samples

The US wants to give up bringing the most valuable samples collected on Mars. Lockheed promises to do it for less than half

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Since February 2021, The Rover Perseverance patiently travels the Jezero crateran old river basin on the surface of Mars. Over there, where millions of years ago the water flowedNASA Robot It has been collecting fragments of rock and Martian dust With a very specific objective: Find signs of past life. It is not any mission. Is, According to NASA itselfthe first step of an ambitious plan to bring intact samples from another planet. For more than three years, Perseverance has done his job in silence and the samples that Now rest inside of small sealed tubes, carefully deposited on the Martian surface or stored aboard the Rover itself. From space, bread crumbs would look like a trace drawn through a desert planet, hoping to be collected. A truncated promise The plan, known as Mars Sample ReturnI had to send another ship to Mars, launch from there a rocket with the samples and return them to the Earth for analysis in laboratories. But the project began to crumble. An independent review raised the cost estimated until 11,000 million dollars and delayed the possible return of the samples until 2040. In May, the new US administration presented its first budget draft: proposes to cut 24 % of NASA’s financing and cancel Mars Sample Return for considering it an exorbitant cost program. The plan must still go through Congress, but marks a clear turn: the menions manned to deep space are prioritized, such as Artemisand the projects with great budget and scarce immediate return are frozen. With the current budget cut and without guarantees of continuity, NASA decided to reexamine its options. As explained by the former administrator Bill Nelsontwo more viable alternative routes were being evaluated: one that takes advantage of the “Sky Crane” type landing system used successfully in the Curiosity and Perseverance Rovers, and another that opens the door to new proposals from the private sector. Lockheed Martin’s letter Amid the budget uncertainty, one of the great space contractors in the United States has decided to move file. Lockheed Martin, with half a century of experience in missions to Mars, has presented NASA a proposal to execute the Mars Return mission with a radically different approach: for less than 3,000 million dollars and under a fixed price contract. The change is not less. Faced with the traditional model, full of budgetary risks and with multiple public actors involved, Lockheed promises a simpler architecture. Its proposal includes a more compact landing module, based on the ship Insight that already touched Martiano soil in 2018a lighter and lighter ascent vehicle – designed to be the first to take off from another planet – and a system of re -entry to the land derived from missions such as Genesis, Stardust and Osiris-Rex. It is a commitment goes beyond engineering. Being a “Firm-Fixed Price” contract, Lockheed Martin is responsible for absorb any possible extra cost. That is, if something is complicated, the invoice does not rise. According to the company itself, that model has already proven effective in other scientific missions of deep space, where they even managed to return part of the NASA not used budget. The message is clear: if NASA wants to save its most ambitious mission without spending, Lockheed Martin is ready to lead it. Bringing back about thirty small tubes could help us answer one of humanity’s great questions. Was Mars ever inhabited? Scientists do not seek fossils or complex structures. They look for subtle indications that can only be analyzed with the level of precision allowed by land laboratories. And for that, the samples that Perseverance has collected are not any rock. They have been selected one by one depending on their location, their age, their composition and their geological context. Are, In Nasa’s own wordsthe most likely material to contain a Martian “biofirm.” But the value of these samples goes beyond the biological. They can reveal how the wet marte of 3.5 billion years ago was, how its climate evolved, why it became an arid and inhospitable planet, and how the geological, atmospheric and chemical processes interacted for millennia. They will also tell us what resources could take advantage of future manned missions: where it is safer to land, what materials are usable, what areas have risks. Images | Lockheed Martin In Xataka | NASA locked four volunteers one year simulating their life on Mars. What did not miss: an entire PS4 Games Library

We are sending cannabis samples to space. They will be key to knowing if we can colonize the moon or Mars

