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Nasa identifies nine landing sites for its first crewed Moon mission in over 50 years

Nasa has identified nine unexplored sites for the first crewed Moon landing in half a century that it says could hold vital resources, including water. For its Artemis III mission, Nasa has proposed landing regions that warrant further scientific investigation, all located near the lunar south pole. The Artemis programme was formally established in 2017 and launched its first uncrewed mission in November 2022 using the long-delayed Space Launch System rocket. Artemis II was originally planned to take place this year and would have been the first scheduled crewed mission since 1972, with four astronauts performing a flyby of the Moon before returning to Earth. This would have been followed by a crewed landing on the Moon for Artemis III in 2025. Unfortunately, the US Government Accountability…

E+T Magazine in Space
Generative AI technology is creating a growing e-waste problem, study warns

The increasing popularity of generative AI technology could worsen the ongoing e-waste problem by creating an additional 5 million metric tons of e-waste in total by 2030, researchers have said. Generative AI works by using complex algorithms to create new content – such as text, images, music or video – that mimics or extends patterns found in existing data. But the technology is highly dependent on rapid improvements in hardware infrastructure and chipmaking that incentivises firms to undertake rapid hardware upgrades. As well as the need to simply increase the computational power of the machines used to train the AI models, these models are also very power hungry, which comes at great expense. Moving to more energy efficient hardware can help to save energy costs in the long run. A…

E+T Magazine in Waste Management
E+T | Eccentric Engineer - Pendulum Power

The times they are evolving! Maybe not time itself, but the way we measure it certainly has, and it's an interesting story. It starts with Galileo as to how the mighty pendulum has been such a great timekeeper's tool. This new video series takes a wry look at great engineering advances in the past.

E+T Magazine
Fleet of robot submarines to target $3.2bn subsea services market

Aberdeen-based robotics company HonuWorx aims to deploy a fleet of 50 electric-powered remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to perform work on subsea assets, such as offshore wind farms, eliminating the need for large fossil-fuelled surface ships. Founded in 2020, HonuWorx has been developing an autonomous submarine called Loggerhead to help reduce the cost, risk and carbon footprint of subsea operations. The aim is to use this ROV to perform inspection, repair and maintenance services across the $3.2bn subsea services market. This includes work on subsea assets within the oil and gas, offshore wind and defence sectors. HonuWorx claims Loggerhead removes the need for large fossil-fuelled surface ships to transport and deploy subsea robots. It plans to develop a fleet of at least 10 Loggerhead…

E+T Magazine in Robotics
Chancellor Rachel Reeves urged not to cut funds to Sellafield amid safety concerns

Budget cuts at Sellafield increases the risk of “devastating consequences” at the world’s biggest plutonium stockpile, the GMB union has warned. In a letter written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of the Budget next week, the GMB warns of the “risks posed by reducing funding for such a complex and hazardous site”. Sellafield, on the coast of Cumbria, is the UK’s most complex and challenging nuclear site. The scale of the decommissioning operation is vast and will last until 2039. Just last week a new National Audit Office report found that progress on the site is slow and is “not yet achieving value for money.” The site is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which is an executive non-departmental body sponsored by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. …

E+T Magazine in Nuclear Power
Gas cookers in European homes linked to 40,000 premature deaths a year, report finds

Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from burning gas indoors is linked to 39,959 premature deaths in the EU and UK each year, according to researchers at Spain’s University Jaume I. The figures are revealed in a study estimating the health impact and economic cost associated with exposure to NO2, a toxic gas emitted by gas cookers. Around a third of European households use gas cookers at home. When in use, these indoor cookers emit NO2, as well as other pollutants, into the household. The study also estimates that exposure to NO2 is linked to hundreds of thousands of paediatric asthma cases each year, with Italy, Poland, Romania, France and the UK among the worst-hit countries. To create a map of NO2 concentration in European homes, the researchers combined existing real-world pollution…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
UK must cut 81% of carbon emissions by 2035, climate scientists say

Climate experts have said the government needs to cut the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035 if net zero commitments are going to be met. The reduction, which is relative to the UK’s emissions from 1990, will require “rapid but achievable action”, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) said. The independent body is responsible for advising the government on policies that it needs to implement in order to tackle climate change. In August, energy minister Ed Miliband asked the CCC to provide advice on meeting the UK’s 2035 nationally determined contribution. The UK has already cut its emissions by more than 50% since 1990, but the CCC said that “rapid reductions” in fossil fuel dependence were the best way to enhance UK’s energy security, while green investment would also help to support…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
Royal Mail urged not to scrap its freight trains to cut emissions and road congestion

The government has been urged to reduce track access charges and electricity costs for freight trains in a bid to get Royal Mail to reverse its decision to stop transporting mail by train. In July, Royal Mail announced it would stop using its dedicated fleet of mail and parcel carrying trains in October due to the cost of running electric trains and because its purpose-built train fleet would require expensive investment to continue operations. To make up the shortfall, Royal Mail said it would switch to delivering mail and parcels by road and has been investing in “green” trucks that use hydrotreated vegetable oil instead of diesel, as well as battery delivery vans. The firm has been running trains to transport post since 1830. The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) has delivered a…

E+T Magazine in Business Planning
Designing the ultimate theme park thrill ride

The theme park business is a roller coaster, using new technologies to build rides that are faster, higher, longer – but also more engaging. Qiddiya Entertainment City lies roughly 45km from Riyadh and is a leading component of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to establish Saudi Arabia as a global economic and cultural leader. One objective is to increase tourism – and roller coasters are well on the way to achieving that goal. Within Qiddiya’s Six Flags theme park, construction of Falcon’s Flight is well advanced. When completed it will be the fastest, tallest and longest coaster in the world. It will take a 600ft drop off a cliff edge and then ascend a 640ft ‘airtime’ tower (‘airtime’ because riders experience weightlessness or even a more intense pushing out of…

E+T Magazine
$100m settlement agreed by shipowner in US lawsuit over Baltimore bridge collapse

The US justice department has said that Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, the Singaporean companies that owned and operated the Motor Vessel (MV) Dali container ship, have agreed to pay $102m to resolve a civil claim arising from the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. During the early morning hours of 26 March 2024 the MV Dali left port on its way to Colombo, Sri Lanka. However, the vessel soon lost power, rendering its steering systems unusable. Unable to alter its trajectory, Dali smashed straight into one of the support pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bridge immediately collapsed, causing the deaths of six people. The incident is estimated to have impacted at least 8,000 jobs and forced the closure of a waterway that caused an estimated $15m in daily losses to…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
Blue Origin and Deep Blue Aerospace push the boundaries of space tourism with flight tests

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin completed the first successful flight of its second New Shepard ship, while China’s Deep Blue Aerospace has announced it will launch paying customers into suborbital space by 2027 as both firms vie for early market share in the space tourism industry. Blue Origin’s 27th mission saw the debut of the firm’s second human-rated vehicle for the New Shepard programme in a bid to expand its flight capacity to meet customer demand. On Wednesday, the uncrewed NS-27 mission finally lifted off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in west Texas after scrapping two previous launches set to take place earlier in the month. The flight carried five payloads on the booster and seven inside the crew capsule (RSS Kármán Line), including tens of thousands of postcards as part of Club…

E+T Magazine in Space
UN warns that current climate policies risk catastrophic 3.1°C global temperature rise

The continuation of current climate policies by governments around the world will lead to a “catastrophic temperature rise of up to 3.1°C”, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned. The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries commit to keeping global warming to an absolute maximum of 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures, and ideally no more than a 1.5°C rise. But a UNEP report found that nations would need to commit to cutting their annual greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030 and 57% by 2035 in the next round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – and back this up with rapid action. If such commitments are not achieved, the 1.5°C goal will be gone “within a few years”. Updated NDCs are to be submitted early next year ahead of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
Modelling Cables & Power Electronics

The shift toward the electrification of vehicles and the expansion of the electrical grid for renewable energy integration has led to a considerable increase in the demand for power electronics devices and modernised cable systems — applications that will help ensure a consistent and long-term electricity supply. Simulation is used to drive the design of new power electronics devices (such as solar power and wind turbine systems), which are required to operate efficiently for varying levels of power production and power consumption (in the case of electric vehicles). A multiphysics modelling and simulation approach plays a critical role in meeting design goals and reducing the overall production time. The COMSOL Multiphysics software offers a wide range of capabilities for the modelling of…

E+T Magazine
Intel scores fresh win over €1bn EU antitrust fine

US chipmaker Intel has won a fresh victory in its long-running battle against the EU’s competition watchdog the European Commission for allegedly abusing its market dominance in the computer chip market. The almost two-decades-long legal battle began in 2009 when the European Commission fined Intel €1.06bn for “abusing its dominant position in the market for x86 CPUs”. The Commission accused Intel of engaging in a series of anticompetitive practices aimed at excluding competitors from the computer chips market. This it said was in breach of EU antitrust rules. The practices included ‘conditional rebates’ (rebates to computer manufacturers if they bought its x86 CPUs) and ‘naked restrictions’ (paying computer manufacturers to limit, delay or cancel the sale of products containing computer…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
‘Comprehensive blueprint’ to take a strategic approach to Great Britain’s future energy system

Energy ministers from the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments have commissioned the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to create a strategic spatial energy plan (SSEP) for the Great British energy system. The aim of the SSEP is to help construct a “comprehensive blueprint” to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy. “We require a plan that works for all of Great Britain, contributing towards a more sustainable and secure energy system, as well as boosting economic opportunity and domestic performance,” the ministers said in a letter to Fintan Slye, director of NESO. This first iteration of the SSEP will focus on electricity generation and storage, including hydrogen assets. It will assess optimal locations, quantities and types of energy infrastructure…

E+T Magazine in Management of Technology
Qatar Airways launches Starlink-equipped Boeing 777 offering passengers internet at altitude

Starlink has enabled passengers to use their own internet-enabled devices while onboard a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 flight from Doha to London. Engineered and operated by SpaceX, Starlink provides high-speed, reliable internet service through its vast constellation of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Having integrated the Starlink service onto a Qatar Airways Boeing 777, passengers are now able to access fast internet at 35,000 feet to stream videos, play games and make video calls from their own devices. To prove Starlink’s reliability onboard, Qatar Airways’s CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer made a video call with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk during the flight: Qatar Airways says it will equip 12 Boeing 777-300s with the Starlink service by the end of 2024 before rolling it out across its entire…

E+T Magazine in Space
Sellafield not achieving value for money with ‘intolerable risks’ persisting, finds watchdog

Ongoing concerns over project management, the pace of delivery and staffing at Sellafield mean it is not yet achieving value for money, a new National Audit Office (NAO) report has said. Sellafield, located on the coast of Cumbria, began operating as a commercial-scale nuclear power station in 1956. In the intervening years, it has grown to be the UK’s most complex and challenging nuclear site, with highly hazardous materials stored in its facilities from across the country. As such, the scale of the decommissioning operation is vast and will last until 2039.The site is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which is an executive non-departmental body sponsored by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. In its report the NAO found that while progress has been…

E+T Magazine in Nuclear Power
Boeing-built satellite unexpectedly breaks up in orbit causing space debris concerns

A Boeing-built satellite has unexpectedly broken up in geostationary orbit, sending shards of debris into space. The reason for the satellite’s destruction is unclear, but multiple organisations are tracking the path of the debris to ensure it does not cause further collisions with other orbiting bodies. Space debris is becoming an increasingly pressing issue to mitigate. As the number of satellites in orbit increases, so does the risk that some of it will collide with manned and unmanned space assets. It is estimated that around one million pieces of debris larger than 1cm are in Earth’s orbit, and around 100 trillion pieces of old satellite are not being tracked. The US Space Force confirmed the break-up of Intelsat 33E on 19 October at 4.30am GMT. It said it was currently tracking…

E+T Magazine in Space
E+T Off The Page: The ethics and economics - does space tourism stack up?

The ethics and economics - does space tourism stack up?

E+T Magazine
Mercedes-Benz opens in-house battery recycling facility in southern Germany

The automotive manufacturer says the battery recycling plant in Kuppenheim will generate enough recycled materials to produce more than 50,000 new battery modules per year. Car batteries contain valuable and scarce raw materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt. To recover these materials for use in new batteries for its future electric vehicles (EVs), Mercedes-Benz has opened a mechanical-hydrometallurgical recycling plant. The mechanical-hydrometallurgical process not only sorts and separates plastics, copper, aluminium and iron, but the multi-stage process is also able to individually extract valuable metals such as cobalt, nickel and lithium. These recyclates can then be used in the production of new battery cells. Unlike the established pyrometallurgy process, the auto giant says…

E+T Magazine in Recycling
$NHS given approval to use AI for X-ray fracture detection to ease pressure on radiologists$

NHS given approval to use AI for X-ray fracture detection to ease pressure on radiologists

The NHS has been given approval to start using AI to examine X-rays in a bid to improve detection of fractures in urgent care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which publishes guidelines on the use of health technologies by the NHS, said that clinical evidence finds that AI can improve detection rates in comparison to just using a professional to review X-ray scans without increasing the risk of incorrect diagnoses. It approved the use of four AI tools – TechCare Alert, BoneView, RBfracture and Rayvolve – that can be used in urgent care settings in England while further evidence is generated to demonstrate the technology’s benefits. The committee heard missed fractures are reported to be the most common diagnostic error in the emergency department. Missed…

E+T Magazine in Artificial Intelligence
US oil drilling industry in Gulf of Mexico granted a delay over marine species protection rules

A US court has granted the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) more time to assess how endangered species should be protected from oil exploration and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the Gulf of Mexico’s federal offshore oil production accounts for 14% of total US crude oil production. In August 2024, Earthjustice, Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth, among others, won a case at the US District Court to protect endangered and threatened marine species from offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The judge ruled that the required assessment – known as the “biological opinion” and prepared by the NMFS to ensure that Gulf fossil fuel exploration and drilling companies offer the necessary environmental protections …

E+T Magazine in Fossil Fuels
First revamp of UK airspace in 70 years could reduce delays and cut carbon emissions

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has set out detailed plans to modernise Britain’s airspace in an effort to reduce delays and noise pollution, as well as cut carbon emissions. Dubbed the “biggest shake-up to airspace design in 70 years”, the changes are designed to fulfil commitments made by Labour in its manifesto. The CAA has a launched a consultation on proposals to establish a UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS), which will be formed from a team of aviation experts who will work with domestic airports to improve the way planes operate in UK airspace. The body will initially focus on London, which has the most congested airspace in the country. The aviation sector took a massive hit during the pandemic due to the widespread shutdown of air travel and huge reductions in demand from…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
Laser defence system takes out missiles in successful MoD trial

A defence system that uses powerful lasers to eliminate missile threats on the battlefield has been trialled by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The laser is being designed to be fitted a range of RAF aircraft, including the intelligence-gathering Shadow R2 and A400M transporter. During the trial, at the Vidsel Test Range in Sweden, the operational system defeated a range of infrared heat-seeking missiles being fired simultaneously. The MoD said it was able to take down all of the missiles during the trial “with pinpoint accuracy”. The system uses Thales’s Elix-IR threat-warning system to identify the launch of missiles, using a series of algorithms to filter out background clutter so that only valid threats are tracked. Once detected, an alert is sent to the Miysis system – developed…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation

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