There is no GPS on the Moon – so to find where things land and go, we have to rely on orbital observations. To make this work easier, NASA has developed an ingenious object that doesn’t require power to make its presence known: You put it on top of your lander and you are ready to be found, then you wait for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to shoot a laser at you. It worked for the Vikram rover, and has now worked for Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) too.SLIM is a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency lander, and Vikram is a mission from the Indian Space Research Organisation. With these landers, the Asian nations became the fourth and fifth countries to land on the Moon. NASA Laser Retroreflector Arrays have hitched a ride on both of them so they can be tested out.The device on SLIM is the size of a cookie, 5 centimeters (2 inches) across. It has eight quartz corner-cube prisms set into a dome-shaped aluminum frame. Thanks to those, it can reflect light coming from multiple directions. LRO can use its laser altimeter to hit it and record the light that bounces back.“LRO’s altimeter wasn’t built for this type of application, so the chances of pinpointing a tiny retroreflector on the Moon’s surface are already low,” Xiaoli Sun, who led the team that built SLIM’s retroreflector at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center as part of a partnership between NASA and JAXA, said in a statement.But there was a complication: SLIM landed on its side, so it wasn’t easy to actually get a ping from the retroreflector. The first eight attempts led to nothing. It was only the ninth and tenth attempts that resulted in a signal back. It took multiple attempts for Vikram as well, but there, the team didn’t have to make sure they knew exactly where the location of the lander was. To confirm the signal was from SLIM, that was necessary.Still, it shows that the system works – even in unexpected conditions. A future system of positioning involving the retroreflectors would have an orbital partner actually designed to do such a job. LRO’s altimeter is not bespoke. So the fact that the system works even at an angle is great.  “For the LRO team to have reached a retroreflector that faces sideways, instead of the sky, shows that these little devices are incredibly resilient,” Sun added.The system could be used in future crewed and uncrewed missions to land closer to other spacecraft or objects already on the surface of the Moon.

The “unsinkable ship” known as the Titanic became arguably the most infamous shipwreck in history in 1912 after it struck an iceberg. After warnings were ignored, it wasn’t until a lookout spotted the iceberg that evasive action was taken, but it was too late.The ship’s starboard side was punctured, allowing five of 16 compartments to flood with water – one more than the ship was equipped to handle – but could things have been different if no action had been taken? Would the Titanic have sunk if it hit the iceberg head-on?             The Titanic’s Break-UpOne of the accolades that earned the Titanic its “unsinkable” status was the inclusion of 16 compartments in the hull that were believed to be watertight. Even if flooded, it was thought that the ship could remain functional if no more than four of them filled with water. Unfortunately, when the Titanic struck the iceberg, it seems water got into five of them.This has often been quoted as the leading cause of the Titanic sinking, though a review marking the 100th Anniversary in 2012 concluded that identifying a single cause is complex. That’s because several things went wrong after the collision, like buckling of the ship's bottom and failure of the joints due to stress.Avoiding The IcebergThere are several reports of other boats at sea trying to warn the Titanic of ice up ahead, but it seems that these were ignored as ice wasn’t considered a significant threat to massive ships. That meant that by the time lookout Frederick Fleet spotted the massive iceberg directly ahead, efforts to steer around it failed to avoid a collision and the starboard side was hit and the hull buckled, allowing water to rush into the compartments.As five of the compartments were breached, the ship took on water, sinking the bow and causing the stern to rise into the air. Eventually, the ship snapped in two and the bow was fully submerged, meanwhile, air trapped in the stern saw it become vertically raised before sinking into the depths.  Hitting The Iceberg Head OnThe SS Arizona was a 450-foot long ship that in 1879 hit an iceberg stem-on and sailed to tell the tale for another 50 years. Another ship, the SS Grampian, also survived a head-on collision in 1919. The two vessels by no means came out unscathed, both taking on serious damage and the SS Grampian lost two stewards, but the ships themselves didn’t sink.So, had the Titanic taken the damage head-on rather than down its starboard side, could it too have stayed afloat? According to the YouTube channel Oceanliner Designs, the complex honeycomb structure of steel in the ship’s stern means it theoretically could’ve had enough elasticity to suffer the blow without instantly breaking apart.The folding in that occurs when a ship hits a stationary object head-on like this is called telescoping, and in history, it’s happened to numerous ships without them sinking. Certainly, the view that Titanic could’ve stayed afloat with a head-on collision is one that was shared by Edward Wilding, deputy to Thomas Andrews in the ship’s design department.Excerpt from the British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry, Day 19The Commissioner: Do you mean to say that if this ship had driven on to the iceberg stem on she would have been saved? Edward Wilding: I am quite sure she would, My Lord. I am afraid she would have killed every firemen down in the firemen's quarters, but I feel sure the ship would have come in. C: And the passengers would not have been lost? EW: The passengers would have come in. […] C: Do you think that if the helm had not been starboarded there would have been a chance of the ship being saved? EW: I believe the ship would have been saved, and I am strengthened in that belief by the case which your Lordship will remember where one large North Atlantic steamer, some 34 years ago, did go stem on into an iceberg and did come into port, and she was going fast.Mr. Laing: The "Arizona" - I remember it.  According to Wilding’s testimony, the Titanic would have crumpled, killing many workers in the affected part of the ship as it was crushed 24 to 30 meters (80 to 100 feet) into the bows, but she could have stayed afloat. Of course, to expect the ship’s captain to make such a call in the face of an oncoming iceberg the size of a city block wouldn't be reasonable, but it raises interesting ideas about the design of such enormous vessels.Furthermore, coming to an abrupt stop when ramming into the side of an enormous iceberg comes with its own fatal consequences. As the 100th-anniversary review concluded, it’s difficult to know what could have been given the complexity of the ship’s design and how the ship could have responded to such an impact, and the possible outcome of a head-on collision becomes even more murky when you take into account the fire theory.

