The Tribune

• THE Alaska SeaLife Centre in Seward has announced that 98 per cent of its heating and cooling requirements are fulfilled by alternative energy: heat extracted from ocean water in Resurrection Bay.

The heat exchange system is saving money, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and fulfilling the aquarium and research centre’s mission of sharing scientific knowledge to promote stewardship of Alaska’s marine resources.

“Simple payback is estimated to be 13 years at the estimated annual savings on electricity of $48,000,” a centre spokesman said.

Resurrection Bay, at more than 900 feet deep, absorbs solar heat over summer months. The water warms through late October, and below the surface, retains enormous amounts of heat throughout winter. The system draws seawater at 42 degrees or higher from 300 feet deep and pumps it into a heat exchanger with non-corrosive titanium plates, where it heats a loop of water and 10 per cent glycol. Passed alongside a loop of liquid carbon dioxide, the liquid CO2 boils into a vapour and is compressed, raising the vapour temperature dramatically to 194 degrees.

• A CAMERA lens used during the Apollo 15 space mission in 1971 sold at auction last week for more than $450,000.

Boston-based RR Auction said the 12-inch long Zeiss Tele-Tessar 500mm f/8 lens used by mission commander David Scott on the moon and in orbit was sold on Thursday to an anonymous buyer. The lens, designed for the Hasselblad Electric Data Camera, was used to take nearly 300 photos. It has modifications to make it easier to use while wearing pressurised spacesuit gloves. It was part of the 83-year-old Scott’s personal collection, given to him as a memento by NASA.

• DUBAI, already home to the world’s tallest building, is looking to get ahead by getting out of the driver’s seat.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler, announced plans on Monday to have 25 per cent of all car trips in the United Arab Emirates city-state to be driverless by 2030.

Sheikh Mohammed said it would cut down on costs and traffic crashes. He said the project would be a joint venture by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and the Dubai Future Foundation.

Already, Dubai is home to a driverless Metro rail system.

• RESEARCHERS in Nebraska have tested a drone which could eventually help in fighting grass fires in remote areas.

A team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln flew an unmanned aircraft over the prairie at the Homestead National Monument of America on Friday, dropping ping pong-like balls filled with a chemical mixture to ignite brush-clearing grass fires.

Local and federal officials are interested in the technology because it could help clear overgrown vegetation in rugged, hard-to-reach terrain.

The balls are filled with potassium permanganate powder before they are loaded into the drone. During flight, the aircraft pierces the ball with a needle and injects it with another chemical, glycol, before releasing it. The mixture ignites one to two minutes later. The technology is already used by helicopters to start controlled burns, but researchers note that the drone is cheaper and more portable.