NASA is taking steps to create more opportunities related to space, including for those from underserved and underrepresented communities, amid a broader push for improved racial equity in the federal government. The agency says its Equity Action Plan will allow it to internally and externally track progress on improving diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

The plan has four focus areas:

• Increasing integration and utilization of contractors and businesses from underserved communities and expanding equity in NASA’s procurement process

• Enhancing grants and cooperative agreements to advance opportunities, access and representation for underserved communities

• Leveraging Earth Science and socioeconomic data to help mitigate environmental challenges in underserved communities

• Advancing external civil rights compliance and expanding access to limited English proficient populations within underserved communities

Among the measures NASA plans to take to address these issues in underserved communities are running more engagement events, increasing outreach and training and offering small businesses more contract opportunities. The agency is also aiming to address language barriers by updating its language access plan and expanding accessibility for populations with limited English proficiency, starting with communications in Spanish.

NASA plans to return to crewed Moon landings in 2025. Through the Artemis program, it plans to land a woman and person of color on the Moon for the first time. It has named a diverse shortlist of astronauts who are eligible for the initial flights.

“At NASA, all of our missions depend on our steadfast commitment to equal opportunity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The Equity Action plan deepens our commitment to further identify and remove the barriers that limit opportunity in underserved and underrepresented communities. This framework anchors fairness as a core component in every NASA mission to make the work we do in space and beyond more accessible to all."

If Elon Musk is indeed able to buy Twitter, the platform could look a lot different. In his first public, non-tweeted comments since the saga began, Musk addressed why he wants to buy the company, and changes he would want to bring about.

“Twitter has become kind of the de-facto town square,” he said. “It's just really important that people have both the reality and the perception that they're able to speak freely within the bounds of the law.”

In terms of specific changes, Musk said Twitter should open-source its algorithms and minimize the interventions it takes in policing content. “Any changes to people's tweets — if they're emphasized or de-emphasized — that action should be made apparent,” he said. “So anyone can see that that action has been taken so there's no sort of behind-the-scenes manipulation, either algorithmically or manually.”

He added that the underlying code behind the algorithm should be available on GitHub, so that users could inspect it themselves.

Musk also spoke about his philosophy on content moderation, namely that there should be very little of it. “I think we would want to err on the side of, if in doubt, let the speech exist,” he said. “I'm not saying that I have all the answers here.” He repeated several times that his preference would be to allow all speech that is legal, and that he dislikes measures like permanent bans. “I do think that we want to be just very reluctant to delete things and be very cautious with permanent bans,” he said. “You know, timeouts I think are better than sort of permanent bans.”

Those comments are not likely to be well-received among Twitter employees, some of whom were reportedly extremely worried by the prospect of him joining the board.

Musk’s appearance at TED comes just hours after the Tesla CEO made a $43 billion offer to buy Twitter. That offer was the culmination of a chaotic few days for Musk and Twitter, during which he revealed that he had become Twitter’s largest shareholder, was offered a seat on the company’s board of directors, declined to join and was subsequently sued by Twitter shareholders over his delay in reporting his investment to the SEC.

Whether Musk will actually succeed in taking over the company is unclear. Twitter’s board has so far only said that it will “review” the offer. “I'm not sure that I will actually be able to acquire it,” he said. When asked if he had a "plan B," if Twitter's board were to decline his offer, he said that he did but declined to elaborate. 

As for his own Twitter feed, Musk confirmed what many may have long suspected. “I'm tweeting more or less stream of consciousness,” he said. “It's not like, ‘let me think about some grand plan about my Twitter’ or whatever. I'm like, literally, on the toilet like, ‘oh, this is funny,’ and then tweet that out, you know?”

You'll be waiting a while if you want an extra dose of Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red has revealed that an upcoming expansion for the gritty sci-fi game is due sometime in 2023. You can expect more news about the add-on "later this year," CDPR said. The company didn't share much about what the new content would entail, but Quest Director Pawel Sasko said the wait would ensure the expansion was "properly crafted."

The plans make sense in light of Cyberpunk 2077's success. While the RPG was notoriously buggy on launch and was even the subject of an investor lawsuit, it has remained a strong seller — CDPR has sold 18 million copies as of this month. An expansion could help maintain that momentum and deliver sales closer to The Witcher games, which have netted 65 million sales so far.

