Remote South Australians were treated to a glittering light show across the midnight sky last week as an international space capsule landed nearby the outback town of Woomera.

The landing marked the end of a six billion kilometre journey across the cosmos for Japanese space capsule Hayabusa, which has since been recovered by a team of scientists from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA and the Australian National University.

The team launched Hayabusa, an Asteroid Explorer, in 2003. Two years later, it had successfully landed on the Itokawa asteroid, where scientists hope the capsule collected samples from the asteroid’s surface.

Asteroids are thought to preserve information from the time of the solar system’s formation. Researchers hope Hayabusa will be carrying the first ever sample from an asteroid, which could hold clues to the early history of the solar system and how planets are formed.

It is also believed the data could help reduce the threat of asteroid collisions in the future.

On re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere, the mothercraft burnt up shortly after releasing the parachute-clad sample return capsule, which remained in tact.  The collected sample will be transferred to Japan soon where it will be analysed at the JAXA campus.

To learn more about the science of the landing, including how the sample capsule overcame atmospheric heat on re-entry without burning up, click here.

To read more about the Itokawa asteroid, click here.

Watch video footage of the re-entry filmed by NASA here:

Photo credit: The sample return capsule and parachute -- taken by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency

NMI assists Australian industries by providing metrology (i.e. measurement) services, advice, research and development, and chemical reference materials that meet the present and future needs of industry.

NMI’s services include proficiency testing of accredited laboratories, high level calibrations for all sorts of measurement equipment and analytical testing services in areas such as food safety, illicit drugs, and environmental contamination. These services support the constant and safe production of a variety of products and processes that we use everyday.

Some recent examples of assistance to Australian industries are as follows:

1) Industrial temperature measurement. A company that manufactures metal sheeting, by ‘baking’ paint onto metal sheets in a continuous process, encountered difficulties with accurate temperature measurements that were affecting the quality of the product. NMI assisted by developing instrumentation to determine the correct surface temperature which allowed the company to calibrate their radiation thermometers used for process control. This has improved the repeatability and accuracy of the temperature measurements which, in turn, has resulted in better product quality.

2) Environmental testing. Australian environmental guidelines set for industry require reporting of very low contamination levels for a broad set of organic pollutants and dioxin compounds. NMI has developed a suite of tests that provide coverage of a wide range of pollutants and analytes such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins. This work supports the production of metals, contaminated site remediation projects, biota & biosolids testing, and emissions reporting.

3) Biomedical sample monitoring. The biomedical industry regularly stores biological samples in liquid nitrogen (at a temperature of about minus 196 degrees Celsius). These samples are usually immersed in the liquid nitrogen fluid but, due to the risk of cross-contamination, the industry is increasingly storing samples in the vapour space above the liquid nitrogen. The vapour space may be significantly warmer than the liquid nitrogen itself and therefore, its temperature requires monitoring. This has necessitated thermometer systems that have been calibrated at these low temperatures. NMI has established a service for biomedical firms and private testing companies that assists in meeting their ultra-low temperature monitoring needs.

4) Machine components measurement. NMI has performed, for several Australian companies, ultra precise measurements using its high accuracy coordinate measuring machine (CMM). The CMM can measure a wide range of reference artefacts and components within its 800 mm x 600 mm x 600 mm volume. The CMM is suited especially to the measurement of items having complex shapes and measurements requiring low uncertainties. Examples include the measurement of dies, gears, height-setting micrometers and high accuracy proof components. The picture above demonstrates the CMM preparing to make exact measurement on a car engine block.

5) High-voltage calibration. NMI’s High-Voltage Laboratory maintains most measurement standards necessary for reliable electrical transmission. The laboratory is the only test provider in Australia for systems with operating voltages from 300 to 550 kilovolts. On-site high-voltage calibrations are also performed on some types of equipment that cannot be moved, using NMI’s mobile high-voltage calibration unit that operates from a specially equipped truck.

6) PT program for folic acid. In conjunction with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), NMI developed a proficiency testing (PT) program for folic acid in bread-making flour to support the introduction of mandatory folic acid fortification in bread. This PT scheme tests the capabilities of laboratories to accurately measure folic acid concentrations and provides industry with the confidence that their analytical testing is of a quality required by FSANZ’s standards.

