RIP Ladee: Nasa’s robotic explorer crashes into the moon after its 128 day mission
Written By JAK on Monday, April 21, 2014 | 9:50 PM
Nasa’s robotic moon explorer, Ladee, took a death dive into the lunar surface last night.
The orbiting spacecraft crashed into the moon while travelling at speeds of 3,600 mph (5,800 kph) - fast enough to be vapourised by the impact.
No debris would have been left behind, but project scientist Rick Elphic predicted: ‘It's bound to make a dent.'
Nasa's small moon-orbiting spacecraft Ladee is no more. Flight controllers confirmed today that it crashed into the moon while travelling at speed of 3,600 mph (5,800 kph) - fast enough to be vapourised by the impact
By yesterday evening, the spacecraft had been skimming the lunar surface at an incredibly low altitude of 300 feet (100 metres).
Its orbit had been lowered on purpose last week to ensure a crash by Monday following a successful science mission.
Ladee - short for Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer - was launched in September from Virginia.
From the outset, Nasa planned to crash the spacecraft into the of the moon, far from the Apollo artefacts left behind during the moonwalking days of 1969 to 1972.
In this Nasa illustration, dust scatters light during the lunar sunset as Ladee orbits the moon. By yesterday evening, the spacecraft had been skimming the lunar surface at an incredibly low altitude of 300 ft (100m)
NASA'S LADEE PROBE: KEY FACTS
Launch: Sept. 6, 2013
Launch site: Wallops Flight Facility, Virgina
Launch vehicle: Minotaur V
Planned mission duration: 100 days
Actual mission duration: 128 days
Mass: 844 lbs (383 kg)
Power: 295 watts
Cost: £167 million ($280 million)
Mission legacy: Ladee identified various components of the thin lunar atmosphere.
It also studied the dusty veil surrounding the moon, created by all the surface particles kicked up by impacting micrometeorites.
Scientists hope to use the data to address a long-standing question: was lunar dust, electrically charged by sunlight, responsible for the pre-sunrise glow seen above the lunar horizon during several Apollo missions?
Ladee also hosted Nasa’s first dedicated system for two-way communication using laser instead of radio waves.
It completed its primary 100-day science mission last month and was on overtime.
The extension had Ladee flying during Tuesday morning's lunar eclipse; its instruments were not designed to endure such prolonged darkness and cold.
But the small spacecraft survived - it's about the size of a vending machine - with just a couple pressure sensors acting up.
The mood in the control centre at Nasa’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, was upbeat yesterday afternoon, according to project manager Butler Hine.
‘Having flown through the eclipse and survived, the team is actually feeling very good,’ Mr Hine told the Associated Press in a phone interview.
But the uncertainty of the timing of Ladee’s demise had the flight controllers ‘on edge,’ he said.
As it turns out, Ladee succumbed within several hours of Mr Hine's comments. Nasa announced its end early this morning.
It will be at least a day or two before Nasa knows precisely where the spacecraft ended up; the data cutoff indicates it smashed into the far side of the moon, although just barely.
Engineers prepare to install Ladee spacecraft into the fairing of the Minotaur V launch vehicle nose-cone. The probe was launched in September from Virginia
Ladee did not have enough fuel to remain in lunar orbit much beyond the end of its mission.
It joined dozens if not scores of science satellites and Apollo programme spacecraft parts that have slammed into the moon's surface, on purpose, over the decades.
Until Ladee, the most recent man-made impacts were the LCROSS crater-observing satellite that went down in 2009 and the twin Grail spacecraft in 2012.
During its £167 million ($280 million) mission, Ladee identified various components of the thin lunar atmosphere - neon, magnesium and titanium, among others - and studied the dusty veil surrounding the moon, created by all the surface particles kicked up by impacting micrometeorites.
Ladee also hosted Nasa’s first dedicated system for two-way communication using laser instead of radio waves.
‘Ladee’s science cup really overfloweth,’ Mr Elphic said earlier this month.
‘Ladee, by going to the moon, has actually allowed us to visit other worlds with similar tenuous atmospheres and dusty environments.’
During its £167m ($280m) mission, Ladee identified various components of the thin lunar atmosphere
Google's DIY smartphone set for January 2015 launch - and it will cost just £30
Google’s much-anticipated modular smartphone could be available in January 2015 for as little as $50 (£30).
The Project Ara 'Grey Phone' will consist of a simple frame, screen, Wi-Fi connection and processor with users able to customise it with various plug-in modules, colours and accessories.
Paul Eremenko, Google’s Project Ara head, revealed the date to attendees at the company’s developer conference this week and has outlined further plans for the device.
Google's much-anticipated modular smartphone could be available in January 2015 for as little as $50 (£30)
‘It's called the Grey Phone because it's meant to be drab grey to get people to customise it,’ Mr Eremenko said.
The phones will be able run on multiple batteries - when one battery dies, it can be detached and replaced with a full battery module.
Lower-resolution cameras can be swapped with higher-res versions, and users will be also be able to 3D print replacement parts.
