraft parts.
Do you think AI will be the catalyst for a raft of monumental space travel advancements?
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Yesterday, we asked you why you think the new Blue Origin solar power development hasn’t been shouted about more, and it looks like you all had differing reasons as to why.
31%
Something else entirely
28%
They’re trying to play it down
23%
NASA has bigger stories to tell
19%
It isn’t that big of a deal
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I'm urging NASA to foster the development of what I call 'runway landers.' No, that's not the name of a high-stakes gambler from Vegas. It's a type of spacecraft that flies to orbit like the retiring Shuttles but then glides to a landing like an airplane on a runway. Just like the Shuttles do.”
Buzz Aldrin.
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Prepared by Alice Cooke
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