🧑‍🚀 Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore land on Earth, US tests stable nuclear clock, tiny algae-powered robots

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After an unexpected extension, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore made a successful and safe return to Earth on Tuesday.

A roughly week-long test flight to the International Space Station turned into a 286-day stay due to technical challenges with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The veteran astronauts splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee, Florida, marking the end of their unplanned nine-month mission.

The crew, consisting of Williams, Wilmore, NASA's Nick Hague, and Roscosmos' Aleksandr Gorbunov, spent 14 hours traveling back to Earth in the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Dive deeper into this Must-Read.

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MUST-READ

🧑‍🚀 Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore land on Earth after 9 months as space ordeal ends

Williams and Wilmore will now be flown to their crew quarters at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for several days of routine health checks.

These checks are part of standard procedure for astronaut returns, ensuring NASA flight surgeons clear them before being allowed to reunite with their families. Living in space for extended periods can impact the human body in various ways, including muscle atrophy and potential vision impairment.

Williams, on her third spaceflight, has spent a total of 608 days in space, making her the second most experienced US astronaut after Peggy Whitson-who spent 675 days in space.

🕰️ US tests stable nuclear clock tech to move beyond atomic timekeeping

Atomic clocks have been at the pinnacle of timekeeping, GPS for decades, but now scientists are pushing for a nuclear clock to enable even more potentially stable functions.

The nuclear clock, once made, could revolutionize timekeeping by using a uniquely low-energy transition within the nucleus of a thorium-229 atom.

Scientists say that this transition is less sensitive to environmental disturbances than modern atomic clocks and has been proposed for tests of fundamental physics beyond the Standard Model.

🦠 Algae microrobots outpace Olympic swimmers in body-length speed

In medical technology, microrobots are the next big thing. With dimensions below that of a sand grain, these microbots are being designed to navigate the body’s complex biological environment.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have taken this field to the next level by turning microalgae into a microrobot. In nature, microalgae are excellent swimmers.

Interestingly, this biohybrid micro-swimmer maintains its swimming prowess even with a magnetic coating.

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