Science Portal

Aptera Motors has finished its work over supereconomy car Aptera.
For the maximal reduction in fuel consumption all possible ways have been used - the form of a car minimizes resistance of air, and use of special carbon composites reduces weight of the vehicle.
In Aptera the hybrid diesel engine is used. This engine spends nearly 1 l of fuel per 100 km of a way at a speed of 88,5 km/h. The automobile can move and on electric engine, as well, - in this case completely charged nickel - zinc accumulators will allow to pass 240 km.
It is not clear yet, whether the vehicle will be produced in lots. The price of this invention will make about $20 thousand.

In the evening March, 20, rocket Falcon 1 made by the American company SpaceX was launched into the space from one of the atoll Kwajalein islands. Millionaire Elon Mask, the owner and the founder of SpaceX considers, that the flight was successful 95 %.
The small private company has shown that developing and construction of a high-grade rocket and its launching is possible not only for such giants as “Energy”, EADS, Boeing or Lockheed Martin.
Two-level Falcon 1 has safely risen in air and has fulfilled the first step without problems. But the first space speed was not reached: almost at the end of the flight a rotation happened and acceleration had to be stopped.
Falcon 1 is capable to move into a low orbit a cargo up to 1 256,64 lbs. The company asserts that this rocket it the most accessible in the space market.
Top level of Falcon 1 has reached height in 198,84 miles, that is only 49,71 miles lower, than ISS orbit.
SpaceX optimistically looks for the future Falcon 1 launches, and also heavy carrier Falcon 9.
This year two more Falcon 1 launches should take place, and this time with satellites. The summer launch is bought by the American Ministry of Defense, and in autumn Falcon 1 should lift to the orbit the satellite of Malaysian company ATSB.

Since NASA believes to send people on a long-term lunar station by 2020, researchers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created software to model supply chains for oxygen delivery, delivery of food, fuel, exploration equipment, and spare parts.
Olivier de Weck, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems, and David Simchi-Levi, professor of engineering systems and civil and environmental engineering, created with NASA funding SpaceNet. The supply chain software sets on a map space routes for delivering of goods. The software is written in MATLAB, a computer language used for algorithms.
This software evaluates the ability of vehicles to carry pressurized and non-pressurized load, simulates traffic stream of vehicles and supplies, and calculates the fuel and time need for single missions and multiyear campaigns. It takes up to four days to get to the moon — but several weeks to prepare for a launch.
The supply chain will operate on some of the same principles used by manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, although and delays could last up to nine months, de Weck said. The software is also supposed to allow engineers, planners and others concentrate on crews’ exploration needs.

The world largest motor-car manufacturers BMW, Toyota, Honda, GM, DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen have developed automobiles with the hydrogen engine, however all companies have faced technological problems, such as high value up to $1 one million per one unit.
The problem is that the hydrogen filled as a liquid in a fuel tank at the lowest temperature turns to gas in process of its heating and evaporates in air even if the vehicle is not used.
“After the certain period of time, a week for example, the tank will be empty. It is the certain difficulty, but we work on it “, - has told Franc Ohmann, the vice-president BMW on pure technologies.
Ohmann told, that BMW carries out tests of a fuel tank in which hydrogen can be kept in a liquid state.
Engineering of filling stations for vehicles with hydrogen engines isn’t a big problem, experts consider. Hydrogen is already delivered to the industrial enterprises in tankers or through the pipelines.
Ohmann said, that BMW company believes, that the large-scale production and sale of autos with hydrogen engines will begin not earlier than 2025.

Frenchman Gi Negre who during several years developed the original concept of the automobile on compressed air, seems to receive good chance of a batch production. Company where Negre works - Motor Development International (MDI) has signed the cooperation agreement with the Indian autobuilding giant Tata.
The Indian company is going to apply Frenchman’s idea - probably, having put on a line the city minibus MiniCAT created by MDI.
With the length of 2,65 meters the vehicle has width of 1,62 meters, and may place three persons. MiniCAT weighs only 750 kg. And its maximal speed - 110 kilometers per hour.
Oil change is required only every 50 thousand kilometers. The vehicle is equipped with electronic access system with a noncontact card and the conditioner which works on a free cold air from the car engine.
At the factory in France MDI is going to make the whole line of air autos (at a price of $11 thousand) and simultaneously to organize their production in India. About preparation of car production in France Negre says long ago. It is possible, that the business really will move from a dead point after joining to the project of the Indian industrialists.

