(AGENPARL) – lun 03 febbraio 2025 A weekly compendium of media reports on science and technology achievements
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Though the Laboratory reviews
items for overall accuracy, the reporting organizations are responsible for
the content in the links below.
….. LLNL Report, Jan. 31, 2025
The LLNL Pandora team with engineering hardware for the telescope.
… Wrapping up Pandora’s box

NASA’s Pandora Mission One Step Closer To Probing Alien Atmospheres

Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission, is one step closer to launch with
the completion of the spacecraft bus, which provides the structure, power,
and other systems that will enable the mission to carry out its work.
Pandora, a small satellite, will provide in-depth study of at least 20 known
planets orbiting distant stars in order to determine the composition of their
atmospheres — especially the presence of hazes, clouds, and water. This
data will establish a firm foundation for interpreting measurements by
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and future missions that will search for
habitable worlds.
Funded by NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers program for small, ambitious
missions, Pandora is a joint effort between Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory in California and NASA Goddard.
Read More

NASA’s Pandora Mission One Step Closer To Probing Alien Atmospheres

El Capitan is currently in early-access mode. It will soon run sophisticated
calculations that simulate nuclear detonations from the U.S.’s aging
stockpile.
… Fast and furious
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/worlds-fastest-supercomputer-el-capitan-unveiled-in-livermore/
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) unveiled its $600 million
supercomputer, “El Capitan,” after about eight years of research and
building.
Experts said the “El Capitan” is currently the world’s fast and most
powerful supercomputer.
“When people talk about running on high-performance computers, this is the
main thing. You put two computers in what’s known as the blade here. And then
you can tack 64 of those into a whole big cabinet. That gives you 128 nodes.
And you buy 87 of those racks and you get to 11,136 individual computers,”
Pythagoras Watson, the team lead of the advanced technology system, told CBS
News Bay Area.
He added that the supercomputer conducts real-world simulations that are
designed to help LLNL experts conduct research quickly and accurately.
Read More
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/worlds-fastest-supercomputer-el-capitan-unveiled-in-livermore/
The NIF lasers overlap onto the millimeter-scale cylindrical silver foam
target. The resultant heating creates X-rays, which are then imaged as shown
on the right.
… The world’s brightest
https://interestingengineering.com/energy/world-brightest-xray-for-fusion
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have created the
world’s brightest X-ray source, which has surpassed the intensity of
previous sources by twofold. This breakthrough could advance critical fields
like fusion energy research.
To achieve this milestone, the researchers combined two powerful tools: the
National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser and ultra-light metal foams.
The NIF laser, one of the world’s most energetic lasers, is capable of
delivering incredibly intense pulses of light.
Metal foams, on the other hand, are materials with a sponge-like structure,
containing a network of pores that make them incredibly lightweight.
Read More
https://interestingengineering.com/energy/world-brightest-xray-for-fusion
The main NIF building spans the width of three football fields and stands 10
stories tall.
… Challenges (and opportunities) ahead
https://theconversation.com/nuclear-fusion-could-one-day-be-a-viable-clean-energy-source-but-big-engineering-challenges-stand-in-the-way-237544
The way scientists think about fusion changed forever in 2022, when what some
called the experiment of the century demonstrated for the first time that
fusion can be a viable source of clean energy.
The experiment, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, showed ignition: a
fusion reaction generating more energy out than was put in.
In addition, the past few years have been marked by a multibillion-dollar
windfall of private investment in the field, principally in the United
States.
But a whole host of engineering challenges must be addressed before fusion
can be scaled up to become a safe, affordable source of virtually unlimited
clean power. In other words, it’s engineering time.
Read More
https://theconversation.com/nuclear-fusion-could-one-day-be-a-viable-clean-energy-source-but-big-engineering-challenges-stand-in-the-way-237544
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with samples it is collecting
from Mars. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
… Mars rocks
https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Samples_from_Mars_to_reveal_planets_evolutionary_secrets_999.html
Mars exhibits a unique blend of geological features reminiscent of both the
moon and Earth, making it a fascinating subject of study for scientists.
Current insights into the Red Planet’s evolution stem largely from spacecraft
observations and meteorite analysis. These meteorites, primarily found in
deserts and Antarctica, were once part of Mars before being ejected into
space and eventually landing on Earth. They fall into two distinct
categories: shergottites and nakhlites, each offering contrasting views of
Mars’ geological past.
A recent study published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences” highlights the potential for sample return missions to clarify
these conflicting narratives. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory (LLNL) emphasize the importance of analyzing samples collected
directly from known locations on Mars.
Read More
https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Samples_from_Mars_to_reveal_planets_evolutionary_secrets_999.html
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