NASA wants to send an orbiter to Jupiter’s moon Europa in a decade
NASA’s scientists have been conjuring up mission concepts to Europa for more than a decade, but now they’re absolutely sure that the Clipper concept is the one. So, they’re asking $30 million from the government for a year of preliminary studies starting on October 1st, on top of the $100 million the Congress already gave the agency to construct a viable Europa mission last year. “We believe we have now found the one that is just right,” JPL senior research scientist Robert Pappalardo told Discovery News, where he also discussed more details about the agency’s Goldilocks Europa project. We say “Goldilocks,” because Pappalardo describes earlier concepts as too big, too small or too plain expensive.
The Clipper mission will be sending a spacecraft to do roughly 45 flybys over Europa’s surface within three years, similar to what Cassini did to make a comprehensive map of Saturn’s moon Titan. Since there’s strong radiation on Europa courtesy of Jupiter’s powerful magnetic fields, NASA plans to encase the spacecraft’s “brain” with heavy shielding and to send it on a highly elliptical orbit that minimizes its contact with the gas giant’s radiation belts. This spacecraft will likely be around the size of a school bus at 18-feet-tall, with two 29 x 4 feet solar panels on each side to harness power from the sun.
NASA aims to finish building the Clipper spacecraft in ten years, and if the Space Launch System is also ready by then, then it could carry the orbiter to Jupiter within three years’ time. If it uses current rockets, it will take the unmanned vehicle up to eight years just to reach the planet. What exactly will the spacecraft do once it starts orbiting Europa? Well, since its mission is to study the Jovian moon’s potential for habitability, it will get close to Europa and collect samples whenever available.
For instance, if the moon really does have geysers that shoot out water from beneath its icy shell into space, then the spacecraft will be able to grab airborne particles to analyze. It will also attempt to figure out what the satellite’s red veins are made of, and whether they contain anything organic. NASA, by the bye, has been funding various technologies being tested in Antarctica for eventual use on Europa, such as that deep-sea robot that can reach depths of up to 6,500 feet. But Pappalardo didn’t mention if the orbiter will carry machines capable of diving into Europa’s subsurface oceans, or if those underwater robots are being developed for the second mission to Jupiter’s moon.
[Image credit: NASA/JPL]
Filed under: Science
Source: Discovery
Samsung Knox customers will get a complementary free 3 months of Google Drive for Work
Right on the heels of adding in new features to Knox, Samsung has announced an offer for customers that use the security service. Any customers that sign up for Knox will get a free 3 month trial of Google Drive for Work, which is obviously Google’s own cloud storage service that’s centered around business security.
The offer nets customers a full 1 TB of storage, and if more than 5 users take part, that gets bumped up to unlimited storage. The encryption on the service is top notch, which goes hand-in-hand with Samsung’s take on Knox, so this might be a worthwhile offer for many people.
As a side note, the offer is only available in the US, but it seems like that’s where Google and Samsung are aiming this partnership, anyway.
source: Samsung
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Google Search can now tell you how much that mortgage you’re considering will really cost you
Google’s always building handy new features into Google Search, and now they’re adding a mortgage calculator to the mix. Ask Google how much a 5.015 percent interest rate over 30 years on a $265,000 mortgage will cost you in the end and it will tell you.
Spitzer Space Telescope for Windows Phone is this week’s myAppFree Deal
Spitzer Space Telescope is a Windows Phone app dedicated to the final mission in NASA’s Great Observatories Program. The program is a collection of four space-based observatories that explore the depths of space based on a variety of light pattern with the Spitzer telescope designed to detect infrared light.
The Spitzer Space Telescope Windows Phone app is a collection of these images plus a little background on what the telescope captures. It is an interesting collection and the app normally runs $.99 in the Windows Phone Store. However, being the myAppFree Deal of the Week for the next twenty-four hours you can pick the Windows Phone app up for free.
Used Note 4 on Sale From Verizon for under $500
Samsung’s current favorite child is the Galaxy Note 4. With a 2K 5.7″ screen, 3 GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 805 2.7 GHz processor, the phablet is a premium device with a premium price. To buy it new off-contract, you’ll have to drop anywhere from $700-900. That’s just not possible for most of us reasonable folk, so we either sign ourselves over to a wireless company or buy used. Buying used can be a hazard, as eBay has been known to be a treacherous place to go for someone looking to get a quality device, and Craig’s List can be treacherous for anyone involved. One way to insure you’re getting a great used device is to buy Pre-Owned from a carrier.
Good news comes from Verizon’s website: the Note 4 is available used for only $490, off-contract, Certified Pre-Owned. If you’re wondering, Certified Pre-Owned means it has been inspected and verified to be working by Verizon, so you won’t get a smashed up pile of spare parts. The deal is a great one, so don’t expect it to last long: I’d advise hurrying over to Verizon’s website and purchasing yourself a Note 4 ASAP if you’re in the market for one. This is not a deal that you will have the opportunity to take advantage of everyday.
Source: Verizon
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AT&T Galaxy S5 receiving update, Android 4.4.4 KitKat, VoLTE and more
We have been informing you of update after update for the Samsung Galaxy S5 around the globe, and now it is time for AT&T customers to have their turn. The OTA is rolling out now, but you are not to enjoy Android 5.x Lollipop, welcome folks to Android 4.4.4 KitKat.
In addition to the bump in KitKat version, going from 4.4.2 to 4.4.4, AT&T Galaxy S5 users will now have HD Voice capability, which the rest of us just call VoLTE. If that is not enough for you, you are now the proud owner of some new apps, whether you like it or not.
