In a world where drones rule the airspace–I assume this will be five to seven years from now–the number of drones showing up where they aren’t supposed to and becoming a security risk (or just really annoying people) will increase exponentially. As a result, the question of how to deal with drones and UAVs in…
This is the Robot Exploring the Deepest Parts of the Ocean
The Mariana Trench is one of those places on earth that been a tantalizing mystery for humans since its discovery. What lives at that ocean depth? Or don’t we want to know? Located in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Mariana islands, the trench has a maximum known depth of 6.8 miles (36,070 feet) below…
Comparing the Size of Military Weapons From Bullets to Aircraft Carriers
Did you ever want to see every weapon the military has from bullets to aircraft carriers? Well, that’s too bad because this video isn’t it. It is, however, a fairly impressive overview of a large swath of military weapons from a .45 Caliber Bullet to a Gerald R. Ford Class Aircraft Carrier. It starts with…
In Defense of Drones
Editor’s Note: This blog was originally published in the Editor’s Note section of the April 2015 print edition. While consumer drones are often the vilified as a dangerous—or at best annoying—technology slowly easing us into a world where constant surveillance is the norm, that’s not always the case. Yes, some drones are being used for…
Behind The Scenes: RoboUniverse
This Unmanned Vehicle Can Lurk Underwater For Months
Something lurks beneath the murky water, but what exactly is it? That might sound like the opening lines to a Spielberg movie trailer, but in fact, it’s not a 25-foot mutated Great White shark. It is Boeing’s Echo Voyager. A unmanned undersea vehicle that is the third in the company’s “Echo” line behind the 18-foot…
Is It Legal To Arm Your Drone?
While you may soon be able to use guns to shoot down drones–unlikely, but possible–law makers in Connecticut are currently debating whether you should be able to put a gun on your drone. Apparently, despite it seeming like an enormously dangerous thing to do, the FAA doesn’t specifically make it illegal for you to arm…
7 Times Scott Kelly Tweeted About Food On The ISS
Astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth this week after one full year spent aboard the International Space Station. While he spent a lot of time tweeting out gorgeous shots of the earth, Kelly also tweeted a lot about the interesting (and sometimes gross) food options.
Is China Winning The Space Race?
China has thrown the aerospace gauntlet at the rest of the world. China Manned Space Agency announced over the weekend that they’ll be launching a space station into orbit–the country’s second one–sometime after June. The Tiangong 2, which will replace Tiangong 1, is actually the second of three planned phases. The first Tiangong was fairly…
It Might Soon Be Legal To Shoot Down Drones
It might soon be legal to shoot a drone out of the sky. Though the newly launched drone registration requirement will allow authorities to figure out who owns the drone thats breaking the rules, it doesn’t actually help law enforcement in the moment. With that in mind, lawmakers in Utah have proposed a more immediate…
This Is How You Play Ping-Pong In Space
While microgravity might make some tasks a little more difficult, it makes other tasks a little more interesting. In order to celebrate his record-breaking 300th day in space, astronaut Scott Kelly decided to share a little bit of the whimsy that happens aboard what’s essentially a scientific laboratory that operates 24/7. In this case, Kelly…
Can Astronauts Grow Their Own Food On the ISS (With No Help From NASA)?
To casual observers it is just a disgusting moldy crop of zinnias, but to Astronaut Scott Kelly, it means hope for future trips to Mars. When Kelly, currently serving a year-long mission on the International Space Station, sent out a tweet of some moldy zinnia leaves, it looked like it was time to trash that…
This Is The Future Of Space (As Told By 1959 Cigarette Cards)
Though we’re now spoiled by the incredible efforts of NASA to use social media, video conferencing, and high-res telescopic images to convey information about space, just a few decades ago, information about space could have come from a very different sort of place. In 1959, the Amalgamated Tobacco Corporation of Australia, a subsidiary of England’s…
The 411 On The International Space Station
These Green Technologies Could Save Airlines Billions
It’s difficult to make a case for airlines as the underdog–particularly if you traveled anywhere near an airport over the past two weeks–given that they keep making the seats smaller, the checked luggage more expensive, and the food, well, nonexistent. (Looking at you, United.) However, NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project, which concluded a six-year…
Here’s Why You Need To Register Your Drone (But R.L. Stine Won’t)
One of the scariest men on Earth–to a middle school reader–doesn’t think that he should be subject to the rules and regulations of the FAA. For a good reason. Obviously, this is a joke, but the FAA did just release some regulations ahead of what should be a drone-filled holiday season. The new regulations are…
Here’s Why We Have A 3D Printer On The ISS
Among the many problems that come with humans living in space, once you get past the breathing, gravity, food, exercise and establishing a circadian rhythm in constant darkness comes the issue of supplies. Aboard the International Space Station, the astronauts (and cosmonauts and other -nauts) are treated to a regular schedule of deli varies. It’s…
This Is How You Launch A Cement Tanker
This story has everything. It has giant ships, big waves, lots of metal, and, of course, a drone. This is the Nb. 423 ‘M.V. Greenland’ being launched on October 31, 2015. It’s an LNG-powered cement tanker–one of the first of its kind–, which means a pressurized LNG tank is incorporated in the hull. Utilizing the…
This 3D Printed Revolver Can Fire Six Shots
While 3D printing has quite a bit to offer in terms of the consumer and medical industry, it also brings to light some potentially contentious problems. One of the most-discussed of those issues being 3D printed guns. So far, no one has really figured out a way to 3D print every part of a gun,…
How Fire-Throwing Drones Will Help Prevent Fires
While the word drone can strike fear into the hearts of many people, you can really escalate that fear by adding “flame-throwing” to the description. Luckily, these flame-throwing drones are on the good guy’s side, and, technically, they don’t really throw the flames as much as just drop it. A team at the University of…
Breaking News: All Female Cosmonauts Miss Family Not Makeup
(Editor’s Note: This story is a follow up to a story posted 10/29/2015. How Will Women In Space Survive Without Makeup Or Men?) As it turns out, the six women who spent eight days stuck together in a space simulation didn’t really miss makeup OR men. They did, however, like normal human beings miss their…
Here Are Two Guys In Jetpacks Flying Next To A Jumbo Jet
Sometimes you see videos on the internet that force you to say to yourself, “That can’t possibly be safe.” This particular video, however, was carefully choreographed between Emirates A380 and the two thrill seekers wearing jetpacks. Emirates A380 is the world’s largest passenger aircraft, so it makes sense that it looks massive flying next to…
Here’s What It’s Like To Ride In The Cockpit of An A-10 Thunderbolt
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Today, we’re doing a ride-along in the cockpit of an A-10 Thunderbolt, courtesy of Sploid. The landscape you’re seeing below is in Arizona, and you’ll see it from all different types of angles (including sideways) if you watch all the way. This videos always offer up a great…
How Will Women In Space Survive Without Makeup Or Men?
This 2.7 Billion Dollar Military Blimp Just Broke Free Of Its Moorings
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a 2.7 billion dollar blimp making a bid for freedom. The blimp is actually a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) aerostat, which is a surveillance blimp, and usually firmly anchored at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Unfortunately, the blimp broke free…