Home — Tekh Decoded

NOAA, NASA’s GOES-T Weather Satellite Launches on ULA Atlas V

United Launch Alliance (ULA) has launched the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-T advanced weather satellite for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). GOES-T launched on an Atlas V 541 from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The launch took place on March 1, 2022, at 4:38 PM EST (21:38 UTC). GOES-T is the third satellite in the GOES-R satellite series, the 19th overall GOES satellite, and the second Atlas V launch of 2022. Following the launch, GOES-T will become GOES-18 and will be stationed in the GOES-West position, replacing GOES-17. Payload and rocket…

Does Planet Earth Have a Mind of Its Own?

Lead Image: This image of Earth was compiled using tens of thousands of images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. Thanks to the satellite era, we are better placed to understand the complexities of our planet, particularly with respect to global change. Today’s satellites are used to answer important to understand how Earth works as a system and how natural processes are changing under the pressure of human activity. Satellites also provide essential information for everyday applications such as to improve agricultural practices, for maritime safety and to help when natural disasters strike. Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019–20), processed…

Deer, Mink and Hyenas Have Caught COVID-19 – Animal Virologists Explain Coronavirus in Animals and Why Humans Need To Worry

Lead image: White-tailed deer are one of the few wild species that scientists have found to be infected with the coronavirus – at least so far. Credit: Andrew C/WikimediaCommons, CC BY In April 2020, tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo made the news when they came down with COVID-19. In the months following these surprising diagnoses, researchers and veterinarians found SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in nearly a dozen other species, both in captivity and in the wild. How are so many animals catching the coronavirus? And what does this mean for human and animal health? We are…

Combination Treatment Is Effective for Treating Smokers Who Drink Alcohol Heavily

One in five people who smoke also drink heavily, but they show worse outcomes than non-heavy drinkers in quitting smoking and are often excluded from smoking cessation trials. Knowing how challenging it can be to quit smoking, Andrea King, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, wanted to find a treatment that could help smokers to quit, particularly those who would describe themselves as heavy drinkers. It may be easy to dismiss heavy drinking and smoking behaviors as “bad habits,” but there are biological mechanisms that tie the two tightly together. To this point, King’s…

A Rocket Is Going To Crash Into the Moon Friday – NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Will Get an Up-Close View of the Smoldering Crater

Lead Image: Artist’s animation of a rocket booster crashing into the moon. The accidental experiment will shed light on the physics of impacts in space. On March 4, 2022, a lonely, spent rocket booster will smack into the surface of the Moon at nearly 6,000 mph. Once the dust has settled, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will move into position to get an up-close view of the smoldering crater and hopefully shed some light on the mysterious physics of planetary impacts. As a planetary scientist who studies the Moon, I view this unplanned impact as an exciting opportunity. The Moon has…