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YouNeverCall offers cash for first cell call from the moon
We have bad enough luck with cellphone coverage in our own apartment to worry much about balls of dirt floating around in space, but YouNeverCall is tacking a slim $10k onto Google's existing $30 million in moon-related prize money for the first cellphone call made by a device or a person on the moon, so if you're headed there any time soon you might want to give it a shot. Sure, $10k probably pales in comparison to the expense of even adding a phone and related hardware to the payload -- not to mention those hefty interstellar roaming charges -- and it mainly seems like a bit of cheap PR for the YouNeverCall peeps, but we like the concept of a moon rover doing something more than just roaming and pesky science while it's chilling out way up there. Whoever or whatever is making the call will need to be able to answer some simple questions while on the phone, and the call must pass through a commercially available cellphone -- though technical details are murky beyond that. Secondary prizes are also on offer for first SMS message and first usage for the Crazy Frog Ringtone.[Via MobileWhack]
Carnegie Mellon shows off "Scarab" lunar rover
It looks like the moon could soon become a relatively crowded place if even half of all these robots and rovers we keep hearing about actually get off the ground, the latest of which comes to us from Carnegie Mellon University. Dubbed the "Scarab," this four-wheeled bot is equipped with a Canadian-made drill capable of obtaining meter-long geological core samples, which its creators hope could turn up evidence of hydrogen, water or other recoverable resources. While it's appearance would suggest otherwise, the Scarab apparently won't be tearing up the lunar surface if and when it gets there, with it boasting a top speed of just four inches per second. On the upside, it will apparently be able to maneuver over rocky surfaces, and it can anchor itself to the ground to stay in place while drilling. While that would be enough for most folks to call it a day, it seems that project leader William "Red" Whittaker won't be resting on his lunar laurels, as he's also announced that he'll be assembling a team to compete for the Google Lunar X-Prize, which promises $20 million to anyone that can land a privately funded robot on the moon by 2012.[Via The Raw Feed]
Fly Google to the moon, win $20 million
Google's sponsering a new X Prize, and this one has its sights set a bit higher than suborbital. The new contest wants competitors to send a robotic rover to the moon and beam back a gigabyte of data -- including pictures and video -- of the trip. The rover also has to travel 1,312 feet across the surface of the moon. Contest entrants are required to pony up for the launch vehicle themselves, by building it from scratch or contracting with an existing company; like the last X Prize there's no government freeloading to be had here. If somebody is successful in this feat by 2012 they'll win the $20 million, while $5 million goes to second place, and another $5 million bonus goes to teams able to surpass the minum requirements. The prize drops to $15 million after 2012 and expires in 2014 if nobody manages to win by then. More details will be announced at the WIRED Nextfest in LA this weekend.
Around Azeroth: Moon over Silithus
Reader Silvertiger sends in this lovely shot of a part of Azeroth that I think is oft overlooked since the release of The Burning Crusade: Silithus. In the pre-expansion world, Silithus was a great place for players in their mid to high 50s to quest and grind out those last levels before 60. But these days most players hit 58 and head straight through the Dark Portal and into Outland, missing out on some great zones. This shot shows us the moon rising over the scarab gong outside of Ahn'Qiraj, another interesting, but rarely visited, part of Azeroth. Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Google Earth goes skyward
Our sister blog Download Squad pointed to the updated Google Earth today dubbed 'Google Earth Sky', because in the newest version you can look up. Not content to cover everyone on the ground, our Google overlords have turned their eye to the sky, and you can now search through galaxies, nebulas, and stars to your heart's content.And you can do it all on the Mac from day one, which is pretty nice (you couldn't say the same about the original Google Earth). In terms of functionality, the program seems really similar to Celestia, also available on the Mac, just in case your astronomical needs aren't met by "Google Sky." And don't forget-- if your mapping needs run a little closer to home than, you know, light years away, moon.google.com is still open for business in the browser of your choice. Wonder why they didn't add that to the iPhone as well...
Life imitates art: moon to be equipped with frickin' lasers?
Up until now, if you wanted to test some theories about the Moon, its distance, or deviations from general relativity, you would have to shoot a laser from Earth to a group of old, dusty and imprecise reflectors from the Apollo era, which sit on the surface the big cheese -- but that might all be changing. NASA announced recently that it's funding development of a moon-based laser system, which would answer the laser bursts from Earth with its own, thus cutting down on fluctuations in readings and allowing for a more accurate study of the Moon's distance. Because there's no better way to spend several million dollars than sending a laser up to the moon to clarify a few millimeters of uncertainty.