NASA with assistance of the American geological service creates the most detailed Antarctic map which on details will excel others in ten times. In NASA press-service RIA News informed that the opportunity of creation of such a map appeared when they received more than thousand pictures from the satellite Landsat 7.
” These pictures give us unimaginably detailed views of an ice surface of Antarctic and even of those areas which have never been put on maps “, - has told the head of Goddard Grinbelt NASA scientific laboratory of hydrosphere and biosphere (state Maryland) Robert Bindschadler. It was he, who was in charge of pictures selection for mapping.
In NASA informed that till the summer 2007 the great number of pictures will be loaded on a site in Internet. This site was created by scientists of NASA, US geological service and English service on Antarctic Region study.

Guger Technologies team of researches from Germany produced the first computer control system, which performs with the help of cerebrum signals (BCI). The system will allow the user to create and send E-mails, and also to play computer games.
The system is available for the ordinary PC and for the hand-held computers with Windows.
Work of the system is provided by reading of electroencephalogram of cerebrum by electrodes, strengthening of signal and its programmatic interpretation. The strengthener of cerebrum signals is connected to the computer through the USB-port.
According to developers, a strengthener allows to interpret the signals of the brain with jewellery precision that will allow s to decrease the amount of electrode substantially.
The system is nominated for the European ICT Prize (prize for achievements in area of information and communication technologies).

Doctor Paul Abell offers to the agency to send the piloted mission to one of the asteroids. Details of his plan Abell explained during the conference on “Moon and planets” in Houston.
The main attention Abell pays to that, that for such mission NASA shouldn’t create the special equipment. According to him, a new NASA spaceship Orion will do best the flight to the asteroid and back.
Abell counted up, that the flight to one of nearest asteroids, with landing of people and returning them back, would take 90-180 days, and 7-14 days people would spend on the surface of the celestial rock.
Such mission to an asteroid would help people in the study of these objects, and - in protecting from them.
Abell gave the technical grounds of such flight and underlined that although the piloted mission to an asteroid will take more time, than the flight to the Moon, it will demand less fuel. And although Orion is planed for six, in this mission on the board may be two or three astronauts.
If the plan is accepted, it will be the first time when man leaves Earth-Moon system.

The Finnish astronomer-amateurs found a new star. As STT agency reports, the inhabitants of city Varkaus (in east part of country) Veli-Pekka Khentunen and Markku Nissinen studied galaxies in the north side of sky using telescope, when they noticed a new star on the border of galaxies. American Center for astrophysics of Harvard-Smitson named it SN2007ae. It is the first new star, discovered in the sky in Finland. Shining of such star can milliard times exceed shining of such stars, as Sun, sometimes excelling the shining of all of the galaxy.
Maximal brightness of a star is achieved in a few days after an explosion. After that brightness begins gradually diminish. On the average in a galaxy, similar to our, only one or to new stars flash out in a century.

France is going to initiate its fastest rail link. Trains will travel at 320km/h (200mph).
The TGV-Est line will connect Paris with the eastern city of Strasbourg, shortening travel time from the four hours now to two hours 20 minutes.
Passengers traveling further east to other EU states will also benefit after the launch of the link on June 10.
This event will be marked with a great light show staged along the 300km-long (185 miles) rail line.
“Some more 37 million Europeans can be reached,” AFP news agency TGV-East quoted speech of director Alain Le Guellec.
“A network of high-speed links is being put into place with the rest of Europe,” he said.
The 4 bn euros project was launched in 2002, with dozens of financial partners - including the governments of France and Luxembourg, which shared the cost.
France’s TGV trains, which were launched more than two decades ago, cover a network of 930 miles with an average speed of 185mph.