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A bipedal robot, designed at the Oregon State University (OSU), has created history after it completed 5km in just about 53 minutes. Cassie, the robot, has been developed under the supervision of robotics professor Jonathan Hurst and produced by Agility Robotics, which focuses on leg mobility. The robot was first introduced, in collaboration with artificial intelligence professor Alan Fern, in 2017 and OSU students have been exploring machine learning for robots ever since. 

It uses machine learning to control a running gait and completed the 5 km journey on the OSU campus on a single battery charge. Professor Hurst said that the students combined biomechanics expertise and existing robot control approaches with new machine learning tools to give shape to Cassie. “This type of holistic approach will enable animal-like levels of performance. It’s incredibly exciting,” Professor Hurst said in a statement. 

The robot has knees that bend like an ostrich’s and it taught itself to run with what is referred to as a “deep reinforcement learning” algorithm. The team said that dynamic balancing is a crucial part of running and Cassie makes infinite subtle adjustments to stay upright while on the move. 

Jeremy Dao, a PhD student at the Dynamic Robotics Laboratory, OSU, said that the robot is efficient, for the way it has been designed and built, adding the team was able to reach the limits of the hardware and demonstrate what it could do. 

About “deep reinforcement learning”, another student Yesh Godse, an undergraduate at the lab, said that it’s a powerful method in AI that opens up skills like running, skipping and walking up and downstairs. 

Professor Hurst said that the time is not far when walking robots will be a common sight, akin to automobiles and will even have a similar impact. The limiting factor, Professor Hurst added, has been the science and understanding of legged locomotion. He, however, said that research at OSU has enabled multiple breakthroughs. 

During Cassie’s 5 km run, which the robot completed in 53 minutes and 3 seconds, 6-1/2 minutes were spent on resetting it after it fell twice. It fell down the first time because of an overheated computer, and then after it was asked to execute a turn at too high a speed, the team said.

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NASA and ISRO Confirm Japan’s Moon Lander Resilience Crashed at Mare Frigoris

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June 25, 2025

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NASA and ISRO Confirm Japan’s Moon Lander Resilience Crashed at Mare Frigoris

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and India’s Chandrayaan-2 orbiter have captured images of Japan’s Resilience lunar lander after it suffered a catastrophic crash on the Moon. Resilience, developed by private firm ispace, had been attempting to touch down in the Mare Frigoris region on June 5. The lander was carrying scientific experiments and a small European lunar rover, Tenacious, slated to deploy an art model on the surface. Contact was lost about 100 seconds before the planned touchdown, and the new images show debris scattered around the impact site. These images provide the first confirmation of Resilience’s fate.

Crash site images reveal debris field

According to the captured crash site image by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on June 11, 2025, there is a dark smudge of disturbed regolith where Resilience hit the surface. India’s Chandrayaan-2 orbiter captured follow-up images on June 16 showing the debris field in greater detail. Astronomy experts identified at least a dozen fragments of the lander and its small rover Tenacious in these photos.

One enthusiast catalogued at least 12 separate debris items, though their exact spread is unclear. A faint bright halo of ejected dust surrounds the smudge, consistent with a violent impact. These detailed views provide clues to investigators piecing together how Resilience broke apart on impact.

Laser rangefinder fault pinpointed as cause

Resilience’s onboard laser altimeter began lagging about 100 seconds before landing, causing the descent to proceed too fast. On June 24, ispace confirmed that this rangefinder malfunction during descent prevented the lander from decelerating to the planned touchdown speed. The hard impact “likely tore the spacecraft apart” and destroyed all scientific payloads.

Investigators are examining factors like lunar surface reflectivity or hardware degradation as possible triggers of the failure. Resilience was ispace’s second Hakuto-R moon lander; its predecessor (April 2023) likewise crash-landed. CEO Takeshi Hakamada said the company is working on fixes and “will not let this be a setback” as it pursues future lunar missions.

