The ExoMars mission has been suspended. Its future is uncertain at this point in time, as the European Space Agency looks for a way to proceed without the involvement of Russian space agency Roscosmos. The ESA previously announced that it's fully implementing sanctions imposed on Russia by its member states following the country's invasion of Ukraine and that a 2022 launch for the ExoMars rover was looking unlikely. Now, the mission has officially been put on ice after the ESA's ruling council met in Paris to assess the situation.

The ESA said in a statement:

"As an intergovernmental organisation mandated to develop and implement space programmes in full respect with European values, we deeply deplore the human casualties and tragic consequences of the aggression towards Ukraine. While recognising the impact on scientific exploration of space, ESA is fully aligned with the sanctions imposed on Russia by its Member States."

The council has determined that it's impossible to keep cooperating with Roscosmos and has ordered the ESA Director General to take steps to suspend the operation. In addition, the council authorized the Director General to conduct and fast track an industrial study to find options on how the agency can move forward with ExoMars.

ExoMars is a two part mission, and the agencies sent its first spacecraft — the Trace Gas Orbiter — to Martian orbit back in 2016. They were supposed to launch a rover named after scientist Rosalind Franklin this year for the second part of the program after delays causes in part by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ESA was in charge of developing the rover, which was going to use a Russian launch vehicle and lander. 

This is just one of the space programs affected by the war in Ukraine. Roscosmos previously pulled out of the Guiana Space Center in retaliation for EU's sanctions and also refused to launch OneWeb internet satellites that were supposed to head to orbit on Soyuz rockets. Dmitry Rogozin, the Director General of Roscosmos, also claimed that the sanctions against Russia could interrupt the operations of the country's spacecraft that's steering the ISS and could cause the station to "fall down into the sea or onto land. Russia stopped supplying the US with rocket engines, as well. At the time, Rogozin said "Let them fly on something else, their broomsticks."

Blue Origin's three previous crewed flights had taken familiar faces and people known in their fields to space. Those include William Shatner, aviation pioneer Wally Funk, Good Morning America host Michael Strahan and even company founder Jeff Bezos For its fourth mission with humans on board — and its 20th overall — one of the passengers was supposed to be Pete Davidson, SNL star and, well, the person who's recently been on the receiving end of Kanye West's ire. Turns out that won't be happening.

On Twitter, the aerospace company has announced that Davidson will no longer join the mission as a crew member. Blue Origin didn't reveal the reason why he's no longer flying with the rest of the crew to the edge of space and only said that the mission will launch on March 29th instead of on March 23rd as planned. Davidson was recently seen shooting scenes for horror movie The Home, but it's unclear if conflict of schedule was the reason why Blue Origin changed its lineup. It's also unknown at this point if Davidson will join another Blue Origin flight later on. 

The other passengers for the NS-20 mission are SpaceKids Global founder Sharon Hagle and husband Marc Hagle, University of North Carolina professor Jim Kitchen, President of Commercial Space Technologies Dr. George C. Nield and Marty Allen, a former CEO of Party America. Blue Origin said it will announce Davidson's replacement in the coming days.

Amazon is facing a lawsuit filed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is seeking the reinstatement of an employee it believes was filed in retaliation. Gerald Bryson, who worked at the e-commerce giant's JFK8 facility on Staten Island, was fired in the early days of the pandemic after he helped lead protests over safety concerns involving the company's COVID-19 protocols. 

Bryson fired an unfair labor practice suit back in 2020, but the case has been stuck in the agency's administrative court process. Now, according to The New York Times, the NLRB is asking a federal judge to make immediate changes before the facility holds a union election by the end of March and considering Bryson's involvement in organizing. 

Amazon denied that Bryson's firing was retaliatory back in 2020, explaining that he was fired for violating its policy against vulgar and harassing language. The company said Bryson bullied and intimidated a female associate "in a racially and sexually charged way" in a confrontation during the protest. However, a video recording cited by the NLRB in a recent filing (PDF) shows that while Bryson did indeed use foul language during the confrontation, the female employee also used foul language and a racial slur against him. Bryson, a Black man who helped lead the protest, was fired, while the white female employee who told him to stop protesting and go home, got a first warning.