Around Azeroth: Moonrise over Auchindoun
Here we see the moon rising through the fog to light the remains of the Draenei holy burial ground in the middle of the Bone Wastes in Terokkar Forest. It's a haunting scene, but none the less lovely for it. Reader Astiael of <Three Day Ban> on Ysondre, who sent it to us, says it's his desktop wallpaper, though I think I'd want something a little less dismal to stare at, as often as I stare at my desktop.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Moonrise over Durnholde
I'm guessing most of you have been to Durnholde Keep in the Hillsbrad Foothills -- it's a common mid-range leveling zone for both Horde and Alliance characters. However, despite the number of times I know I've been here, I don't recall the sky being quite as impressive as it is in this screenshot sent in by reader Vespa. Maybe I've just never paid enough attention...Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Harvest Moon trailer tackles troublesome towns [update 1]
A fresh trailer for Harvest Moon Heroes has blossomed, bearing several juicy pieces of fruit that which we may pluck and savor for almost two minutes. The latest trailer, or delicious fruit that is ripe for the plucking, focuses on the town aspect of the game as we see the protagonist navigating the streets and speaking with the inhabitants. You can see the trailer past the post break.%Gallery-3745%Update: Found that pesky missing letter a.
Mammoth liquid mirror telescope could be constructed on the moon
Roger Angel's idea to launch a 100-meter liquid mirror telescope on the moon is far from the only mammoth-sized dream that could be headed into space, and if the feasibility study shows enough promise, it just might happen. The University of Arizona astronomer mentioned that the idea of putting an "enormous liquid-mirror telescope on the moon that could be hundreds of times more sensitive than the Hubble Space Telescope" had been around awhile, but apparently it's finally getting the attention it deserves. If constructed, it would easily be the largest ever built, and would reportedly allow scientists to "study the oldest and most distant objects in the universe, including the very first stars." The project is being investigated on behalf of NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts, and while these type devices are "relatively cheap" to build, it should be noted that it's being compared (at least financially) to the $4.5 billion James Webb Space Telescope. Now, where's the signup sheet for freelance contractors to get in on the moon-based build process?[Via Wired]
NASA challenge pits moon-digging robots against each other
Buoyed by the success of its recent astronaut glove challenge, NASA is now turning to some eager competitors to find the best robot to do the dirty work of digging regolith on the moon. According to Space.com, six teams are set to compete in the challenge this weekend, with a total of $250,000 in prize money (and more than few bragging rights) up for grabs. To take home some of that cash, the teams' robots will need to be able to collect at least 330 pounds of "mock moon dirt" in less than 30 minutes -- without any human assistance, of course. The robots themselves (one of which is seen above) must also not weigh more than 88 pounds or consume more than 30 watts of power. Unlike the glove competition, however, this one isn't a winner-take-all, with the first place finisher taking home $125,000, second place getting $75,000, and third-place snagging $50,000 -- if no one wins, the prize money gets added to next year's loot, so don't toss out those plans just yet.[Via Gearlog]
Fake: Excite Truck 2 delivers 6 player wi-fi multiplayer
Update: It looks like the Internet, including Joystiq and Wii Fanboy, got punk'd when an Excite Truck 2 press release was supposedly released by Nintendo of Canada. The release appeared on official press resources, such as Games Press, and is still available on GamesIndustry.biz. Thanks to an intrepid reader, there is confirmation that this is, indeed, a fake--quite possibly the most successful in recent memory. We apologize for this err in judgment, and hope that Nintendo will actually make an online-enabled Excite Truck in the future.
Harvest Moon: Attack of the Cows
Tired of being explolited as mascots for Marvelous Interactive's always-adorable farming sim series, the Harvest Moon cows have revolted, surrounding their cruel master to put her out to pasture once and for all. They finally secured the goats' loyalty, the final component of their master plan.That's the only possible explanation for the events transpiring in the above screenshot. Anything else, like that maybe she's feeding them or just talking to the cows, is so farfetched as to be unbelievable. Harvest Moon may be cute, but it's totally edgy.