For 30 years, physicists have been considering the possibility of creating a unique propulsion system called a warp drive. But this is not an engine in the usual sense of the word. This hypothetical device could compress space-time in front of a spacecraft and thus allow it to fly at superluminal speeds. This may sound like science fiction, but physicists believe that warp engines could theoretically exist and someone would use them to move through space. These could be potential highly developed aliens. The authors of a study published in the Open Journal of Astrophysics presented a way to detect such an engine in space. Warp drive is theorized to create a warp bubble around the spacecraft. Actually, the ship itself is not moving anywhere, but the bubble is moving, thanks to the compression of space-time in front of the ship. This allows you to achieve speeds that are faster than the speed of light. In theory, warp drive requires exotic matter and negative energy to operate. Opponents of this idea believe that such an engine cannot exist, because it violates the known laws of physics. On the other hand, even if it is possible to create a warp engine, it is unclear how to control it and deactivate the warp bubble upon reaching its destination. The authors of the new study believe that, in theory, warp engines could exist and are already being used, and the consequences of stopping their operation could be detected. Physicists believe warp drive should release gravitational waves, or ripples, into the fabric of space-time that produce black hole or neutron star mergers. Photo: space.com That is, this hypothetical device itself can be detected. Physicists created simulations that revealed the possible effects of warp drives on spacetime. Physicists believe that warp drive should release gravitational waves, or ripples, into the fabric of space-time that produce black hole or neutron star mergers. These waves can be detected by gravitational wave detectors on Earth, but more sensitive instruments need to be developed. Physicists say that the necessary technologies already exist. Thus, the receipt of a unique gravitational signal will indicate that warp engines really exist. Simulations have shown that when a warp drive stops or slows down, a wave of negative energy is released, followed in turn by waves of positive and negative energy. This process leads to an increase in overall energy and could be further evidence of the operation of warp drive, since the energy waves will interact with ordinary matter. So far, humanity does not have the necessary technologies even for fast manned flights to the farthest corners of the solar system, not to mention reaching the nearest stars. Even at the speed of light, it would take a spacecraft at least 4 years to reach the closest triple system, Alpha Centauri. By the way, as Focus already wrote , scientists have options for quick travel to this star system. Therefore, for interstellar travel it is necessary to create technologies that could allow spaceships to fly at superluminal speeds. In this case, the flight to the nearest stars will take months, not years. But all this still remains only theoretical reflections of physicists or the basis for the creation of plots by science fiction writers. Will warp drive ever be created? There is no exact answer. Does it even exist somewhere in space? Maybe. The post Scientists will see if aliens use warp engines to move through Universe appeared first on Anomalien.com.

