Doing just about anything in space is expensive, but a group of MIT scientists has found a way to bring down some costs — and perhaps help accelerate climate change research. The team has developed what MIT said are the first 3D-printed plasma sensors for use in satellites. The sensors can detect the chemical composition and distribution of ion energy in plasma in the upper atmosphere.

The researchers used a printable glass-ceramic material called Vitrolite to make the sensors, also known as retarding potential analyzers (RPAs). It's said to be more durable than other materials that are commonly used in sensors, such as thin-film coatings and silicon. Using a 3D-printing method, the team created sensors with complex shapes that MIT said can "withstand the wide temperature swings a spacecraft would encounter in lower Earth orbit." Vitrolite can handle temperatures of up to 800 degrees Celsius without melting, while polymers used in other RPAs start to break down at 400 degrees Celsius.

That means these sensors could be a good fit for low-cost cubesats. When they're used on orbiting satellites, RPAs can carry out chemical analysis and measure energy, which can help with weather predictions and monitoring climate change.

The scientists claim the sensors perform as well as similar devices that use semiconductors and are made in a clean room. Assembling RPAs in a clean room is an expensive process that can take several weeks. Making them with 3D printers and laser cutting takes just days and costs "tens of dollars."

Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal scientist in MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories and senior author of a paper on the sensors, already sees room for improvement. He wants to reduce the thickness of the layers or pixel size of the glass-ceramic vat polymerization in the hope of creating more complex and precise devices. There's also the belief that "fully additively manufacturing the sensors would make them compatible with in-space manufacturing."

NASA has been working on space-based 3D printing for several years. It has printed wrenches on the International Space Station. As early as 2024, NASA plans to launch a demonstration spacecraft that can build, assemble and deploy a surrogate solar array to learn how the approach can benefit the Artemis program.

Sony is bringing eight Yakuza games to PlayStation Plus this year as it looks to build out the revamped service's library with notable third-party titles. Starting on August 2nd, subscribers on all three tiers will be able to snag Yakuza: Like a Dragon on PS4 and PS5. The other two games hitting the base Essential tier as part of August's solid lineup are Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (PS4 and PS5) and Little Nightmares (PS4).

At least for now, Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be the only Yakuza game that will hit the Essential tier. Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2will join the Extra and Premium versions of the service in mid-August. Later this year, Yakuza 3 Remastered, Yakuza 4 Remastered and Yakuza 5 Remastered will land on the Premium tier. Those are PS3 games, so they'll only be available to stream via the cloud. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life will hit Extra and Premium in the coming months as well.

Unlike Microsoft does with Game Pass, Sony isn't putting its own blockbuster games out on PlayStation Plus on the day they're released. It has to find other ways to make the service attractive to lure in new users and keep existing members on board. Yakuza is a popular series and those who want to revisit the earlier games (or check them out for the first time) might be tempted to sign up to PS Plus or keep their subscription going to play through them all.

A lawmaker wants to punish people for ghosting, or abruptly cutting off communications with someone without explaining why. Arnolfo Teves Jr., a member of the Philippine House of Representatives, claimed in a note accompanying his bill that ghosting "can be likened to a form of emotional cruelty and should be punished as an emotional offense."

Teves referred to studies that indicate social rejection activates the same neural pathways as physical pain. He argued that “ghosting is a form of spite that develops feelings of rejection and neglect” and claimed the emotional toll can impact productivity. The bill doesn't propose specific penalties, but Teves suggested in an interview that community service would be appropriate.

The proposed legislation doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It defines ghosting as something that happens when a person is "engaged in a dating relationship." The document goes on to define a dating relationship as one where the parties live together without being married or are "romantically involved over time and on a continuing basis." Teves claimed neither casual acquaintances nor "ordinary socialization" constitutes a dating relationship. If you're being ghosted by someone you're in more than a casual relationship with (especially a domestic partner!), then there are bigger problems to worry about.

Importantly, the bill does not account for blocking someone without explanation if they're being creepy or threatening. As The Washington Post notes, the bill isn't likely to pass as it stands. The legislature likely has more pressing concerns anyway.

The bill suggests ghosting occurs "for no apparent justifiable reason but solely to cause emotional distress to the victim." That's not really the case. People are busy! They don't always have time to keep chatting to everyone who messages them on a dating app. Also, folks often feel they lack the communication skills to have open and honest conversations. Maybe the ghoster just thinks you're boring and wants to let you down relatively gently.

Being ghosted sucks. But expecting someone you don't really know to keep chatting with you isn't smart. Proposing to punish people for ghosting after you've been burned too many times instead of going to therapy probably isn't the answer either.

Formula 1 is trying to clean up its act and ensure its operations have a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030. An important part of the plan is to use 100 percent sustainable fuel in race cars, and the organization says it's still on schedule to achieve that by 2026.

