Technology: "Ring of fire" rockets, ethical AI, how solar eclipse glasses work

March 12 – This week we're covering rocket engines that purposefully explode, how to tell whether artificial intelligence models train on copyrighted material with permission, and the saga of a pioneering aviator who, in the early 1900s, tried to build her own airplane. -Ben Guarino, Associate Editor, Technology

Top Stories

'Ring of Fire' Rocket Engines Put a New Spin on Spaceflight Rotating detonation engines developed by NASA and others could spark a rocketry revolution Steven Ashley

This Computer Scientist Seeks a Future Where AI Development Values Copyright The new nonprofit Fairly Trained certifies that artificial intelligence models license copyrighted data—which often isn't the case Ben Guarino

The Amazing Aerial Adventures of Lilian Bland, the 'Flying Feminist' In 1910 an Anglo-Irish woman named Lilian Bland built a plane with little to no encouragement from her family or aviation enthusiasts. Shortly after the plane took off, she quit flying and moved on to her next challenge Katie Hafner; Johanna Mayer; Elah Feder; The Lost Women of Science Initiative

Japan's Lunar Landing Was Lopsided—and Transformative Japan's SLIM lander has sparked a new era of precision landings, with big implications for lunar science and exploration Jatan Mehta

How Do Solar Eclipse Glasses Work? Solar eclipse glasses prevent catastrophic eye damage when observing the sun. Here's how they work Stephanie Pappas

CRISPR Will Likely Not Solve Bird Flu New research shows that CRISPR, the gene editing technique, could make chickens more resistant to bird flu. But its use raises many ethical and scientific issues Carol Cardona; Michelle Kromm

NASA's Hopes for Space Solar Power Are Looking Dim Exorbitant launch costs and daunting engineering challenges make the dream of space- based solar power look dicey for the space agency Phil Plait

How Arguments that Embryos Are People Pose a Threat to IVF Designating an IVF embryo as a person reveals the radical impact of an extreme antiabortion argument gone mainstream Laura Hercher

JWST Will Finally Hunt for Alien Moons—And Much More The next year of science for the James Webb Space Telescope has been selected. It includes remote galaxy observations and, at last, a hunt for exomoons Jonathan O'Callaghan

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