👽 Powerful alien hunting tech to be installed on world’s largest telescope, Starliner docks at ISS, world's first drone delivery on Mount Everest

A powerful new instrument is being developed to hunt for extraterrestrial life on faraway planets.

Known as ANDES, the ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph is a cutting-edge technology that will focus on detecting signs of life on Earth-like exoplanets.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) recently inked a deal to develop and build this advanced instrument. For more on this development, check out today’s Must-Read.

🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:

> Principal Embedded Software Engineer
> Enterprise Requirements & Integration Engineer

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MUST READ

👽 Powerful alien hunting tech to be installed on world’s largest telescope

This spectrograph breaks down light into its wavelengths, much like a prism creates a rainbow from sunlight. By analyzing these separated wavelengths, astronomers can determine various properties of astronomical objects, such as their chemical compositions, temperatures, densities, and velocities.

This information is crucial for understanding the nature and behavior of stars, planets, and other celestial bodies. ANDES will peer into the atmospheres of terrestrial exoplanets similar to Earth.

Earth-like planets are known to reside in the habitable zone (Goldilocks zone) of their parent star. Planets in this zone support temperatures just right for liquid water to exist on its surface.

🛰️ Boeing Starliner overcomes 4 leaks, 5 dead thrusters to dock at space station

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft finally docked at the International Space Station on Thursday morning, delivering NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams after a dramatic journey filled with leaks and thruster troubles. 

This marked the capsule’s first crewed mission, a significant milestone after years of delays and setbacks. The current mission, known as the Starliner Crewed Flight Test, launched on June 5 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

Meanwhile, Suni Williams made history by becoming the first woman to pilot a crewed spacecraft on its maiden voyage. A video posted by NASA captured her infectious joy as she danced upon entering the station and embraced the welcoming crew.

🗻 World’s first drone delivery completed on Mount Everest at 19,685 feet

In collaboration with Nepalese Airlift, 8KRAW, and local guides, DJI has completed the world’s first drone delivery on Mount Everest. Conducted in April this year, the test serves as proof of concept for using drones to deliver supplies to mountaineers rapidly and safely.

This remarkable feat was achieved using DJI’s FlyCart 30, which has a maximum carrying capacity of 33 pounds (15 kg). The drone needed to carry the load safely and under extreme conditions at high altitudes.

The FlyCart 30 carried three oxygen bottles and three pounds (1.5 kg) of other supplies during the tests. It was flown from Everest Base Camp, at 17,389 feet (5,300 meters) above sea level, to Camp 1 which is at 19,685 feet (6,000 meters) above sea level.

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HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY

SCIENCE

> Researchers have discovered that the commonly found eggshell waste can help recover rare earth elements (REEs) from water. The discovery offers a new and environment-friendly method for REEs’ extraction. (More)

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> Transparent sea cucumbers, bowl-shaped sponges, and pink sea pigs are some of the fascinating animals discovered during a recent deep-sea expedition to the Pacific Ocean. (More)

ENERGY

> Finland-based firm Stora Enso has a sustainable solution to the world’s increasing demand for energy storage: batteries made from trees. In partnership with Swiss battery maker Altris, Stora Enso is exploring using Lignode, a potential replacement for graphite in batteries. (More)

> A new type of equipment is being trialed at Edinburgh University to sustainably power homes and offices. This innovation harnesses the power of water sources from seas, rivers, ponds, and even mine water to provide efficient heating and cooling for homes and businesses. (More)

> In a recently published article, a research team introduced a novel N-B doped composite electrode for iron-chromium redox flow batteries, demonstrating outstanding improvements in performance and efficiency. (More)

INNOVATION

> A research team used AI to help farmers fight pests and flew it on drones for more effective results, developing an automated flight protocol so that drones could capture high-resolution images of pear orchards from a height of 26 feet. (More)

> A new device called the MouthPad has been developed to help people with paralysis use personal devices such as computers and cell phones. (More)

> A study found that implementing AI-based screening systems significantly lowered the workload for radiologists analyzing mammograms for breast cancer while improving the screening performance. (More)

VIDEO

> Conservation scientists are studying the health of Antarctic whales using a custom-made crossbow. (More)

> Rare footage shows a deep-sea squid wrapping its arms around a camera at a depth of about 1km (0.6 miles), where conditions are near pitch black. (More)

> Experiments are being conducted on the International Space Station on how cancer cells react to microgravity and developing drugs aimed at preventing it. (More)

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