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NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)-led Team CoStar is set to participate in the Subterranean Challenge finals that are scheduled to be held this week. The challenge involves a demonstration of multi-robot autonomy in a series of tests in extreme environments. According to NASA JPL, Team CoSTAR will be among the eight teams that will be competing in the finale. The teams will use dozens of robots to traverse through a series of complex underground scenarios. The eight teams and robots are from more than 30 institutions and will be competing for prize money of $2 million (roughly Rs. 14.7 crores)

The teams are competing in a former Kentucky limestone mine from September 21 to September 24 to participate in the challenge. The challenge is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

In a statement shared by NASA JPL, the objective of the challenge was described as “developing autonomous robotic solutions for first responders in underground environments where GPS and direct communications are unavailable.”

The team from NASA JPL will comprise 60 members. This includes engineers from California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Luleå University of Technology, and other industry partners, the note said.

Specifying the scope of the team, the statement added, “The JPL-led Team CoSTAR (Collaborative SubTerranean Autonomous Robots) will demonstrate their collection of driving, walking, and flying robots that could one day be used to explore extreme terrains on the surface as well as inside the caves and lava tubes on other worlds without human assistance.”

Team CoSTAR, in particular, will be “developing AI and autonomy software solutions for physical robots that can navigate challenging and previously unseen environments.” 

In addition to this, the note added that the technologies developed for the challenge and those focussed on extreme-environment exploration on Earth also have direct applications in the realm of space exploration.

With regard to the challenge, the statement added that Team CoSTAR “relies on a diverse array of robots to fulfil the mission goals.” The robot scouts will be sent to first explore the environment, and then a “subset of robots” will be chosen to satisfy the overall mission goals.

Speaking about the Subterranean Challenge, Joel Burdick, a Caltech professor and JPL research scientist, said, “I am excited to see how our very diverse robot team will perform.” Burdick leads the Caltech campus section of Team CoSTAR.

As per the statement, the team of robots must operate autonomously or with limited radio contact with one human supervisor. The mission must be completed in one hour. The points will be assigned based on how many objects they can reach, identify, and locate.


This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, we discuss iPhone 13, new iPad and iPad mini, and Apple Watch Series 7 — and what they mean to the Indian market. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Shenzhou 18 Astronauts Return to Earth Post Six-Month Space Mission

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Shenzhou 18 Astronauts Return to Earth Post Six-Month Space Mission

After a six-month mission aboard the Tiangong space station, Chinese astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu safely returned to Earth, touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China. Having launched on April 25, the crew concluded their mission on Sunday, November 3, 2024, with the capsule landing at approximately 12:24 p.m. EST (or 12:24 a.m. Beijing time on November 4th). All three astronauts are reported to be in good health following their extended stay in orbit, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Mission Highlights and Scientific Endeavours

As per a recent report by Space, Commander Ye and his crewmates conducted numerous scientific investigations, which included studying ancient microbes and conducting emergency drills during this tenure. The astronauts also completed a record-breaking spacewalk in May and another in June, during which they installed shielding to protect the station from space debris. Commander Ye made history, becoming China’s first astronaut to accumulate over 365 days in space, following his prior involvement in the Shenzhou 13 mission in 2021-2022.

The astronauts captured views of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, from where they launched in April, as well as China’s Wenchang spaceport, located on Hainan Island, where modules of Tiangong were previously launched.

Space Station Expansion Plans and Future Crews

The Shenzhou 18 crew welcomed the arrival of their successors, the Shenzhou 19 team, aboard Tiangong on 30th October, marking a brief period where six astronauts shared the station. The official handover of station command to Shenzhou 19’s Commander Cai Xuzhe took place on 1st November, continuing China’s practice of smooth orbital transitions since Tiangong’s completion in late 2022.
Chinese space officials plan to expand Tiangong with three additional modules, forming a double T-shaped structure. The expansion will support continuous occupancy, and a Hubble-class telescope is also scheduled for launch to the same orbit, where it will dock with the station for maintenance.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Series Tipped to Support A/B System for Seamless Software Updates



Worldwide Tablet Shipments Saw 20.4 Percent YoY Growth in Q3 2024: IDC

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Meet Hang Son Doong: The World’s Largest Cave with Two Jungles and More

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Meet Hang Son Doong: The World’s Largest Cave with Two Jungles and More

The Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam, located in Quang Binh Province within Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park currently holds the title as the largest known cave in the world. With dimensions exceeding three miles (5 km) in length and 660 feet (200 m) in height, this natural wonder could house 15 Great Pyramids of Giza within its vast chambers. Its enormous passages are so spacious that a Boeing 747 could hypothetically fly through parts of the cave. The unique “skylights” in the cave’s limestone structure allow sunlight to flood in, nourishing two jungles nestled within the cave, and creating an ecosystem unlike any other on Earth.

