Tech Nuggets with the Technology

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Chandrayaan 2: How Lander Vikram will touchdown on the lunar surface

India is all set to expand its footprint in space with the follow-up lunar mission, Chandrayaan 2, which is set for launch on Monday, early in the morning. The toughest challenge it will face throughout the mission is when its home-built Lander 'Vikram' will attempt to touchdown on the moon's surface which is covered with craters, dust, and rocks.

When Chandrayaan 1 launched in 2008, it was only equipped with an orbiter and an impactor. While the orbiter continued to revolve around the Moon for around a year, the impactor was simply dropped from Chandrayaan 1 onto the surface of the moon.

Ajay Lele, a senior fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, states, "That was a free fall, but this time, the landing has to be controlled. Huge velocity would be required when the Lander gets released from the Orbiter. Deboosting will be extremely challenging and then ensuring that Lander lands softly and rover comes out".

Lele also clarifies that the first and foremost challenge would occur when the spacecraft would attempt to enter the moon's orbit from the earth's orbit. This is a challenge since the moon's orbital location is constantly changing, therefore the intersection of the Chandrayaan 2 and the moon's path would have to be predicted extremely accurately.

Basically, when the moon approaches the Apogee of Chandrayaan 2, which is the spacecraft's farthest point from the earth, the on-board thrusters would have to fire precisely and also reduce its velocity for lunar capture and subsequent entry into the lunar orbit.

ISRO has identified a site between two craters marked Manzinus C and Simpelius N for landing which is near the Moon's south pole. The Navigation, Guidance and Control (NGC) system onboard as well as the propulsion system of the module will have to work together for a successful landing.

Another hurdle is that the firing of onboard engines that are close to the lunar surface can lead to the backward flow of hot gases and dust. This dust carries a negative charge, therefore it will stick to most surfaces and cause disturbances in the deployment mechanisms as well as the functioning of the solar panels and engines, thereby creating a hostile environment.

After all of this, once the lander softly settles on the moon, 'Pragyaan', a six-wheeled rover will roll out and explore the moon's surface for 14 earth days (1 lunar day). The AI-enabled rover will study the moon's surface and its mineral composition.

Lele mentioned, "Scientists would have to overcome the communication gap. Both the Rover and Lander will not be able to communicate with the earth, so the connection established with the orbiter would only allow them to relay signals to the earth (which is at a distance of nearly 3.8 lakh km from the moon)".

Additionally, at such massive distances, the radio signals which are utilised for communication are quite weak. There's heavy background noise as well. Therefore, it is absolutely critical to make sure that the landscape features do not cause communication shadow areas.

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Report: ~54M data workers, a quarter of knowledge workers globally, waste 44% of their time each week because of lack of collaboration, knowledge gaps, and more (Eileen Brown/ZDNet)

Eileen Brown / ZDNet:
Report: ~54M data workers, a quarter of knowledge workers globally, waste 44% of their time each week because of lack of collaboration, knowledge gaps, and more — As data grows in complexity, data workers waste time searching for and preparing data instead of gaining insights according to a new report.

Amazon Prime Day Mobile Offers, Redmi K20 Pro Alpha Sale & More This Week

Nokia 9 PureView price in India revealed, Redmi 7A and Vivo Z1 Pro go on sale for the first time, plus Oppo K3 India launch date announced. https://ift.tt/2xOqlIE

Chandrayaan 2: When and where to watch ISROs second moon mission

We are at the cusp of a historic moment with the Indian Space Research Organisation all geared up to take yet another leap in the aerospace sector. Chandrayaan 2 will be launched in a few hours.

The highly-awaited launch will take place in the wee hours of July 15. It will take place in the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 0251 hours on July 15.

The Chandrayaan 2, as per ISRO Chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan, contains three main components - the Orbiter, Lander, and Rover. The total composite module will weigh about 3.8 tonnes.

The Chandrayaan 2 will be launched onboard GSLV MK-III. The Lander, Vikram, will in all likeliness make a soft landing on the lunar surface on September 6, 2019. The Rover will then carry out experiments on the Lunar surface for one lunar day (which equals 14 days on Earth). However, the Orbiter will continue its mission for a year.

With Chandrayaan 2, India will continue its search for water on the lunar surface after Chandrayaan 1's massive breakthrough - finding the presence of water molecules on the Moon's surface.

Where and when to watch the Chandrayaan 2 launch

Doordarshan (DD) will live telecast the entire launch event which users can watch on television. If you want to live stream the event, you can follow Doordarshan's YouTube channel. Reliance Jio users can watch the event on Jio TV.

A lucky few who managed to register for the live viewing of the event will be able to watch the Chandrayaan 2 launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre's viewing gallery. Registrations are closed now.

The entire launch will also be live-streamed by ISRO itself. The space agency will run a live stream of the event of its social media handles. Twitter - @isro and Facebook.

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Phuture Foods is creating a plant-based pork substitute for the Asian market

We met with a handful of Brinc’s top startups earlier this week, during a visit to the accelerator’s Hong Kong headquarters. The lion’s share of the demos involved hardware products, which has long been the organization’s core offering. Increasingly, however, food focused startups like Phuture Foods have become an important focus.