Lower-resolution cameras can be swapped with higher-res versions, and users will be also be able to 3D print replacement parts
Google's kit describes various modules including batteries, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, cameras, speakers and more. In theory, any sensor that can be fitted to a module will work on Ara handsets, pictured
Each phone will have a central 'spine' and an endoskeleton that individual modules will clip on to. There will be three different sized endos - mini, medium and large, pictured
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE PROJECT ARA GREY PHONE?
Google’s modular smartphone could be available in January 2015 for as little as $50 (£30).
According to an earlier developer kit, Ara
phones will be able run on multiple batteries - when one battery dies,
it can be detached and replaced with a full battery module.
Each phone
will have a central 'spine' and an endoskeleton - nicknamed 'endo' -
made of ribs that the individual modules will clip on to.
There will be three different sized endos - including mini, medium and large - to rival the existing range of phones currently on the market, from compacts to phablets.
Larger phones will be able to accomodate either larger, or additional modules, than the mini will.
Google's kit describes various modules including batteries, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, cameras, speakers and more.
In theory, any sensor that can be fitted to a module will be able to attach to a module and while Google will make the shell, these modules will be made by other companies.
By printing their own parts, users will also be able to customise them.
By printing their own parts, users will also be able to customise them.
Google has revealed each phone will have a central 'spine' and an endoskeleton - nicknamed 'endo' - made of ribs that the individual modules will clip on to.
There will be three different sized endos - including mini, medium and large - to rival the existing range of phones currently on the market, from compacts to phablets.
Larger Grey Phones will be able to accommodate more modules than the mini will, for example.
Google's kit describes various modules including batteries, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, cameras, speakers and more.
In theory, any sensor that can be fitted to a module will be able to attach to a device, and while Google will make the shell, these modules will be made by other companies.
At the developer conference, Google outlined a time frame for development for the modular device, attempting to attract hardware and software developers.
The main frame of the Grey Phone will be built to last around five to six years, according to Mr Eremenko, allowing users to upgrade their phones regularly.
He added that the basic framework can be used to build any number of devices, beyond a simple smartphone.
‘If it can be other things, we encourage that,’ Mr Eremenko said but added that Google intends Ara to be ‘ultimately a great smartphone first and foremost’.
Project Ara was developed as a result of Google’s purchase of Motorola and its Advanced Technology and Projects group.
It is based on the Phonebloks designs by Dutch inventor Dave Hakkens.
It was initially assigned to Motorola, and had been planned to add to the firm's existing range, but Google sold the phone maker to Lenovo in January.
Google's Project Ara is based on the Phonebloks designs by Dutch inventor Dave Hakkens. His components were called bloks, and they each attached to a universal base that contained all the relevant electric connections. They were fixed onto this board using pins, with two screws holding everything in place
Facebook launches new service which will share your location to within half a mile
Facebook users in the U.S. will soon be able to see which of their friends are nearby using a new feature that the company launched on Thursday.
The Nearby Friends feature must be turned on by the user, so people shouldn't expect to broadcast their location unknowingly.
It will use your smartphone's GPS system to tell your Facebook friends you are nearby - provided they have the feature turned on as well. Rather than share your exact location, it will show only that you are nearby, say, within half a mile.
The Nearby Friends feature uses your smartphone's GPS system to tell your Facebook friends you are nearby - provided that you both have the new feature turned on
If you like, you can manually share a more precise location with a specific friend you'd like to meet up with. Friends can see where you're located in a particular park, airport or city block. By default, your exact location will be shared for only an hour, although you can change this.
Nearby Friends launches amid the growing popularity of location-based mobile dating apps such as Tinder and Hinge. But unlike those apps, Facebook's feature will let you meet up only with people who are already your friends.
Facebook, whose motto has long been ‘move fast and break things,’ built a lot of precautions in this new tool as it tries to avoid privacy fiascos that often bubble up when it makes changes to its service.
The new motto, ‘ship love,’ is evident in the cautious rollout of Nearby Friends, said Jules Polonetsky, director of the Future of Privacy Forum, an industry-backed think tank in Washington. He has advised Facebook on privacy issues, including the latest feature.
Unless you manually share your location, as shown here, Nearby Friends will only show Facebook friends that you are in close proximity, say within half a mile
He believes Facebook is showing ‘a deeper appreciation that with a billion users, any change needs to be implemented in a way that doesn't surprise the audience.’ That's especially so when it comes to privacy, especially when it comes to location sharing.
‘Once you start bringing this to a mass audience, you need to be cautious,’ Polonetsky said, ‘so inadvertent oversharing is not possible.’
Nearby Friends also won't be available to users under 18, said Andrea Vaccari, a product manager at Facebook. He said the tool ‘makes it easy to join your friends in the real world.’
Of course, all the safeguards and slow rollout mean that most users won't have the feature available right away on Thursday but rather in the coming weeks and months. Initially it will go to people who are likely to appreciate it, Vaccari said, such as people who have ‘checked in’ to various restaurants, bars or other locations using Facebook.
Rather than share your exact location, though, Nearby Friends will only show friends that you are in close proximity, say within half a mile
Unlike with other features, Facebook isn't forcing people to use Nearby Friends. Therefore, there is a possibility it won't catch on widely.