NASA's PILOT project could autonomously extract oxygen from lunar soil
We've got means to extract oxygen from water, a portable bar, and even ways to deprive entire server farms of the sustenance, but a new project being tackled by Lockheed Martin is hoping to create O2 on the moon. A critical part of NASA's PILOT (Precursor In-situ Lunar Oxygen Testbed) initiative, this digger bot will work hand-in-hand with a "processing plant that will add hydrogen to moon soil, heat it to 1,652-degrees Fahrenheit, condense the steam, and finally extract the oxygen." Additionally, the blue LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) box atop the three-foot-long machine can assist it in locating "oxygen-rich lunar soil and autonomously carry it to a processing plant." The overriding goal is to use the newly extracted O2 for air, or moreover, to combine it with hydrogen and produce water for the four astronauts that the lunar base could support. Unfortunately, there's no timetable as to when we'll actually see the PILOT roll into action, but we're most interested in porting this bad boy over to Mars along with half the traffic in LA.[Via The Raw Feed]
Chinese engineers reveal nuclear-powered lunar rover
While the US is already thinking ahead to manned missions on Mars, China's space program is still in its infancy, with the country taking the very first steps to sending vehicles and eventually people to the Moon. After launching a lunar orbiter later this year, scientists will begin the process of choosing among several competing rover designs for exploring the Moon's geology and terrain, and now the first of these candidates has been unveiled for public consumption. Very similar to the famous Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the six-wheeled bot created by a team at Shanghai Aerospace System Engineering Institute is capable of cruising around the Moon at a reported 100 meters per hour, all the while snapping photos and collecting bits of moon rock for analysis and possible sale on eBay. Perhaps the most interesting part of this design is its dual-mode power system, which consists of the standard solar cell array as well as a nuclear power source, allowing the rover to operate continuously and in areas that go long periods without sunlight. No word yet on when exactly the Chinese will pick the winning rover, but expect whichever model emerges victorious to head skyward sometime in 2012.[Via BBC, photo courtesy of Shanghai Daily]
Magnetic space tube to help suck up lunar soil
Not sure if NASA has this on tap or not, but Benjamin Eimer and Lawrence Taylor of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville just invented a special magnetic collection tube that sucks up lunar soil so we can extract precious resources for use in future moon colonies. The tube, which is sort of like an elephant's trunk or one of those leaf suckers, would suck up lunar soil (not peanuts and leaves) containing water, oxygen and other resources to be extracted by astronauts. They'd need to gather and transport large amounts of the stuff without stirring up jagged moon shards and hazardous dust, so bulldozer-like equipment is definitely out of the question. The tube's coils would create a magnetic field that attracts the iron-laden soil, keeping it neatly centered to be distributed to storage facilities or processing plants via a pipeline system. Assuming the tube rules at collecting a massive supply, the soil can then be bagged to stack on top of lunar habitats to help regulate unpredictable temperatures and block radiation from hazardous space particles. Sweet! Once they hook us up with some sci-fi WiFi, we'll be reporting from Engadget's new intergalactic office. [Thanks, Matthew]
NASA planning to set up shop on the moon in 2024
President Bush's plans for a return to the moon in 2020, with a trip to Mars to follow, were all well and good, but now NASA has finally fleshed out the details of the moon visits, and it seems a permanent international moon base is in the cards. NASA hopes to return to the moon starting in 2020 with short stays to get things prepared, and to have the base ready for extended stays by 2024. The lunar outpost will most likely be placed on the lunar south pole, which is lit by the sun three-quarters of the time, and has possible resources to mine nearby. Two vehicles will be employed, the Orion exploration vehicle, and an all-purpose "pickup truck" of a landing vehicle which attaches to the Orion and can bring cargo and/or crew to the lunar surface in a manned or unmanned manner. It'll cost a whoppin' $104 billion to get back to the moon for the first trip, and we're sure carting supplies up there won't be cheap, but in the long run NASA hopes to be able to harvest hydrogen, oxygen and other nifty moon resources for the operation of the outpost, tasks which could eventually become simple enough to turn over to a commercial supplier. In an effort to keep costs down and build good will, NASA is welcoming other countries to join the effort, though NASA will be doing the actual design work. "This is not your father's Apollo," says John Logsdon of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. "This is not a flag-and-footprints. This is the idea of starting an outward movement that includes long stays on the moon."
Farming fun without the cow patties
Harvest Moon Heroes producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto posits that a farming sim is far more entertaining than actual farming, and we're forced to agree -- unless you're one of those freaks who actually enjoys yard work and such. However, if you want to get close to the real thing without breaking a sweat or sliding around in the byproducts of pork futures, then the Wii version of the long-running Harvest Moon franchise is just what you need. In designing the latest installment in the series, Hashimoto says they worked to walk a fine line between work and play. After all, if the game is too much like work, then why play? Why not trundle into the backyard, shovel in one hand and spade in the other, and make your own garden? Harvest Moon Heroes works to get as close to that as possible, albeit without the added bonus of fresh tomatoes or peppers. But it sounds like the game will be a perfect illustration of the Wii's ability to translate the gaming experience into reality, or at least a semblance thereof. Sounds like a sign a great things to come.
Woz and Buzz to take Hydrogen Hummer to South Pole
Before we dive into the actual story, lets just take a minute to sit back and appreciate just how fantastically bizarre that title is....Ok then! Mac daddy Steve Wozniak has announced that in December 2007, he and Moon man Buzz Aldrin (second person ever to set foot on the Moon) will participate in an expedition to the South Pole in which the intrepid explorers will be conveyed by Hydrogen fuel cell powered H1 Hummers. The Apple co-founder revealed his plans at Stanford University's AlwaysOn conference. The modern day eco-friendly adventure will be filmed using 3D cameras for use in an upcoming James Cameron film. According to Woz, the team has received significant input from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which runs three of its buses on fuel cells. [via Cult of Mac]
Harvest Moon DS gets pushed back
Turns out those of you with a green thumb and constant itch to tend land will have to wait just a bit longer as the DS installment in the popular farming franchise Harvest Moon has been pushed back from a release of late in August to 12 September 2006. Pretty big deal, no? During the interim, why don't you watch the trailer a couple more times and think happy thoughts of bathing sheep and planting crops. Also, should we expect Natsume to give Harvest Moon DS the big push again, maybe even further into the future than a few weeks?
