OrbitalHub

Boston Dynamics dicit:

Atlas uses its whole body — legs, arms, torso — to perform a sequence of dynamic maneuvers that form a gymnastic routine. We created the maneuvers using new techniques that streamline the development process. First, an optimization algorithm transforms high-level descriptions of each maneuver into dynamically-feasible reference motions. Then Atlas tracks the motions using a model predictive controller that smoothly blends from one maneuver to the next. Using this approach, we developed the routine significantly faster than previous Atlas routines, with a performance success rate of about 80%.

Video Credit: Boston Dynamics

NASA dicit:

Arctic sea ice likely reached its 2019 minimum extent of 1.60 million square miles (4.15 million square kilometers) on Sept. 18, tied for second lowest summertime extent in the satellite record, according to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The Arctic sea ice cap is an expanse of frozen seawater floating on top of the Arctic Ocean and neighboring seas. Every year, it expands and thickens during the fall and winter and grows smaller and thinner during the spring and summer. But in the past decades, increasing temperatures have caused marked decreases in the Arctic sea ice extents in all seasons, with particularly rapid reductions in the minimum end-of-summer ice extent. The shrinking of the Arctic sea ice cover can ultimately affect local ecosystems, global weather patterns, and the circulation of the oceans.

Video Credit: NASA Goddard/Lead Producer: Katie Jepson (USRA); Technical Support: Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET); Scientists: Nathan T. Kurtz (NASA/GSFC), Walt Meier (NASA/GSFC); Lead Visualizers: Trent L. Schindler (USRA), Cindy Starr (GST); Lead Animator: Bailee DesRocher (USRA); Narrator: LK Ward (USRA); Visualizer: Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC); Lead Writer: Maria-Jose Vinas Garcia (Telophase); Videographers: Kate Ramsayer (Telophase), Jefferson Beck (USRA), John Caldwell (AIMM)