It's a busy time in the world of Elon Musk. On the same day it emerged he made a bid to buy Twitter, he's giving a TED Talk. The organizers of TED are opening up the conference's livestreaming channel to all, so anyone can watch the talk (which is underway) for free. 

As ever, Musk should have plenty to talk about. He recently became Twitter's largest shareholder. He was offered a seat on the board but turned it down. Soon after, Musk was hit with a class action lawsuit relating to how he disclosed his investment. And that's not to mention his own companies, SpaceX and Tesla, which he might discuss as well.

Grab some popcorn. You can watch the stream here. You can rewind it to the beginning if you're joining a little late.

TuneIn is bringing its paid service to Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. You'll be able to access TuneIn Premium content such as live sports from any Alexa smart speaker or display.

You'll be able to listen to MLB, NHL and college sports games featuring your favorite team simply by saying "Alexa, listen to sports." TuneIn Premium also offers more than 600 commercial-free radio stations, and you won't hear pre-roll ads for the tens of thousands of other radio stations on the platform. Additionally, you'll be able to listen to ad-free news.

TuneIn Premium typically costs $10 per month. However, Amazon and TuneIn are offering new members a three-month trial. Existing TuneIn Premium members can connect their accounts to Alexa to help them get the most out of their subscription. Alexa has supported TuneIn's regular service for years, so having access to the Premium service is a welcome upgrade.

YouTube is giving Shorts creators access to a much larger toolkit. Creators will be able to clip and remix up to five seconds of any eligible video or Short in their own shorts. The feature should be available for everyone on iOS in the coming weeks, and it'll come to Android later this year.

The tool builds on an audio remixing option YouTube added last year. To remix a regular video, tap the Create button and then Cut from the remix options. You can then choose which part of the video that you want to use in your Short. If you'd like to remix someone else's short, tap the three-dot menu button, then select Cut.

Shorts that remix other videos will automatically include attribution for the original. Those who don't want their videos to be remixed can opt out in YouTube Studio.

Adding a video remix tool is a smart move. Remixing options played an important role in TikTok's success, while Instagram added a similar option in January. The feature will give current Shorts creators a much bigger palette and it might entice some newcomers to try making Shorts as well. Limiting the length of remix clips to five seconds might seem a little constricting, but inventive creators should still be able to make the most of it.

On top of that, it'll now be somewhat easier for Shorts creators to find an audience. Those videos will be available to view on the web and YouTube's tablet app in the coming weeks. Until now, they've only been viewable in the mobile app. 

Tinder is bringing its Festival Mode out of mothballs as in-person music events return in earnest. As of today, you can use the mode in Tinder Explore to match with people up to a month before festivals start. The initial mix of festivals includes well-known American gatherings like Bonnaroo, EDC and The Governors Ball, but also includes international events like the electronic-focused Sónar (in Barcelona) and Lollapalooza's outings in Berlin, Paris and Stockholm. This weekend's Coachella is conspicuously absent, however. 

If your event of choice isn't listed, you can still visit a "Festival Goers" area to hook up with users either going to other festivals or simply interested in the scene. Festival Mode is available to people worldwide.

The relaunch was virtually expected. Tinder unsurprisingly took a sharp hit when the pandemic made in-person dating risky or impossible, and scrambled to introduce video dates and other features that helped remote love blossom. Festival Mode could help Tinder revive interest in its core business. And there's evidence to suggest that might work. Tinder noted in 2019 that app usage surges during large events, and that might be particularly true given two years of pent-up demand.

Peloton is bumping up subscription fees for the first time in the US and Canada. It's balancing out those increases (at least for newcomers) by reducing the prices on some hardware: the Bike, Bike+ and Tread.

Starting on June 1st, the cost of the all-access plan is going up by $5 per month to $44 in the US and by $6 CAD to $55 in Canada, as CNBC reports. The company won't change pricing for users elsewhere for now. The cost of the digital-only plan will remain the same.

From 6PM ET today, Peloton will cut prices on some of its products. The price of the Bike will be reduced from $1,745 to $1,445 (which includes shipping and setup). The company is lowering the price of Bike+ by $500 to $1,995. As for Tread, Peloton is cutting the price by $200 to $2,695.

