Andy Tomaswick

1 day ago | universetoday.com | Andy Tomaswick

By Andy Tomaswick Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) is becoming increasingly common in space exploration applications. It has primarily been used in deployable structures, such as antenna booms or solar sail deployment. However, it also has a use case nearer the ground of whatever planet, moon, or asteroid it finds itself near.

2 days ago | phys.org | Andy Tomaswick

Some parts of the moon are more interesting than others, especially when searching for future places for humans to land and work. There are also some parts of the moon about which we know less than others, such as the Irregular Mare Patches (IMPs) that dot the landscape. We know very little about how they were formed, and what that might mean for the history of the moon itself.

2 days ago | electronics360.globalspec.com | Andy Tomaswick

Tracking enemy submarines is critical function for any navy. Since their advent, submarines have been a critical weapon. They are stealthy, underwater hunters and the most advanced types use nuclear reactors, so they rarely have to surface for air. They can travel at up to a few hundred meters below the water surface, and can use underwater obstacles like mountains or infrastructure to effectively mask their presence from other detection technologies, like sonar.

2 days ago | universetoday.com | Andy Tomaswick

Technology Readiness Levels (or TRL levels, because repeating the last word of initialisms is common in English) is a metric commonly used by NASA to define how developed a technology for use on a mission is. These typically range from 1-9, with 1 being an idea in someone's head, and 9 having been successfully flown on a mission.

2 days ago | universetoday.com | Andy Tomaswick

Tracking the sources of photons is a hobby of many astrophysicists. Some types of photons are tied so closely to particular phenomena that tracking their sources would help answer some larger questions in astrophysics itself. Photons on the "511 keV line" are one such type of photon, and they have been overrepresented near the galactic core, with no known source being prolific enough to create them.