When is the Where Winds Meet release date? This stunning open world game utilizes Wuxia combat, a superhuman martial arts genre of fiction that makes this upcoming adventure truly shine. If you weren't excited by that alone, there's a lot to dig into, as Where Winds Meet was originally revealed in 2022, now we know a fair bit about to what expect when it comes to this dazzling open world game, including the regions, story, gameplay, and the unique combat and weapons you'll be wielding as you discover more about the young martial artist you play as. Continue reading Where Winds Meet release date estimate and latest news MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best PC games, Best RPG games, Best free games

All good things come to an end. DLC and content updates can turn a struggling game around, or make a good one great, but personally, I’m a big believer in finishing something - I prefer when developers complete a project, take what they’ve learned, and apply it to a brand-new idea. It’s been three years since medieval MMO Chivalry 2 first arrived into the world and now its creator Torn Banner confirms that it is feature complete and that the recent Regicide update will be its last. More Chivalry games are coming. There’s also zombie co-op shooter No More Room in Hell 2. But Chivalry 2 is retiring to that nice big castle in the country. Continue reading Beloved medieval MMO Chivalry 2 is finished for good, no more updates MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Chivalry 2 review, Get started in Chivalry 2 , Best Chivalry 2 classes

Cult of the Lamb: Unholy Alliance is the next free update to the fantastic roguelike game, and it's absolutely jam-packed with goodies. Having earned the coveted ‘overwhelmingly positive’ rating with Steam score of 95% from over 69,000 user reviews, developer Massive Monster gives us an insight into what we can expect from the expansion, which includes the addition of co-op play, new structures, and plenty of extra follower traits and items. Continue reading Cult of the Lamb teases new items, buildings, and co-op in free update MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Upcoming PC Games, Cult of the Lamb beginners guide, How to get lumber and stone in Cult of the Lamb

The Nothing Phone 2A Plus will be available in the UK first, followed by limited availability in the US a few days later. | Image: Nothing A little more than four months after the Phone 2A’s debut, Nothing is already introducing a follow-up with the Phone 2A Plus, which has a handful of performance improvements and a more premium look while maintaining a sub-$400 price tag. Plus is often used in smartphone naming to delineate a larger model with a bigger screen, but that’s not the case here. The Phone 2A Plus has the same 6.7-inch OLED screen up front to go with the same flashing Glyph Interface in the back, the same 5,000mAh battery, and NFC, just like the 2A. The biggest upgrade for the Phone 2A Plus is a new MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G processor, currently exclusive to Nothing, which the company claims is nearly 10 percent faster than the processor used in the Phone... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is making Skype ad-free in an update that will rollout to users across all platforms soon. The update also includes improved AI image creation tools on Skype for Windows and macOS, and the ability to sign in automatically on iOS if you’re already signed into another Microsoft app. “Our latest update removes all ads from Skype channels and the entire Skype platform, ensuring a smoother, decluttered and more enjoyable user experience,” says Skype product manager Irene Namuganyi. The removal of ads in Skype means you’ll no longer see ads in the main chat interface, or in the channels section. Microsoft says it has listened to feedback around ads in Skype, and decided to “focus on your chats without any ad distractions, making your... Continue reading…

The excavation team in Turkey found a small, clay tablet that detailed a large furniture purchase. Experts said the finding may provide clues to the area's socioeconomic condition in the Late Bronze period.

Left-wing groups donate to organizations considered Christian in an attempt to control the evangelical vote, says Megan Basham, author of the new book “Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded…