There is a plan to bring wireless service to the moon. With increased proposals of lunar expeditions, there will be a need for reliable communications systems between the earth and moon. With this planned network of satellites, there will be consistent coverage anywhere on the moon’s surface for future planned missions.

Twenty-four satellites will orbit the moon to create this lunar connectivity, broken into groups of 6 in 4 separate orbits. They will be equipped with radio channels to provide 2-way communication from the earth and moon and communication within the moon’s surface.

“We can look forward to a time when there will be human colonies on the moon engaged in scientific, technical, and commercial activities in a robust wireless environment” wrote IEEE co-authors Alessandro Balossino of Argotec and Faramaz Davarian of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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Creating lasting infrastructure has become more relevant and valuable with dramatically increased interest in lunar missions. Having reliable inter-lunar and earth-to-moon communications will become crucial to executing these expeditions, with a long-term goal of 5G-like capabilities for the entire moon.

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A robot has reconnected two ends of an intestine through laparoscopic surgery: one of the most challenging and delicate tasks. The slightest unintentional movements can be devastating for a patient. Surgical robots have yielded more accurate and precise results, eliminating the possibility for human error.
 
The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) can plan, adapt, and execute soft-tissue surgery. It is equipped with specialized suturing tools, adaptive control, and a vision-guided system. A structural light-based three-dimensional endoscope and a learning-based tracking algorithm give the robot an enhanced view of the surgical field and the information it needs to perform safer surgeries.
 
"The STAR performed the procedure in four animals and it produced significantly better results than humans performing the same procedure," said Axel Krieger, senior author and assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins' Whiting School of Engineering.
 
Robots executing surgery with superior and more consistent results than surgeons is ground-breaking in the healthcare industry. With large-scale implementation, this equalizes access to high-quality surgical care with remarkably lower risks.

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