Q&A: Scientist discusses the MESSENGER mission to Mercury by Carnegie Institution for Science

planet mercury
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Twenty years ago, the MESSENGER mission revolutionized our understanding of Mercury. We sat down with project head and former Carnegie Science director Sean Solomon to talk about how the mission came together and the groundbreaking work it enabled.

Q: As the principal investigator of the MESSENGER mission, what were your personal highlights or proudest moments throughout the mission’s duration?
Sean Solomon: There were many personal highlights for me during the MESSENGER mission, beginning with our initial selection by NASA in 1999 and culminating in the publication by the MESSENGER science team of all of the findings from our mission in a book published nearly two decades later.

The most challenging events in any planetary orbiter mission are launch and ...

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A Quantum Neural Network can see Optical Illusions Like Humans do. Could it be the Future of AI?

A quantum neural network can see optical illusions like humans do. Could it be the future of AI?
(a) Sketch of the QT-DNN structure. W(n) with n = 1 â€¦ 4 are the matrices of the weights of the network connections. (b) QT-DNN model employs the physical effect of QT as the activation function of its nodes. (b.i) One-dimensional rectangular potential barrier of thickness a and height V0. (b.ii) Unlike in classical mechanics, in quantum mechanics, there is a non-zero probability for an electron with energy E < V0 to be transmitted through the barrier. Credit: APL Machine Learning (2024). DOI: 10.1063/5.0225771

Optical illusions, quantum mechanics and neural networks might seem to be quite unrelated topics at first glance...

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Six New Rogue Worlds: Star Birth Clues

Webb discovers six new
This stunning new mosaic of images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope showcases the nearby star-forming cluster, NGC 1333. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Scholz, K. Muzic, A. Langeveld, R. Jayawardhana

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted six likely rogue worlds — objects with planet-like masses but untethered from any star’s gravity — including the lightest ever identified with a dusty disk around it.

The elusive objects offer new evidence that the same cosmic processes that give birth to stars may also play a common role in making objects only slightly bigger than Jupiter.

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted six likely rogue worlds — objects with planetlike masses but untethered from any star’s gravity — including the lightest ever identified with a...

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AI-based Tongue Imaging could help enable Non-Invasive Detection of Coronary Artery Disease

AI-based tongue imaging could help enable non-invasive detection of coronary artery disease
The tongue diagnosis instrument and collection process. 1: lens hood, 2: LED light resource, 3: high-definition camera, 4: chin support plate. Note. Use fixed standard camera parameters when shooting: the color temperature is 5,000 k, the color rendering index is 97, the frame rate is 1/125 s, the aperture is F/6.3, the exposure indicator scale is 0 or ±1. Credit: Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1384977

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common cause of illness-based death throughout the world. According to the World Health Organization, CAD causes 17.9 million deaths per year worldwide, nearly one-third of all illness-based deaths annually.

Coronary angiography is currently the best method of confirming a CAD diagnosis, but it is ex...

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