structures Archives - usatoday24

the space spider that assembles structures

April 28, 2026 by usatoday24

When we say that China steps on NASA’s heels In your space race we are not kidding. It is not just about the missions to the Moon or the launch of your own space station. The Asian country has been able to recover one of NASA’s frustrated dreams: creating a robot that assembles large constructions directly in space. A space spider. China has replicated and improved the SpiderFaba robot designed by NASA to weave structures with carbon fiber thread, directly under microgravity conditions. In very rough terms, it is a kind of spatial 3D printer that behaves like a spider. At the moment an antenna has been woven in a terrestrial laboratory, so it would be necessary to check if it is equally viable in space. However, the results have been very promising and have also overcome several of the obstacles that NASA encountered at the time. Obstacles overcome. The idea for SpiderFab came from NASA, although the project was launched together with the company Tethers Unlimited. Although at the beginning everything seemed to be going well, during the process they encountered two obstacles so big that the project ended up being archived. These were related to the fit of the pieces in space and the resistance of the structures. Therefore, China has added some changes to the process. For starters, they use carbon fiber composite reels, rather than pure carbon fiber. These more complex compounds are stronger, but also lighter. Ideal for spatial structures. On the other hand, the robot makes assembly joints so that the pieces can fit together without the need for screws or glue. In the most extreme cases, if necessary, fusion using laser rays could be used. A much needed robot. In reality, the use of a robot like SpiderFab is very necessary to continue advancing in the space race. Spaceships have a load limit that cannot be exceeded, both for a simple matter of space and for the necessary investment in fuel. With respect to space, sometimes we resort to placing the necessary structures very well folded into orbit, and then opening them at their destination or even along the way. This is precisely what was done with the mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope. However, this is not always feasible. That is why it is so useful to resort to strategies like this robot, capable of weaving antennas or solar panels as if it were a spider manipulating silk. Challenges still remain. At the moment, China has already gone further than NASA with its own SpiderFab. However, there are still other challenges to overcome. For example, the assembly of the robot itself must be tested in microgravity conditions. It will also be necessary to check that it adequately resists other spatial elements, such as cosmic radiation. They are on the right track, but the bells cannot yet be launched into the air. Also, thinking about it, instead of throwing the bells into the air, it would be better to weave them directly into place. Images | Tethers Unlimited In Xataka | Astronauts’ food is not appetizing at first, especially in China

Where once there were towns, now there are unmistakable structures

April 7, 2026 by usatoday24

In recent decades, the main nuclear powers have gone from accumulating weapons to investing in infrastructure increasingly more complex and protectedspaces where production and maintenance were and are as important as the number of heads itself. A secret in plain sight. First it was the new york timesand now it has been CNN which published an investigation through satellite images. Both report the same thing: that while the disarmament agreements have been weakening, China has secretly expanded its nuclear weapons infrastructure, and it has done so starting with the most tangible, the territory. The media explained in its investigation that, in provinces like Sichuanentire villages have been evacuated under the pretext of “state secrets” and, years later, satellite images show a completely transformed landscapewith new facilities built on what were previously homes. What for the inhabitants was an abrupt expropriation, for analysts has become the first visible clue of a much broader process. The key piece. At the heart of this transformation appears a monumental installationa huge dome that emerges from the banks of the Tongjiang River in less than five years. It is apparently still being fitted out, suggesting it may not be in operation yet. The space is reinforced, surrounded by security, ventilation and containment systems made of highly sensitive materials. Its size, design and location within a historic nuclear complex point to more than just modernization: they suggest an expansion of capacity. It is not, therefore, about maintaining what exists, but about preparing to produce morebetter and with new technologies, in a system that seems to be being redesigned from its foundations. Science City is home to more than a dozen research institutes that are part of CAEP, China’s leading nuclear weapons developer. A silent network. I remembered this latest research that the dome is not isolated, but connected by renovated roads and logistics nodes to other nuclear facilities in the region, forming a kind of coherent and expanding network. This framework, which was already identified decades ago as key to the Chinese nuclear program, it is being systematically updated, with improvements in transportation, integration and protection. The magnitude of the works It suggests a long-term planned effort, not a one-off reaction, and points to a strategy that prioritizes resilience and operational continuity. Beyond the numbers. Although the total number of Chinese nuclear warheads is still lower to that of the United States or Russia, the real change is not in quantity, but in capacity. Experts point out that the modernization observed implies a in-depth review of processestechnologies and doctrines that support the arsenal, which introduces new unknowns about the pace and direction of its growth. In that context, measuring power solely in the number of weapons possibly begins to fall short. Survive the war. If you want too, this development It fits with a broader strategy based on dispersion, redundancy and the ability to resist attacks that seek to decapitate military command. The construction of protected infrastructure, combined with early warning systems and resilient command, points to a doctrine that not only seeks to deter, but also guarantee responsiveness even in extreme scenarios. It is an evolution that reflects lessons learned from recent conflicts and decades of observing American military power. The global context. Impossible to ignore it. All this happens in parallel to the weakening of the arms control frameworks that for decades limited nuclear expansion, such as (and mainly) the end of the New START treaty between the United States and Russia. In this vacuum, the possibility of integrating China into new agreements seems distant, especially when the evidence points to an expansion in progress. Ultimately, the lack of transparency and the pace of change complicate any attempt at real negotiation. The final risk. Possibly the most worrying consequence is not just what China is buildingbut how his rivals interpret it. Uncertainty about their capabilities may push other countries to expand their own arsenals, not in response to confirmed facts, but simply to estimates and fears. In that scenario, the world would not enter a new arms race based on numbers, but perhaps on something even more disturbing: on perceptions where each movement of the adversary feeds decisions that can escalate uncontrollably. Image | Airbus In Xataka | Satellite images leave no room for doubt: China’s nuclear renaissance is already visible from space In Xataka | The United States is convinced that China is conducting nuclear tests. The problem is that you can’t prove it.

