Latest news with #Muon
Indian Express
01-07-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
This satellite scans entire Earth every 20 mins, reports wildfires
Just over three months after US-based aerospace start-up Muon Space launched its FireSat Protoflight satellite, the end-to-end space systems provider has shared the first images taken by the spacecraft. This spacecraft, launched on SpaceX's Transporter-13 mission in March, was a collaboration between Muon, and Earth Fire Alliance, a non-profit organisation aiming to gather real-time data from all fires on Earth. 'These first light images confirm that our IR sensors are operating as designed and collecting high-quality data,' said Dan McCleese, chief scientist of Muon Space in a press release. The FireSat Protoflight satellite is the first of a proposed 50 satellites that Muon aims to launch, which they aim to use to track wildfires on Earth. The first few images taken by the FireSat Protoflight have been from a low-Earth orbit, using a multi-band infrared (IR) instrument. This then scanned for heat signatures, which could indicate the presence of wildfires. Using a precise high-dynamic range (HDR) six-channel multispectral IR instrument, the satellites are capable of multispectral imaging across the visible, near-infrared (NIR), short-wave infrared (SWIR), mid-wave infrared (MWIR), and long-wave infrared (LWIR) bands simultaneously. Each band takes up a channel, and the channels are used together to derive further information. The instrument is built by Muon Space itself. The satellites are able to scan areas of over 1,500 kilometres at a time, and identify fires as small as five-by-five meters in that range. They are also able to make a distinction between false positive fires and actual wildfire threats. The above image depicts FireSat Protoflight detecting thermal signatures at Libya's Sarir oil field complex, which are likely gas flares rather than a wildfire risk. The satellite's channels observing MWIR and LWIR identify the same heat sources, indicating the effectiveness of the multi-channel approach in data collection and allowing FireSat to differentiate different types of heat sources and confirm detections. Once relevant data is acquired, it is sent out to first responders, policymakers, and communities facing escalating wildfire threats. This is a crucial advancement in space-based wildfire monitoring, providing accurate and relevant information to governments and concerned citizens alike. Muon is set to launch the first block of three further FireSat satellites in 2026, and aims for the FireSat constellation to be at capacity and fully operational by 2030. The constellation is set to have global coverage, and will scan the entirety of Earth for wildfires every twenty minutes. Wildfire-prone areas would be scanned even more often, to further reduce the threat. (This article has been curated by Purv Ashar, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
Associated Press
12-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Muon Space Completes $146 Million Series B to Scale Satellite Constellations for Defense and Commercial Missions
Oversubscribed funding supports propulsion acquisition, new manufacturing facility, and production scale-up to meet growing customer demand MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Muon Space, a leading provider of end-to-end space systems specializing in mission-optimized satellite constellations, today announced the close of its oversubscribed $89.5 million Series B1 round, bringing total Series B funding to $146 million. The new capital includes $44.5 million in equity and $45 million in credit facilities, and follows the company's initial Series B close in August 2024. The B1 round was led by Congruent Ventures and included existing investors – Activate Capital, Acme Capital, Costanoa Ventures, and Radical Ventures. Muon also welcomed new investor ArcTern Ventures to the syndicate. The new capital is fueling a major scale-up of Muon's operations – including expanded satellite production; vertical integration of key components such as propulsion and IR & RF instruments; deployment of Muon's full-stack automated constellation operations platform; and the expansion of our global ground station network. The company has grown its team by 50% since December and surpassed $100 million in new contracts signed in 2024, including a landmark agreement with SNC to develop next-generation satellites supporting its Vindlér commercial RF sensing constellation. 'We're focused on delivering mission-optimized satellite constellation systems to customers at unprecedented speed,' said Jonny Dyer, CEO of Muon Space. 'High-performance constellations require the speed, cost, consistency, and performance of volume production – they can't be built one satellite at a time. We are building the world's first automated, high-mix, high-volume constellation manufacturing system. It's always been about the mission – now we're delivering it at scale.' 'Muon is building the high-performance scale solution the space industry has been missing,' said Joshua Posamentier, Managing Partner at Congruent Ventures. 'By fulfilling mission requirements with a configurable, vertically integrated platform spanning hardware, software, and operations, they deliver a unique path to on-orbit capabilities – at a pace and price point that commercial, civil and national security customers urgently need.' Starlight Acquisition Brings Breakthrough Zinc-Based Electric Propulsion In-House Muon has acquired Starlight Engines, a propulsion startup pioneering the first commercially available solid propellant Hall-effect thruster systems – a safe, affordable, and scalable alternative to traditional propulsion systems. The acquisition further extends Muon's vertically integrated Halo™ platform by bringing in-house propulsion capabilities into its end-to-end satellite technology stack. Founded in 2022 by veteran propulsion experts Todd Bailey and Mark Hopkins, Starlight developed a novel zinc-fueled thruster system that eliminates the high costs and supply chain vulnerabilities of xenon and krypton-based systems. By eliminating high pressure fluids management – the Achilles heel of every space propulsion system – Starlight's technology enables a dramatically improved supply chain, highly available and low-cost propellant, simplified integration, and more compact thruster and tank designs. The thruster system scales modularly supporting spacecraft ranging from 100kg to 500kg+. Integration of Starlight's propulsion technology is already underway as Muon scales satellite production. 'Propulsion remains one of the most persistent cost and supply chain challenges in satellite manufacturing,' said Paul Day, VP of Spacecraft Production at Muon Space. 'What Todd and Mark have achieved at Starlight is a fundamentally more elegant and practical solution – solid-state, scalable, throttleable, and safer to handle. By bringing this technology in-house and integrating it into our Halo platform, we can accelerate delivery timelines while improving both schedule reliability and overall mission performance.' New Advanced Manufacturing Facility Powers Production Scale-Up Muon has opened a 130,000-square-foot facility in San Jose, California that will serve as its production center, housing manufacturing and test operations from raw material through finished spacecraft. Purpose-built for full vertical integration and high-throughput satellite production, the facility can support up to 500 satellites annually in the 100kg to 500kg+ class. The site features 70,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities including 30,000 square feet of cleanroom space across Class 10, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000 environments – a 10x expansion from Muon's first facility. The flexible layout accommodates production, assembly, and lab operations, with dedicated areas for secure integration, spacecraft assembly, optical instrument integration (three zones), propulsion integration, and a mission operations center. A 300 kW solar array powers the majority of operations, while the facility meets UL 2050 security standards for defense programs. Comprehensive environmental testing capabilities include thermal vacuum chambers, vibration tables, and thermal chambers for both unit- and system-level qualification. About Muon Space Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end space systems company that designs, builds, and operates mission-optimized satellite constellations to deliver critical data and enable real-time compute and decision-making in space. Its proprietary technology stack, Halo™, integrates advanced spacecraft platforms, robust payload integration and management, and a powerful software-defined orchestration layer to enable high-performance capabilities at unprecedented speed – from concept to orbit. With state-of-the-art production facilities in Silicon Valley and a growing track record of national security and commercial customers, Muon Space is redefining how critical Earth intelligence is delivered from space. For more information, visit: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Muon Space
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fermilab: Muon g-2 announces most precise measurement of the magnetic anomaly of the muon
The third and final result, based on the last three years of data, is in perfect agreement with the experiment's previous results, further solidifying the experimental world average. This long-awaited value will be the world's most precise measurement of the muon magnetic anomaly for many years to come. Muon g-2 ring Results plot graph Batavia, Ill., June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scientists working on the Muon g-2 experiment, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, have released their third and final measurement of the muon magnetic anomaly. This value is related to g-2, the experiment's namesake measurement. The final result agrees with their published results from 2021 and 2023 but with a much better precision of 127 parts-per-billion, surpassing the original experimental design goal of 140 parts-per-billion. 'The anomalous magnetic moment, or g–2, of the muon is important because it provides a sensitive test of the Standard Model of particle physics. This is an exciting result and it is great to see an experiment come to a definitive end with a precision measurement,' said Regina Rameika, the U.S. Department of Energy's Associate Director for the Office of High Energy Physics. This long-awaited result is a tremendous achievement of precision and will remain the world's most precise measurement of the muon magnetic anomaly for many years to come. Despite recent challenges with the theoretical predictions that reduce evidence of new physics from muon g-2, this result provides a stringent benchmark for proposed extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. 'This is a very exciting moment because we not only achieved our goals but exceeded them, which is not very easy for these precision measurements,' said Peter Winter, a physicist at Argonne National Laboratory and co-spokesperson for the Muon g-2 collaboration. 'With the support of the funding agencies and the host lab, Fermilab, it has been very successful overall, as we reached or surpassed pretty much all the items that we were aiming for.' 'For over a century, g-2 has been teaching us a lot about the nature of nature,' said Lawrence Gibbons, professor at Cornell University and analysis co-coordinator for this result. 'It's exciting to add a precise measurement that I think will stand for a long time.' The Muon g-2 (pronounced 'gee minus two') experiment looks at the wobble of a fundamental particle called the muon. Muons are similar to electrons but about 200 times more massive; like electrons, muons have a quantum mechanical property called spin that can be interpreted as a tiny internal magnet. In the presence of an external magnetic field, the internal magnet will wobble — or precess — like the axis of a spinning top. The precession speed in a magnetic field depends on properties of the muon described by a number called the g-factor. Theoretical physicists calculate the g-factor based on the current knowledge of how the universe works at a fundamental level, which is contained in the Standard Model of particle physics. Nearly 100 years ago, the value of g was predicted to be 2. But experimental measurements soon showed g to be slightly different from 2 by a quantity known as the magnetic anomaly of the muon, aμ, calculated with (g-2)/2. The Muon g-2 experiment gets its name from this relation. The muon magnetic anomaly encodes the effects of all Standard Model particles, and theoretical physicists can calculate these contributions to an incredible precision. But previous measurements taken at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the late 1990s and early 2000s showed a possible discrepancy with the theoretical calculation at that time. When experiment doesn't align with theory, it could indicate new physics. Specifically, physicists wondered if this discrepancy could be caused by as-yet undiscovered particles pulling at the muon's precession. So physicists decided to upgrade the Muon g-2 experiment to make a more precise measurement. In 2013, Brookhaven's magnetic storage ring was transported from Long Island, New York, to Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois. After years of significant upgrades and improvements, the Fermilab Muon g-2 experiment started up on May 31, 2017. In parallel, an international collaboration of theorists formed the Muon g-2 Theory Initiative to improve the theoretical calculation. In 2020, the Theory Initiative published an updated, more precise Standard Model value based on a technique that uses input data from other experiments. The discrepancy with the result from that technique continued to grow in 2021 when Fermilab announced its first experimental result, confirming the Brookhaven result with a slightly improved precision. At the same time, a new theoretical prediction came out based on a second technique that heavily relies on computational power. This new number was closer to the experimental measurement, narrowing the discrepancy. Recently, the Theory Initiative published a new prediction combining the results of several groups that used the new computational technique. This result remains closer to the experimental measurement, dampening the possibility of new physics. However, the theoretical effort will continue to work to understand the discrepancy between the data-driven and computational approaches. The latest experimental value of the magnetic moment of the muon from the Fermilab experiment is: aμ = (g-2)/2 (muon, experiment) = 0.001 165 920 705 +- 0.000 000 000 114(stat.) +- 0.000 000 000 091(syst.) This final measurement is based on the analysis of the last three years of data, taken between 2021 and 2023, combined with the previously published datasets. This more than tripled the size of the dataset used for their second result in 2023, and it enabled the collaboration to finally achieve their precision goal proposed in 2012. It also represents an analysis of the experiment's best-quality data. Toward the end of their second data-taking run, the Muon g-2 collaboration finished tweaks and enhancements to the experiment that improved the quality of the muon beam and reduced uncertainties. The Muon g-2 collaboration describes the result in a paper that they submitted today to Physical Review Letters. 'As it has been for decades, the magnetic moment of the muon continues to be a stringent benchmark of the Standard Model,' said Simon Corrodi, assistant physicist at Argonne National Laboratory and analysis co-coordinator. 'The new experimental result sheds new light on this fundamental theory and will set the benchmark for any new theoretical calculation to come.' A future experiment at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex will likely make another measurement of the muon magnetic anomaly in the early 2030s, but, initially, they won't achieve the same precision as Fermilab. Meanwhile, the Theory Initiative will continue working to resolve the inconsistency between their two theoretical predictions. The Muon g-2 collaboration is made up of nearly 176 scientists from 34 institutions in seven countries. Marco Incagli, a physicist with the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics at Pisa and co-spokesperson for Muon g-2, emphasized that the internationality of the collaboration was key to the success of the experiment. Unusually, the scientists also represent a variety of physics areas. 'This experiment is quite peculiar because it has very different ingredients in it,' said Incagli. 'It is really done by a collaboration among communities that normally work on different experiments.' Unlike other high-energy physics experiments, Muon g-2 needed more than just high-energy physicists; the collaboration is also composed of accelerator physicists, atomic physicists and nuclear physicists. 'It was very valuable to see that, when we had all these different experts come together, we could solve items that probably one group could not have done alone,' said Incagli. While the experiment's main analysis has come to an end, there is more to be mined from the six years of Muon g-2 data. In the future, the collaboration will produce measurements of a property of the muon called the electric dipole moment as well as tests of a fundamental property of physical laws known as charge, parity, and time-reversal symmetry. 'It's a really beautiful experiment,' said Gibbons. 'The data that comes out is really exquisite. It's been a privilege to have access to this data and analyze it.' 'Of course, it's sad to end such an endeavor because it's been a large part of many of our collaborators' lives,' said Winter, who has been part of the collaboration since 2011. 'But we also want to move to the next physics that's out there, to do our best to advance the field in other areas. 'I think it will be a textbook experiment that will be a long-lasting reference for many future decades to come,' Winter added. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is America's premier national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research. Fermi Forward Discovery Group manages Fermilab for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Visit Fermilab's website at and follow us on social media. Attachments Muon g-2 ring Results plot graph CONTACT: Tracy Marc Fermilab 2242907803 TRACYM@ in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientist trains dogs to locate nearly extinct species in its natural habitat: 'The dogs can successfully find these plants'
Circe and Muon are two sweet pups who love to run and play like other dogs. These unbelievable canines' not-so-average skills lie in their ability to play a vital role in ecological research. The dogs are part of a team at K9inSCENTive, a company that trains dogs in ecological scent detection. They sniff out everything from animals to plants as part of scientific studies. Circe and Muon were recognized in March by Phoenix's Desert Botanical Garden for their abilities in finding rare and endangered orchids in Southern Arizona. The Canelo Hills ladies tresses orchid has historically been found in five places in the state. However, with the species' decline since 2016, they can only be found in two of the five locations. As it can be nearly impossible for researchers to locate the small plant in vast areas, Circe and Muon's incredible sense of smell is a saving grace in the plant's survival. The research on these orchids is being conducted by the Desert Botanical Garden, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Smithsonian Institution. Lauralea Oliver, the owner of K9inSCENTive, spent two months training Circe and Muon to sniff out the plant. By allowing them to spend time with closely related orchid species, their noses became acutely aware of the flower's scent. To test their abilities, the pups were set loose in the two areas where the orchids are known to be found. The result: Circe and Muon successfully followed the scent and located the plants. The skill of these dogs comes as no surprise in the scientific world and is the reason companies like K9inSCENTive exist. In 2023, a border collie was responsible for finding a rare mole species that had been assumed extinct for 86 years. More recently, an English springer spaniel was trained to sniff out an elusive species of newts in the United Kingdom. Circe, a Labrador retriever, was also trained to sniff out birds and bats in another study, while Muon, a Belgian Malinois-Belgian Tervuren cross, does the same as well as finds San Francisco garter snakes. These dogs' contributions to ecological research will directly lead to discoveries about the species they are trained to locate and help researchers continue their work. By being able to better study the Canelo Hills ladies tresses, the organizations involved can help with replanting and repopulating, keeping the environments in which they grow diverse and balanced. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Garden conservation and collections manager Steve Blackwell worked alongside Circe and Muon and is hopeful for their future contributions. "Now that we've shown that the dogs can successfully find these plants in the wild," Blackwell told the Desert Botanical Garden, "the next step will be for them to continue their training with the live plants in California. We will bring them back to Arizona next year with more experience where they can hopefully find even more plants at the existing sites and rediscover plants at the three sites where they have not been seen for over a decade." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
