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The Morning After: Apple breaks out its 'best' apps of 2019
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. After a weekend of deal hunting, it's time to get back to news, and Apple is ready to take a victory lap by highlighting some of the best apps released on its platforms this year. Meanwhile, T-Mobile has launched 5G service, and an amateur helped NASA find India's crashed lunar lander.
NASA photos show the crash site of India's Vikram lunar lander
In September India lost contact with its Vikram lander just a mile above the Moon's surface, and now NASA has confirmed photos taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show where it impacted. The actual discovery, however, has been credited to an amateur, Shanmuga Subramanian. As the New York Times reported, he is an Indian programmer and mechanical engineer who noted subtle differences in before/after mosaic photos back in October. The debris kicked up by the impact was small enough that it's barely recognizable in the orbiter's resolution. According to NASA, the debris Shanmuga found is about 750m from the main crash site. Last week the ISRO said Vikram crashed within 500m of its intended landing point, but didn't release any pictures. The crash was apparently due to a problem with its braking thrusters, although the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft that released it is still operational and orbiting the moon, collecting data.
Europe's space agency approves the Hera anti-asteroid mission
European ministers in charge of the ESA space agency have approved Hera, a mission that will test whether deflection could save humanity from a rogue asteroid. During the $320 million mission, ESA and partner NASA will send a pair of spacecraft to a double-asteroid system called Didymos. NASA will first crash its DART probe into the smaller asteroid (Didymoon) at a speed of around 13,320 MPH, with the event recorded by an Italian cubesat called LICIACube. Hera will arrive later to map the impact crater and measure the asteroid's mass.
Astronomers find stellar black hole so large it shouldn't exist
Just because there's a picture of a black hole doesn't mean astronomers have figured out how they work. Chinese-led researchers have detected a stellar black hole in the Milky Way with a mass so large that it breaks current stellar evolution models. LB-1, a black hole 15,000 light-years away, has a mass 70 times greater than that of the Sun -- previous estimates suggested that no stellar black hole would have more than 20 times the Sun's mass. Scientists expected many dying stars to shed most of their gas, making something this large impossible without readjusting theories.
India’s lunar lander crashed within 500 meters of its target
In September, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) lost contact with its Vikram lander as it was making its descent to the lunar surface. If you were one of the people who guessed that Vikram crashed, you are correct. In a report to lawmakers, ISRO has confirmed that Vikram did indeed "hard land."
Astronomers create first global map of Saturn's moon Titan
Scientists finally have a comprehensive view of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. A team of astronomers has created the first global map of Titan by using the Cassini probe's over 100 fly-bys to stitch together both imagery and radar measurements. The comprehensive view reveals a landscape that's almost as diverse as Earth in key way.
SpaceX's first Starship pops its top during a 'pressure test' in Texas
SpaceX has already moved on to manufacturing its next generation of 'Mk3' Starship frames, but the original model Elon Musk stood in front of two months ago popped open during an apparent "pressure test" at the company's Boca Chica, TX site. According to site watchers like LabPadre, the top flew some 500 feet in the air as cryofluid sprayed everywhere. In slow-motion, it appears that fluid started bursting from the sides first.
The Morning After: Motorola RAZR returns as a $1,500 foldable phone
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Two of the most-leaked products this year have been officially unveiled. We knew they were coming, but now we've seen Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro (and put our fingers on its revamped keyboard) as well as Motorola's foldable RAZR. Beyond the new hardware, there's a deeply discounted iPad Pro to consider, and Netflix is teaming up with Nickelodeon to fight back against Disney+.
SpaceX successfully completes Crew Dragon engine tests without an explosion
SpaceX has successfully completed a round of Crew Dragon tests, which previously ended in an explosion. The space company attempted a similar set of static fire engine tests on April 20th, but it admitted a few days later that the Crew Dragon capsule it used was destroyed. It blamed the explosion on a component that leaked liquid oxidizer into high-pressure helium tubes. The more recent attempt went off without a hitch.
NASA renames Kuiper Belt object following controversy
NASA's nickname for the distant Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, Ultima Thule, has been more than a little contentious. While it has innocuous meanings, Ultima Thule is also the term white supremacists use to refer to a mythical homeland. The agency is sidestepping that controversy, however. It just officially named the object Arrokoth, or "sky" in the Powhatan/Algonquian language. NASA received the consent of the Powhatan tribe before making the change.
