Short Takes – 1-23-24 – Geek Edition

Self-powered sensor automatically harvests magnetic energy. News.MIT.edu article. Pull quote: “The versatile design framework is not limited to sensors that harvest magnetic field energy, and can be applied to those that use other power sources, like vibrations or sunlight. It could be used to build networks of sensors for factories, warehouses, and commercial spaces that cost less to install and maintain.”

Salad in space? New research says it's not a healthy choice. Phys.org article. Really needs confirmation study on ISS. Pull quote: “It wasn't true microgravity, Totsline said, but it did the job to help plants lose their sense of directionality. Ultimately, the researchers discovered that it appears Salmonella can invade leaf tissue more easily under simulated microgravity conditions than it can under typical conditions on Earth.”

Japan hopes sunlight can save stricken Slim Moon lander. BBC.com article. Pull quote: “It's currently "morning" at Slim's landing location on the slopes of Shioli Crater. If, as suspected, the spacecraft's solar cells are pointing westward, then it may have to wait until the "lunar afternoon" before those cells catch enough light to start charging the battery system.”

At last: NASA's complete sample of the 'potentially hazardous' asteroid Bennu is finally freed from its canister. LiveScience.com article. Pull quote: “After landing in the Utah desert on Sept. 24, the OSIRIS-REx capsule was taken to NASA's  Johnson Space Center in Houston, where scientists began working on its disassembly. Yet two out of the capsule's 35 fasteners got stuck, meaning that NASA engineers had to design and manufacture two bespoke clamp-like tools from scratch. Made from surgical steel, the tools were used to remove the clasps and crack open the capsule on Jan. 11.”

Turnover and retention: an unspoken cost center affecting space companies. TheSpaceReview.com article. Pull quote: “This is compounded by the fact that most companies are searching for “unicorns”: people with levels of skill and experience that rarely exist, causing them to focus on a tiny pool of candidates. That is a wonderful position for seasoned space professionals who are open to being poached back and forth across the community, but not a model that can be sustained, or one that adds talent to the industry. The cost in time and resources spent chasing the “perfect hire” is significant. There is a better way.” This seems to be a typical tech industry problem.

Here’s What I Learned as the U.S. Government’s UFO Hunter. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “AARO thoroughly investigated these claims as part of its congressionally mandated mission to not only technically evaluate contemporary UAP observations but also review historical accounts going back to the 1940s. One of my last acts before retiring was to sign AARO’s Historical Record Report Volume 1, which is currently being prepared for delivery to Congress and the public. The report demonstrates that many of the circulating allegations described above derive from inadvertent or unauthorized disclosures of legitimate U.S. programs or related R&D that have nothing to do with extraterrestrial issues or technology. Some are misrepresentations, and some derive from pure, unsupported beliefs. In many respects, the narrative is a textbook example of circular reporting, with each person relaying what they heard, but the information often ultimately being sourced to the same small group of individuals.”