Piotr Kosek on Technology — predictions scored

"We are entering the Vera Rubin Observatory, and it will be a true game changer, because we are launching a telescope with the largest digital camera in human history, 3.2 gigapixels. This monster will not look at a single point, but will scan the entire sky, constantly creating a time-lapse film of the universe's existence. The LSST program, or Legacy Survey of Space and Time, will generate 20 TB of data every night. Mike Brown said directly: "If someone gave him a suitcase full of money and told him to find Planet Nine, he would build something like the Vera Rubin telescope." This device is capable of detecting objects orders of magnitude dimmer than anything we have had so far. Scientists estimate that the number of known objects in the solar system will increase by as much as a hundredfold thanks to it. If Planet Nine is there, Vera Rubin will find it. If it's the Kuiper Belt disk, Vera Rubin will see its structure. "

"In Rubin's first year alone, scientists expect the observatory to find 1 million undiscovered asteroids — as many as have been documented in the previous 200 years of human history — as well as thousands of comets and billions of stars and galaxies. “We've never had this kind of explosion of discovery within astronomy,” said Sarah Greenstreet, an astronomer at the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory. "

"The Psyche spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the asteroid in August 2029 and enter orbit. The mission will involve a series of orbits that gradually lower to collect data. The asteroid is considered a potential exposed core of a protoplanet. "

"The Falcon 9 rocket launched in January 2025. It fulfilled its mission, but now gravity has finally taken its toll. On August 5, 2026, at 9:44 AM our time, this second stage journey will come to an end. Violently. "

"Japan is preparing a groundbreaking Start mission in 2026. Also a very interesting thing, my dear friends, because the goal will be to collect samples from Mars' moon Phobos and deliver them to Earth. Visualization of the Martian Moons Exploration MMX mission. "

"According to the current schedule, the MMX probe will reach the vicinity of Mars in '27 and begin detailed studies of its two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Landing on Phobos is planned for 2029. Scientists want to collect about 10g of material from it and transport it to Earth. The return of samples to our planet will then take place in 2031. "

"Japan is preparing a groundbreaking Start mission in 2026. Also a very interesting thing, dear friends, because the goal will be to collect samples from Mars' moon Phobos and deliver them to Earth. "

"The MMX probe will reach Mars in 2027 and begin detailed studies of its two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Landing on Phobos is planned for 2029. Scientists want to collect about 10g of material from it and transport it to Earth. The return of samples to our planet will then be in 2031. "

"If WIMPs indeed annihilate in our galaxy, then we should see similar signals in neighboring dwarf galaxies, especially. Data from this observatory could be the ultimate proof that would close the case once and for all. "

"Skyfall helicopters are to serve as advanced front-line scouts. Traversing vast areas at high speed, they will systematically map and thoroughly characterize deep subsurface ice deposits. We will receive precise data on the scale of these phenomena. Because we know that this ice is located under the regolith, but we don't know in what quantities. We will be able to determine their precise depth, and also volume. "

"The amount of information that, as of today, SKA will generate as input to the internet, is estimated to be about 10 times greater than all other information circulating on the internet. "

"One of the most sought-after particles in modern physics is the graviton. The quantum of gravity. Why is searching for it so important? Because if we managed to measure it, we would have irrefutable proof that Einstein's general theory of relativity, the foundation of our understanding of the cosmos, is ultimately wrong, actually incomplete, and must give way to a theory that gives spacetime quantum properties. "

"Dark energy is a working term for some mysterious force that acts like cosmic anti-gravitational repulsion, tearing apart cosmic space at an unprecedented rate. We don't know what it is, but the Vera Rubin Telescope, thanks to precise measurements of distant galaxies, can provide the most accurate measurement data in history, which will allow theoretical physicists to verify cosmological models that try to explain this phenomenon. "

"SR-1 Freedom is the first step in a deliberate sequence. It will inform and enable Lunar Reactor-1 (LR-1), a fission surface-power system designed to keep the Moon Base operating through periods of darkness and in locations where solar power alone cannot reach. "

"The ISS will end soon, as they say, the funeral dance will probably be played at the end of this decade. Maybe it will be extended a little bit, but future orbital stations, commercial orbital stations, all of this will need resupply. "

"If WIMPs indeed annihilate in our galaxy, then we should see similar signals in neighboring dwarf galaxies, especially. Data from this observatory could be the ultimate proof that would close the case once and for all. "

"The third phase is the culmination, the final transition from periodic research expeditions to a permanent, continuously inhabited lunar base, which will enable human presence there without any interruptions 365 days a year. We will then see the landing of multifunctional habitats and massive life support equipment. "

"Phase two is the stage of establishing early supporting infrastructure. At that time, repetitive, cyclical astronaut operations will begin, including major international partners in the program framework. Then, for example, we will see in action the contribution of the Japanese agency JAXA, which will provide an advanced pressurized rover, and this will allow astronauts to undertake multi-day expeditions away from the lunar base. "

"It is probable that we will skip certain steps that took place in the Apollo program, such as descending low to a low lunar orbit, in favor of Artemis 3, the next mission, having docking tests in low Earth orbit, and Artemis 4 being a direct landing on the Moon's surface. So, the Artemis program is moving quite quickly thanks to the data and knowledge we gathered in previous Apollo program missions. "

"Pions are not very short-lived particles, mesons. These are pi mesons, also called pions. Systems of two quarks, antiquarks. That's the point. So it already has a 'nice' mass, so to speak. And because they will be produced in this specific situation of annihilation of appropriate substances, you can direct them through a nozzle outwards and thus simply provide yourself with such an almost ionic engine, but based directly on antimatter. "