S26E50: Ingenuity Half Century // Curiosity Software Update // Biggest Brown Dwarf

1 00:00:00,009 --> 00:00:03,420 Stuart Gary: This is Space Time series 26 episode 50 for 2 00:00:03,430 --> 00:00:08,819 broadcast on the 26th of April 2023. Coming up on Space Time 3 00:00:09,130 --> 00:00:13,699 ingenuity achieves its half century Curiosity gets a major 4 00:00:13,710 --> 00:00:19,120 software update and the biggest Brown Dwarf ever seen all that 5 00:00:19,129 --> 00:00:22,020 and more coming up on Space Time. 6 00:00:22,959 --> 00:00:43,639 Generic: Welcome to Space Time with Stuart Garry NASA's Mars 7 00:00:43,650 --> 00:00:44,229 ingenuity. 8 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:47,099 Stuart Gary: Helicopters reached the half century Mark completing 9 00:00:47,110 --> 00:00:51,220 its 50th flight on the red planet. The journey was a major 10 00:00:51,229 --> 00:00:54,540 achievement for the tiny tissue box sized aircraft which was 11 00:00:54,549 --> 00:00:57,939 only ever designed to undertake a handful of test flights simply 12 00:00:57,950 --> 00:01:01,680 to see if it was possible to fly on another planet. After all, 13 00:01:01,689 --> 00:01:04,930 the Martian atmosphere is incredibly thin, just one per 14 00:01:04,940 --> 00:01:07,300 cent of air pressure at sea level on earth. 15 00:01:07,690 --> 00:01:10,819 The history making Rodic Cota's latest journey involved 16 00:01:10,830 --> 00:01:13,319 negotiating some of the most hazardous threat it's 17 00:01:13,330 --> 00:01:17,190 encountered on Mars so far the flight covered a distance of 18 00:01:17,199 --> 00:01:24,099 322.2 m in 145.7 seconds in the process setting your altitude 19 00:01:24,110 --> 00:01:29,379 record of 18 m before landing near the 800 m wide Velva crater 20 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,790 with flight 50 Now in the mission logbooks, the helicopter 21 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,050 team plan on performing another repositioning flight before they 22 00:01:36,059 --> 00:01:39,529 explore the full river pass region of Jero Crater. 23 00:01:39,879 --> 00:01:42,989 Laurie Glees, the Director of the Planetary Science Division 24 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,769 at NASA headquarters in Washington says, just as the 25 00:01:45,779 --> 00:01:47,949 Wright Brothers continue their experiments. 26 00:01:47,959 --> 00:01:51,480 Well, after that momentous day at Kitty Hawk in 19 oh three, 27 00:01:51,489 --> 00:01:55,089 the ingenuity team will continue to pursue and learn from their 28 00:01:55,099 --> 00:01:59,069 flight operations of the first aircraft on another world 29 00:01:59,370 --> 00:02:03,099 ingenuity landed on the red planet's Jero Crater in February 30 00:02:03,110 --> 00:02:07,330 2021 attached to the underbelly of NASA's Mars perseverance 31 00:02:07,339 --> 00:02:11,000 Rover and has just marked the second anniversary of its first 32 00:02:11,009 --> 00:02:14,710 flight which took place on April the 19th 2021. 33 00:02:15,089 --> 00:02:18,380 It was designed as a technology demonstrator that wasn't meant 34 00:02:18,389 --> 00:02:22,470 to fly more than four or five times. The helicopter was simply 35 00:02:22,479 --> 00:02:25,639 intended to prove that powered controlled flight on another 36 00:02:25,649 --> 00:02:29,500 planet was possible, but ingenuity has exceeded 37 00:02:29,509 --> 00:02:32,570 expectations and has now transitioned into being an 38 00:02:32,580 --> 00:02:34,300 operations demonstration. 39 00:02:34,710 --> 00:02:38,350 Every time ingenuity gets airborne, it covers new ground, 40 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,759 providing a perspective that no previous planetary mission could 41 00:02:41,770 --> 00:02:44,029 ever achieve imagery from. 42 00:02:44,039 --> 00:02:47,529 The helicopter has demonstrated how aircraft could serve as 43 00:02:47,539 --> 00:02:50,539 forward scouts for future planetary expeditions, 44 00:02:50,550 --> 00:02:53,639 identifying both hazardous terrain to be avoided and 45 00:02:53,649 --> 00:02:57,020 interesting objects to be studied by testing this 46 00:02:57,029 --> 00:02:58,210 helicopter's limits. 47 00:02:58,220 --> 00:03:01,050 Engineers are gathering flight data which will be used by 48 00:03:01,059 --> 00:03:04,229 scientists working on designs for future possible Mars 49 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,289 helicopters and that includes the people designing the 50 00:03:07,300 --> 00:03:10,809 choppers for the Mars sample return campaign which proposes 51 00:03:10,820 --> 00:03:15,059 to use at least two recovery helicopters since leaving the 52 00:03:15,070 --> 00:03:17,869 relatively flat confines of Jero Crater's floor. 