SpaceX's tourism mission arrives at the ISS

Plus: The most precise W boson measurement might lead to a paradigm shift in physics, Mark Zuckerberg is looking to develop virtual coins dubbed “Zuck bucks. Apr 10, 2022 [View in browser]( Space tourism is getting more real day by day. A day after SpaceX launched its first tourism mission on a trip to the International Space Station (ISS), the crew arrived at their destination at 10:13 a.m. EDT, on Saturday, April 9. It’s the first time a mission is composed of a crew entirely made up of private citizens with no real astronauts. The question that is on everyone's mind now is whether they will be able to get the commercial astronaut wings or not. Before diving into this tourism mission, we thought you may want to take a look at a YouTuber explaining how shifty or color-changing glass works. Greetings! I’m Mert, an editor at IE. This is The Blueprint. Keep reading. [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [Here's how color-changing glass works under different lighting]( How does this type of glass respond to different lightbulbs? [Here's how color-changing glass works under different lighting]( SCIENCE [The all-civilian Ax-1 crew is now on board the ISS]( [Ax-1 crew.]( - Last Friday, SpaceX launched the first crew of all-private astronauts on a trip to the International Space Station (ISS). [The crew arrived at the ISS]( at 10:13 a.m. EDT, on Saturday, April 9 and this marked the first all-private mission to the orbital space station, in addition to the first crewed mission from Axiom Space (Ax-1), [according to a blog]( released by NASA on Saturday. A very pricey trip. The crew on this mission consists of Michael Lopez-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut turned Axiom employee who is heading the mission; Israeli businessman Eytan Stibbe; American real estate magnate Larry Connor; and Canadian investor Mark Pathy. In a press conference last year, Axiom stated that the price of each seat would be in the "tens of millions." This is because everything in space is hyper-expensive. Feeding one person on the ISS costs $2,000 per day while securing provisions to and from the space station is a whopping $88,000 to $164,000 per person, per day. And when it comes to procuring the necessary support for space dwellers from NASA those numbers increase by several millions. Astronauts or tourists? The question that is on everyone's mind now is whether the space travelers will be considered astronauts or tourists. Will they be able to get the commercial astronaut wings? [Read More]( SCIENCE [The most precise W boson measurement might lead to a paradigm shift in physics]( [The Collider Detector at Fermilab.]( The world of physics may have been turned on its head. That's because the W boson has a much higher mass than theoretical predictions, according to the most precise measurement taken yet of the elementary particle. - Researchers collected and analyzed almost a decade of data from the Tevatron particle accelerator, which provided measurements twice as precise as the previous best by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF), [a press statement](. [The discovery completely changes what we know]( about one of the cornerstones of the standard model of physics, which has guided our understanding of the universe for years. Going beyond the standard model. The new CDF study is the most precise one so far, and the implications on our understanding of the universe are yet to be fully understood. One possibility is that the physics community simply tweaks the standard model to work with the new measurement. We might be witnessing the beginnings of a paradigm shift that completely alters how we understand the universe, leading to a whole host of exciting new physics experiments and revelations in the coming years. [Read More]( INNOVATION [Mark Zuckerberg is looking to develop virtual coins dubbed “Zuck bucks]( [Mark Zuckerberg]( Mark Zuckerberg is looking to reduce his platforms’ dependence on advertising by introducing virtual coins referred to as [“Zuck bucks"]( which are seemingly named after the Meta founder, chairman, and CEO [reported The Guardian]( on Thursday. The new in-app tokens would be controlled by the company and would function in a manner similar to the Robux currency found in the popular children’s game Roblox. Diversifying income sources. Meta's new digital tokens and “creator coins” will serve to diversify income sources and refresh the platform's user base, which is constantly competing with new firms in the field such as TikTok. - This is not the first time Zuckerberg tried to create a currency, however. Just over two years the founder announced the company's new cryptocurrency, now called Diem, to the world that ultimately gained no traction and was canceled. Never one to be deterred, however, it is reported that, in addition to creating his Zuck bucks, Zuckerberg is looking to also enter the non-fungible token arena. Will his new ventures have more luck than his past currency? Only time will tell. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS This is not the first time Mark Zuckerberg tried to create a currency. Do you think Mark Zuckerberg’s new initiative on digital tokens will be more successful than his previous one? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [Yes, digital tokens are different from cryptocurrencies]( [Nope, it’s likely to go up for sale in a few years.]( [Probably not. It doesn’t sound trustworthy.]( [I’m not sure about the whole digital tokens thing.]( Yesterday’s Results Yesterday we asked which type of battery you think is the most efficient. The majority of the voters chose lithium-ion and ultracapacitor batteries. 43% think lithium-ion batteries are the best while 36% cast their vote on ultracapacitor batteries. Lithium-Ion batteries 43% Ultracapacitor batteries 36% Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries 16% Lead Acid batteries 5% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Astronomy has revealed the great truth that the whole universe is bound together by one all-pervading influence. ” William Leitch in “God's Glory in the Heavens” AND ANOTHER THING... - NASA's Hubble telescope has spotted [an active black hole]( swallowing up giant dust tendrils. - A massive [DDoS attack took down Finnish government websites]( while Ukrainian President Zelensky addressed Finland’s members of parliament. (Security Affairs) - A firm called Brilliant Planet uses[algae blooms for low-cost carbon capture.]( - Kia says your [music choice impacts your EV]( range. (Jalopnik) - A retired engineer called Tom Brown has [saved 1,200 types of apples]( from extinction. - A study finds persistent [racial and ethnic disparities in sleep]( duration. (ScienceDaily) - [Aurora: the science behind]( one of the most beautiful natural phenomena. Prepared by Loukia Papadopoulos and Mert Erdemir Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? [Subscribe]( [About Us]( | [Advertise]( | [Contact Us]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter. Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe [here.]( © Copyright 2021 | The Blueprint is by Interesting Engineering, Inc. 201 Spear Street, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94105 | All Rights Reserved [Interesting Engineering]