First Global Topographic Model of Mercury

NASA’s MESSENGER mission has unveiled the first global digital elevation model (DEM) of Mercury, revealing in stunning detail the topography across the entire innermost planet and paving the way for scientists to fully characterize Mercury’s geologic history. The global topographic model is among three new products from the Planetary Data System (PDS), a NASA-funded organization …

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Aerial photos of likely new Type 001A 60,000 ton Chinese aircraft carrier

A new navel hull, first noted under construction in imagery captured on 10 March, is in an advanced state of assembly at Dalian shipyard. China was reported to be ready to launch its first domestically built aircraft carrier, known as the Type 001A, on Dec. 26 according to Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao. IHS Jane’s …

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Micromotors remove carbon dioxide in the lab and could eventually be scaled to remove from ocean

Machines that are much smaller than the width of a human hair could one day help clean up carbon dioxide pollution in the oceans. Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego have designed enzyme-functionalized micromotors that rapidly zoom around in water, remove carbon dioxide and convert it into a usable solid form. The proof …

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Progress to next generation photonic chips

Researchers from the University of Southampton have developed a new technique to help produce more reliable and robust next generation photonic chips. Photonic chips made from silicon will play a major role in future optical networks for worldwide data traffic. The high refractive index of silicon makes optical structures the size of a fraction of …

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