7) Ultrasound calibration. The only way to ensure that an ultrasound device is displaying the correct power level corresponding to its actual output is to have it regularly calibrated. NMI has established an ultrasound power calibration service and now regularly calibrates ultrasound devices to the relevant industry standard.

These are just some of the many ways in which the NMI assists Australia and our industries on a daily basis. Much of this work may go unnoticed by us as individuals, but without it we would find ourselves with a great many problems of inconsistency, which, in turn, would have unimaginable knock-on effects within every aspect of our lives.

For more information about the National Measurement Institute and its functions, please visit their website at: http://www.measurement.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx

On April 24 1990, after almost two decades of design and development, one of the world’s largest and most versatile space telescopes was carried into orbit to begin its life as a vital astronomy research device.

Over the last twenty years, the Hubble telescope has captured some of the most beautiful and important images of the universe, including the famous ‘Ultra Deep Field’ image which is the most detailed visible-light image ever made of the universe’s most distant objects.

The Ultra Deep Field image shows nearly 10 000 galaxies, cuts across billions of light-years and is the deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith and the HUDF Team

These images have led to many breakthroughs in astrophysics and astronomy, including determining the age of the universe, how galaxies are formed and the discovery of dark energy.

During its 20 year life, the Hubble telescope has been serviced four times, and is the only telescope ever designed to be fixed in space by astronauts. The most recent service was in 2009, which is expected to keep the telescope functioning until 2013, when its successor, the infrared James Webb Space Telescope is due to be launched.

Sadly, it seems impossible for Hubble to be brought back to Earth safely for museum storage, instead it will likely continue to orbit the Earth until it deteriorates and spirals back home.

The Hubble telescope was invented to solve a problem that astronomers had faced since the invention of the original telescope: the atmosphere.

The Earth’s atmosphere distorts the view of even the world’s largest and most advanced telescopes because of continuously shifting air pockets. It also blocks or absorbs some wavelengths of radiation such as ultraviolet, gamma and x rays before they reach the Earth.

Having a telescope in space away from the earth’s atmosphere means there is no atmospheric distortion so pictures can be clear and precise.

The Hubble telescope is a Cassegrain reflector telescope, which means it works by capturing light through a series of mirrors which direct the images into several science instruments that live within the telescope. Then, antennae send the information back to the Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, USA. Astronomers from anywhere in the world can download the data from the internet, which can be enough to fill 18 DVDs every week.

The Hubble telescope completes an orbit of Earth every 97 minutes, mobbing at about 8km per second, fast enough to travel across Australia in about 11 minutes.

The new James Webb Space Telescope that is being created to replace Hubble will have all the capabilities of Hubble, but also be able to study objects from the earliest universe, whose light has stretched into infrared light, or ‘red shifted’. It is due to be launched in 2014.

Much thanks to NASA for providing images and information for this story. Images are available at http://hubblesite.org/

At 14:22 on Monday 23^rd November 2009, the first clear evidence of a collision of particles was recorded from each of the two counter-rotating beams of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, or CERN as it is known near Geneva, Switzerland.

An image of an event in which a microscopic-black-hole was produced in the collision of two protons in a computer generated image of the ATLAS detector. Image provided by www.cern.ch

Following weeks of preparation, the international team of CERN scientists watched on as recent and rapid progress in the testing of the new accelerator brought to fruition success from the revolutionary international project.

“Arriving here at CERN from Melbourne at mid-day Monday, the feeling of anticipation was palpable,” Professor Geoffrey N. Taylor, from the University of Melbourne’s School of Physics said.

Professor Taylor recalled how physicists assembled at the time, ‘cheered wildly’ as depictions of the particle collision were projected onto the wall of the ATLAS control room.

This event signals the completion of the development phase of the ATLAS experiment to which Australia’s commitment has been $700m, led for the past 20 years by Professor Taylor.

Although much work remains to be done on this experiment, scientists believe this achievement has proven the promised potential and justification of the largest scientific experiment ever built.

