Why is it still so hard to land on the moon?
Two missions from SpaceIL and the Indian Space Research Organization both failed to land craft on the moon this year. Fifty years after Apollo, we spoke to two space experts to understand why are lunar landings still so challenging.
SpaceX unveils its stunning, shiny, stainless steel-clad Starship
SpaceX has unveiled is next-generation rocket, the Starship, and it's a stainless steel stunner. The prototype, called the Starship Mk1, sits at 50 meters tall with a diameter of 9 meters and will be powered by a total of 37 engines. It will have both a resuable first stage and a reusable second stage.
Artificial skin gives haptic feedback, could let you feel VR
Researchers have come up with a flexible artificial skin which can provide haptic feedback and could be used for everything from VR to medical rehabilitation. The skin is made of silicone and electrodes and can conform to shapes such as a wrist to provide feedback in the form of pressure or vibration.
Upcoming space telescope can pick out distant exoplanets against glare of stars
For the last few years, NASA has been working away a new space telescope even more advanced than Hubble. The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope was announced in 2016 and will have 100 times the field of view of the Hubble. Now, NASA has shared an update on WFIRST and how its coronagraph will operate.
Autobots, roll out: NASA creates transforming robot for exploring Titan
Finally, the future that children of the '80s want to see is on its way. NASA is working on its very own Transformer -- a bot called Shapeshifter made up of smaller robots which can combine into different configurations to roll, swim, fly, and float. It is a prototype for exploring Saturn's moon Titan.
Faster super-resolution microscope can see virus particles moving through a cell
Super-resolution microscopes can look at resolutions of a millionth of a millimeter, but they work slowly due to the volume of image data they need to record. Now, researchers have developed a way to speed up the process by creating a method which can record data at this microscopic scale in real-time.
Researchers develop flexible brain-machine interface for controlling wheelchairs
Brain-machine interfaces could potentially allow people with physical disabilities to control a wheelchair. But, current BMI systems require the use of a large, bulky system. Now, researchers have found a way to miniaturize the technology and make it more discreet and usable in everyday situations.
Model based on fusion energy research explains why sunspots peak every 11 years
Of all the mysteries about our sun, one of the most perplexing is the cycle of sunspots. These dark patches on the sun's surface appear for a few weeks at a time before fading and increase in frequency to a peak every 11 years. A new study aims to explain this cycle by modeling the movement of plasma.
YouTube removes verification from channels, faces backlash, reverifies everyone
YouTube is facing a backlash from its content creators once again, this time for taking away and then re-instating the verification of a large number of channels. On Thursday, many YouTube channels were unverified. After significant complaints from content creators, the company re-verified the accounts.
French court case against Valve may have serious implications for games sales
In 2015, the French group UFC Que Choisir took Valve to court over the way that the store sells digital games. The case focused on the fact that consumers cannot resell a game once they have purchased a digital copy. Now, a court has ruled that Valve will have to change their policies or face a fine.
NASA chooses a CubeSat project to test orbit route around the moon
NASA's ambitious Gateway program aims to send four astronauts to an outpost in orbit around the moon by 2025. But before this, a safe and stable orbit needs to be chosen. To that end, NASA has awarded a contract to the Advanced Space company to send a small satellite into the orbit planned for Gateway.
Astronomers puzzled by a flashing X-ray mystery in the Fireworks galaxy
Astronomers were looking at the Fireworks galaxy when they noticed something odd. There was an X-ray source that wasn't there in their first observations but was seen clearly in a second observation only ten days later. And then in the next set of observations, it was gone again.
Titan’s lakes are formed by explosions of methane from beneath its surface
Other than Earth, there's only one body in our solar system which has liquid on its surface - Titan, one of the moons of Saturn, which has lakes of methane. Using data from the Cassini probe, scientists have a new theory for how these lakes were formed -- by explosions of nitrogen from deep underground.
Astronomers discover hungry black hole that demands three square meals a day
We all know we should be getting three square meals a day. And now astronomers have found a black hole which seems to share this preference -- it consumes material on a regular schedule once every nine hours. Researchers are wondering why it emits bursts of X-rays which repeat in a regular pattern.
Time is running out for India to establish contact with its lunar lander
Time is running out for engineers from the Indian space program to establish contact with the troubled Chandrayaan-2 lunar lander. Earlier this week, more details were revealed about what exactly went wrong as the Chandrayaan-2 lander descended towards the lunar surface.
Windows 10 update to fix Cortana bug breaks some users’ start menus
Another day, another Windows 10 update issue. The problem this time is that a fix rolled out for a Cortana bug has caused further issues of its own, by breaking the start menu of some users. Users have found that the update causes their start menu to stop working, with a critical error message.
Everything is connected: Qualcomm is all-in on 5G for 2020
You've heard 5G is coming, though it's tough to get excited about an incremental improvement in mobile internet speeds. But Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon wants to change that, announcing the chipmaker's new 5G features at IFA 2019 and laying out use cases like video streaming, AR, and cloud gaming.
Jupiter’s magnetic field simulated on Earth using CERN high-energy electron beam
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, is most famous for its particle collider, but it also has facilities that can test for other high-energy environments similar to those found in space. Now those facilities are being used to test future spacecraft to see if they are radiation-proof.