The changelog on this nearly 500MB official OTA update is as follows:
- Android 4.4.4 KitKat
- – Miscellaneous improvements, bug fixes and security updates
- HD Voice Capability (VoLTE)
- AT&T Service additions:
- – Mail – ATT Mail (att.net mail)
- – AT&T Live
- – Uber
- – Remote Support
If you are a root user, please remember that this KitKat update will more than likely patch up your exploited version of Android. You’ll need to hang off for a new exploit before you can enjoy root functionality again.
Watch for the Android 4.4.4 KitKat OTA update on your AT&T Samsung Galaxy S5 coming soon, if it hasn’t landed already. Those we have heard from report that the update indeed is an improvement on device performance, even if it isn’t the Lollipop you were hoping for.
Are you excited for Android 4.4.4 KitKat on your AT&T Samsung Galaxy S5?
Mysterious Apple Car Spotted Roaming Bay Area Streets
There have been multiple sightings of a mysterious van with a strange apparatus on its roof in Concord, CA and, according to CBS affiliate KPIX 5, the car is leased to Apple. Bay Area blog Claycord posted photos of the Dodge Caravan earlier today.
Photo via Claycord
One possible use for the car could be for a mapping project, as the cameras on top of the vehicle are similar to other mapping cars. The Cupertino company has been planning on significantly improving its Maps application though, with plans for transit directions, improved points-of-interest data, indoor mapping and more. It would be likely that Apple would be prepping a feature similar to Google Street View or Bing StreetSide.
As noted by AppleInsider, Google’s Street View cars use a total of 15 5-megapixel cameras to stitch together its images. Apple’s leased minivan appears to have similar technology, with 12 cameras that could be used to stitch together images for a Street View-like picture.
Claycord noted that the Apple car looked similar to a self-driving Dodge Caravan spotted in New York in September 2014.Technology analyst Rob Enderle, who spoke to KPIX, also agreed that it’s a self-driving car rather than a mapping car.
“Too many cameras,” said Enderle. “It has cameras that are angled down at all four corners of the vehicle.”
However, Apple is not one of the six companies who have a permit for testing driverless cars. Enderle says it wouldn’t matter, noting that Apple could have a partnership with a manufacturer that allows them to lease and test a driverless car without a partner. An Apple spokesperson told KPIX that the company had no comment.
Watch us play The Witcher 2 tonight during the first episode of our new weekly streaming series
Every weekend, Windows Central streams an Xbox One game or two on Twitch for 1-2 hours and gives out free games to the cool people who join us during the stream. It’s like a live podcast, only you also get to watch a game while chatting with our awesome readers and viewers!
In addition to our new regular Wednesday streams, we’re kicking off an exciting new stream tonight. Every Tuesday night at 8pm Central (9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific) from now until The Witcher 3 launches in May, we’ll be playing The Witcher 2. Not only can you tune in to get acquainted with the story and world of the Witcher games, I’ll also be writing a full column about the events of the previous week’s stream. Even if you miss a stream, you can still catch up and follow along on the next one!
To help get tonight’s The Witcher 2 stream rolling, we’ll also be giving out free copies of the original Witcher for PC and Mac. Just follow me on Twitch.tv/Eastxtwitch, watch along, and participate in chat for your chance to win. You can also watch the event right here live or after the fact.
Micromax edges out Samsung for title of India’s largest smartphone vendor
Samsung is no longer the largest smartphone vendor in India, as research firm Canalys is reporting that Micromax shipped more units than the South Korean vendor in the fourth quarter. Local manufacturer Micromax accounted for 22 percent of all smartphone sales in the country during the last quarter of 2014, while Samsung came in second with a 20 percent share.
Amazon Fire Tablet Sales Underwhelming over Holidays; Amazon Disagrees
Amazon is a force to be reckoned with in the tablet industry, with some of the best-valued devices on the market coming from the online shopping company, but this past holiday season has shown some weakness in its hold on the budget tablet niche. Formerly the 3rd-highest in the area of units shipped and market share, Amazon and its Fire tablet dropped down to number 5 this year in Q4, following ASUS, Lenovo, Samsung, and Apple. The Fire went from shipping out 5.8 million units to only 1.7, which is a drop of almost 70%.
Why the huge drop? Well, everyone is experiencing a lower demand for tablets: Apple and Samsung both saw drops of just shy of 20%, and ASUS saw a drop of nearly 25%, but none of those examples even come close to the amount of lost market share Amazon experienced this year. ASUS’ losses can be attributed to a lack of a Nexus device made by the manufacturer this year, and Apple and Samsung didn’t break any new ground as far as tablet innovation goes in 2014 (both the iPad Air 2 and Galaxy Tab 4′s did not improve drastically over their predecessors), but why did Amazon’s improved Fire tablet do so poorly?
Amazon claims that the 6″ tablet wasn’t included in the data, which made the numbers seem artificially low, however, even if the 6″ tablet is included with its 1.2 million units sold, there would still be a 50% drop in units shipped—still more than double ASUS’ hard losses. Another possible explanation could be the free tablet giveaways we’ve seen carriers run this past year, offering free Samsung tablets or Apple tablets, but never and Amazon Fire Tablet. Either way, after the Fire Phone’s dismal outing, and the Fire Tablets’ subpar 2014, Amazon is looking a little bruised and battered on the hardware front.
What’s your take on this? Why can’t Amazon sell more tablets? Are the Fire devices the most underrated pieces of technology of the year? Leave a comment below and start a rousing discussion!
Source: Re/code
Come comment on this article: Amazon Fire Tablet Sales Underwhelming over Holidays; Amazon Disagrees
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