53 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,929 On January the 19th ingenuity has flown 11 times in the 54 00:03:21,940 --> 00:03:26,059 process setting a new speed record of 6.5 m per second as 55 00:03:26,070 --> 00:03:29,630 well as its new altitude record. Although the deep chill of 56 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:33,300 winter and regional dust storms which can block the sun's rays 57 00:03:33,309 --> 00:03:36,460 from reaching the helicopter. Solar panels have now abated. 58 00:03:36,470 --> 00:03:39,610 Ingenuity continues to Brown out at night. 59 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,550 As a result, the helicopter's base station on the Rover needs 60 00:03:43,559 --> 00:03:46,979 to search for ingenuity signal every morning at the time, the 61 00:03:46,990 --> 00:03:50,679 rotocop that's predicted to wake up and when the helicopter does 62 00:03:50,690 --> 00:03:54,580 fly, it now needs to navigate rugged and relatively uncharted 63 00:03:54,589 --> 00:03:58,160 terrain and often landing in spots that can be surrounded by 64 00:03:58,169 --> 00:03:59,009 hazards. 65 00:03:59,410 --> 00:04:02,649 Ingenuity is flying over the dried up remains of an ancient 66 00:04:02,660 --> 00:04:06,210 river that's filled with sand dunes, boulders and rocks 67 00:04:06,220 --> 00:04:10,600 surrounded by hills. The flights are still white knuckle rides 68 00:04:10,610 --> 00:04:12,839 for the mission managers back on earth. 69 00:04:13,110 --> 00:04:17,040 Beyond facing more challenging terrain, ingenuity will also fly 70 00:04:17,049 --> 00:04:20,730 at a greater frequency in the coming days. That's because the 71 00:04:20,739 --> 00:04:24,480 chopper needs to remain within electronic air shut of the Rover 72 00:04:24,850 --> 00:04:26,920 with its auto nav capabilities. 73 00:04:26,929 --> 00:04:30,959 A perseverance Rover can travel hundreds of meters every day and 74 00:04:30,970 --> 00:04:34,839 ingenuity relies on perseverance to act as a communications relay 75 00:04:34,850 --> 00:04:38,769 base between it and mission controllers back at NASA's Jet 76 00:04:38,779 --> 00:04:42,589 Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. If the 77 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:45,510 Rover gets too far ahead or disappears behind a hill, 78 00:04:45,519 --> 00:04:47,399 communications could be lost. 79 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,170 The Rover team has its job to do and is scheduled to keep. So 80 00:04:51,179 --> 00:04:54,279 it's imperative for the ingenuity team to keep up and to 81 00:04:54,290 --> 00:04:57,880 lead wherever possible. Perseverance. Recently completed 82 00:04:57,890 --> 00:05:00,989 exploring Fold dragon, a scientific target that may 83 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,630 contain hydrated silica which is of strong astro biological 84 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:05,459 interest. 85 00:05:05,470 --> 00:05:08,410 And it's currently headed for Mount Julian which will provide 86 00:05:08,420 --> 00:05:12,989 a panoramic view onto the nearby Bel Crater built with lots of 87 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,260 off the shelf components such as smartphone processors and 88 00:05:16,269 --> 00:05:20,750 cameras. Ingenuity is now 23 earth months and 45 flights 89 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:22,859 beyond its expected lifetime. 90 00:05:23,390 --> 00:05:28,410 So far, the rooters flowed over 89 minutes and more than 11.6 91 00:05:28,420 --> 00:05:32,420 kilometers. But surpassing expectations like this comes at 92 00:05:32,429 --> 00:05:36,779 a cost, some of the helicopter's components are showing signs of 93 00:05:36,790 --> 00:05:40,510 wear and tear and the terrain is becoming more challenging. 94 00:05:40,890 --> 00:05:45,119 Of course, the ingenuity team realizes that ultimately every 95 00:05:45,130 --> 00:05:48,690 great mission must come to an end. But as to whether 96 00:05:48,700 --> 00:05:51,880 ingenuity's mission ends tomorrow next week or in a 97 00:05:51,890 --> 00:05:55,179 couple of months time from now, that's something that no-one can 98 00:05:55,190 --> 00:05:58,570 predict at present. But they all know it will happen. 