India just made spaceflight history in more ways than one. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft's Vikram lander has successfully touched down on the Moon, marking the country's first successful landing on the lunar surface. It's just the fourth country to do so after the Soviet Union, US and China. More importantly, it's the first country to land near the Moon's south pole — a difficult target given the rough terrain, but important for attempts to find water ice. Other nations have only landed near the equator.
The landing comes four years after Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander effectively crashed. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) designed the follow-up with a "failure-based design" that includes more backup systems, a wider landing area and software updates.
HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE#Chandrayaan3's successful landing means that India is now the 4th country to soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon, and we are now the ONLY country to land successfully near the south pole of the Moon! 🇮🇳🌖 #ISROpic.twitter.com/1D8Bdo4r8F
— ISRO Spaceflight (@ISROSpaceflight) August 23, 2023
Vikram will remain idle for hours to allow lunar dust to settle. Once the area is clear, the Pragyaan rover will deploy to take photos and collect scientific data. Combined, the lander and rover have five instruments meant to gauge the properties of the Moon's atmosphere, surface and tectonic activity. ISRO timed the landing for the start of a lunar day (about 28 Earth days) to maximize the amount of solar power available for Vikram and Pragyaan.
Chandrayaan-3's success is a matter of national pride for India. The country has been eager to become a major power in spaceflight, and hopes to launch a space station around 2030. It can now claim to be one of just a handful of countries that have ever reached an extraterrestrial surface. The info gathered near the pole could also be crucial for future lunar missions from India and other countries, which could use any discovered ice for fuel, oxygen and water.
The landing also puts India ahead of other countries racing to land on the Moon, if not always for the first time. Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed just two days earlier, and Israel expects a follow-up to its Beresheet lander in 2024. The United Arab Emirates also wants to land by 2024. The US, meanwhile, hopes to return people to the moon with its Artemis 3 mission in late 2025. These also din't include commercial efforts. There's a renewed interest in Earth's closest cosmic neighbor, and India is now part of that vanguard.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/india-is-the-first-country-to-land-at-the-moons-south-pole-133322596.html?src=rss Internet retailers are receiving questions over their approaches to recalled products. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has sent letters to Amazon, Ebay, Meta, Walmart and other online shopping portals asking about their efforts to thwart sales of recalled and banned goods on their platforms. They're particularly concerned that Meta allegedly failed to stop Facebook Marketplace sales of two recalled child products, the Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play sleeper and Boppy Newborn Lounger.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled the Rock 'n Play in 2019, and the Newborn Lounger in 2021. However, it says the takedown request rate (an average of 1,000 per month) hasn't slowed, and that there haven't been any "proactive measures" to bar sales. The Rock 'n Play has been linked to roughly 100 baby deaths. The members of Congress, including committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, are concerned that online marketplaces may be putting children and all users at risk by doing too little to stop these sales.
The House representatives ask all the companies to detail their current efforts to block sales of recalled products, including the presence of dedicated staff. The politicians also want to know what the companies will do in the future and whether there's any legal uncertainty about how to tackle the problems. The letters ask if the companies are willing to work with the committee on a solution to the problem. The companies have been told to respond no later than August 31st.
In a statement to Engadget, a Meta spokesperson says that sales of recalled goods aren't unique to Facebook Marketplace. The representative says Meta takes the issue "seriously" and pulls listings that violate its rules. Ebay tells Engadget it takes recalls "very seriously" and uses a combination of AI and investigators to spot potentially unsafe listings. It hoped to work with the House committee on these issues.
The enquiries come just as Amazon is facing a potential antitrust lawsuit over its sales practices, and amid greater effort to scrutinize tech giants' behavior. Meta has also been scaling back some of its shopping features, including the shutdowns of live shopping on Facebook and Instagram. Those closures are cost-cutting efforts, but they also leave the company's remaining commerce initiatives in a more fragile position.
Update 8/22 5PM ET: We've updated the story with a statement from Ebay.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-meta-and-others-face-scrutiny-for-allowing-sellers-to-list-recalled-products-202005944.html?src=rss After nearly a decade, the main Destiny story arc is nearing its conclusion. Bungie has revealed that Destiny 2: The Final Shape will be available on February 27th, 2024. You're tasked with nothing less than stopping The Witness from remaking the universe, and have to enter the Traveler itself to save the day. As you might guess, this involves both an amped-up story (Bungie has already confirmed the return of Cayde-6) as well as new gameplay mechanics.
To start, your proximity to the Traveler gives you access to new Light powers, including some that augment the abilities of nearby players. You'll also see new weapons, such as a support rifle that can switch to healing teammates. Enemies can use new powers of their own, too. The company is also rethinking how it tells stories with The Final Shape — instead of four seasons, you'll see three large episodes divided into a trio of smaller acts. There could be a stronger incentive to stick around as the story unfolds, in other words.
Bungie is still committed to finishing the current phase, and is kicking off the Season of the Witch this week. It sees Eris Morn take on Hive attributes to deal with a mounting threat. There are a few new systems to enhance your talents, and you can even craft hard-to-get exotic weapons after they've been unlocked through missions.
