Month: June 2019

NASA Invests in Tech Concepts Aimed at Exploring Lunar Craters, Mining Asteroids

NASA Gov June 11, 2019 0

Robotically surveying lunar craters in record time and mining resources in space could help NASA establish a sustained human presence at the Moon – part of the agency’s broader Moon to Mars exploration approach. Two mission concepts to explore these capabilities have been selected as the first-ever Phase III studies within the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.

“We are pursuing new technologies across our development portfolio that could help make deep space exploration more Earth-independent by utilizing resources on the Moon and beyond,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “These NIAC Phase III selections are a component of that forward-looking research and we hope new insights will help us achieve more firsts in space.”

The Phase III proposals outline an aerospace architecture, including a mission concept, that is innovative and could change what’s possible in space. Each selection will receive as much as $2 million. Over the course of two years, researchers will refine the concept design and explore aspects of implementing the new technology. The inaugural Phase III selections are:

Robotic Technologies Enabling the Exploration of Lunar Pits

William Whittaker, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh

This mission concept, called Skylight, proposes technologies to rapidly survey and model lunar craters. This mission would use high-resolution images to create 3D model of craters. The data would be used to determine whether a crater can be explored by human or robotic missions. The information could also be used to characterize ice on the Moon, a crucial capability for the sustained surface operations of NASA’s Artemis program. On Earth, the technology could be used to autonomously monitor mines and quarries.

Illustration of the Skylight mission concept, a 2019 NIAC Phase III.

Credits: William Whittaker, Carnegie Mellon University

Mini Bee Prototype to Demonstrate the Apis Mission Architecture and Optical Mining Technology

Joel Sercel, TransAstra Corporation, Lake View Terrace, California

This flight demonstration mission concept proposes a method of asteroid resource harvesting called optical mining. Optical mining is an approach for excavating an asteroid and extracting water and other volatiles into an inflatable bag. Called Mini Bee, the mission concept aims to prove optical mining, in conjunction with other innovative spacecraft systems, can be used to obtain propellant in space. The proposed architecture includes resource prospecting, extraction and delivery.

Illustration of the Mini Bee mission concept, a 2019 NIAC Phase III.

Credits: TransAstra Corporation

NASA selected the Phase III proposals through a review process that evaluated innovativeness and technical viability of the proposed projects. All projects still are in the early stages of development, but this final phase is designed to mature technologies so they can be transitioned to government and industry for implementation.

“This is the first year NASA offered a NIAC Phase III opportunity, and there were many strong proposals,” said Jason Derleth, NIAC program executive. “We selected two proposals because we think both of the technologies could positively impact the industry. We are excited that these technology concepts could help humanity explore space in new ways.”

The NIAC program supports visionary research ideas through multiple progressive phases of study. While NIAC will award two 2019 Phase III studies, the program expects to award one Phase III per year in subsequent years.

NIAC partners with forward-thinking scientists, engineers and citizen inventors from across the nation to help maintain America’s leadership in air and space. NIAC is funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is responsible for developing the cross-cutting, pioneering new technologies and capabilities needed by the agency to achieve its current and future missions.

Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon within five years, NASA’s lunar exploration plans are based on a two-phase approach: the first is focused on speed – landing on the Moon by 2024 – while the second will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028. We then will use what we learn on the Moon to prepare to send astronauts to Mars.

For more information about NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration plans, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/moontomars

For more information about NASA’s investments in space technology, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

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Apple Terminates $921M iCloud Data Center in Denmark

CompuScoop Staff June 11, 2019 0

Apple is no longer proceeding with a plan to build a $921M data center at a site in Kasso, Denmark, with the company recently advising the Aabenraa Municipality it no longer will construct the building on the 285 hectares of land it acquired in 2017.

To read the rest of the AppleInsider.com article, click here.

Apple’s “Find my iPhone” feature helps find stolen cop’s gun

Dan Uff June 10, 2019 0

The “Find my iPad” feature on an Apple tablet helped cops track down the thieves responsible for taking a police deputy’s gun and tactical gear.

The app let officers find the stolen goods, in addition to other items relating to nearby burglaries, at a home in Cape Coral, Florida.

Two teen suspects were arrested as a result. 18-year-old James Terry and 17-year-old Jaden Ross were both arrested on theft and larceny charges. They will be tried and potentially sentenced at a later date.

A local news report says that Lee County Sheriff’s Office traced the thieves to a home in northern Cape Coral late last week. I

t doesn’t make clear who the iPad belonged to. However, the geolocating feature and subsequent audible tone the app produces led the officers to a stolen stash. This included a deputy’s stolen gun, X26 taser, tactical vest, and three loaded magazines with ammunition.

Stupid thieves

This isn’t the first time we’ve covered stories of thieves arrested after being ratted out by Apple devices. For instance, back in 2015, Houston police arrested two thieves after they took a celebratory selfie using a stolen iPad. In addition, they also flaunted a stolen laptop and $5,000 in cash. Unfortunately (for them, at least), the video was uploaded to the rightful owner’s iCloud account. Police had no problems identifying the suspects.

At last year’s Coachella music festival, a thief was foiled by the “Find my iPhone” feature after stealing 100 phones. The useful service was also used to save a kidnapped bride from a forced marriage.

Apple first introduced the Find My iPhone feature in August 2011. It displays the location of iDevices on a world map, using GPS to pinpoint exact location. For more on how to use it, check out our handy “how to” guide here.

All you need to worry about after that is not being stupid enough to try and steal anything. Especially not a cop’s gun!

Source: Wink News

U.S. Man Jailed for not Unlocking his iPhone for Police

CompuScoop Staff June 9, 2019 0

William Montanez is used to getting stopped by the police in Tampa, Florida, for small-time traffic and marijuana violations; it’s happened more than a dozen times. When they pulled him over last June, he didn’t try to hide his pot, telling officers, “Yeah, I smoke it, there’s a joint in the center console, you gonna arrest me for that?”

They did arrest him, not only for the marijuana but also for two small bottles they believed contained THC oil — a felony — and for having a firearm while committing that felony (they found a handgun in the glove box).

Then things got testy.

As they confiscated his two iPhones, a text message popped up on the locked screen of one of them: “OMG, did they find it?”

The officers demanded his passcodes, warning him they’d get warrants to search the cellphones. Montanez suspected that police were trying to fish for evidence of illegal activity. He also didn’t want them seeing more personal things, including intimate pictures of his girlfriend.

So he refused, and was locked up on the drug and firearms charges.

Five days later, after Montanez was bailed out of jail, a deputy from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office tracked him down, handed him the warrants and demanded the phone passcodes. Again, Montanez refused. Prosecutors went to a judge, who ordered him locked up again for contempt of court.

He paid a steep price, spending 44 days behind bars before the THC and gun charges were dropped, the contempt order got tossed and he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor pot charge. And yet he regrets nothing, because he now sees his defiance as taking a stand against the abuse of his rights.

“The world should know that what they’re doing out here is crazy,” Montanez said. The police never got into his phones.

Via: NBC News