Team Tokai wins 2011 World Solar Challenge 0

Team Tokai has just reached the finish line in Adelaide, Australia, to become the winner of the 2011 World Solar Challenge. The victory makes it back-to-back wins for the Japanese team which took out the previous event in 2009.

The Tokai University Team has taken out the 2011 World Solar Challenge ( All Photos: Gizmag.com)
All of the top three places are set to match the 2009 results when Nuon Solar Team from the Netherlands finished in second place, followed by the University of Michigan in third.
The Nuon Solar Car Team was hot on the heels of the Tokai vehicle throughout the final day this year, with Nuna6 running just 30 minutes behind - a very tight margin after four days on the road. Nuon is now expected to arrive at the finish line at around 10am tomorrow after running out of energy at Angle Vale, just north of Adelaide.

After starting in fifth position in Darwin, the Tokai team took the lead on the first day of the race and was never headed throughout the grueling 1800-odd mile journey, which this year posed extra challenges in the form of bushfires and road closures.
The Tokai Challenger 2 is a three-wheeler featuring carbon monocoque construction that harnesses solar energy using a six meter square array of silicon solar cells with a conversion efficiency of 22 percent. The vehicle has a claimed top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). Energy capacity of the 21 kg (46.2 lb) lithium-ion battery is 5 kWh - which by way of comparison, is roughly the same amount of energy it takes to run an electric clothes dryer for one hour.

In 2009, Team Tokai completed the race in 29 hours and forty-nine minutes, averaging 100.54 km/h (62.47 mph). The average time set this year is expected to be very similar - we'll confirm the exact figure when official results are in. Either way, it's a remarkable achievement in a vehicle powered only by the Sun's rays.
The Tokai University vehicle reached the ceremonial finish line at approximately 2pm local time. The victory was a particularly emotional one for the Japanese team who were seeking to highlight the potential for solar power and the world-leading status of Japan's technologies in the aftermath of the Fukishima nuclear disaster.
We'll keep you posted on the official results as the remaining teams complete the Solar Challenge in coming days. In the meantime, Tokai University is set to celebrate its well earned win - check out the gallery for more photos.

Scientists Discover Ozone Layer On Venus 0

A European spacecraft has discovered an ozone layer high in the sweltering atmosphere of Venus, a new study reveals.

Starting its scientific surveying in July 2006, the European Space Agency's(ESA) Venus Express has been carrying out the most detailed study of the planet's thick and complex atmosphere to date. CREDIT: ESA

The discovery will help astronomers better understand the composition of Venus' murky atmosphere, and by comparing it to the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, the findings could even help shape the search for life on other planets, the researchers said.
The European Space Agency's Venus Express spacecraft detected ozone, which is a molecule containing three oxygen atoms, while gazing at stars that can be seen at the very edge of the planet through its atmosphere.
"This detection gives us an important constraint on understanding the chemistry of Venus's atmosphere," study leader Franck Montmessin, of the Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) in France, said in a statement.
Venus Atmosphere

Artist’s impression of the detection of ozone on Venus’ night side. CREDIT: ESA/AOES Medialab

Ozone layer on Venus
The probe's Spectroscopy for Investigation of Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Venus (SPICAV) scrutinized the starlight for key characteristics of gases in the atmosphere as it is absorbed at different wavelengths. The Venus Express SPICAV instrument discovered the ozone because it absorbed some of the ultraviolet light from the stars, the researchers said.
The findings were presented Oct. 6 at the joint meeting of the European Planetary Science Congress and the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences in Nantes, France.
Computer models show that the ozone on Venus forms when sunlight breaks up carbon dioxide molecules, which releases oxygen atoms. Winds in the atmosphere of Venus sweep these atoms around to the night side of the planet, where they can combine to form two-atom oxygen molecules, as well as three-atom ozone molecules.
The discovery will help scientists better characterize the chemistry of Venus' atmosphere, but it could also be useful for astronomers searching for life on other worlds, the researchers said.
By comparing the properties of Venus' atmosphere with equivalent layers of the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, scientists could narrow down their search for life on other planets, Montmessin explained.
The research will be detailed in the November issue of the journal Icarus.

Best-Ever Topographic Map of Earth Released 0

The most complete digital topographic ever made of the Earth was released by NASA today (Oct. 17).

