PRESENTATION ON TECHNOLOGIES

NASA Tech One Step Closer to Launch on

Next Falcon Heavy
On Thursday, April 11, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket
launched the Arabsat-6A satellite from Launch Complex
39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
A new kind of atomic clock, non-toxic propellant system
and missions to characterize how space weather
interferes with satellites and communication
transmissions are one step closer to liftoff. With the
second-ever SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch complete,
these NASA technologies await the powerful rocket’s next
flight.
“We are pleased with the success of yesterday’s Falcon
Heavy launch and first-stage landings,” said Acting
Associate Administrator for NASA’s Space Technology
Mission Directorate Jim Reuter. “We have important
technologies that are ready to fly, and this success helps
The NASA technologies include two twin CubeSats, one small
satellite and several payloads. Each has a unique set of objectives,
but they have a common goal: improve future spacecraft design
and performance, no matter the destination.
The Enhanced Tandem Beacon Experiment, or E-TBEx, CubeSats
measure how radio signals can be distorted by large bubbles that
form naturally in Earth’s charged upper atmosphere. Such
distortions can significantly interfere with communications and
GPS in large regions near Earth’s magnetic equator.
The Green Propellant Infusion Mission demonstrates an
alternative to conventional chemical propulsion systems. The new
technology could improve overall spacecraft performance and
reduce our reliance on the highly toxic fuel hydrazine.
The Deep Space Atomic Clock will be the first-ever ion clock in
space and potentially the most stable space clock – taking nine
million years to drift by a second. The technology offers a new way
for spacecraft to navigate autonomously and explore deep space.
 Google’s Project Euphonia helps make
speech tech more accessible to people with
disabilities
Voice interfaces are more common than ever, but they’re not
equally accessible. For example, if you have a speech
disorder cause by a neurological impairment like ALS or
multiple sclerosis, then using Google Assistant or Amazon’s
Alexa will be off-limits to you. In today’s tech environment,
that means missing out on a lot.

That’s why Google is launching a new initiative to make

speech technology more accessible to those with
disabilities. It’s called Project Euphonia, and it incorporates
a wide array of research directions, alongside collaborations
with nonprofits and volunteers.
India’s desi GPS ‘NavIC’ all set to navigate
you
 Soon, your smartphones and car navigation systems may
take directions from NavIC, the government’s desi global
positioning system (GPS) that has been developed to
challenge the current GPS system of the West.
NavIC, an ambitious project pursued by the Modi
government, is in the final stages of launch, and could
soon be offered as an Indian counter to foreign systems
currently being used by companies and other users.
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has taken a
lead in the development of the platform which is of
strategic interest to the country, and not aimed at making
revenues, Sawhney said.
Now That We've Seen a Black Hole, Here's
What Future Photos Could Look Like
The world's first picture of a
black hole captured
imaginations around the globe.
Now comes the next challenge
for scientists: taking better,
sharper photos, in hopes that
they will be able to test
Einstein's Theory of General
Relativity. To get there, they
want two or three satellites
orbiting the planet looking for
black holes.
The scientists are calling their
creation the Event Horizon
Imager (EHI).
NASA may have detected a ‘Marsquake’ for
the first time
NASA’s Mars InSight mission has only been in full swing for about a little
over four months now, but it’s already poised to reveal some of the
biggest mysteries inside the red planet. On Sol 128 (also known as April
6, or the lander’s 128th day on Mars,), the InSight lander recorded
tremblings that most likely came from within the planet itself. If further
analysis confirms what we’re already suspecting, we’ll have officially
made the first-ever measurement and recording of an earthquake on
Mars—a "marsquake"—demarcating the beginning of Martian seismology.
As explained by Philippe Lognonné, a planetary scientist from Paris
Diderot University and the principal investigator of the Seismic
Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument on the InSight lander,
the goal of the mission is to do on Mars what seismologists did on Earth
at the turn of the 20th century. (Coincidentally, the first remote quake on
Earth was measured 130 years ago this month.) When InSight landed on
the red planet in late November and turned on SEIS a few weeks later, it
began a two-year investigation that would reveal what the interior of
Mars really looks like, and more importantly how active it still is.
New Android App Aims to Tackle Cyber
Insecurity in Developing World
A new free Android app is seeking to dramatically improve
security for Smartphone users in the developing world - and
make the world's cyber-security ecosystem safer in the
process.
The app, which will be available for download later today, is
made by Quad9, a nonprofit organization founded by a
coalition of tech companies and law enforcement agencies
that offers free basic cyber-security to tens of millions of
users across 88 nations - especially people who lack other
cyber-security 
Engineers demonstrate 'bubbles' of sand
A new study shows how two types of sand can behave like
light and heavy liquids, shedding light on geological
processes from mudslides to volcanoes and potentially
enabling new technologies from pharmaceutical production
to carbon capture.
The flow of granular materials, such as sand and catalytic
particles used in chemical reactors, and enables a wide
range of natural phenomena, from mudslides to volcanos, as
well as a broad array of industrial processes, from
pharmaceutical production to carbon capture. While the
motion and mixing of granular matter often display striking
similarities to liquids, as in moving sand dunes, avalanches,
and quicksand, the physics underlying granular flows is not
as well-understood as liquid flows.
New discovery makes fast-charging, better
performing lithium-ion batteries possible
Creating a lithium-ion battery that can charge in a matter of
minutes but still operate at a high capacity is possible. This
development has the potential to improve battery
performance for consumer electronics, solar grid storage,
and electric vehicles.
A lithium-ion battery charges and discharges as lithium ions
move between two electrodes, called an anode and a
cathode. In a traditional lithium-ion battery, the anode is
made of graphite, while the cathode is composed of lithium
cobalt oxide.
These materials perform well together, which is why lithium-
ion batteries have become increasingly popular, but
researchers at Rensselaer believe the function can be
enhanced further.
 GOOGLE I/O 2019: NEXT-GEN GOOGLE ASSISTANT
ANNOUNCED WITH OFFLINE FEATURES, DRIVING MODE
AND OTHERS
The first day of Google I/O 2019 has just gone by and
Google had a long list of announcements and demos
for the entire digital world. Along with its new “entry-
premium” Smartphone, the Pixel 3a, and changes to the
upcoming version of Android, Google announced a list
of changes to its popular virtual assistant, Google
Assistant. To start with, Google has made its assistant
faster—up to ten times faster