Vaccari is optimistic that it will.
Vaccari joined Facebook in 2012, when the company acquired Glancee, his startup service for meeting nearby people who have friends and interests in common. He has been working on the new feature since then.
Facebook employees have been testing Nearby Friends, and Vaccari cites ways it has helped people get together:
- When two people landed at the airport at the same time from different flights, they saw that they did through Nearby Friends and shared a ride home together.
- When two people were out shopping alone in San Francisco, they joined forces after seeing each other nearby.
Nearby Friends, Vaccari said, isn't for the five to 10 close friends whom you feel comfortable texting or calling up to hang out.
Rather, he said, it's for the broader group of friends you enjoy spending time with but wouldn't necessarily call. Nearby Friends may provide that extra push. Users can limit whom they share their location with to smaller groups of friends.
Users who sign up will be shown a short tutorial on how the feature works. Besides seeing friends who are nearby, users can also see which of their friends are traveling, and in general which friends are using the feature even if they are not nearby.
Facebook says there are no current plans to draw advertising revenue from Nearby Friends.
The company says it does not currently target ads to users based on where they happen to be at the moment, but uses their stated ‘current city’ and the location of their computer based on its numeric Internet Protocol address.
What'sApp with that? Facebook is to shut down its popular chat function forcing users to download its Messenger app
Written By JAK on Thursday, April 17, 2014 | 3:40 AM
For many people, chatting to friends is a major reason to use Facebook’s app on their smartphone.
But soon they will have to download the social network’s partner app, called Messenger, to carry on their instant conversations.
Facebook is reportedly notifying users of its popular app that they will no longer be able to send 'chat' messages and will instead have to swap to Messenger, which was launched three years ago. It follows the company's acquisition of another popular messaging app, WhatsApp, for US$19billion.
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Time for a new conversation: Facebook is notifying users of its popular app that they will soon no longer be able to send messages using it and will instead have to swap to Messenger (pictured), which was launched three years ago
People living in Europe with Android handsets and iPhones will be the first to be affected by the change, according to the company, which did not reveal a specific timeline.
‘Messenger is a much faster and better experience and we've found that people get replies 20 per cent faster on Messenger than on Facebook,’ a spokesman for the company told CNN.
‘Taking messages out of the Facebook app also lets us focus on making Messenger even better for everyone rather than working on two separate Facebook messaging experiences.’
The company halted messaging in the main app for people who have already downloaded Messenger in November, following the launch of Messenger 3.0.
Incentives to change: 'Messenger is a much faster and better experience and we've found that people get replies 20 per cent faster on Messenger than on Facebook,' a spokesman for the company said. It also has extra features like the private sending of photos (pictured left) and free calls (right)
The Messenger app works in a similar way to Facebook’s core message feature, and users will tap a ‘message’ icon within the main app to be directed to Messenger.
Facebook has indicated that it is taking renewed interest in its messaging features following the WhatsApp takeover.
WhatsApp is particularly popular outside America and lets people send unlimited messages for US$0.99cents a year.
It has been widely reported that Facebook has no immediate plans to merge WhatsApp with Messenger. MailOnline is awaiting a response from Facebook.
Both services, as well as many more, are becoming a mainstream alternative to texting, particularly in parts of the world like Africa, India and South America where unlimited texts are not included in mobile contract bundles.
Not just for status updates? In the future you could also use Facebook to make electronic payments and stash money. The social network is rumoured to be seeking regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Ireland to become an emoney institution
FACEBOOK'S RUMOURED ELECTRONIC SAVING AND PAYMENT SERVICES
In the future, Facebook's 1.2-billion users could use the network to make electronic payments and save money as well as send messages.
The social network is rumoured to be seeking regulatory approval to offer financial services - including electronic money and remittances - which would, for example, allow foreign workers to easily transfer money back to their families.
Facebook is seeking regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Ireland, which, if it is granted, would allow people to store money on the social network, transfer it to other users and pay for goods, according to a report by The Financial Times.
The Central Bank of Ireland told MailOnline 'it is not commenting on the issue at the moment', and Facebook said it does not comment on rumour or speculation.
A move into remittances would help Facebook gain an even stronger foothold in emerging markets including India and Africa.
While Facebook has not commented on the rumours a source, said to be familiar with the details, told The FT: ‘Facebook wants to become a utility in the developing world and remittances are a gateway drug to financial inclusion.’
If those in developing nations flock to Facebook, the company would boost its advertising revenues, and e-money services could become a big attraction - it would be particularly useful to users in areas without easy access to banks.
Elizabeth Cobbett, lecturer in International Political Economy at the University of East Anglia (UEA), told MailOnline: 'The materiality of banking and finance is changing rapidly and this change is most visible in emerging markets where they do not have the infrastructure in place. So it is a clean slate for new technology.
'This is clearly evident in Africa. Facebook wants in on the game and the huge potential market.'
She explained that there are two-and-a-half billion 'unbanked' adults across the globe and so the potential market is huge.