99 00:05:59,059 --> 00:06:03,209 Generic: This report from NASA TV, two years ago, ingenuity 100 00:06:03,220 --> 00:06:05,679 proved that we could do the impossible we can fly on Mars. 101 00:06:06,339 --> 00:06:13,809 Let's talk about what's next here at the surface. 102 00:06:13,820 --> 00:06:18,140 Robotics. Lab testing is being done on future Mars helicopters. 103 00:06:18,149 --> 00:06:21,250 Teddy Santos is here with us today to talk about the 104 00:06:21,260 --> 00:06:25,019 helicopter that started it all ingenuity. Teddy, what's the 105 00:06:25,029 --> 00:06:26,970 latest ingenuity is doing great. 106 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,760 Our baby still flying on the surface of Mars. After two earth 107 00:06:29,769 --> 00:06:32,959 years, one Mars year of total flight racked up 10 kilometers 108 00:06:32,970 --> 00:06:37,075 or 6.2 miles of total has flown. Our rotor system. Our little 109 00:06:37,084 --> 00:06:39,635 cell phone processor on board our off the shelf lithium ion 110 00:06:39,674 --> 00:06:42,434 batteries are all doing fantastic. One area that we're 111 00:06:42,445 --> 00:06:44,394 looking very closely at is our solar panel. 112 00:06:44,404 --> 00:06:46,325 You can imagine after two years of flying on the surface of 113 00:06:46,334 --> 00:06:48,984 Mars, you'll get some dust on top, but we still have an ample 114 00:06:48,994 --> 00:06:52,334 margin and ample energy to keep up our flight operations and the 115 00:06:52,345 --> 00:06:55,315 extended mission of continuing to scout and push the flat 116 00:06:55,325 --> 00:06:56,494 envelope of what's possible. 117 00:06:56,855 --> 00:06:58,815 The testing being done in this room is part of the next 118 00:06:58,825 --> 00:07:00,714 helicopter mission to Mars called the sample recovery 119 00:07:00,725 --> 00:07:05,399 helicopters. The goal is to be a back up to get these samples 120 00:07:05,410 --> 00:07:08,299 back to earth but simply perseverance collects the sample 121 00:07:08,309 --> 00:07:08,739 tubes. 122 00:07:08,750 --> 00:07:12,070 The sample return Lander will retrieve those samples directly 123 00:07:12,079 --> 00:07:14,820 for perseverance and then there's a rocket inside of that 124 00:07:14,829 --> 00:07:16,899 Lander that's actually going to send those samples back to earth 125 00:07:18,619 --> 00:07:22,670 as a backup to getting those sample tubes from Mars back to 126 00:07:22,679 --> 00:07:25,940 the Lander. We're designing the next generation of helicopters 127 00:07:25,950 --> 00:07:29,140 to not only be able to pick up and carry a sample tube, but 128 00:07:29,149 --> 00:07:30,739 also drive around on the surface. 129 00:07:30,959 --> 00:07:34,410 Are there any other ways ingenuity is influencing future 130 00:07:34,420 --> 00:07:35,570 Mars exploration? 131 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,339 We're looking at a research concept called Mars Science 132 00:07:38,350 --> 00:07:42,679 helicopter. It's a helicopter. So six rotors and a ring around 133 00:07:42,690 --> 00:07:43,589 a central structure. 134 00:07:44,540 --> 00:07:46,829 It's about the size of the Rover. And you can imagine in 135 00:07:46,839 --> 00:07:49,660 the future, you will have fleets of these Mars Science 136 00:07:49,670 --> 00:07:52,630 helicopters flying around bringing important payloads to 137 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:55,100 areas of Mars that we've never been able to access before. 138 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:57,720 What's next for ingenuity? 139 00:07:58,089 --> 00:08:01,929 We're trying to fly faster, trying to fly higher. We've 140 00:08:01,940 --> 00:08:06,250 added new software capabilities. We can now detect landing sites 141 00:08:06,260 --> 00:08:09,890 airborne. Those sorts of winds are coming from the surface of 142 00:08:09,899 --> 00:08:13,029 Mars directly into the design of the new sample recovery 143 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,420 helicopters and she's done a fantastic job. Surpassed any 144 00:08:16,429 --> 00:08:19,000 sort of metric of success that anyone on the team could have 145 00:08:19,010 --> 00:08:22,350 ever imagined for this little tiny £4 spacecraft. 