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Throughout our short space race we have sent the most diverse things to space: from golf balls up to 2,000 small jellyfish (that returned being 60,000), going through latea piece of the Wright brothers, an electric car, a gorilla costume and a pizza. Today to this peculiar list we have to add about 150 cannabis seeds. The reasons? Strictly scientific. Mayasat-1. That is the name they receive both the mission (Integrated within Mission Possible 2025) as the incubator on board which have traveled seeds, algae and human DNA, among other things. In total, 980 samples of 11 different customers. The incubator has been developed by the Genoplant Research Institute in Slovenia, but who has decided to send cannabis seeds to space has been Martian Grow. Transport-14 | Image: Genoplant Mayasat-1 | Image: Genoplant Three laps. Before addressing the why of cannabis, it is convenient to understand what the mission has consisted, whose duration has been three hours. Mayasat-1 took off on Monday 23 at 23:50 aboard a Falcon 9 from Spacex from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It reached a height of 520 kilometers (120 kilometers more than the International Space Station) and completed three laps around our planet. Specifically, through polar areas. Because? Because at the North and South poles exposure to radiation is very, much higher than that of Ecuador due to the magnetic field. The objectives. There are several, but they can be summarized as follows: Observe the survival of samples to radiation, microgravity and temperatures of space to have an idea of ​​its ability to resist extreme conditions. Investigate possible adaptations, such as genetic or structural changes, which may have occurred in response to the environmental stress factors. Study the possible implications for the cultivation of plants in space or advances in medicine. Serve as proof of concept for the realization of biological experiments in space. And now yes, cannabis. Božidar Radišič leads the initiative Martian Grow and works as a consultant at the Research Nature Institute in Slovenia. In statements collected by WiredRadišič believes that “sooner or later, we will have lunar bases and cannabis, with its versatility, it is the ideal plant to supply those projects.” In his own words, cannabis “can be a source of food, proteins, construction materials, textiles, hemp, plastic and medicines. I don’t think many other plants give us all these things.” But cannabis … Yes, it is associated with a very different recreational use, but its potential as a plant is tremendous. The Cannabis sativa l produces THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound) and CBD (Cannabidiol, has no psychoactive effects), but these are only two of the More than 550 chemical compounds found to date. And although we do not know what effects each and every one of them has, we do know that the plant is surprisingly resistant. Image | Crystalweed Cannabis Hold on what you throw. Cannabis sativa is a plant that resists ultraviolet rays and gamma radiation (in fact, it is used in its industrial production to decontaminate it). It is also extremely versatile, being able to grow both in Mexico and India, Nepal, Netherlands or Afghanistan despite the fact that its origin is in the Himalayas. Nor is it a plant that needs too much water and can be grown in different types of soils. Their ballots to be a successful space crop are, therefore, abundant on paper. And why send seeds to space? We know that radiation and genetic mutation is able to generate new varieties of species with different properties. “So far more than 3,400 new varieties of more than 210 species of plants using genetic variation induced by radiation and improvement by mutations, “they explain from the International Atomic Energy Agency. For Radišič, that is precisely the key: “It’s about finding out if cosmic conditions affect cannabis genetics, and how they do it, and we may only discover it after several generations.” Radiation exposure can cause mutations, not all negative, not all positive. The key is to detect those that can play in favor of humanity. The problem, of course, is that we need more information. Image | Genoplant Further. We have already cultivated lettuce at the International Space Station, Thalian Arabidopsis on lunar soil and Sent seeds to spacebut all radiation exposure has been in low orbit (up to 2,000 kilometers high). The responses to the radiation of a plant at the International Space Station may not be the same as those of a plant on the moon (at 38,400 kilometers away) or on Mars (54.6 million kilometers). One of the projects that seek to explore how plants cultivated on the moon respond is Leafa NASA mission that will travel to our satellite in the mission Artemis III In 2027. Next steps. When the capsule returns, the Božidar Radišič team and the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Ljubljana will study the seeds, their possible mutations and adaptations to obtain results and see which compounds have altered and how. “Whether there are changes as if not, both results will be important for the future, so that we know how to grow cannabis in the space environment,” says Radišič to Wired. An important job. Colonizing the moon or Mars is not only a technological challenge, but also logistics. It is not viable to transport food to keep the population of another planet, so it is capital to learn to cultivate in lunar and Martian soils, completely inhospitable and hostile. There have been advances and research with different proposals For many yearsbut there is still no solution that seems perfect. Images | Genoplant In Xataka | We have found a plant capable of producing 40 cannabinoids. A closer plant evolutionarily to lettuce that to hemp

There is a site in Granada with more than 50,000 semen samples. We have been there