Gas at 20 million degrees glows brightly in this colorful supernova remnant
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has returned to the first target it imaged 20 years ago, to collect an updated image. A glowing cloud is the remnant of a supernova Cassiopeia A which is believed to have exploded in the year 1680, generating shock waves that illuminated stellar debris around it.
What happens to concrete when you mix it in space? ISS astronauts investigate
Concrete is a material used everywhere on Earth due to its strength and relatively light weight. That makes it a useful candidate for a material to built structures out of in space as well. But you can't mix up cement in space the same way you do on Earth and expect the same result.
India locates its lander on the moon, is trying to establish communications
It was sad times for the Indian space program on Friday when contact was lost with the Chandrayaan-2 lunar lander in the final minutes before its planned landing on the moon. But all is not lost. Today the ISRO announced it has located the Vikram module and is now trying to re-establish communications.
5 awesome pieces of new tech we saw on display at IFA 2019
It's not just consumer electronics on show at IFA 2019 -- it's also a great place to get a glimpse of emerging technologies which could change the way we live in the future. Here are 5 awesome pieces of new technology we spotted on the show floor this year, from exoskeletons to hydroponic gardening pods.
Roku is coming for Netflix’s European streaming dominance
Roku may be the king of the streaming services in the U.S., but it's less well known in Europe. Now, Roku aims to change that and to challenge Netflix's European dominance. At IFA 2019, the company announced it is expanding into the European market with new Hisense TV models and a TV licensing program.
Sony’s colorful retro headphones are a match for its funky new Walkman
At IFA 2019, Sony debuted the colorful WF-H800 truly wireless headphones, as well as five color options for the WH-H910N overband headphones. There are also matching colors available for the relaunched Walkman, so you can mix and match your color scheme and get your retro groove on.
Samsung takes on home appliances with its Ikea-like modular fridge and more
At IFA 2019, Samsung introduced a range of techy home appliances, including a modular fridge concept, a quiet air purifier, a powerful cordless vacuum, and a dual oven that can cook and steam at the same time. Plus, there's a wardrobe that can steam or dry your clothes as you store them.
Philips unveils a pair of Bluetooth speakers that are works of art
There may be more Bluetooth speakers available than is possible to count, but they're generally not very attractive objects. Philips is aiming to change that, with a range of audio products created in partnership with Scandinavian designer Georg Jensen. The devices were announced at IFA 2019.
Sony updates its wireless headphones with new noise-canceling processor
Good news for sporty audio lovers: At IFA 2019, Sony announced it will be expanding its range of noise-canceling headphones to include a new wireless model. As well as the true wireless WF-1000XM3s and the beloved over-ear WH-1000XM3s, Sony is releasing a wireless model called the WI-1000XM2.
The Aalto Explorer drone lets people explore under the sea using VR
If you've ever wanted to experience life beneath the waves without getting your feet wet, now's your chance. A project called the Aalto Explorer will let members of the public get a first-person view from an underwater drone using VR. At IFA 2019, Digital Trends spoke with team member Annie Tran about the project.
Researchers use brain-machine interface to create a sixth sense in rats
A University of Pennsylvania study used a brain-machine interface to create a sixth sense for navigation in rats. Digital Trends spoke with senior author Dr. Tim Lucas about how the technology works and how it could be developed in the future to restore sensory experiences to people suffering from paralysis.
Astronomers think microbes could be changing Venus’ atmosphere
Venus may be our neighbor in the solar system, but there's still a lot we don't know about the planet, particularly about the clouds that float in its atmosphere. Now, a new study suggests the weather on the planet could be affected by microorganisms similar to those which live in our atmosphere.
Upcoming mission to Jupiter images the planet’s moons from here on Earth
An upcoming mission to Jupiter's moons from the European Space Agency, called the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, hasn't even left Earth yet but has already imaged its target of the Jupiter system. The image shows Jupiter surrounded by some of its moons: Europa, Ganymede, Io, and Callisto.
Massive neutron stars smash together, forging gold in an explosive kilonova
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory detects gravitational waves by looking at the collisions of black holes and other cosmic bodies, such as the first observed merger between two neutron stars in 2017. Now, a team of astronomers has observed what happens during these epic impacts.
Jupiter’s recently discovered moons have been named by the public
Last year, researchers from the Carnegie Institution for Science announced they had discovered 12 new moons in orbit around Jupiter. In order to name these newly-discovered bodies Carnegie Science turned to the public for suggestions, and now it has announced the new names for five of the moons.
International Space Station communications get an upgrade, doubling data rate
Components of the Space Network have been upgraded to double the rate at which data can be sent from the ISS back to Earth, allowing faster transfer of scientific information. The new 600 megabits per second (Mbps) connection will help with human spaceflight missions as well as scientific research.
Celebrate Spitzer’s 16th birthday with these 16 beautiful space images
The Spitzer Telescope launched 16 years ago, in August 2003. To celebrate its sweet sixteen, NASA has shared 16 of the most beautiful space images captured by this infrared telescope. Here you can see nebulas, galaxies, clusters, and more, captured in infrared light which shows glowing dust features.