146 00:08:27,149 --> 00:08:32,419 Stuart Gary: This is Space Time. Still to come. Curiosity gets a 147 00:08:32,429 --> 00:08:36,440 major software update and astronomers discover the biggest 148 00:08:36,450 --> 00:08:41,109 Brown Dwarf ever seen all that and more still to come on Space 149 00:08:41,119 --> 00:08:41,719 Time. 150 00:08:56,619 --> 00:09:00,929 NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover will drive faster and reduce wear on 151 00:09:00,940 --> 00:09:04,780 its wheels. Thanks to a major software download into the six 152 00:09:04,789 --> 00:09:08,760 wheeled car size mobile laboratory years in the making. 153 00:09:08,770 --> 00:09:12,099 The new update introduces 100 and 80 changes to the Rover's 154 00:09:12,109 --> 00:09:13,289 operating system. 155 00:09:13,549 --> 00:09:18,400 Curiosity landed in the red planet scale crater back in 2012 156 00:09:18,409 --> 00:09:21,590 on a mission to see if Mars could once have been habitable 157 00:09:21,599 --> 00:09:25,549 and able to support life and it quickly answered that question 158 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:29,840 with a resounding yes, providing clear and indisputable evidence 159 00:09:29,849 --> 00:09:33,349 of minerals that could only form in liquid water and pebbles that 160 00:09:33,359 --> 00:09:36,760 could only be rounded by flowing water in streams. 161 00:09:37,130 --> 00:09:40,520 The groundwork supported the evidence from earlier rovers and 162 00:09:40,530 --> 00:09:45,000 orbital observations that Mars was once a warm wet world 163 00:09:45,010 --> 00:09:49,130 capable of supporting life. As we know it, Curiosity is now 164 00:09:49,140 --> 00:09:50,469 making its way up. 165 00:09:50,510 --> 00:09:54,280 Gel crater's central peak mount sharp, a five kilometer high 166 00:09:54,289 --> 00:09:57,150 geological layer cake of different strata which is 167 00:09:57,159 --> 00:10:00,190 providing scientists with a textbook history of the red 168 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:04,580 planet's evolution Curiosity project manager, Katia Samora 169 00:10:04,590 --> 00:10:07,440 Garcia from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 170 00:10:07,450 --> 00:10:11,340 Pasadena, California says the new flight software is essential 171 00:10:11,349 --> 00:10:13,580 to the mission planning for this update. 172 00:10:13,590 --> 00:10:17,489 Goes back to 2016 when Curiosity received its last software 173 00:10:17,500 --> 00:10:21,489 overhaul, some of the changes this time round are fairly minor 174 00:10:21,500 --> 00:10:24,440 like making corrections to messages. The Rover sends back 175 00:10:24,450 --> 00:10:26,179 to mission managers on earth. 176 00:10:26,190 --> 00:10:29,880 Others simplify computer code that's been modified by multiple 177 00:10:29,890 --> 00:10:34,440 patches since Curiosity touched down back in 2012. But the 178 00:10:34,450 --> 00:10:37,570 biggest changes will keep Curiosity rolling more 179 00:10:37,580 --> 00:10:41,479 efficiently for years to come. The Rover can now do more of 180 00:10:41,489 --> 00:10:45,169 what mission managers call thinking while driving. That's 181 00:10:45,179 --> 00:10:46,270 something NASA's newest. 182 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,630 Mars Rover perseverance can perform in a more advanced way 183 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:53,510 to navigate around rocks and sand dunes. When perseverance 184 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:57,260 drives, it constantly takes images of the terrain ahead and 185 00:10:57,270 --> 00:11:00,349 then processes them with a dedicated computer. So it can 186 00:11:00,359 --> 00:11:03,760 autonomously navigate during one continuous drive. 187 00:11:04,030 --> 00:11:07,599 Although they're siblings, Curiosity is much older. And so 188 00:11:07,609 --> 00:11:10,489 it doesn't have a dedicated computer for this purpose. 189 00:11:10,849 --> 00:11:14,890 Instead it drives in segments, halting to process image of the 190 00:11:14,900 --> 00:11:18,719 train ahead after each segment. And that means it needs to 191 00:11:18,729 --> 00:11:22,440 constantly start and stop over the course of a long drive. 192 00:11:22,739 --> 00:11:25,960 The new software will help the Rover process images faster, 193 00:11:25,969 --> 00:11:29,789 allowing it to spend more time on the move. Now, it still won't 194 00:11:29,799 --> 00:11:33,849 let Curiosity drive as quickly as perseverance, but instead of 195 00:11:33,859 --> 00:11:37,330 stopping for a full minute after each drive segment, it will now 196 00:11:37,340 --> 00:11:41,169 halt for just a moment or two and spending less time idling 197 00:11:41,179 --> 00:11:44,520 between drive segments also means using less energy every 198 00:11:44,530 --> 00:11:45,070 day. 199 00:11:45,309 --> 00:11:48,369 Another factor the team are concerned about is the need to 200 00:11:48,380 --> 00:11:51,690 maintain the health of Curiosity's aluminum wheels 201 00:11:51,700 --> 00:11:56,200 which began showing signs of broken treads back in 2013. 202 00:11:56,570 --> 00:12:00,109 When engineers realized that sharp rocks were chipping away 203 00:12:00,119 --> 00:12:03,710 at the treads, they came up with an algorithm to improve traction 204 00:12:03,719 --> 00:12:06,460 and reduce wheel wear by adjusting the Rover's speed 205 00:12:06,469 --> 00:12:08,710 depending on the rocks it's rolling over. 206 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,580 The new software goes further by introducing two new mobility 207 00:12:12,590 --> 00:12:16,020 commands that reduce the amount of steering Curiosity needs to 208 00:12:16,030 --> 00:12:19,580 do while driving in and out towards a specific way point 209 00:12:19,890 --> 00:12:23,169 with less steering required. The team can now reach the drive 210 00:12:23,179 --> 00:12:26,770 target quicker and decrease the amount of wear and tear that 211 00:12:26,780 --> 00:12:28,830 inherently comes with steering. 212 00:12:29,119 --> 00:12:32,080 Overall, the new software will streamline the task of 213 00:12:32,090 --> 00:12:35,570 Curiosity's human drivers who have to write complex plans 214 00:12:35,580 --> 00:12:39,530 containing hundreds of commands. The new software update will 215 00:12:39,539 --> 00:12:42,669 also allow them to upload software patches more easily 216 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:46,479 than in the past. And it will help engineers plan the motions 217 00:12:46,489 --> 00:12:50,119 of Curiosity's robotic arm more efficiently as well as pointing 218 00:12:50,130 --> 00:12:52,270 its mast camera more accurately. 219 00:12:52,619 --> 00:12:57,640 This Space Time still to come, the biggest Brown Dwarf ever 220 00:12:57,650 --> 00:13:01,599 discovered. And later in the science report, Elon Musk 221 00:13:01,609 --> 00:13:05,159 announced plans to develop a better kinder artificial 222 00:13:05,169 --> 00:13:09,719 intelligence. All that and more still to come on Space Time. 223 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,599 Astronomers have discovered what they think may be the largest 224 00:13:28,609 --> 00:13:33,140 Brown Dwarf ever seen. The gigantic subs stellar object was 225 00:13:33,150 --> 00:13:36,450 discovered using NASA's transiting exoplanets survey 226 00:13:36,460 --> 00:13:41,200 satellite tests. The Brown Dwarf has some 77 times the mass of 227 00:13:41,210 --> 00:13:44,650 Jupiter, placing it near the theoretical upper limit of what 228 00:13:44,659 --> 00:13:47,890 Brown dwarfs can be. Were it much bigger? 229 00:13:47,900 --> 00:13:50,760 It would have so much mass it would trigger core nuclear 230 00:13:50,770 --> 00:13:55,380 fusion. And instead of being a Brown Dwarf, it will be a star. 231 00:13:55,390 --> 00:13:59,330 A report on the pre press physics website archive dot org 232 00:13:59,340 --> 00:14:03,119 says the Brown Dwarf is orbiting a spectral type M red dwarf star 233 00:14:03,130 --> 00:14:09,460 known as TII 50,375 located some 400 light years away. Brown 234 00:14:09,469 --> 00:14:13,869 dwarfs are failed stars objects without enough mass to trigger 235 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,109 the core nuclear fusion process. 236 00:14:16,119 --> 00:14:20,510 Which make stars like our sun shine while some Brown dwarfs 237 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,799 are born as such, others actually do start their lives 238 00:14:23,809 --> 00:14:28,409 out spectra type M red dwarf stars. But over the course of 239 00:14:28,419 --> 00:14:31,369 their existence, they burn away enough mass during their 240 00:14:31,380 --> 00:14:35,539 evolution to cease core nuclear fusion. Turning them from red 241 00:14:35,549 --> 00:14:37,140 dwarfs into Brown dwarfs. 242 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,960 Brown dwarfs fit into a category between the largest planets 243 00:14:40,969 --> 00:14:44,390 which have about 13 times the mass of Jupiter and the smallest 244 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:49,309 spectra type m red dwarf stars, which is somewhere between 75 80 245 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:55,330 times the mass of Jupiter or about 0.8 solar masses at 77 246 00:14:55,599 --> 00:14:59,090 Jovian masses. This Brown Dwarf comes close to that limit. 