LunA-10: DARPA’s 10-year plan to build a self-sufficient lunar economy

Plus: This Korean robot will fly any aircraft as well as, if not better than, a human pilot. Sponsored by 🚀 DARPA is charting a course to the Moon! The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency just announced an ambitious new study called LunA-10 that could transform our lunar ambitions within the next decade. 🛰️ With an aim to develop the infrastructure needed for a self-sustaining Moon economy by 2035, if successful, LunA-10 could propel our capabilities forward tremendously in just 10 years. Get the full story in [today’s Must Read](. Good morning. I’m Tim, Newsletter Editor at IE. This is the Blueprint. It’s time for liftoff! ❇️ Job of the day: [Principal Engineer - Android Mobile & Telematics (Remote)]( wanted at GTT, LLC in the United States. Don’t miss this opportunity and show your interest in the position now! VIDEO OF THE DAY [Is Nikola Tesla Overrated?]( How does this WWI machine gun dominate trench warfare in Ukraine? Introduced by Sir Hiram Maxim in the 1880s, the water-cooled Maxim Gun was the first automatic machine gun. SUPPORT INTERESTING ENGINEERING Invest in science and engineering Insider access to exclusive content, featuring riveting stories that take you right to the heart of the action. Engage with our thriving online community, dive into captivating science discoveries, and stay informed with our enlightening weekly premium newsletters. With IE+, quality reporting is more than just news - and it is Ad-Free. [SUBSCRIBE]( Must Read 🌔 LunA-10: DARPA’s 10-year plan to build a self-sufficient lunar economy The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) LunA-10 aims to define the infrastructure needed on the lunar surface by 2035 — including power, communications and navigation systems. The goal is for private companies to then commercialize these capabilities to support a sustainable lunar settlement. DARPA will look at novel technologies like advanced thermal management for lunar power and solar satellites that could beam energy to the surface. These could have spin-off benefits back on Earth too. 👩‍🚀 While grounded in the Outer Space Treaty's peaceful exploration requirements, LunA-10 will complement NASA's own plans for a Moon colony after Artemis. So this research could be crucial for establishing a launchpad to Mars and beyond. 🌠With organizations selected this fall and the study itself wrapped up by 2024, DARPA is charging forward fast. LunA-10 could light the path toward a new era of human space exploration and lunar commerce. [[Read More]( HOT TOPICS - 🔮 [premium] [Predictions for what the world will be like in 2100?]( Some serious changes are expected by the end of this century, and not all of them are good! - ❌ [Elon Musk's X throttles traffic to websites he doesn't like]( X, formerly Twitter, added a five-second delay on shortened links to the New York Times, Facebook and other sites Musk commonly attacks. - 📚 [US schools ask ChatGPT to help ban ‘obscene’ library books]( This comes after Iowa, among 35 other states, passed legislation to protect children from “obscene” books. - 🌑 [US to launch its first lander to lunar south pole in September]( The “Nova-C lander is completely built”and will soon be ready to fly aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. - 🔐 [New updates make Google Chrome ‘quantum apocalypse-proof’]( To make Google Chrome future-proof, Google is implementing some changes that should, they believe, prepare it for the coming “quantum apocalypse.” [Transportation]( ✈️ Meet Pibot: Korea’s LLM-powered smart robotic pilot Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) are working to develop a humanoid pilot that can fly an aircraft without modifying the cockpit. 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These PV-leaves “can generate over 10 percent more electricity compared to conventional solar panels.” [[Read More]( [Culture]( 🧠Neuroscientists use brain waves to reconstruct Pink Floyd song The team of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, was able to reconstruct Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall' from the brain waves of 29 epileptic patients using artificial intelligence software to decode their neural activity. This is the first time a song has been reconstructed from intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) recordings. [[Read More]( QUESTION OF THE DAY Are you ready to board a flight with a robot pilot? [Yes, probably safer]( [No way, too risky]( [I'll wait and see]( [It will never be allowed]( YESTERDAY'S RESULTS We asked you about what effect greater numbers of autonomous vehicles will have on traffic congeston. 36 percent believe it will mean more traffic jams, and only 21 percent expect an immediate improvement. 36% More traffic jams 35% More R&D needed 21% Fewer traffic jams 8% No effect “With the pilot robot, if we teach individual aeroplane configuration, then you can fly the aeroplane by simply clicking the aeroplane's type.” David Shim, associate professor of electrical engineering at KAIST THE UNIQUE BOUTIQUE [Rhapsody Crystal Glass Footed Bowl]( [$230]( [20-inch Copper Wall Clock]( [$299]( [Design Toscano Craggy Bark Tree]( [$220.30]( [Hoverpen Interstellar Edition]( [$99]( AND ANOTHER THING - [A ‘lost world’ from a billion years ago discovered]( [premium] - [New study challenges Einstein and Newton's theories of gravity]( - [Playing digital puzzle games in older adults improves memory]( - [Scientists explain the behavior of supercooled liquids]( - [Students dig up 142-year-old observatory on Michigan campus]( - [Aerospace firms join hands to further liquid hydrogen fuel systems]( - [How astronomers use the Deep Space Network to reach James Webb]( - [How LiDAR tech reveals new details WW2's Battle of the Bulge]( - [Fossil of scimitar-clawed ancient reptile found in Brazil]( - [Why do matter and the universe exist at all?]( [premium] Need help with advertising? 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