Engineering news
NASA makes history with helicopter flight on Mars
Professional Engineering
The NASA Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history on Monday (19 April) as it took off from the surface and hovered for 40s, fighting against the low atmospheric density with two 1.2m-diameter rotors spinning at more than 2,500rpm. The small, solar-powered rotorcraft has since flown again, climbing higher and moving sideways in a 51.9s flight. The technology demonstrator could be the basis for heavier drones carrying scientific payloads on Mars.
Perseverance rover makes oxygen
Space.com
Ingenuity’s communications base station, the Perseverance rover, also achieved another first for NASA this week – generating oxygen from the carbon dioxide-dominated atmosphere. The rover’s Moxie (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilisation Experiment) instrument converted the gas into carbon monoxide and 5.4g of oxygen, enough for an astronaut to breathe easily for about 10 minutes.
Fitting sails and slowing down could cut shipping emissions up to 40%
IMechE
Fitting sails to cargo ships and sailing more slowly could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry by up to 40% or possibly more as technologies improve, a new IMechE report has found. The institution called on the government to support the development of a demonstrator ship using retro-fitted sails.
UK targets ambitious emissions cuts
BBC
The government has committed to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035. The ambitious move, which brings forward previous targets by 15 years, will require an increase in electric transport and renewable energy.
Mocean Energy reveals large-scale wave energy converter
The Engineer
Scottish firm Mocean Energy has unveiled a 20m-long wave energy converter prototype. The 38 tonne Blue X machine will be tested in the waters around Orkney, north of the Scottish mainland.
BAE Systems launches fifth Astute class attack submarine
Professional Engineering
The Royal Navy’s fifth Astute class attack submarine has entered the water for the first time. BAE Systems launched Anson from its site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, on Wednesday (21 April). The Astute class boats can circumnavigate the globe submerged and produce their own oxygen and drinking water.
Project tackles some of fusion energy’s most complex challenges
Professional Engineering
A pilot project has produced new technologies to tackle some of fusion energy’s most complex issues. Challenges such as machine operation in the strong magnetic fields of tokamak devices and creating protective ‘bioshields’ for fusion plants were tackled with new technology developed in the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) Fusion Innovation Challenge.
‘Digital testbed’ could replace physical testing in aircraft manufacturing
Professional Engineering
‘Digital inspection’ using simulation and modelling could replace physical testing in the development of new aircraft, the partners behind a new project have said. The Smarter Testing programme, led by the National Physical Laboratory and Airbus, aims to explore how novel inspection techniques can be used to predict product performance and identify failures early.
2D material could act as spacecraft lubricant
The Engineer
A 2D nanomaterial known as MXene could be used as a lubricant in space or in steel manufacturing, researchers led by a team from TU Vienna in Austria have said. The ultra-thin material offers extremely low-resistance sliding and could withstand the extreme temperatures and vacuum of space.
Radar will spot stopped vehicles on ‘smart’ motorways
Professional Engineering
Radar technology will be installed on stretches of ‘smart’ motorways to spot stopped or broken-down vehicles by the end of September next year, the government has announced. Cameras to detect dangerous driving – such as ignoring red stop signs or illegally driving down closed lanes – will also be installed 10 months earlier than planned, a government announcement said, as it aims to boost safety on motorways without hard shoulders.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.