Sci-Tech

NASA plans to send equipment to Moon from 2020

Washington, United States (AFP) — For the first time since the 1970s, the United States is planning to send equipment to the surface of the Moon in 2020 and 2021, in anticipation of a crewed lunar mission in 2024, NASA said Friday. The US space agency has chosen American firms Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and Orbit Beyond to send instruments and other scientific equipment to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. The administration of […]

SpaceX satellites pose new headache for astronomers

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — It looked like a scene from a sci-fi blockbuster: an astronomer in the Netherlands captured footage of a train of brightly-lit SpaceX satellites ascending through the night sky this weekend, stunning space enthusiasts across the globe. But the sight has also provoked an outcry among astronomers who say the constellation, which so far consists of 60 broadband-beaming satellites but could one day grow to as many as […]

Virus-packed laptop sells as artwork for over $1.3 million

Washington, United States (AFP) — For Chinese artist Guo O Dong, the simple black Samsung laptop computer, loaded with six potent viruses, symbolizes one of the world’s most frightening threats. On Tuesday his creation “The Persistence of Chaos” rocked the art world, selling for more than $1.3 million in a New York online auction. There’s nothing special about the 2008 10-inch Netbook, running Microsoft’s now-outdated Windows XP. But loaded onto its memory chips are the […]

SpaceX launches first 60 satellites of its internet network

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX has launched a rocket carrying the first 60 satellites of its “Starlink” constellation, which is intended to provide internet from space in an array that could one day contain over 12,000 orbiting transponders. One of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets blasted off without incident from Cape Canaveral in Florida around 10:30 pm Thursday (0230 GMT Friday). An hour later, the rocket began to release the satellites at an […]

Huawei’s own OS system may be ready this year: report

Beijing, China (AFP) — Chinese telecom giant Huawei says it could roll out its own operating system for smartphones and laptops in China by the autumn after the United States blacklisted the company, a report said Thursday. The international version of the system could be ready in the first or second quarter of 2020, said Richard Yu, the head of Huawei’s consumer business, told US channel CNBC. The company was dealt a blow this week […]

SpaceX launches first satellites of its internet network

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX on Thursday launched a rocket containing the first 60 satellites of its “Starlink” constellation, which is intended to provide internet from space and could one day number 12,000 satellites. One of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets took off without incident from Cape Canaveral in Florida around 10:30 pm (0230 GMT). The second stage of the rocket will begin to release them one hour after launch, at an altitude of […]

Video game rivals Microsoft and Sony team up in cloud

San Francisco, United States (AFP) — Longtime video game console rivals Microsoft and Sony on Thursday announced an alliance to improve their platforms for streaming entertainment from the internet cloud. Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform will be used by the two rivals to support game and digital content streaming services, according to a statement from the companies. Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox have for years battled as the two leading video game consoles, with exclusive […]

More than just a pretty picture: “Picture Character” documentary gives insight into world of emojis

By Joanne Soriano EBC New York Bureau NEW YORK (Eagle News) — How often do you receive or send emojis when communicating with family and friends? The emoji, a Japanese term for “picture character,” has grown in popularity across generations and cultures as an expression of language in today’s digital world of smartphones, computers and social media. The documentary “Picture Character” takes viewers across time and distances to explore when the emoji was first created […]

SpaceX postpones launch of its first internet network satellites

by Ivan Couronne WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX postponed launch of 60 satellites into low-Earth orbit that was scheduled for Thursday night, possibly until next week, citing a need for software updates. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral was to be the first of potentially thousands in its Starlink project to beam broadband internet across the planet. “Standing down to update satellite software and triple-check everything again,” said a tweet from […]

Chinese probe reveals secrets of Moon’s dark side

by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — Scientists on Wednesday said they could be a step closer to solving the riddle behind the Moon’s formation, unveiling the most detailed survey yet of the far side of Earth’s satellite. In January, the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-4 — named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology — became the first ever craft to touch down on the far side of the lunar surface. Similar to other bodies in […]

NASA dubs 2024 Moon mission ‘Artemis,’ asks for $1.6 billion

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA’s next mission to the Moon will be called Artemis, the US space agency announced Monday, though it’s still looking for the money to make the journey happen by its accelerated 2024 deadline. In March, US President Donald Trump’s administration moved the date for the next American lunar mission up by four years from its original goal of 2028 while pledging to get a female astronaut to the Moon’s surface […]

The Moon is shrinking: study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Moon is steadily shrinking, causing wrinkling on its surface and quakes, according to an analysis of imagery captured by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) published Monday. A survey of more than 12,000 images revealed that lunar basin Mare Frigoris near the Moon’s north pole — one of many vast basins long assumed to be dead sites from a geological point of view — has been cracking and shifting. Unlike […]