The map, known as a global digital elevation model, was created from images collected by the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER, instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite.

At 14,505 feet (4,421 meters) in elevation, California's Mt. Whitney, located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the west side of Owens Valley, is the highest point in the contiguous United States. CREDIT: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

The 3-D effect is achieved by merging two slightly offset two-dimensional images (called stereo-pair images) to create depth.
The first version of the map was released by NASA and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in June 2009.
"The ASTER global digital elevation model was already the most complete, consistent global topographic map in the world," said Woody Turner, ASTER program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "With these enhancements, its resolution is in many respects comparable to the U.S. data from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, while covering more of the globe."

The Advanced Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft provided this spacebird's-eye view of the eastern part of Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona in this image, acquired July 14, 2011  

CREDIT: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

The ASTER data cover 99 percent of Earth's landmass and span from 83 degrees north latitude to 83 degrees south.
The improved version of the map adds 260,000 additional stereo-pair images to improve coverage. It features improved spatial resolution, increased horizontal and vertical accuracy, more realistic coverage over water bodies and the ability to identify lakes as small as 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) in diameter. The map is available online to users everywhere at no cost.
"These data can be used for a broad range of applications, from planning highways and protecting lands with cultural or environmental significance, to searching for natural resources," said Mike Abrams, ASTER science team leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

SPACE.com

Dead German Satellite to reach Earth This Week 0

Artist's impression of the ROSAT satellite in space CREDIT: German Aerospace Center

A defunct German satellite is expected to plunge to Earth this week, but exactly when and where the satellite will fall remains a mystery.

The massive German Roentgen Satellite, or ROSAT, is expected to plummet to Earth on Saturday or Sunday (Oct. 22 or 23), though German space officials have also offered a wider re-entry window of between Oct. 21 and Oct. 25. This latest falling satellite comes about a month after a dead NASA climate satellite, called the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), plunged into the Pacific Ocean in late September.
The 2.4-metric ton X-ray space observatory is expected to break up as it travels through Earth's atmosphere, but some large pieces will likely make it through the intense heat of re-entry. According to German aerospace officials, approximately 1.7 metric tons of satellite debris, consisting primarily of up to 30 large glass and ceramic fragments, could survive the journey through the atmosphere and reach the Earth's surface.
"We don't expect big parts to re-enter, except the mirror and the glass and ceramic parts," Jan Woerner, head of the executive board of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Germany's space agency, told SPACE.com. "Usually during re-entry, you have rather clear burning of all the elements, but glass and ceramics may survive and may come down in bigger pieces." [Photos: Germany's ROSAT Satellite Falling to Earth]
There is a 1-in-2.000 chance a piece of ROSAT could strike someone on Earth, DLR officials have said. That's a slightly higher risk than the 1-in-3,200 chance of a debris hit NASA gave for the UARS satellite fall.
German aerospace officials are actively tracking ROSAT, but they will not be able to determine precisely when and where the satellite will fall until roughly two hours before it impacts Earth.
ROSAT's orbit extends from the latitudes of 53 degrees north and south, which essentially covers a huge swath of the planet. This means the satellite could fall anywhere stretching from Canada to South America.
Officials at Germany's space agency calculated a 1-in-2,000 chance that someone on Earth will be hit by ROSAT debris, but the risk of serious injury from such an event remains extremely remote.
Originally, the dead satellite was projected to fall to Earth in November, but refined estimates show that the spacecraft will likely make its fiery descent through the atmosphere later this week — earlier than mission controllers previously thought. [6 Biggest Uncontrolled Spacecraft Falls From Space]
"With satellites like ROSAT, you depend on external circumstances," Woerner said. "For instance, solar wind and changes in the atmosphere may change the time of re-entry. We just have to wait and observe."
ROSAT was launched in June 1990 as a joint venture between Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In 1998, the satellite's star tracker failed, which caused its onboard camera to be directly pointed at the sun. This permanently damaged the spacecraft, and ROSAT was officially decommissioned in February 1999.