It's currently developing a "drop-in" fully sustainable fuel for use in F1 cars — it claims most road cars would be able to use the fuel too. This season, F1 cars are using E10 fuel, which includes 10 percent ethanol that's said to be fully renewable. While going from 10 percent renewable fuel to a fully sustainable version in just a few years is challenging, F1 leaders are confident they can reach that goal.

“We’re working on an E fuel where the carbon circle is completely neutral so the carbon utilized to produce that fuel is the same quantity as the carbon emitted from the internal combustion engine," F1 managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn said in a statement. "It means that the engines do not add anything to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere." Brawn noted that making the fuel available more broadly could help reduce emissions around the globe, especially in areas where switching to electric vehicles won't be feasible for a long time.

F1’s chief technical officer Pat Symonds, who is leading the 100 percent sustainable fuel project, said the motorsport is still in good shape to meet the 2026 target. “We’ve been working with Aramco and have now tested 39 surrogate blends of fuels,” Symonds said. “This has helped us understand the effects of the different types of blends that you can use in a sustainable fuel. We’ve been testing those in a single cylinder Formula 1 power unit, so it’s representative testing — and I think that’s helped accelerate our progress.”

It's only been a few days since Netflix started streaming The Gray Man, its most expensive film to date, but the company has already announced plans to turn it into a major franchise. A sequel is in the works with star Ryan Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo returning. Netflix didn't say when the follow-up is expected to arrive.

A spin-off from Zombieland and Deadpool screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese is in development too. Netflix says that movie will explore a different aspect of The Gray Man universe, but it's keeping quiet on the details for now.

While critics by and large had a lukewarm reaction to The Gray Man, the film appears to be a hit with viewers. It has a 91 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It debuted as the number one movie on Netflix in 92 countries when it was released last Friday. Netflix hasn't revealed more specific viewership data as yet.

Whether that apparent success translates into helping Netflix retain subscribers and attract new ones remains to be seen. The company lost almost a million subscribers last quarter, though the attrition wasn't as bad as Netflix feared.

Netflix spent a reported $200 million to make The Gray Man. So, along with moves the company is making elsewhere, it's not a huge shock that Netflix is turning it into a franchise. Sequels to other Netflix blockbusters are in the pipeline, including follow-ups to Extraction and Army of the Dead. Netflix also snapped up the sequels to the terrific murder mystery film Knives Out.

In case it's not clear, Netflix is very eager to build beloved franchises of its own. "We want to have our version of Star Wars or our version of Harry Potter, and we're working very hard to build that,” the company's vice president of original series Matthew Thunell told Reuters last week.

Netflix does have a few hit franchises already. A Stranger Things spin-off series and stage play are in development. The company has made a Korean version of La Casa de Papel and is working on a spin-off. It's expanding Squid Game, Bridgerton and The Witcher beyond the core shows as well.

Internet satellite operators OneWeb and Eutelsat are planning to merge in the hopes of becoming a stronger rival to SpaceX's Starlink. The merger, which is subject to approval from regulators and Eutelsat shareholders, is expected to close by mid-2023 and it values OneWeb at $3.4 billion. Shareholders of OneWeb and Eutelsat will each own half of the combined company.

Eutelsat has a fleet of 36 geostationary orbit satellites. These will be combined with OneWeb's cluster of low-earth orbit satellites, which can provide internet access from the skies. OneWeb currently has 428 satellites in orbit of a planned 648 in its first-generation network.

OneWeb and Eutelsat expect to have combined revenues of €1.2 billion ($1.56 billion) in the 2022-23 fiscal year. Eutelsat chair Dominique D’Hinnin and CEO Eva Berneke will remain in those positions in the merged entity. OneWeb investor Sunil Bharti Mittal will become co-chairman.

The merger comes after OneWeb stumbled in its bid to become a viable competitor to Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper. OneWeb filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2020 as it sought a buyer. The UK government and Mittal's Bharti Global each paid $500 million for a 45 percent stake in OneWeb. The company secured additional funding in early 2021 to launch hundreds of satellites.

More recently, OneWeb was caught in the crossfire between Russia and the West following the former's invasion of Ukraine. UK sanctions prompted Russia to block launches of OneWeb satellites — it demanded that the UK sell its stake in OneWeb and wanted assurances the satellites wouldn't be used for military purposes. OneWeb ended up turning to its rival SpaceX to launch the remainder of its first-gen satellites.

After the expected merger, the UK will retain a "special share" in OneWeb as well as exclusive rights over the company. These grant the government a significant say in national security controls over the network and veto rights over certain decisions, such as the location of OneWeb's headquarters.

The head of Russia's space program says the country will withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024. It will instead focus on building its own space station as a successor to Mir, Roscosmos administrator Yuri Borisov said, according to the Associated Press. The country made the call at a time of heightened tensions with the West following Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. 

Russia and its cosmonauts will remain on the ISS for at least next two and a half years in order to fulfill obligations to partners. Earlier this month, NASA and Roscosmos signed an agreement to swap seats on flights to the ISS starting in September. For the time being, NASA astronauts will once more join Soyuz flights, while Russian cosmonauts will travel on SpaceX Crew Dragon trips.