247 00:14:59,330 --> 00:15:02,599 The new found Brown Dwarf companion has been designated to 248 00:15:02,849 --> 00:15:08,640 I 50,375 B. It's about the same physical size as Jupiter with an 249 00:15:08,650 --> 00:15:14,820 equilibrium temperature of between 931 and 1107. Kelvin. It 250 00:15:14,830 --> 00:15:19,190 orbits its host star every 1.72 earth days at an average 251 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:25,020 distance of 0.25 astronomical units. An astronomical unit is 252 00:15:25,030 --> 00:15:28,179 the average distance between the earth and the sun about 100 and 253 00:15:28,190 --> 00:15:31,890 50 million kilometers or 8.3 light minutes. 254 00:15:32,270 --> 00:15:35,500 Astronomers say the discovery provides them with important 255 00:15:35,510 --> 00:15:40,179 data about the boundary region between Brown dwarfs and true 256 00:15:40,190 --> 00:16:01,130 stars. This is Space Time and time matter. Once again, take a 257 00:16:01,140 --> 00:16:03,559 look at some of the other stories making news in science. 258 00:16:03,570 --> 00:16:04,190 This week. 259 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:08,789 With the science report, a new study has shown how vaping acts 260 00:16:08,799 --> 00:16:12,770 as a gateway to cigarette smoking. The findings reported 261 00:16:12,780 --> 00:16:16,609 in the journal tobacco control show that early teen smokers who 262 00:16:16,619 --> 00:16:20,950 used e cigarettes were more likely to continue smoking later 263 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,559 in their teens and adult years. The study looked at young 264 00:16:24,570 --> 00:16:27,789 smokers in the United Kingdom and the United States. 265 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:31,770 Researchers selected teen who began smoking tobacco before the 266 00:16:31,780 --> 00:16:35,539 age of 15 and then examined their vaping and smoking habits. 267 00:16:35,549 --> 00:16:41,070 Over time, they say 57 per cent of UK and 58 per cent of us 268 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:46,219 early smokers respectively also vaped as this cohort moved into 269 00:16:46,229 --> 00:16:48,900 their late teens. The researchers say those who would 270 00:16:48,909 --> 00:16:52,719 use both tobacco and vapes were far more likely to continue 271 00:16:52,729 --> 00:16:54,229 smoking frequently. 272 00:16:55,599 --> 00:16:58,570 Now, while we're on the subject, a new study shows that people 273 00:16:58,580 --> 00:17:02,409 exposed to second hand tobacco smoke may need to eventually use 274 00:17:02,419 --> 00:17:06,290 allergy and asthma medication. The findings reported in the 275 00:17:06,300 --> 00:17:09,819 journal nature are based on the study of waste water in a town 276 00:17:09,829 --> 00:17:12,729 with a population of around half a million people in Southern 277 00:17:12,739 --> 00:17:13,439 China. 278 00:17:13,828 --> 00:17:16,879 Scientists were trying to determine whether ambient air 279 00:17:16,889 --> 00:17:19,999 pollution and exposure to tobacco smoke impacted the 280 00:17:20,009 --> 00:17:23,168 amount of allergy and asthma medications used within the 281 00:17:23,178 --> 00:17:23,958 town. 282 00:17:24,208 --> 00:17:27,218 They say that while days of high air pollution were not 283 00:17:27,229 --> 00:17:30,649 associated with increased levels of medication in wastewater, 284 00:17:30,659 --> 00:17:34,558 they did find biomarkers for exposure to more tobacco smoke 285 00:17:34,568 --> 00:17:38,939 and a higher use of medications. They say the findings clearly 286 00:17:38,949 --> 00:17:42,800 suggest that reducing exposure to second hand tobacco smoke 287 00:17:42,810 --> 00:17:45,060 would help people manage their allergies. 288 00:17:46,530 --> 00:17:50,780 A new study warns that one in five native Australian mammals 289 00:17:50,790 --> 00:17:54,199 living in Southern and eastern Australia now faced a threat of 290 00:17:54,209 --> 00:17:58,439 extinction because of population increase, altered land use and 291 00:17:58,449 --> 00:18:02,300 climate change. The findings reported in the journal current 292 00:18:02,310 --> 00:18:06,030 biology show that Australian animals are among those most at 293 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,739 risk of becoming endangered in the future. 