A Discovery Decades in the Making

As per a recent report by LiveScience, Hang Son Doong, meaning “Mountain River,” was first discovered by Ho Khanh, a local resident, in 1990. Khanh stumbled upon the cave while hunting, noting the rush of wind and sound of water echoing from inside. However, surrounded by dense foliage, he was unable to relocate it until 2009. That year, Khanh successfully led a team from the British Cave Research Association, including cave expert Howard Limbert, to its entrance. Limbert, technical director at Oxalis Adventure, which now organises tours of Son Doong, described the discovery as monumental, with the team quickly recognising its scale and significance.

A Cave of Record-Breaking Dimensions

Upon detailed exploration, researchers determined that Hang Son Doong has a total volume of around 1.35 billion cubic feet (38.5 million cubic metres). This makes it the largest natural cave ever measured. In 2019, divers found an underwater tunnel connecting Son Doong to Hang Thung, adding another 57 million cubic feet (1.6 million cubic metres) to its volume. Limbert compared the discovery to “finding an additional peak on Mount Everest,” underscoring the cave’s unmatched scale in the subterranean world.

A Natural Masterpiece and Ecosystem

Beyond its size, Son Doong features remarkable geological formations. It houses one of the world’s tallest stalagmites, standing 260 feet (80 m) high, and includes the Great Wall of Vietnam, a calcite barrier that challenged explorers on their initial visits. The cave’s fossil passages offer a glimpse into the area’s ancient marine history, with fossils from sea creatures that once inhabited the region. Inside the Passchendaele Passage, named after a World War I battlefield, explorers encounter muddy terrain that mirrors the historic battlefield’s conditions.

In the heart of the cave, the collapsed ceiling forms skylights that allow light to reach its depths, nurturing thriving jungles and completing the surreal landscape of Son Doong.

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Scientists Are Reportedly Interested in Uncovering the Secrets of UFOs

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Scientists Are Reportedly Interested in Uncovering the Secrets of UFOs

In 2015, U.S. Navy pilots conducting training flights along the East Coast reported encounters with unusual, high-speed objects moving over the water. Descriptions from the pilots reveal that these oval-shaped objects appeared to rotate as they moved, covering vast distances at incredible speeds. Multiple pilots confirmed sighting these objects, which they noted were different from any known aircraft; they had no visible engines, exhaust, or defining propulsion systems.

According to Lt. Ryan Graves, a seasoned F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot with over a decade of experience, these objects were not a one-time sighting but were observed repeatedly over a period of months. The pilots’ observations, recorded on video, showed the objects not only hovering above the ocean’s surface but also appearing at altitudes of up to 30,000 feet, travelling at speeds beyond the capabilities of conventional military aircraft.

A Secret Unveiled to the Public

The public was made aware of these sightings in 2019 which was four years after they took place, when The New York Times published an article including the footage captured by the Navy. This article marked the beginning of a shift in how the U.S. government and the military approached the topic of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), as they are now officially termed. Shortly after, in April 2020, the U.S. Navy officially verified the authenticity of these videos, sparking renewed public and scientific interest in the nature and origin of these mysterious sightings.

Roswell and UFO Fever: A Lingering Curiosity

Public curiosity around UFOs is not new. In 1947, the Roswell Incident—where debris from an unidentified object was discovered on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico—captured the nation’s imagination. Initial reports suggested it was a “flying saucer,” though the Army quickly retracted this, claiming the debris was from a weather balloon. This incident began a national obsession with UFOs, and the lore around Roswell has only grown over the decades. The Roswell Incident, combined with further sightings and theories around “Area 51,” left a lasting cultural impact on the public’s perception of UFOs and government secrecy.

Government Engagement and Investigation

As UAP sightings continued, the U.S. government initiated a more transparent approach to investigations. In 2021, a report was released acknowledging the existence of several unexplained UAP incidents since 2004, while maintaining that there was no evidence to suggest these sightings were of extraterrestrial origin. However, the U.S. government did highlight the need for investigation, given the potential implications for national security.

In response, the Pentagon established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in July 2022, tasked with coordinating and leading efforts to gather and analyse information on UAP. While there is no conclusive evidence linking UAP to extraterrestrial life, the objective remains to uncover the origins of these sightings, including the possibility of advanced foreign technology.

Science Takes a Stand

The rising interest in UAP has encouraged scientists to step forward in challenging long-standing stigma. NASA formed a scientific panel in 2022 dedicated to exploring UAP with an evidence-based approach. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has also made waves in the scientific community by establishing the Galileo Project, which applies observational and analytical technology to gather objective data on UAP.

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