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It all starts with an ad, with mouth to mouth or with a casual encounter. Then comes an email and a telephone interview. The first visit, three or four days of abstinence and a taco of informed consent. More things will come: an immediate test (volume, quantity, mobility …) and then a rosary of exams in a long process that will end several months later. For that moment, Only 20% of those who started still in the process. Only now donations will begin. This is how, today, many more children we think are made. 38,644 Assisted reproduction is already behind 12% of births that occur in Spain and that means that Only last year almost 40,000 children were born with the help of this set of reproductive technologies. And, although it is true that not everyone requires donor sperm, current donations barely do not cover demand. And with the average age of the first and older child, all experts agree that he will go more. Semen donations are just a small part of the process, but a very unknown. That is why we have traveled to the heart of Granada, which is possibly The largest semen bank in Spain: Gametia Biobank. What is really a semen bank? Louise Brown was born on July 25, 1978. He was the first person born through in vitro fertilization and, without being aware of it, put everything we thought we knew about having a child. Not 15 years later, José Antonio Castillaa reference in the world of reproductive medicine was founding in Granada Ceifer, one of the most important semen banks in the country. For decades, Ceifer was creating a donation culture (In a strongly university context) that has allowed him to lead the sector for years. Now, integrated into the group Next Clinics (And under the brand of Gametia Biobank, since 2022) they remain in it. Not in vain, 23,096 of the 56,700 samples registered in Spain (41%) between 2018 and 2023 come from there. Of course, the figures are true, but they have some trick: Gametia was for a long time one of the few centers that scored the data in the National Registry and has been a pioneer in its implementation. In spite of everything, the weight of Gametia at the national level is much greater than the demographic weight of a city like Granada could be presumed How have they achieved it? As Carlos Zafrilla, director of Operations of Gametia explained to us, thanks to “that tradition (which has become) into one of the main banks of the bank.” Although it is true that each session/donation is compensated with 50 euros (And the legal limit is about 40), the inconveniences of being a donor – with the long periods of sexual and other abstinence – make it difficult to understand it as a way of “earning money.” Nor is it fast, nor is it simple, nor is it so comfortable as I might think. From Gametia they insist, in fact, on personal commitment commitment. In the end, hidden after the anonymity that the law guarantees them, these donors are one of the least visible pieces of a process (that of in vitro fertilization) that are usually long, complex and full wear for families. And being a donor requires sexual abstinence, not consuming substances for long periods, carrying strict health control. Things that can be uncomfortable For a young population in a city with more than 80,000 university students. A melody sounds. El Biobanco, a place with a warm and very pleasant aesthetic that Away from the cliché inherited from North American filmsit has two rooms with chairs, sinks and televisions to perform donations. As soon as donors use a button and a melody sounds. It is a key piece to guarantee the traceability of the material. Once the sample is collected, it is purified and concentrated, it is sealed in 0.5 ml straws (with a unique code) and freezing immersing them in liquid nitrogen at -196ºC. In the heart of the center there are at least 35 tanks that store an average of 1900 straws Each unoy guarantees the safety of a material that must be preserved even if it is discarded. Then the Gametia team matches donors and receivers. Despite the precancevid idea, this pairing is strictly regulated by law and There is no “donation to the letter”. And once selected, they travel in portable cryogenic containers to the nearly 400 hospitals and clinics throughout Europe. In Xataka | Reproductive Wars: When will we stop needing women to have children?

Some researchers analyzed 280 samples of bottled water. Only one of the brands was microplastics free

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Better flavor and smell and health reasons. Those are the two main reasons why people drink bottled water, according to A study of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Spain is, in fact, The third European country that consumes more bottled water (up to 107 liters per inhabitant). That clashes with one thing: that bottled water is not only Much more expensive than tap waterbut now we know that it also has micro and nanoplastic in amounts much greater than those estimated. The original study. Some researchers from Columbia University They analyzed Three popular bottled water marks in the United States (whose names names have not transcended) in search of micro and nanoplastic. To do this, they used a new technique called Raman stimulated dispersion microscopy Based on probe samples with two tuned simultaneous lasers to resonate specific molecules. Analyzing seven common plastics, the researchers developed an algorithm to interpret the results. According to Wei Min, co-inventor of the technique and co-author of the study that concerns us, “one thing is to detect and another to know what you are detecting.” The findings. On average, this study discovered that a liter of bottled water contains 240,000 detectable plastic fragments, between ten and 100 times more than previous estimates. Specifically, the researchers claim that they found between 110,000 and 370,000 plastic fragments in each liter, of which 90% were nanoplastic. In that sense, it is important to remember the difference between micro and nanoplastic: Microplastics: those whose size varies between 100 nanometers and five millimeters. Nanoplastic: those whose size is equal to or less than 100 nanometers. The most frequent plastics. To anyone’s surprise, one of the most common plastics was the Terephthalate polypropylene, better known as PET. It is the material of which many bottles are made. “It is probably introduced into the water when pieces are detached when the bottle is squeezed or exposed to heat,” says the researchers, who cite another study that suggests that they can also detach themselves when the cap repeatedly opens and closes. Usual. And although the presence of PET is common, this plastic is overcome by the polyamide, a type of nylon that “probably comes from the plastic filters used to supposedly purify the water before bottling it,” says Beizhan Yan, a researcher of the study. Other common plastics found by the researchers were polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and methyl polymetacrylate. And the rest? The technique used contemplates the seven most common plastics, but there are many other plastics. According to exposes Columbia University, “the seven types of plastic that researchers sought only represented about 10% of all the nanoparticles found in the samples; They have no idea what the rest are. If all are nanoplastic, they could be dozens of millions per liter. ” And what about those sold in Spain? That’s what he wanted to find out A study by CSIC and the Global Health Institute of Barcelona. They have developed a technique To quantify particles of between 0.7 and 20 micrometers, as well as the chemical additives released to the water and, for this study, analyzed 280 samples of 20 trademarks of commercial water. Only one of the brands did not contain microplastics, but all, the 280 samples, contained plastic additives. More specifically. The result is that, on average, a liter of water contains 359 nanograms of micro and nanoplastic, an amount comparable to that obtained in the tap water found in a previous study made by the same group. “The main difference we find is the type of polymer: in tap water we find more polyethylene and polypropylene while in bottled water we have mostly detected polypropylene terephthalate (PET), although also polyethylene,” said Cristina Villanueva, a researcher of the Isglobal and Author of the study. Quite microplastic. Considering that we drink two liters of water a day, the authors estimate “an intake of 262 micrograms of plastic particles per year.” With regard to additives, 28 plastic additives, mostly stabilizers and plasticizers have been detected. According to the researchers, “our toxicity study showed that three types of plasticizers had a higher risk to human health and, therefore, should be considered in risk analysis for consumers.” Images | Jonathan Chng in Unspash In Xataka | The US has decided to leave paper straws because everyone hates them. The problem is the alternative: plastic In Xataka | After the failure of the yellow container, the government has reached a conclusion: it is time for the returnable bottles *An earlier version of this article was published in February 2024