294 00:18:09,060 --> 00:18:12,560 The study's authors use conservation data to analyze how 295 00:18:12,569 --> 00:18:16,599 future risks caused by climate change, land use change and 296 00:18:16,609 --> 00:18:20,040 human population increases interact with the resilience of 297 00:18:20,050 --> 00:18:24,449 specific species and say that one in five land mammals are now 298 00:18:24,459 --> 00:18:27,750 likely to face two or more threats within the next 80 299 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,959 years. They say Southern and eastern Australia together with 300 00:18:31,969 --> 00:18:35,910 Sub Saharan Africa are the potential hotspots for future 301 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:37,489 endangered species. 302 00:18:38,869 --> 00:18:42,739 Elon Musk has announced plans to launch his own artificial 303 00:18:42,750 --> 00:18:46,859 intelligence platform. The decision follows growing fears 304 00:18:46,869 --> 00:18:50,229 that Ais being developed by Microsoft and Google are 305 00:18:50,239 --> 00:18:53,239 politically biased that they could eventually pose a 306 00:18:53,250 --> 00:18:58,079 terminator style threat to mankind. The founder of spacex 307 00:18:58,089 --> 00:19:02,819 and Tesla told Tucker Carlson on Fox News that his new truth GPT 308 00:19:03,030 --> 00:19:05,180 AI will provide a counterbalance. 309 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:08,949 Musk says it'll challenge the offerings of Microsoft's Chat, 310 00:19:08,959 --> 00:19:13,140 GPT and also Google's Bard which has burnt the company's lamb, 311 00:19:13,150 --> 00:19:16,329 the large language model platform which last year was 312 00:19:16,339 --> 00:19:19,630 rumored to have achieved singularity and become sentient 313 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,430 or self aware, the multi billionaire accused Google co 314 00:19:23,439 --> 00:19:27,819 founder Larry Page of not taking AI safety seriously. 315 00:19:28,260 --> 00:19:31,810 In fact, he criticized Open AI suggesting that they're training 316 00:19:31,819 --> 00:19:37,369 their Chat GPT chatbot to lie. He says truth GP T will try to 317 00:19:37,380 --> 00:19:40,189 understand the nature of the universe as this will be the 318 00:19:40,199 --> 00:19:43,800 best path to safety and unlikely to annihilate human 319 00:19:43,810 --> 00:19:48,589 civilization. With the details with Jo biology editor Alex 320 00:19:48,599 --> 00:19:53,150 Zaharov-Reuttt from itwire.com, Elon Musk actually was one of 321 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:54,760 the co founders of Open AI. 322 00:19:54,819 --> 00:19:56,660 Alex Zaharov-Reutt: He was supposed to, according to the 323 00:19:56,670 --> 00:20:00,219 reports, I read donate about a billion dollars to the cause. It 324 00:20:00,229 --> 00:20:03,119 was non profit. In fact, Elon Musk was saying, I'm not sure 325 00:20:03,130 --> 00:20:06,329 how I ended up donating to a non profit and suddenly it's getting 326 00:20:06,339 --> 00:20:09,650 $10 billion plus from Microsoft as a for profit organization. 327 00:20:09,828 --> 00:20:12,248 He was saying that's quite an incredible thing. He'd love to 328 00:20:12,258 --> 00:20:15,208 figure out how to get onto that gravy train. And in 2018, 329 00:20:15,218 --> 00:20:17,878 according again to the reports that I read, he was having a 330 00:20:17,887 --> 00:20:21,567 power struggle with Sam Altman, the current chair and one of the 331 00:20:21,578 --> 00:20:24,527 top people at Open AI and Elon Musk lost that fight. 332 00:20:24,537 --> 00:20:27,588 And so he, according to the reports abruptly withdrew his 333 00:20:27,598 --> 00:20:29,567 support. And even though he was supposed to keep on giving 334 00:20:29,578 --> 00:20:32,177 money, he stopped so open eyes and had to scramble to find 335 00:20:32,187 --> 00:20:34,066 other sources of income. They found a white knight in 336 00:20:34,076 --> 00:20:34,796 Microsoft. 337 00:20:34,806 --> 00:20:39,755 He's also concerned that many of these people are of the left 338 00:20:39,765 --> 00:20:43,546 persuasion and they are customizing the eyes for their 339 00:20:43,556 --> 00:20:46,135 philosophies, not for the philosophies of America's 340 00:20:46,145 --> 00:20:48,735 founding and the constitution there, they're making it woke 341 00:20:48,745 --> 00:20:52,375 and Elon wants to have truth dot AI an AI that you can trust. 342 00:20:52,385 --> 00:20:56,345 And he says, look, he wants the AI that he has to understand the 343 00:20:56,355 --> 00:20:59,754 universe and to understand that human, a part of this universe. 344 00:20:59,764 --> 00:21:02,313 And we're probably one of the most interesting things about 345 00:21:02,323 --> 00:21:04,973 this universe. I mean, sure planets and black holes and 346 00:21:04,984 --> 00:21:07,634 Galaxies and gravity and all the rest is pretty interesting. 347 00:21:07,644 --> 00:21:11,063 But in the absence of aliens, I mean, humans are the most 348 00:21:11,073 --> 00:21:13,504 interesting thing about this universe and an eye that 349 00:21:13,514 --> 00:21:15,723 understands that and wants to help nurture us is not going to 350 00:21:15,734 --> 00:21:18,904 be the one that wants to kill us like Skynet has. 351 00:21:18,913 --> 00:21:21,433 And as I've said many times and I said to you on this program, 352 00:21:21,443 --> 00:21:25,151 I'd like to think of science fiction movies as a warning from 353 00:21:25,161 --> 00:21:28,291 the minds of science fiction writers as a warning to 354 00:21:28,302 --> 00:21:31,291 humanity. Don't let this happen to you, don't build the AI 355 00:21:31,302 --> 00:21:33,182 that's going to kill you. Make sure there's a kill switch. 356 00:21:33,192 --> 00:21:36,501 Stuart Gary: Muske admits there's really no off switch. 357 00:21:36,511 --> 00:21:38,472 Alex Zaharov-Reutt: Well, I mean, there was that famous 358 00:21:38,482 --> 00:21:41,781 documentary where the machines turned us all into batteries 359 00:21:41,791 --> 00:21:44,991 called the Matrix. I mean, it was a documentary, wasn't it? Or 360 00:21:45,001 --> 00:21:46,862 was that science fiction? I'm not really sure. 361 00:21:48,140 --> 00:21:51,329 I mean as wrote the three laws of robotics because he was sick 362 00:21:51,339 --> 00:21:54,010 to death of all these sci fi stories of the robots wanted to 363 00:21:54,020 --> 00:21:56,479 kill everybody on the planet. What are the three laws of 364 00:21:56,489 --> 00:22:00,270 robotics? So the three laws of robotics are that a robot may 365 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:04,199 not injure a human being or through an action allow a human 366 00:22:04,209 --> 00:22:05,540 being to come to harm. 367 00:22:05,579 --> 00:22:10,084 The second rule, a robot must obey orders, given it by human 368 00:22:10,094 --> 00:22:14,724 beings, except where such order with the first law. And the 369 00:22:14,734 --> 00:22:17,864 third is that a robot must protect its own existence. As 370 00:22:17,875 --> 00:22:21,824 long as such protection does not conflict with the first or 371 00:22:21,834 --> 00:22:22,834 second law. 372 00:22:22,844 --> 00:22:26,454 Stuart Gary: That's Alex Sahara Roit from it dot com. 373 00:22:42,079 --> 00:22:45,790 And that's the show for now. SpaceTime is available every 374 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:49,489 Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts, itunes, 375 00:22:49,500 --> 00:22:54,699 Stitcher, Google Podcast, pocket casts, Spotify, a cast Amazon 376 00:22:54,709 --> 00:22:59,319 music bites dot com, Soundcloud, YouTube, your favorite podcast 377 00:22:59,329 --> 00:23:03,300 download provider and from Space Time with Stewart Gary dot com. 378 00:23:03,579 --> 00:23:06,390 SpaceTime is also broadcast through the National Science 379 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,479 Foundation on Science Zone Radio and on both iheart Radio And 380 00:23:10,489 --> 00:23:11,579 Tune in radio. 381 00:23:11,890 --> 00:23:14,989 And you can help to support our show by visiting the SpaceTime 382 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,770 Store for a range of promotional merchandizing goodies or by 383 00:23:18,780 --> 00:23:22,040 becoming a SpaceTime patron, which gives you access to triple 384 00:23:22,050 --> 00:23:24,869 episode commercial, free versions of the show as well as 385 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,199 lots of bonus audio content which doesn't go to air access 386 00:23:28,209 --> 00:23:32,219 to our exclusive Facebook group and other rewards just go to 387 00:23:32,229 --> 00:23:35,560 Space Time with Stewart Gary dot com for full details. 388 00:23:35,810 --> 00:23:38,689 And if you want more Space Time, please check out our blog where 389 00:23:38,699 --> 00:23:41,500 you'll find all the stuff we couldn't fit in the show as well 390 00:23:41,510 --> 00:23:45,020 as heaps of images, news stories, loads of videos and 391 00:23:45,030 --> 00:23:48,140 things on the web. 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