NASA’s Valkyrie robot, ready to be inhabited through virtual reality
James Woodford
I am standing before one of the most advanced robots in the world and am awestruck and disoriented by its humanoid form. Part Transformer, part Star Wars stormtrooper and with hands that look like they can crush beer cans, at 1.8 metres tall and weighing 120 kilograms, NASA’s Valkyrie robot is an intimidating figure.
But it is the face that most transfixes me. Where the eyes, mouth and nose should be is a cavity filled with an array of whirring and flashing sensors, including advanced lidar detectors…
Most quakes on Mars happen during the summer – and we don’t know why
A fracture on Mars’s surface, taken in January 2018 by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express craftESA/DLR/FU Berlin Thousands of...
The surprising new idea behind what sparked life on Earth
Sparks between water droplets may have started life as we know itShutterstock/Perry Correll The first molecules necessary for life on...
Saturn has 128 new moons – more than the rest of the planets combined
Saturn now has a total of 274 moonsNASA/JPL/Space Science Institute A further 128 moons have been discovered orbiting Saturn, bringing...
Thousands join Stand Up for Science rallies across the US
Stand Up for Science rally in Washington Square Park in New York City on 7 MarchJames Dinneen Thousands of people...