Both the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney are foundation institutes within the ATLAS collaboration. This results in Australian science having an excellent participatory role in a project, which involves 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries, that is hoped will unravel some of science’s longest-running mysteries of the universe.

For more information, please visit: www.cern.ch or www.lhc.ac.uk

Nanotechnology is often considered one of the newest fields of science and has been born as a result of scientists new found ability to control matter (atoms and molecules) one or a few at a time.  This makes the construction of new, never before possible devices such as virus seeking particles a real possibility in the future.  There is no doubt that nanotechnology, working on a scale 1 billionth part of a meter, will have an enormous impact on a large number of industries – and it will change our lives

Water molecules flowing through a carbon nanotube. (Credit: http://www.physorg.com/news8116.html M. Denomme, University of Kentucky)

Nanotechnology is science at the molecular level and, like biotechnology and information technology, is a growth industry with the potential to greatly change the world in which we live.  According to Nobel Laureate Dr. Richard Smalley “Nanotechnology will reverse the damage caused by the Industrial Revolution.”   One of the great promises of nanotechnology is that for the first time scientists have at their disposal tools similar in dimension to the species being detected or manipulated.  Prior to nanotechnology, many detection approaches were much akin to driving nails in with a sledge hammer in the sense that only very high concentrations could be detected and often not with much selectivity.  The ability to use molecular building blocks, allows the tuning of sensor interactions to dramatically improve the sensitivity and selectivity of detection.

The ability to work on this incredibly small scale highlights the truth in the adage “size does matter”.  On the scale of the nanometer this is true for two reasons.  First, material on the nanoscale can often adopt new properties due to the small size and for example, material that is dull on normal scale can be made to glow brightly when made on the nanoscale.  Second, size matters when two pieces must fit together precisely as in the example of a plug and drain.   For example, the ability to filter water would be considerably enhanced with a system where only water would pass through the membrane and everything else was left behind.  Carbon nanotubes show great promise to do just this and the filtering will be very energy efficient.

The other great benefit of nanotechnology is that problems are being tackled by teams of scientists.  Nanotechnology works at the crossroads of chemistry, physics, biology and material science, and so requires scientists from all these multiple disciplines to collaborate.  This has had the wonderful effect of seeing new solutions to old and difficult problems emerge.  For example, the chemists’ ability to form materials that are biocompatible holds the promise of new drug therapies where only the effected tissue is treated and a single dose of medicine can be slowly released over time to provide the best treatment.

Nanotechnology is ever-present in today’s modern world. You may not realise it, but everyday we use products that contain technology engineered on the micron or nanometre scale.  Mobile phones, ink-jet printers and car airbag systems all employ components made with nano- and micro-technology. There are various “nano additives” in many products such as sporting goods and cosmetics.  In healthcare, routine tests now make use of nanotechnology to fluorescently “label” individual cells, and techniques such as lab-on-a-chip are now essential tools for the bio-chemist and life-scientist.

Nanoparticle targeting a specific cell. (Credit: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanoparticles.jpg)

The real excitement about nanotechnology lies in what might be next.   Current “nano products” have not taken advantage of special features that operating at such a scale offers but there are now research examples that do just that.  For example, engineering of nanoparticles with growth factors has seen the repair of spinal cords even a considerable length of time after injury.  Other work has seen specific targeting of cancer cells or tumours in ways that will allow early detection and subsequent treatment of cancer that is far less invasive than current approaches as well as being much more effective.

While there will never be a “nanotechnology aisle” at the supermarket, nanotechnology will undoubtedly fundamentally change the way many things in society work.

This article was written by Professor Joe Shapter, Flinders University

http://www.scieng.flinders.edu.au/cpes/courses/nanotech.html
http://www.flinders.edu.au/science_engineering/our-faculty/research/areas-of-research/nano.cfm

The only reliable way to find out whether the internal structures of an aircraft are corroded is to pull the plan apart and look.  But new nanotechnology-based techniques being developed by physicists including Professor Tanya Monro, of the University of Adelaide could make costly visual inspection in preventative aircraft maintenance a thing of the past.

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