Funko, which is best known for its Pop vinyl figurines, is about to venture into new territory. It's making video games with the help of developer 10:10 Games. The studio is led by Jon Burton, the founder of Traveller's Tales and TT Games. “By partnering with 10:10 Games and utilizing the best creators in the business, we will have the talent to deliver games that reflect Funko’s unique look and feel across its lines and varied products," Funko CEO Andrew Perlmutter said in a statement.

The first game under the partnership is an action platformer that's coming to PC and consoles in 2023. Funko says the untitled game will have "major third-party studio integration," which probably shouldn't be a big shock given the high-profilelicensing deals Funko has for collectibles and Burton's experience with the various Lego games. Meanwhile, Funko expects the game to have a “T” for teen rating. The first teaser shows a Pop-style character called Freddie Funko, but offers few other details.

Anker has revealed its third-gen gallium nitride (GaN) chargers, just over a year after the previous batch. The company is branding the new lineup of power bricks and portable chargers as GaNPrime. Anker said it worked with several partners to create products that last longer and are more sustainable. It claims the GaNPrime is the "most intelligent, most powerful and greenest multi-device charging system ever created."

The GaNPrime chargers boast the latest version of Anker's PowerIQ tech, which can detect the power needs of each device they're connected to and automatically adjust the power distribution to each USB-C port every three minutes. Anker says that, when two 67W 14-inch MacBook Pro laptops are being charged simultaneously, a GaNPrime device will reduce the overall charging time by 62 minutes. It also says GaNPrime chargers are compatible with more than 1,000 mobile devices. 

On top of that, a feature called ActiveShield 2.0 will monitor temperatures and adjust the power output to protect devices that are connected to a charger. Anker says it has increased the temperature detection frequency by 75 percent compared with previous generations — it monitors temperatures 3 million times a day.

Anker claims its new devices are much smaller than comparable offerings on the market. For instance, it says the 150W 747 charger is 38 percent more compact than Apple's 140W charger. Meanwhile, Anker says GaNPrime models improve the efficiency of AC to DC power by two percent compared with its previous GaN products. Switching from legacy silicon to new GaN semiconductors can reduce carbon emissions by up to 30 percent as well, Anker claims.

There are six devices in the initial GaNPrime lineup, all of which are available starting today in the US. The 65W 735 charger costs $60 and has one USB-A and two USB-C ports. The 615 USB Power Strip has has an additional two AC ports. That's also a 65W charger and it costs $70.

Next up is the 737 charger, which has a maximum output of 120W and, according to Anker, can fully charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro in 1.5 hours. That model, which has one USB-A and three USB-C ports, costs $95. The even more powerful 747 charger has a maximum output of 150W, one USB-A port and three USB-C ports. It will run you $110.

Anker

The slim 727 Charging Station is a power strip with two AC, two USB-C and two 2 USB-A ports. Anker claims it's 50 percent thinner than traditional power strips. It offers a maximum output of 100W via USB-C and it costs $95.

Elsewhere, the GaNPrime lineup includes the 733 Power Bank. It can output up to 65W via AC and offers DC output of 30W (i.e. when it's in battery mode). It has one USB-A and two USB-C ports, and it costs $100.

DJI's Action 2 is an option worth paying attention to if you're in the market for an rugged camera, and now might be the time to scoop one up. It's currently on sale as part of a bundle on Amazon for $279, which is a third off the regular price of $419.

What helps set the Action 2 apart from other rugged camera options is a magnetic modular mounting system that can boost the functionality. This bundle includes a magnetic protective case that's designed to reduce the surface temperature. In addition, you'll get a battery module. DJI says this can extend the battery life from 70 minutes to up to 180 minutes while adding an extra microSD slot. You'll also get a magnetic lanyard, so you can wear the Action 2 around your neck.

A module with a second touchscreen is available separately, which could be helpful for vlogging use. A bundle of the camera and the dual-screen module is also a third off on Amazon at the minute. Meanwhile, since it uses magnets, attaching the Action 2 to a mount should be a cinch.

DJI announced the Action 2 last year as a successor to the Osmo camera from 2019 — some Osmo accessories are compatible with the Action 2. The latest model has a 12-megapixel sensor that can capture 4K video at up to 120 frames per second and 1080p footage at up to 240 frames per second for your slow-motion edits. The camera has a 155-degree field of view as well.

There's a sensor designed to help it capture accurate color tones in challenging lighting conditions and while it's being used underwater. DJI says the Action 2 is waterproof at depths of up to 10 meters, as well as dustproof and drop proof. In addition, the SpanShot feature allows users to hold down the power button to turn on the camera and start recording right away. There's also a stabilization system called HorizonSteady. DJI says its algorithm can detect and correct camera shake and rotation in real-time.

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