Season 23 (that is, the season starting in November) will make it easier to complete cooperative events. There will be a dedicated Fireteam Finder to locate buddies for a mission, and everyone can boost to the Light level of the most advanced player in the team.
The Final Shape isn't necessarily the end of Destiny 2. It does tie together many of the loose ends that have emerged since 2014, however. It also reflects Bungie's determination to evolve its brand — it's moving past Destiny to produce a Marathon follow-up and other projects.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/destiny-2s-main-storyline-comes-to-an-end-with-the-final-shape-on-february-27th-165616802.html?src=rss Microsoft is acting on its promise to bring PC Game Pass to NVIDIA's GeForce Now service. The companies have announced that Game Pass and Microsoft Store titles will be available to stream on GeForce Now starting August 24th. Not every title will be playable right away, but this will give Game Pass subscribers access to releases like Deathloop and No Man's Sky through NVIDIA's platform.
The two companies have been forging a partnership for a while. Microsoft struck a deal with NVIDIA in February to bring Xbox games to GeForce Now for 10 years, and the first title (Gears 5) arrived in May. Bethesda's first games, including Doom Eternal and the Wolfenstein reboots, surfaced earlier this month. In that sense, PC Game Pass just expands the selection further.
The pact was announced as part of Microsoft's bid to get regulatory approval for its purchase of Activision Blizzard. In theory, this shows that Microsoft won't have unfair dominance over cloud gaming. The company also plans to sell Activision Blizzard game streaming rights to Ubisoft to address UK officials' concerns, and has been signing smaller cloud deals in recent months.
It may seem odd to access one streaming service's games through another, but there may be advantages. GeForce Now is aimed at enthusiasts who want maximum visual quality and reduced lag, with the Ultimate tier supporting 4K at 120 frames per second. If your PC and internet connection are up to the task, Game Pass might shine on GeForce Now where it would otherwise be limited.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-will-bring-pc-game-pass-to-nvidias-geforce-now-on-august-24th-151526248.html?src=rss Microsoft is acting on its promise to bring PC Game Pass to NVIDIA's GeForce Now service. The companies have announced that Game Pass and Microsoft Store titles will be available to stream on GeForce Now starting August 24th. Not every title will be playable right away, but this will give Game Pass subscribers access to releases like Deathloop and No Man's Sky through NVIDIA's platform.
The two companies have been forging a partnership for a while. Microsoft struck a deal with NVIDIA in February to bring Xbox games to GeForce Now for 10 years, and the first title (Gears 5) arrived in May. Bethesda's first games, including Doom Eternal and the Wolfenstein reboots, surfaced earlier this month. In that sense, PC Game Pass just expands the selection further.
The pact was announced as part of Microsoft's bid to get regulatory approval for its purchase of Activision Blizzard. In theory, this shows that Microsoft won't have unfair dominance over cloud gaming. The company also plans to sell Activision Blizzard game streaming rights to Ubisoft to address UK officials' concerns, and has been signing smaller cloud deals in recent months.
It may seem odd to access one streaming service's games through another, but there may be advantages. GeForce Now is aimed at enthusiasts who want maximum visual quality and reduced lag, with the Ultimate tier supporting 4K at 120 frames per second. If your PC and internet connection are up to the task, Game Pass might shine on GeForce Now where it would otherwise be limited.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-will-bring-pc-game-pass-to-nvidias-geforce-now-on-august-24th-151526248.html?src=rss YouTube is quickly becoming a home for AI-generated music, and the service is trying to strike a balance between the technology's fans and the labels eager to protect their copyrights. The company and partners like Universal Music Group (UMG) have unveiled a set of principles for AI music. In theory, the approach encourages adoption while keeping artists paid.
To start, YouTube maintains that "AI is here" and that it must have a "responsible" strategy. Accordingly, it's forming a Music AI Incubator that will influence the company's strategy. UMG and artists it represents (including Rosanne Cash, Yo Gotti and Frank Sinatra's estate) will help gather insights from YouTube's AI experiments.
YouTube also says AI music must include "appropriate protections" against copyright violations, and must also provide "opportunities" for partners who want to get involved. While the video giant hasn't detailed what this will entail, it suggests it will build on the Content ID system that helps rights holders flag their material. On top of this, YouTube claims it will scale its content policies and safety structure to adapt to AI. The firm already has systems in place to catch copyright abuse, misinformation and other violations, but intends to pour more resources into those methods.
The principles are currently vague and don't do much to change YouTube's stance. More details are due in the months ahead, however, including policies, particular technologies and monetization for creators.
Generative AI is increasingly popular for unauthorized collaborations and mashups (including for UMG artists like Drake and Frank Sinatra), but it's also finding legitimate uses. The surviving members of The Beatles are using AI to create a 'final' song from a John Lennon recording, while electronic artist Holly Herndon covered Dolly Parton using an AI voice. UMG itself is exploring AI-made soundscapes. YouTube's principles could help it profit from legal productions while dodging lawsuits from artists and labels worried about ripoffs.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-wants-to-benefit-from-ai-generated-music-without-the-copyright-headaches-162247510.html?src=rss