Japan's Hayabusa2 is returning to Earth with asteroid samples
Over the past year-and-a-half, JAXA's Hayabusa2 spacecraft served as asteroid Ryugu's companion in the vast emptiness of space. It got close enough to fire bullets into its surface and even detonated bombs to disturb the ground and scoop up samples it can take back home. Now, the spacecraft and the samples it collected have started making their way back to Earth.
The Morning After: Apple's new Mac Pro made a surprise appearance
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Before you get your week started, consider taking a look at Mercury's transit this morning -- it might be your last chance to see it for quite a while. Also, the Halo TV series is finally in production, and Apple's Mac Pro made an unexpected cameo in Calvin Harris' Instagram story.
How to safely watch Mercury pass in front of the Sun today
Mercury is about to take a rare trip between the Sun and the Earth, giving viewers around the world a rare and dramatic glimpse of the solar system's innermost planet. The transit will take about five and half hours and start at around 7:35 AM ET, according to NASA. If you've always wanted to see the phenomenon, now's the time, as it won't happen again until 2032 -- and won't be seen again in North and South America until 2049.
Watch a herd of MIT's Mini Cheetah robots frolic in the fall leaves
MIT wants to show that its Mini Cheetah robots aren't just solitary creatures. The school's Biomimetics department has posted a video of nine of the bots frolicking in the fall leaves, showing just what these pet-sized quadrupeds can do. The remote-controlled machines can backflip out of leaf piles, kick a soccer ball and have friendly tussles... well, if a bodyslam can be considered friendly. There's even some eerie coordinated dancing, in case you want to know how robots will socialize once the robopocalypse is over.
CDC says a toxic compound may be responsible for vaping illnesses
The Center for Disease Control is edging closer to an explanation for vaping-related lung illnesses. The agency has determined that vitamin E acetate, a compound present in all 29 lung tissue samples obtained from patients, is a "potential toxin of concern." The chemical is used to dilute liquid in e-cigarettes and vaping products that include THC, and is found in some food as well as cosmetic products like skin cream. It doesn't normally cause harm when swallowed or rubbed on your skin, but past research suggests that inhaling might impede lung functions.
Boeing's lunar lander pitch promises 'fastest path' to the moon
Boeing wants to make one of the Artemis program lunar landers that will take humans to the surface of the moon. The aerospace company has submitted a proposal to NASA for an integrated Human Lander System (HLS), which it says will be designed to reach the moon in the "fewest steps" possible. NASA has been accepting proposals from private space corporations and is expected to choose at least two of them by January next year for development. Blue Origin announced its own take on a lander called "Blue Moon" -- which it will develop in partnership with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper -- earlier this year.
In-brain electrodes are the latest weapon against opioid addiction
Researchers at the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) and West Virginia University Medicine are conducting the first clinical trial in the US that uses deep brain stimulation to treat opioid addiction. The procedure is meant for those who have exhausted all other forms of treatment but still suffer from opioid use disorder. The first patient, a 33-year-old man, has a decade-long history of opioid and benzo abuse, overdoses and relapses.
MIT and Ford help delivery robots navigate to your doorstep
In order for delivery robots to drop your takeout, package or meal-kit at the door, they'll need to be able to find the door. In most cases, that requires mapping a location in advance so that the robot knows where to go. But to do that on a large scale is challenging and raises security and privacy concerns. Now, a team of engineers from MIT and Ford Motor Company think they might have an answer. They've created a technique that allows robots to navigate via clues, rather than maps.
SpaceX completes crucial tests of its Crew Dragon parachutes
SpaceX has demonstrated that its latest Mark 3 Crew Dragon parachutes will work even if things don't go quite to plan. On Twitter, the company showed off a short video clip of a payload landing with only three of four parachutes deployed, and said it has successfully tested the system 13 times in a row.
Russia is making more Soyuz spacecraft to help NASA's ISS missions
While the US wants to reduce its dependence on Russian rockets, Russia itself is expecting to help for a while yet. Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin recently ordered the construction of two more Soyuz MS spacecraft, one of which will help NASA deliver astronauts to the International Space Station. The decision follows a letter from NASA director Jim Bridenstine warning of a delay in starting American commercial spacecraft flights. The US may need extra seats in 2020 and 2021, Rogozin said, and this extra spacecraft will help in a pinch.