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Supermassive Black Hole Burps Matter at Near-Light Speeds After Consuming Gas Too Fast

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June 25, 2025

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Supermassive Black Hole Burps Matter at Near-Light Speeds After Consuming Gas Too Fast

A distant supermassive black hole has stunned astronomers by expelling matter at speeds nearing a third of light velocity after consuming material at an extreme rate. Designated PG1211+143, this cosmic powerhouse lies in a Seyfert galaxy 1.2 billion light-years away and boasts a mass 40 million times greater than the Sun. Researchers using the ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray telescope tracked an influx of gas equivalent to 10 Earths over just five weeks, only to find the black hole burping out excess matter at around 0.27 times the speed of light.

Supermassive Black Hole’s Outflows May Halt Star Formation and Alter Galaxy Evolution Permanently

As per a report in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, these ultra-fast outflows followed the inflow by a delay of a few days, heating the surrounding active galactic nucleus (AGN) to millions of degrees. The radiation pressure generated was powerful enough to push out surrounding gas, potentially starving the black hole’s galaxy of star-forming material. This feedback loop, scientists suggest, might represent the transition from active star-birth sites to galaxies entering a quieter period.

The winds ejected at more than 181 million mph most likely blew away clouds of cold gas, which were necessary for stellar births. The evidence found allowed Pounds to observe a black hole as it grew, even though there is not much matter to feed the black hole, even if it is large.

This discovery can enable people to understand the influence of quasars and AGNs on galaxy life cycles. High-speed ejections of outflowing matter paralyse the star-formation process and turn star-forming regions into barren space. However, additional monitoring in pursuit to determine their frequency and global pattern of cosmic evolution.

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Amazon’s Kuiper Launches 27 Satellites, Eyes 2025 LEO Broadband Rollout

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June 25, 2025

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Amazon's Kuiper Launches 27 Satellites, Eyes 2025 LEO Broadband Rollout

Demand for broadband connectivity is driving a surge in satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO). LEO systems offer lower-latency links to remote areas and the potential to connect underserved communities. Amazon’s Project Kuiper and SpaceX’s Starlink head this wave. GeekWire notes that each Kuiper launch is “another significant step toward competing with SpaceX’s global Starlink network”, and Amazon is joining a “growing list of companies” seeking to challenge Starlink in the rapidly evolving LEO broadband arena. Indeed, filings show Amazon expects Kuiper to begin offering service by 2025.

Project Kuiper’s Ambitious Launch Plans

According to Amazon, Kuiper project is now moving into full deployment. It first flew two prototype satellites in late 2023, and on April 28, 2025 it launched 27 production satellites aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. Kuiper aims for roughly a 3,200-satellite constellation, and Amazon has pre-booked dozens of heavy-lift launches to build it. For example, Space.com reports Kuiper will require “more than 3,200 satellites… after 83 launches on Atlas V, ULA’s Vulcan, Blue Origin’s New Glenn and Arianespace’s Ariane 6 rockets”. In December 2023 Amazon also secured three SpaceX Falcon 9 launches. These multi-provider launch contracts (costing many billions) are intended to spread schedule risk and ensure Kuiper’s constellation is delivered on time.

Amazon expects to begin customer service in late 2025, driving its schedule. To meet this timeline, it has reserved dozens of launch slots on Atlas V, ULA’s new Vulcan, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Arianespace’s Ariane 6 and even SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets. These commitments ensure the required satellites will launch quickly to meet Amazon’s deployment milestones.

Global Competition in LEO Broadband

SpaceX’s Starlink leads with over 7,600 satellites already in orbit. SpaceX has flown dozens of Starlink launches this year to expand coverage. Meanwhile, rivals aim even higher: China’s state-backed Guowang project plans roughly 13,000 satellites, and the Shanghai-led “Thousand Sails” (Qianfan) network targets about 14,000. SpaceNews noted that these Chinese launches “advance [China’s] ambitious LEO network to rival Starlink and other global systems”. This worldwide build-out underscores that LEO broadband is evolving into a critical new domain of internet infrastructure.

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