The NLRB has accused Amazon of applying its policies against him in retaliation for the role he played in the protest. It argued that if the judge doesn't reinstate Bryson, workers "will inevitably conclude that the board cannot effectively protect their rights." NLRB director Kathy Drew King said in a statement:

"No matter how large the employer, it is important for workers to know their rights — particularly during a union election — and that the N.L.R.B. will vociferously defend them."

The JFK8 facility will hold a union vote in person between March 25th and March 30th. It's been a long journey just to get there, with the Amazon Labor Union failing to gather enough signatures to proceed with an election the first time around. The group reached union vote threshold in its second attempt, and although Amazon was skeptical that there were a "sufficient number of legitimate signatures," the election will take place as the NLRB had decided.

In addition to seeking Bryson's reinstatement, the NLRB also wants Amazon to post notices of workers' rights at the facility and to read those rights out loud at mandatory employee meetings.

iRobot's latest software update gives its Roomba robot vacuums and Braava jet robot mops the ability to respond to Siri voice commands. The Genius 4.0 Home Intelligence update adds Siri Shortcut Integration to the iRobot Home app, allowing iOS users to connect their devices to Apple's voice assistant. Similar to Google Assistant and Alexa users, they can set up their custom phrases or simply say "Hey Siri, ask Roomba to clean everywhere" to start the vacuum. 

Genius 4.0 also gives users the capability to create customizable smart maps for the Roomba i3 and i3+ models, which they can access if they want their devices to clean specific rooms in the house. They can also create custom cleaning routines based on their schedules, automatons and the rooms they want to send the vacuum to. These particular features are now available in the Americas and will make their way to customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa by the end of the third quarter.

Users who own a Roomba s9/s9+, Roomba j7/j7+, Roomba i7/i7+ and Braava jet m6 — all Imprint Smart Mapping-capable robots — will have more control over how their robots clean, as well. They can program their machines to thoroughly clean a high traffic area, for instance, and give rooms that aren't always occupied a quick pass.

To prevent accidental starts, owners will be able to activate a Child & Pet Lock option in the iRobot Home app. When switched on, it deactivates the physical clean button on WiFi-enabled vacuums and mops, which can then only be activated through the application. In addition, a new Do Not Disturb feature ensures the machines won't switch on at times the user specifies, such as when they're sleeping or expected to be on video calls for work or for school. Finally, the update gives the Roomba j7 and j7+ the ability to avoid clothing and towels on the floor, in addition to the other objects (including poop!) they can already recognize. 

While Do Not Disturb is already available globally, the other features might take some time to reach all users. The software update has already started making its way to customers worldwide, but the rollout won't be finished until the end of June. 

Amazon has incorporated a number of new features and upgrades into its newest Fresh grocery store in Seattle in a bid to secure net-zero carbon certification from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). One of the first upgrades shoppers will notice when they visit is the free electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lots. Inside, the changes aren't as visible. The store uses CO2-based refrigerant instead of artificial refrigerant, which Amazon says reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 38 metric tons per year.

Its floor looks like standard concrete, but it actually uses recycled materials from the steel industries. Amazon says doing so reduced the store's carbon footprint more than any of its other initiatives and lowered the carbon associated with floor manufacturing and installation by 40 percent compared to standard concrete. 

In the kitchen, everything has been electrified. The store is equipped with electric water heaters, electric burners and electric ovens. And, of course, the store is fully powered by renewable energy from Amazon's projects as part of its efforts towards relying entirely on renewable sources of electricity by 2025. Amazon expects all those changes and measures to save the store nearly 185 tons of CO2e, or Carbon dioxide equivalent, each year. That's apparently comparable to driving around our planet 18 times in a standard passenger vehicle.