NASA has found molecules linked to life in Bennu samples

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It was left The famous stuck screw In the Bennu Asteroid sampling container. NASA scientists have just published the results of their analysis and are as exciting as the asteroid of 4.5 billion years promised. Osiris-Rex and Asteroid Bennu. Threw in 2016, Osiris-Rex completed one of NASA’s most ambitious missions in recent years. The probe reached an asteroid near the land called Bennu in 2018. He spent several months by making it and analyzing it closely and, finally, descended to touch its surface. Osiris-Rex collected 121.6 grams of Bennu samples in 2020. He then undertook his return trip and, in September 2023, managed to release them successfully on Earth. Is less than expected And, yet, the greatest number of samples brought from another celestial body other than the moon. In addition to a true time capsule due to the age of the asteroid: 4.5 billion years, almost as many as those that the solar system has. What is in Bennu’s samples. Two studies published on Tuesday in Nature and Nature Astronomy They detail the results of the analysis. We can say that the wait has been worth it because those 121.6 grams that Osiris-Rex brought from asteroid bennu They contain essential molecules for lifeas well as the trail of a salty environment that could promote its formation: Amino acids and nucleobases. 14 of the 20 amino acids used by living beings to make proteins, and the five nucleobases that make up DNA and RNA, the genetic codification of life on earth Ammonia and formaldehyde. Ammonia is essential in chemical reactions that generate complex molecules, and formaldehyde can lead to amino acids when combined with ammoniac Salts and salt water. Minerals formed by the evaporation of water with brine, an environment that could be the ideal broth for prebiotic chemistry in the body from which Bennu comes What this finding means. The discovery of all these molecules reinforces the hypothesis that the basic ingredients for life could have spread throughout the solar system at an early age. It is known that the asteroids brought water to the earth, and nothing prevents They will also deliver other essential blocks for life or microbial life itself. Perhaps the conducive conditions for life in many other parts of the solar system will be given. The material from Bennu contains a combination of salts (calcite, halita, trona and silvita) that had only been seen incompletely in some meteorites. It is a clue that the body from which Bennu comes originally Water could contain with the necessary conditions for the development of organic compounds. What this finding does not mean. That the “father” of Asteroid Bennu could have the necessary conditions for life forms to arise does not mean that scientists have discovered life in a body outside the earth. Samples do not contain evidence of living organisms, nor do they confirm in any way the existence of extraterrestrial life. The material, which was formed in a cold region of the solar system beyond Jupiter’s orbit, does not end up solving, but throws some light on the big question: if there are scenarios conducive to life beyond the earth. And no, samples do not have land pollution, as happened with those of the asteroid Ryugu that the Japanese brought in the Hayabusa mission 2. To other asteroids. The laboratories of the Earth are for now the best we have, so none of this would have been possible without a complex sampling recovery mission. Osiris-Rex is the third, after the Japanese Missions Hayabusa. Soon we will see also Tianwen-2, the Chinese mission that will travel to the asteroid 2016 HO3 KAMOʻOALEWA. Images | POT In Xataka | The ship that picked the samples of Bennu now flies towards Apofis, the asteroid that will pass only 38,000 km from the earth

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