The company is hoping that reducing the upfront cost of its fitness equipment will lower the barrier to entry and help it find more customers. "The pricing changes being announced today are part of CEO Barry McCarthy’s vision to grow the Peloton community,” a spokesperson said.

Peloton's share price has dropped significantly over the last year, in part due to a pandemic-driven spike in demand for its products tapering off. Reports earlier this year suggested Peloton had thousands of products sitting in warehouses and on cargo ships and that it was changing its production levels.

In February, Peloton replaced its CEO at the same time it cut 2,800 jobs (around 20 percent of its corporate workforce). Only a few days before that, rumors suggested the likes of Amazon, Apple and Nike were interested in buying the company.

By shaking up the pricing structure, Peloton is hoping it can correct course. Focusing on recurring revenue from subscriptions and lowering the cost of hardware could help. The company had already showed a willingness to reduce the price of its devices. It started selling the Peloton Guide set-up camera (which comes with its heart-rate monitor) this month for $295. It initially said the system would cost $495.

There are few instruments that are as iconic or mysterious as the Theremin. Its sound immediately conjures recollections of '50s Sci-Fi films and B horror movies. Yet when it debuted in the late 1920s, it toured the world alongside prominent orchestras, and by the late 30s it was in the hands of Clara Rockmore stunning audiences around the globe. 

The Theremin is also how Bob Moog got his start building instruments, and eventually selling kits for customers to make their own. Which makes it kind of a big deal when the company introduces a new model. The Etherwave Theremin is based on a 1996 design from Bob Moog himself, and replaces the Etherwave and Etherwave Plus.

Moog

While the Etherwave is certainly something of an iterative update to those models, they've been hard to find outside of the used market recently. It sits firmly in the middle ground between the budget-minded and digital Theremini, and the statement piece that is the $1,500 Claravox Centennial. The $899 Etherwave is a traditional analog Theremin, so you can get all those classic sci-fi sounds. But it also has CV outputs so you can control other gear, including modular synth rigs, simply by waving your hands in the air. (Or, more accurately, by moving your fingers with extreme precision in the air.)

Most of the other improvements are focused on portability and convenience. The antenna connections and mic stand adapter have been simplified to speed up assembly and breakdown. Plus Moog has created a custom case for transporting the Etherwave. Lastly, there's a mute control which is handy for not only silencing the Theremin when you don't want to have to wait for it to power back up (and warm up), but also can be used to preview the pitch when you're trying to calibrate or find your bearings during a performance. 

The Moog Etherwave Theremin is available now and shipping worldwide for $899.

The US is still on high alert for more cyberattacks against critical infrastructure. TechCrunchnotes the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Energy Department, FBI and NSA have issued a warning that hackers have developed custom malware to hijack industrial control systems. Nicknamed Incontroller by Mandiant researchers, the "very likely" state-backed code breaches controllers from Omron and Schneider Electric that are frequently used for industrial automation.

Neither the government nor Mandiant attributed Incontroller to a particular country or hacking group. However, Mandiant said the malware's capabilities were "consistent" with Russia's past efforts and its "historical interest" in compromising industrial control systems. The software is complex enough to have required ample expertise to develop, researchers said, and it's not very useful for "financially motivated" hacks. One component, Tagrun, is a "reconnaissance" tool that provides a detailed look at control processes and production systems.

The alert's timing is difficult to ignore. It comes as Ukraine grapples with Russia's invasion, and recently foiled a cyberattack against an energy provider that was allegedly the work of Russian military operatives. The US Justice Department also indicted Russian government staff over years of energy sector attacks. The response also follows a year after a string of attacks against American infrastructure companies like Colonial Pipeline and JBS, although those were ransomware incidents more likely perpetrated by criminal groups.

Regardless of who's responsible, there's no direct protection against Incontroller at the moment. In their warning, US officials recommended common security measures such as multi-factor authentication and frequent password changes to minimize the chances of an intrusion. While it wouldn't be surprising to see companies deliver security fixes in the near future, there's still a practical risk that intruders could disrupt power grids, manufacturers and others that depend on the affected equipment.