This X-ray satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 1 June 1990 on board a Delta II rocket property of NASA. Originally, the plan was to put Rosat in Earth orbit on board a US Space Shuttle. Following the explosion of Challenger in 1986 (when ROSAT was under construction), it was decided to launch the X-ray satellite into orbit on board a rocket. CREDIT: NASA
Since the satellite does not have a propulsion system, and there is no fuel left onboard, the satellite will make an uncontrolled return to Earth.
"We expect public attention because it's a satellite coming down, but in history, we have had much bigger debris fall," Woerner said.
On Sept. 24, NASA's UARS satellite fell uncontrolled toward Earth and plunged into the Pacific Ocean. The event captured the attention of people around the world, and ROSAT's impending re-entry will mark the second time a large spacecraft makes a publicized fall from space within two months.
Officials at Germany's space agency studied NASA and the U.S. Air Force's response to the falling UARS satellite in order to prepare for ROSAT's final return to Earth.
"For us, it was an advantage that UARS fell before," Woerner said. "We know now a little better how to interpret all the data and use the global network. It was an advantage that the satellite came down before so that now we can look at how to deal with ROSAT and how we deal with this in the future."

Space.com

Branson opens world's first 'spaceport' in US 0

British billionaire Richard Branson opened the world's first-ever commercial spaceport in the New Mexico desert, the new home for his company, Virgin Galactic.

The eccentric businessman, with usual flair, sported a black jacket and waves of hair flying as he inaugurated the building by breaking a champagne bottle against a hanger building, while rappelling down the side of it.

"Spaceport America," as the site is called, will serve "as the operating hub for Virgin Galactic and is expected to house up to two WhiteKnightTwos and five SpaceShipTwos, in addition to all of Virgin’s astronaut preparation facilities and mission control," said the company in a statement to the press.
About 150 people already booked for travel on the first flights to orbit attended the event, said the company.
Also attending were head of Virgin Galactic George Whitesides, commercial director Stephen Attenborough, and famed US astronaut -- and second human being to step on the moon -- Buzz Aldrin.
Branson last month said he hoped to launch a vessel into space within the next 12 months, which he said would kick off an era of commercial space travel.

"The mother ship is finished... The rocket tests are going extremely well, and so I think that we're now on track for a launch within 12 months of today," he said.
"About an hour between Los Angeles and London is not completely out of the question," Branson said, adding that it will likely take many years before the company can offer such a service.
In the meantime, Virgin has sold some 430 tickets for space travel -- at $200,000 a pop -- for an estimated $86 million.

WhiteKnightTwo, carrying SpaceShipTwo, sits on display outside the Spaceport America Terminal Hangar Facility northeast of Truth Or Consequences, on October 17, 2011 in New Mexico.

A number of private companies are rushing to fill the gap left by NASA, which ended its 30-year shuttle program in July with the completion of the final Atlantis mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

(AFP Photos Frederic J. Brown)

Disgraced Korean scientist unveils cloned coyotes 0

Disgraced South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-Suk unveiled eight cloned coyotes Monday in a project sponsored by a provincial government.

Hwang delivered the clones to a wild animal shelter at Pyeongtaek, 50 kilometres (35 miles) south of Seoul, in a ceremony chaired by Gyeonggi province governor Kim Moon-Soo, Kim's office said.
Hwang was a national hero until some of his research into creating human stem cells from a cloned embryo was found to be faked.
But his work in creating Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog, in 2005 has been verified by experts and authorities.
Under a joint project with the province to clone wild animals, Hwang took cells from the skin of a coyote, Kim's office said in a statement.
He transplanted their nuclei into a dog's eggs from which the canine nucleus had been removed, it said, adding the first clone was born on June 17.
In a Twitter message, the governor praised Hwang for what he called the world's first use of such a technique. "The cloning of an African wild dog is under way, and we will attempt to clone a mammoth in the future," Kim said.
South Korean experts have previously cloned animals including a cow, a cat, dogs, a pig and a wolf. The cloned wolf died in 2009.
Hwang shot to fame in 2004 when he published a paper in the US journal Science claiming to have created the world's first stem-cell line from a cloned human embryo.
But his reputation was tarnished in November 2005 by allegations that he had violated medical ethics by accepting human eggs from his own researchers.
In January 2006 an investigative team ruled that his findings were faked and said he had produced no stem cells of any kind.
In 2009 Hwang received a two-year suspended sentence for embezzling research funds and ethical lapses in obtaining human eggs. Last December an appeals court reduced the penalty to an 18-month suspended sentence.