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Researchers at Tsinghua University and Beihang University have developed a new type of microrobot that can continuously transform into different shapes and safely lock into precise forms. This technology holds the potential to transform operations executed in intricate, dangerous, and cramped environments. The innovation is a big step for soft robotics, the field where multifunctionality and adaptability are primary challenges. Through the combination of advanced materials engineering and precision control, the researchers have unveiled new avenues for robotic applications.

The Heart of the Innovation: A Miniature Actuator

According to the study published in Nature Machine Intelligence, the key to this shape-shifting ability lies in a newly developed thin-film small-scale actuator. This actuator serves as the “heart” of the microrobot, allowing its flexible and dynamic movements. The process of fabrication is complex: it starts with the deposition of a silicone coating on a silicon wafer, followed by transfer-printing a polyimide film onto the substrate. A copper layer is deposited through electron beam evaporation for accurate thin-film deposition. Photolithography and wet-etching define the copper circuitry and structures, while laser cutting finalises the actuator’s shape and size.

Professor Zhang Yihui, who led the research at Tsinghua University’s School of Aerospace Engineering and the State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics Technology, emphasised that previous small-scale actuators (typically under five centimetres) struggled to achieve continuous transformation and stable locking. The new actuator fixes this by enabling highly accurate electric control over deformation, allowing the microrobot to shift into any desired shape and lock firmly into place. This breakthrough greatly expands the microrobot’s operational versatility, allowing it to easily walk, run, jump, fly, and climb.

Building the Microrobot: A Lego-Inspired Approach

The researchers used a “Lego-inspired” modular architecture to build the microrobot. By integrating the new actuators with other functional elements—such as rotors for flight, motors for ground locomotion, control modules, and a small lithium battery for wireless power—the researchers developed a microrobot only nine centimetres long and weighing 25 grams. It can move consecutively between ground and air travel, reaching ground speeds of up to 1.6 meters per second. The researchers say this is the lightest and smallest untethered robot that can move on both land and in the air.

Diverse Applications

This microrobot’s capability of morphing into rolling and flying shapes opens different applications. Its application in fault diagnosis and repair in narrow or hazardous environments, archaeological excavation, and search missions is proposed by Zhang. Its actuator technology also has great potential for applications in bioelectronic devices like shape-adaptive vascular stents and improved virtual and augmented reality haptic feedback systems. The innovations of the team provide new paths for next-generation mini-robots, combining strength, flexibility, and innovative design in a groundbreaking fashion.

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How NASA Saved a Dying Camera Near Jupiter with Just Heat

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11 hours ago

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July 24, 2025

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How NASA Saved a Dying Camera Near Jupiter with Just Heat

NASA’s Juno spacecraft, in orbit around Jupiter, had a huge problem when its JunoCam imager started to fail after sitting through the planet’s harsh radiation belts for so many orbits. Designed to only last through the initial few orbits, JunoCam astonishingly endured 34 orbits. Yet by the 47th orbit, the effects of radiation damage became visible, and by the 56th orbit, images were almost illegible. With few alternatives and time slipping away before a close flyby of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, engineers made a daring but creative gamble. Employing an annealing process, they sought to resuscitate the imager by warming it up—an experiment that proved successful.

Long-distance fix

According to NASA, JunoCam’s camera resides outside the spacecraft’s radiation-shielded interior and is extremely vulnerable. After several orbits, it started developing damage thought to be caused by a failing voltage regulator. From a distance of hundreds of millions of miles, the mission team implemented a last-ditch repair: annealing. The technique, which subjects materials to heat in order to heal microscopic defects, is poorly understood but has been succeeding in the lab. By heating the camera to 77°F, scientists wished to reorient its silicon-based parts.

At first, efforts were for naught, but only days before the December 2023 flyby of Io, the camera unexpectedly recovered—restoring close-to-original image quality just in time to photograph previously unseen volcanic landscapes.

Radiation Lessons for the Future

Though the camera showed renewed degradation during Juno’s 74th orbit, the successful restoration has led to broader applications. The team has since applied similar annealing strategies to other Juno instruments, helping them withstand harsh conditions longer. Juno’s findings are now informing spacecraft design across the board. “We’re learning how to build radiation-tolerant systems that benefit both defense and commercial satellites,” said Juno’s principal investigator Scott Bolton. These findings would inform future missions, such as those visiting outer planets or working in high-radiation environments near Earth, in the Van Allen belts. Juno’s mission continues to pay dividends with unexpected innovations—a lesson in how a small amount of heat can do wonders.

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Rising Rocket Launches May Delay Ozone Layer Recovery, Study Finds

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July 24, 2025

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Rising Rocket Launches May Delay Ozone Layer Recovery, Study Finds

With the increase in global rocket launches, scientists are reporting concerns about their impact on the ozone layer, our planet’s natural shield against harmful UV radiation. The research team, which includes Sandro Vattioni and other scientists, put emphasis on the environmental risks that can increase with the rocket emissions are still now underestimated. However, it can be addressed with proactive and coordinated efforts. With a boom in the commercial space industry, there comes opportunity; however, with this comes a lot of threat to the environment by causing ozone layer depletion during the launch and re-entry of the spacecrafts.

Rocket Emissions Pose a Growing Threat to the Ozone Layer

As per Phys org, Rockets release pollutants as soot and chlorine into the atmosphere’s middle and upper parts. These particles remain for longer than the ground ones and catalyse the chemical reactions that damage the ozone layer. The re-entry of the satellite releases metal particles and nitrogen oxides, which in turn do more damage. The current models don’t usually account for the effects through re-entry, making it an overall cost to the environment, which is higher than the estimated one.

Research has been conducted through the climatic simulations show that if rocket launches increase to 2,040 yearly by the end of 2030. The global thickness of the ozone layer is yet healing from the previous damage caused by CFCs, which re now banned, however, full recovery will still not be achieved even after 40 years. The unchecked emissions might be a cause to the recovery delay.
Global Cooperation Needed to Protect Earth’s Atmospheric Shield

Rocket fuel selection is significant, as the majority of rockets utilise propellants that have soot and chlorine, which are depleting the ozone layer. A small percentage utilised cryogenic fuels like hydrogen and oxygen as liquids, which are thought to have less of an effect on the ozone layer; however, it is difficult to handle.

For protecting the ozone layer, the space industry may have transitioned to cleaner fuels, check emissions and stick to the strict guidelines. The Montreal Protocol has helped us phase out CFCs, where worldwide collaboration is needed to save the atmosphere of Earth, with the advancement in space exploration.

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New Study Reveals Mars Faced Heavy Rains: Possible Clue to Ancient Life

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12 hours ago

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July 24, 2025

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New Study Reveals Mars Faced Heavy Rains: Possible Clue to Ancient Life

The Mars surface is a hostile and dry environment, having little atmosphere with no stagnant water. The new research tells that this has not always been the case. Mars has faced many rains that actually shaped the landscape. If in the past era any alien life had existed, it would likely need some sort of protection, maybe even umbrellas, to tolerate the downpour. This study was published in Nature Geoscience, and it reviewed the crater erosion patterns on the planet.

Heavy Rains and a Thicker Atmosphere: Rethinking Mars’ Climate History

As per the Royal Astronomical Society, it was concluded that the Martian atmosphere during that time was thick enough to bear heavy rains. Researchers used the satellite data and erosion modelling to determine how much water flowed across the Martian surface. They found that the precipitation level must have been somewhere similar to the tropical region of the Earth at present. This signals that Mars once had the potential to hold surface water in rivers; in fact, there is a possibility it even had lakes.

Could Mars Have Supported Life? What New Evidence Suggests

However, only rain could not signify the possibilities of life sustenance. These constant downpours led to erosion, and it became a driving force in the change of the shape of Mars’ landscape. This tells us that if there is any primitive life existed in the past, it would have adapted to the climate and terrain of Mars.

The findings derived from the observation challenge the old assumptions about Mars of being dry and cold. In fact, they support the opinion that early Mars had a wet and warm climate, which is suitable for microbial life. Further, it adds excitement to the current missions named NASA’s Perseverance rover, which is active in the search for fossilised signs of past life on Mars.

This research not just redefines Mars’ past era climate, but also widens the scope of what early life could look like on other planets. It also tells us that the extraterrestrial life search is not just limited to Earth but also to the planets that had the possibility of life in the past.

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Pixel 10 Pro Design Officially Revealed Ahead of August 20 Launch; Google Store Offer Teased

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