The company will be measuring the real-time impact of all those changes and features using a system built by Amazon Web Services. It plans to apply what it learns from this project into future locations and buildings, so we may see more net-zero carbon Fresh groceries pop up. Seeing as it also recently shifted its retail strategy to focus on groceries, that's a big possibility.

Kara Hurst, vice president of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, said in a statement:

"In order to deliver on our commitments to The Climate Pledge, we must work together across all areas of our business to develop solutions to decarbonize. It's meaningful progress to open our latest Amazon Fresh Store seeking net-zero carbon certification, and I'm proud of the innovation and technology that the store offers to customers and employees, and for the environment."

Amazon's Climate Pledge initiative aims to eliminate the company's carbon emissions by 2040, and this is one of the avenues it's exploring in order to achieve that goal. Two years ago, the e-commerce giant also committed $2 billion to companies developing clean energy technology as part the initiative, including firms developing EV charging solutions and alternative fuel. 

The ILFI will be reviewing the Seattle Fresh grocery's performance data for 12 consecutive months to ensure that the store meets its standards. If the location passes muster, it will be first grocery store to achieve net-zero carbon certification for this particular organization, though it won't be the first in the world.

Facebook's Ray-Ban Stories are available in Spain, Austria and Belgium starting today, and they will also make their way to France on April 14th. In addition to expanding the smart glasses' availability, Facebook has also introduced new and upcoming features for the device, including the ability to record up to 60 seconds of video. That doubles the previous limit of 30 seconds of video, captured using the dual 5-megapixel cameras on the front of the Stories' frame. 

We found the glasses' video quality to be surprisingly good and even very stable when we tested it out. A LED lights up to notify people around you that you're recording, but the fact that it's lot easier to start recording videos through the glasses than through a phone has raised privacy concerns from the start. Nevertheless, 60-second recording will roll out with a software update in early April.

To support the smart glasses' expansion, Facebook View will now be available in French, Spanish, Dutch and German. As the Stories' companion app, View gives you a way to edit and enhance your shots, as well as to upload them straight to social media websites. Facebook is also giving the glasses the ability to understand voice commands in French and Italian, allowing you to take photos and videos hands-free. And, yes, the device can now deliver audible notifications, such as "low battery" and "full storage" alerts, in those languages. 

Finally, Facebook and Ray-Ban owner Luxottica are unveiling 4 new color and lens combinations for the Stories in early April, bringing the total variations to 28. The smart glasses will be available in their new markets with prices starting at $299/€329.

Foxconn, which is perhaps most known for assembling Apple's devices in its factories, has partially restarted operations in Shenzhen. The company closed its factories in the city a few days ago after the government imposed new lockdowns and restrictions in an effort to curb the country's worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years. According to Bloomberg, two of Foxconn's campuses in Shenzhen, one of which makes iPhones, won approval to partly restart their operations by adopting a "closed loop" management process.

Shenzhen is one of China's special economic zones and is known for serving as home to many electronics manufacturers. The tech hub has experienced tremendous economic growth over the past 10 years or so and contributes immensely — to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars — to China's GDP. A long lockdown could lead to considerable economic loss for the country, which is most likely why Shenzhen said it would allow companies to operate, so long as they implement a "factory bubble" approach. 

In this closed loop or factory bubble system, workers would have to live on site and can only travel from company housing to their workplaces. They also have to be tested regularly. Wuhan adopted similar measures when it went under a lockdown that lasted for months at the beginning of the pandemic. It's also similar to the bubble system used to protect athletes and locals during the Beijing Winter Olympics. 

It's unclear if the factory shutdowns will have a huge effect on Apple's production rates, though it's worth noting that the tech giant has been grappling with supply chain issues and has been struggling to keep up with demand since last year.