The depths of Antarctica had always been a mystery, so far: 3,000 “mega -structures”

August 20, 2025 by usatoday24

An international team of scientists, with the researcher at the University of Barcelona David Amblàs at the head, He has revealed A much more complex and detailed map of the Antarctic Sea Fund. Using the most complete database to date, they have identified 3,291 individual cannons organized in 332 systems, some of which sink up to 4,000 meters deep and that act as supermarine superautistapistas that regulate the global climate, and at the same time, represent the Achilles heel of the gigantic glaciers of the icy continent. The map that has changed everything. Until now, our vision of the seabed surrounding Antarctica was blurred. The maps were based In low resolution data that barely suggested the largest structures. But everything has changed thanks to the new ‘International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) V.2‘, a cartography that has combined thousands of ship polls with satellite data. Taking advantage of this “Google Maps” of the Antarctic Sea bed, scientists applied semi -automatic hydrological techniques, similar to those used to analyze river basins on the mainland. In this way, they managed to trace with amazing precision the entire network of “rivers” and “submarines” submarine that cross the continental margins of the continent. Two types of very different geographies. The finding with this system reveals two types of underwater geography. On the one hand, you have the ‘Eastern Antarctica‘Where very branched and -shaped cannon systems are found, which determines that its origin is very old. On the other hand, there is the ‘Western Antarctica‘Where shorter cannons predominate with abrupt slopes and V sections, which allows to see a more recent geological origin. For Amblàs, This difference so marked in geomorphology “It supports the hypothesis that the eastern ice layer is older and formed before the western one.” This is something that until now had only been able to intuit. Visual representation of the applied methodology for the extraction of the streams in the seabed. Water highways that decide our future. These cannons are not just a geographical accident. They are leading actors of climate change. On the one hand, they act as channels for the water of the continental platform, which when cooled and gain salinity, becomes very dense. . This water is precipitated by the cannons to the depths of the ocean, in a process that forms the Background Antarctic Water (AABW). This mass of cold and dense water is the engine of global oceanic circulation, a gigantic “conveyor belt” that distributes heat throughout the planet and kidnaps huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the deep ocean. The geometry of these cannons, therefore, is essential for climate regulation. The Achilles heel of the glaciers. On the other hand, these same cannons are an entrance door for the enemy. Allow him to Circumpolar deep water (CDW), a relatively warm mass of water (about 2 ° C above the freezing point) and saline, sneaks from the open ocean to the base of the ice platforms. This warm water flow is the main responsible for the basal melting of the glaciers, eroding them from below and accelerating their slide to the sea. The discovery of such a dense cannon network, especially in Eastern Antarctica (considered so far stable), suggests that The vulnerability of the continent The oceanic warming could be greater than what the models foresee. Regions such as the Amundsen Sea, home of the final judgment glacier, are full of these cannons that serve the warm water in tray. The great challenge: that our climatic models understand it. In addition, this discovery shows an important career: the climatic models that we currently use to project future scenarios are not able to simulate precisely. The topography is so rugged that the predictions on the dynamics of the oceans and the weather lose reliability, especially in areas as vulnerable as the Amundsen Sea. Therefore, the two authors of this study underline the urgency of continuing to invest in the high resolution mapping of these unexplored areas. The second researcher, Riccardo Arosio, concludes that “new cannons will surely be revealed” and each of them is essential to be able to make more precise climatic models that determine the future of the planet. Antarctica is a well of surprises. There are many investigations that focus on the planet’s location, and the conclusions are very interesting. We already know that in the past Where there is now ice was a real forestor that under its surface Something is sending a sign that science fails to clarify. And this has done that Tourism has arrived at this placesomething that is not sitting too well. Images | Cassie Matias In Xataka | Thousands of marine ecosystems depend on only one thing: the pis and the whale droppings

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