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Rocket Lab will launch a NASA cubesat to the Moon
Rocket Lab will fulfill its dreams of launching payloads to the Moon. NASA has picked Rocket Lab to carry its CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) cubesat into the Moon's orbit in early 2021. An Electron rocket will launch from NASA's Wallops facility in Virginia, with the Photon platform sending CAPSTONE into a trans-lunar injection. The cubesat will only handle the last stage, when it propels itself into a cislunar orbit.
Ultrasonic bracelet jams the microphones around you
Smart speakers and other microphone-equipped devices aren't supposed to listen all the time, but there might be a solution if you aren't willing to take any chances. University of Chicago researchers have built an experimental bracelet that uses ultrasonic broadcasts from 24 speakers to jam most microphones, no matter what direction they're in. The gadget takes advantage of non-linearities in its built-in amplifier to 'leak' ultrasonic noise into the audible range and render recordings useless.
SpaceX delivers the Crew Dragon capsule to its launch site
The SpaceX Crew Dragon, which is slated to be the first spacecraft to carry humans to orbit from American soil since 2011, has arrived at its Cape Canaveral launch site. NASA and SpaceX are already preparing the vehicle for its first flight manned test and will put it through final testing and prelaunch processing over the next months. If all goes well, the first manned flight test will happen as soon as this spring -- Elon Musk previously revealed that the launch's working date is May 7th -- and will take off with veteran astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken onboard.
NASA gives four projects $3 million to develop potential space missions
NASA has announced four projects as part of its Discovery Program, which sees the space agency asking scientists to pitch focused, relatively low-cost missions for it to take on and develop into full-fledged missions. "Although they're not official missions yet and some ultimately may not be chosen to move forward, the selections focus on compelling targets and science that are not covered by NASA's active missions or recent selections," NASA writes on its website.
AI can automatically rewrite outdated text in Wikipedia articles
It's good to be skeptical of Wikipedia articles for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the possibility of outdated info -- human editors can only do so much. And while there are bots that can edit Wikipedia, they're usually limited to updated canned templates or fighting vandalism. MIT might have a more useful (not to mention more elegant) solution. Its researchers have developed an AI system that automatically rewrites outdated sentences in Wikipedia articles while maintaining a human tone. It won't look out of line in a carefully crafted paragraph, then.
‘Apollo 13’ returns to theaters for three days in April
Despite never landing on the moon, Apollo 13 is one of the most notable spaceflights in history. An explosion on the Apollo 13's service module put the lives of its three crew members in peril. And despite all odds, the astronauts were able to keep the ship functioning until safely touching down on Earth. 25 years later, Ron Howard directed a largely accurate film version of the near-fatal mission. To celebrate the mission's 50th anniversary, Apollo 13 will return to theaters on April 5th, 6th and 8th.
The Morning After: The last Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and S20 leaks
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Today, Samsung will reveal a few mobile devices well ahead of the MWC show, which is quickly racking up cancellations due to coronavirus fears. We've seen plenty of leaks, including a few from Samsung itself, so phones like the Galaxy Z Flip and S20 are as confirmed for unveiling as you'll get. Like most of you, I'm still skeptical about foldable devices, but there's a lot more than just those in store. We have a full rundown of what to expect available, here, so you can read through it and get ready for the event at 2 PM ET. -- Richard
The first crewed SpaceX flight could happen around May 7th
Last month, Elon Musk said he expected the SpaceX Crew Dragon to launch, with astronauts onboard, sometime between April and June. Now, Ars Technica's Eric Berger reports that first crewed flight could take off on May 7th. Though, due to "a number of variables not hardware related" the launch could happen in late April or later in May. We don't know yet how long the flight will be.
ESA-NASA's Solar Orbiter is on its way to observe the Sun's poles
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have successfully launched the Solar Orbiter on the first-ever mission to study the Sun's poles. It launched aboard United Alliance's highly reliable Atlas V rocket at 11:03 PM ET on February 9th, and at 12:24 AM, scientists received confirmation that the solar panels had unfurled. In about two years, the orbiter will make its first close pass to the Sun and begin observations that could transform solar science and potentially make manned moon missions safer. According to ESA Solar Orbiter project manager César García Marirrodriga, "we have established new high-temperature technologies and completed the challenge of building a spacecraft that is ready to face the Sun and study it up close."
Rain may soon be an effective source of renewable energy
There have been numerous attempt to generate electricity using rain, but this may be one of the more effective solutions yet. Researchers have developed a generator that uses a field-effect transistor-style structure to instantly produce a surprisingly high voltage from water drops -- a single drop can muster 140V, or enough power to briefly light up 100 small LED bulbs. Earlier generators without the structure produced "thousands" of times less instant power density, the scientists said.
'Resurrected' mammoth DNA helps explain why the species went extinct
Reviving the woolly mammoth is still a tall order. However, technology might be far enough along to help explain why the elephant precursor went extinct in the first place. Scientists have 'resurrected' genes from a population of mammoths that survived on a Siberian island until around 4,000 years ago to see what might have contributed to this relic herd dying out. After resurrecting a mammoth's genes through cells in culture, they compared it against both other mammoths and Asian elephants to look for problematic mutations based on known genetic behavior.
Trump's next budget could give NASA a huge funding windfall
If NASA is going to fulfill its goal of returning to the Moon by 2024, it's going to need a lot of money in very short order -- and that might be forthcoming. The Trump administration is proposing one of the largest NASA budgets in years as part of its latest budget, earmarking $25 billion for the space agency versus the $19 billion from the first year of the administration and $22 billion for this year. Nearly $3 billion of that would be devoted to creating the vehicles needed for the Artemis program. The budget is also poised to outline Artemis' complete costs and provide a clearer roadmap for the 2024 mission.
NASA wants to review Boeing’s Starliner work after setbacks
Boeing just can't catch a break. Currently amid a lengthy controversy surrounding the company's grounded 737 Max aircraft, the aerospace manufacturer is now facing scrutiny from NASA. Boeing's CST-100 Starliner crew capsule was supposed to dock with the International Space Station during its inaugural test flight in December. However, a software error prevented the craft from reaching the correct orbit. Now, a second -- and more dangerous -- glitch has been uncovered. According to SpaceNews, NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel member Paul Hill said, "...if it had gone uncorrected, it would have led to erroneous thruster firings and uncontrolled motion...with the potential for a catastrophic spacecraft failure," during a teleconference. Boeing and NASA were hoping to follow up December's test with a manned flight, but after finding multiple problems with Boeing's work, the space agency is calling for a review of the company's software verification processes before proceeding.
The Morning After: Netflix finally ends the auto-play nightmare
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. About five years ago, Netflix revamped its streaming apps and rolled out the worst feature it's ever developed. Even if you like it, you know which one I'm talking about -- bringing video playback "forward" to make things more like cable TV. At first, pulling up a show or movie and pausing for a moment too long would cause it to start playing. Then, simply highlighting a selection while scrolling meant it would start playing the trailer, or worse, playing a section of the movie backed by some random stock music Netflix pulled from somewhere. It made casually browsing the service's catalog a nightmare, but for whatever reason -- I assume there was some analytical data showing it increased viewing -- Netflix refused to change it. Since then, competitors like Disney+ and HBO Max have highlighted the "feature" as something they chose not to copy, and now, at long last, Netflix is providing a way to turn it off. You'll need to pull up the Manage Settings page in your browser and disable AutoPlay Preview, but by pressing that one button, things can go back to the way they should've been all along. Was that really so hard, Netflix? -- Richard
SpaceX plans to spin off its Starlink satellite internet business
SpaceX chief Elon Musk declared years ago that the company won't go public until its Mars vehicle is regularly flying people to the red planet. You might get the chance to own a piece of the company earlier than that, though: According to Bloomberg, SpaceX is thinking of spinning out Starlink, its space internet business, and of taking it public.
Christina Koch returns to Earth after a record 328 days in space
After 328 days in space, NASA astronaut Christina Koch is back on Earth. She returns holding the record for the longest stay in space by a woman, and she has earned bragging rights for another major milestone: she and fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir completed the first all-female spacewalk during Koch's extended stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Researchers can 'steal' data by tracking a PC monitor's brightness
There are already ways to siphon data from computers without a network connection or old-fashioned physical theft, but this might be one of the cleverer examples. Researchers have found a way to steal data from "air-gapped" computers (that is, no way to connect to other devices) using an LCD's brightness. The approach has a compromised computer relay imperceptible changes in the LCD's RGB color values that a camera-equipped device can detect. You could theoretically trick someone into loading malware on the target system through a USB drive and use nearby hijacked security cameras to transmit that information.
The Morning After: Meet Cadillac's tech-heavy new Escalade
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Good morning! Since there's nothing at all wonky to report with Election 2020 results and incredibly flawed apps that were shoddily included in the primary process, let me point you to your next 4K demo reel. It's from 1896. Yes, that's a bit older than most reference-quality material, but that's just because you haven't seen Denis Shiryaev's neural network-enhanced edition of the 50-second silent film L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat. Some people, like Engadget video producer Chris Schodt, note that blowing it up to full screen will expose some ugly artifacts caused by the additional processing, but also, some people are haters. -- Richard
Drone network provides early warnings for natural disasters
Drones might soon deliver a heads-up when natural disasters are about to strike. Researchers have developed a communication system that uses a drone network to provide early warnings for disasters. The challenge wasn't so much the drone-to-drone communication as the battery life. Where a typical hobbyist drone rarely lasts more than half an hour in the air, a smarter resource allocation method helps this system lasts three to five longer while covering a large area. The drones can also form a WiFi hotspot that keeps people online when conventional infrastructure has fallen apart.
SpaceX asks permission to take Starship on a high-altitude test flight
One of the next major steps in SpaceX's plans for true spaceflight will be a 12-mile-high test flight. Sometime between March and September, the company plans to launch its Starship suborbital test vehicle from Boca Chica, Texas. The Starship will travel to an altitude of 12.4 miles, or 20 kilometers. SpaceX will then attempt to land and recover the vehicle.