Bandai Namco expected FromSoftware's Elden Ring to sell 4 million copies in five weeks. It would've been already impressive if that's what had happened, considering Dark Souls 3sold 3 million copies within a month of its release. Elden Ring, however, eclipsed the company's expectations: It sold 12 million units worldwide, 1 million of which were sold in Japan alone, within 18 days of its release. The companies have announced the game's blockbuster sales numbers in a press release and also mentioned the possibility of expanding the IP "beyond the realm of games." 

According to the announcement, those numbers came from the "distribution figures of the package version and sales figures of the downloadable versions" as of March 14th, 2022. With those sales numbers, Elden Ring smashed a bunch of other records associated with Souls-type games. FromSoftware's previous release, Sekiro, sold 2 million copies in 10 days, and it took four years for Dark Souls 3, the best-selling game in the series, to reach 10 million units sold worldwide. Based on how well it's doing, it seems apt to compare Elden Ring to Pokémon Legends Arceus, which sold 6.5 million copies in seven days — and that's a game from a franchise that already has a massive following. 

FromSoftware developed Elden Ring with help from A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R. R. Martin, who wrote the overarching mythos for the game that features Lovecraftian creatures and dragons. At the helm of the project was Hidetaka Miyazaki, known for creating the notoriously difficult Souls games, as well as directing Bloodborne and Sekiro. It was supposed to be available back in January but was ultimately released on February 25th for the PlayStation 5 and 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC via Steam.

Several organizations in Russia have found themselves locked out of their Slack accounts without notice, according to Axios. The Salesforce-owned business messaging app has started cutting off Russian users from its platform to comply with international sanctions against the country, as well as with the policies its parent company implemented following the invasion of Ukraine. Axios said it was mostly organizations directly affected by the sanctions that were locked out and that the terms of the restrictions against them require an immediate cutoff.

Since Slack serves as companies' main internal form of communication and can also be used to share files within organizations, it typically hosts a lot of important data for its customers. The organizations that suddenly lost access to their accounts may have also lost the chance to download their data, unless they'd prepared for the possibility of getting locked out. 

Salesforce published a statement earlier this month that it's exiting business in Russia, after all. The company said that it has a very small number of customers in the country and that it had already started exiting those relationships the week before. In a statement, Slack told Axios:

"Slack is required to take action to comply with sanctions regulations in the U.S. and other countries where we operate, including in some circumstances suspending accounts without prior notice, as mandated by law. We are in contact with affected customers regarding the impact of these actions on their account status, where permitted by law."

While Slack isn't deleting data owned by the Russian customers it suspended, the sanctioned organizations also won't have access to their data until the sanctions affecting them are lifted.

Up 1,000 ARM employees in the US and the UK will be laid off, according The Telegraph and Bloomberg. Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas reportedly told staff in a memo that the Softbank-owned chipmaker is cutting between 12 to 15 percent of its workforce, with 1,000 being the high end of that range, as part of its efforts to curb spending. The company said in a statement:

"Like any business, ARM is continually reviewing its business plan to ensure the company has the right balance between opportunities and cost discipline. Unfortunately, this process includes proposed redundancies across Arm’s global workforce."

Softbank was supposed to sell ARM to NVIDIA for a massive deal that was worth $40 billion based on the latter's stock prices in 2020. If the acquisition had gone through, it would've been the largest in the chip sector yet and would've been worth around $60 to $80 billion today. The deal collapsed completely in February, however, due to strong opposition by regulators around the world. Industry players, including ARM customers Qualcomm and Microsoft, also voiced their opposition against the deal, citing concerns that NVIDIA might prevent ARM from licensing its chip designs. 

NVIDIA will pay Softbank a break fee of $1.25 billion for the failed purchase, and the Japanese conglomerate will proceed with its backup plan of taking ARM public. Neither of those is enough to keep things running as is, if the UK-based chipmaker is cutting jobs. Bloomberg says, though, that most of the job cuts won't affect the company's engineers. Despite the failed acquisition, NVIDIA plans to continue working closely with ARM and will continue to support the company as a licensee.