Author: The Conversation

There’s no question that sending human beings to space is an extraordinarily difficult and perilous proposition. Since human space exploration began just over 60 years ago, 20 people have died – 14 in the NASA space shuttle tragedies of 1986 and 2003, three cosmonauts during the 1971 Soyuz 11 mission, and three astronauts in the Apollo 1 launch pad fire in 1967. Given how complicated human spaceflight is, it’s actually remarkable how few people have lost their lives so far. But NASA plans to send a crew to the Moon in 2025 and astronauts to Mars in the next decade. Commercial spaceflight is becoming routine. As space travel becomes…

The word swarm often carries negative connotations – think biblical plagues of locusts or high streets full of last-minute shoppers during the Christmas rush. However, swarming is essential for the survival of many animal collectives. And now research into swarming has the potential to change things for humans too. Bees swarm to make their search for new colonies more effective. Flocks of starlings use dazzling murmurations to evade and confuse predators. These are just two examples from nature but swarming can be seen in almost every corner of the animal kingdom. Research from mathematicians, biologists and social scientists is helping us understand swarming…

Is social media designed to reward people for acting badly? The answer is clearly yes, given that the reward structure on social media platforms relies on popularity, as indicated by the number of responses – likes and comments – a post receives from other users. Black-box algorithms then further amplify the spread of posts that have attracted attention. Sharing widely read content, by itself, isn’t a problem. But it becomes a problem when attention-getting, controversial content is prioritized by design. Given the design of social media sites, users form habits to automatically share the most engaging information regardless of its accuracy and potential harm. Offensive statements, attacks on out…

The release of the advanced chatbot ChatGPT in 2022 got everyone talking about artificial intelligence (AI). Its sophisticated capabilities amplified concerns about AI becoming so advanced that soon we would not be able to control it. This even led some experts and industry leaders to warn that the technology could lead to human extinction. Other commentators, though, were not convinced. Noam Chomsky, a professor of linguistics, dismissed ChatGPT as “hi-tech plagiarism”. For years, I was relaxed about the prospect of AI’s impact on human existence and our environment. That’s because I always thought of it as a guide or adviser to humans. But the…

In 1977, five years before ET asked to “phone home”, two robotic spacecraft began their own journey into space. Almost 46 years later, after exploring the Solar System and beyond, one of those spacecraft – Voyager 2 – has lost contact with Earth. All communication with Voyager 2 goes through NASA’s Deep Space Station 43, a 70-metre radio dish at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex operated by CSIRO. Contact was lost more than a week ago. After intense efforts at NASA and here in Canberra, we have detected a faint “heartbeat” signal from the craft – and we’re confident of re-establishing…

Alas, poor Twitter; we knew it well. Or, at least, we thought we did. Despite never occupying more than 10% of social media’s online presence, western audiences are very aware of the platform. That’s not least because of the way that the mass media echoes and amplifies the controversies and outrage born on Twitter. Well before the fury at current owner Elon Musk’s changes, the platform occupied a strange dual position in our consciousness. It was a place for the slow murmurings of a sleepy populace gossiping around the village well, but also a forum for vicious, poisonous invective. Birdsong calms and…

Film and television actors in the US came out on strike on July 14, causing Hollywood productions to shut down. The action has also had an impact on US films shooting in the UK: director Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice 2 has “paused” and the production of Deadpool 3, filming at Pinewood Studios with stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, has been stood down. The dispute is about remuneration for actors, very few of whom enjoy the high income of Hollywood stars. But an additional argument between the union, SAG-AFTRA, and film producers is about the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Actors are fearful of the impact…

Sixty-five years ago, in 1958, several government programs that had been pursuing spaceflight combined to form NASA. At the time, I was only 3 years old. I’ve now been a professor of physics and astronomy for nearly 30 years, and I realize that, like countless others who came of age in the 1960s and ‘70s, NASA’s missions have had a profound effect on my life and career path. From John Glenn’s first flight into orbit to the Hubble telescope, the agency’s legacy has inspired generations of scientists. First flight into orbit The date was Feb. 20, 1962. My first grade teacher, Ms. Ochs,…

Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film Oppenheimer is a biopic about the theoretical physicist behind the atomic bomb. After watching the film, I was inspired to write about my visit to the actual Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was detonated. As part of my research on nuclear weapons and civil defence, I visited the Trinity Site in 2015. Located in the desert in the southwest United States, the Trinity Site is isolated, peculiar and disconcertingly mundane. The tower that held the bomb is featured prominently in the Oppenheimer film. A small fragment of it exists today, as the rest of it was vaporized.…

The former chief executive of South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, has written a scathing critique of the ruling party’s practices that have seriously damaged the country’s economy. Andre de Ruyter’s book Truth to Power is not the first exposé of the country’s political and economic woes under the African National Congress. But it strikes a sensitive chord because of the impact of recurring power cuts on the economy and daily life, a crisis De Ruyter was hired to deal with. Beyond his description of Eskom’s corruption and ineptitude is a subtler message that is equally disturbing. It’s De Ruyter’s prescription to end the state’s involvement…