Whereas stateside companies like Beyond and Impossible largely work to approximate beef, the Malaysian startup has been pioneering on a plant-based pork substitute. The meat is in particularly high demand in the Asian market, where it’s targeting initial sales, beginning with Hong Kong in the next few months and then branching out into Singapore shortly after.

The foodstuff is designed to mimic the taste and texture of pork, using a variety of plants, including wheat, shiitake mushrooms and mung beans. The company has received support from Hong Kong-based angel investors, beginning with online sales, before rolling out to area super markets roughly five months from now.

Phuture’s primary value play is sustainability, and increasing important issue, particularly under the strain of population growth in areas like China. Price wise, it hopes to hit a target of at or lower than that of actual pork products, which could certainly add appeal among consumers for whom ethical and environmental concerns aren’t at top of mind.

The foodstuff is Halal, a key feature for markets like Malaysia and Singapore. The company is also exploring kosher certification, along with chicken and lamb substitutes.

How to Watch England vs New Zealand World Cup Final Live Online Right Now

England vs New Zealand World Cup final marks the end of the month-and-a-half long ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. How to watch live stream and track live score. https://ift.tt/2LTP2eY

China Internet Report 2019 shows the scale of 5G infrastructure plans across the country, huge untapped potential for e-commerce in lower-tiered cities, more (Zen Soo/South China Morning Post)

Zen Soo / South China Morning Post:
China Internet Report 2019 shows the scale of 5G infrastructure plans across the country, huge untapped potential for e-commerce in lower-tiered cities, more — The China Internet Report 2019 offers insight into key China technology trends, with deep dives into 11 key sectors and expert commentary …

Amazon Prime Day Sale: First time launches, deals sneak peek and all you need to know

In just a few hours, Amazon will open the Prime Day Sale to offer discounts on a range of products to savvy shoppers. The Prime Day sale will kick off at midnight on July 15 in India, and it will be for the first time ever that the sale will run for 48 hours. With new deals starting at regular intervals through Prime Day, members can save on them across categories covering smartphones, TVs, laptops and appliances, among others. Anyone can shop and save on Prime Day by joining Prime www.amazon.in/primeday today.

“With Prime Day, we are excited to bring to our members over 1000 new product launches, great deals and blockbuster entertainment with new titles from Prime Video and playlists on Amazon Prime music. Prime Day brings some of the biggest deals across categories like smartphones, TVs, fashion and beauty, appliances and many more. Our teams have been working for months to source these unique offers and we welcome members who will join us as we celebrate our biggest Prime Day ever,” Akshay Sahi, Director & Head of Prime, Amazon India, said in a statement.

Prime Day new product launches

Smartphones

One Plus 7 (Mirror Blue)

Samsung M40 (Cocktail Orange)

LG W30 – On Open sale only for Prime members with a new colour variant – Aurora Green

Oppo F11 Pro (Waterfall Gray)

10.or G2

TV & large appliances

Haier 43-inch Full HD LED Smart TV

TCL 55-inch 4K Ultra HD Certified Android Smart TV

TCL 43-inch New Version 4K UHD LED Smart TV

Blaupunkt 32-inch Family Series HD Ready LED TV

LG 43-inch 4K Ultra HD LED Smart TV

LG 55-inch 4K LED Smart TV

Kodak 43-inch 4K UHD LED Smart TV

Sony 32R422F with Fire Stick Bundle

CloudWalker 55-inch Cloud 55SU 4K LED Smart TV

IFB 6.5 kg Alexa enabled front load washing machine

Whirlpool 7 kg stain wash fully automatic top load with inbuilt heater

Bosch 6.5 kg Front load washing machine with speed wash

Whirlpool 265 L Frost-Free Double Door Refrigerator with deepfreeze technology

Haier 565 L frost free side by side refrigerator with twin inverter technology

LG 14 place settings dishwasher with powerful steam feature

Electronics

Intel powered Laptops from Lenovo, Microsoft and HP

Sennheiser premium range of bluetooth headphones

Huami Amazfit BIP lite smartwatch

Boat headphones and speakers

HP Laserjet and Alexa-enabled printers

Seagate Hard disks (HDD) and solid state drives (SSD)

CP Plus 360 Pan tilt 1080p wireless security cameras

iBall Alexa-enabled audio and accessories

Samsung Solid State drives up to 1 TB

JBL Cinema Soundbars

Boult Audio Wireless Headphones and speakers

Prime Day Deals Sneak Peek: Deals on smartphones, home appliances, TVs and Alexa-enabled devices

Best Smart Home Deals

Voice exclusive deals: Existing Echo customers will be able to use their Echo devices to use Alexa voice shopping and buy 9W smart bulb for just Rs 99 (95 percent discount). Customers can say ‘Alexa, what are my deals?’. Customers can add the bulb to their cart through their voice and either: a) complete the checkout through voice (APay or COD) or use A.in app or desktop site to checkout.

Smart Home devices: Users who buy an Echo Dot device will get a free Syska 9W bulb

Smart Home deals

Echo Dot + Fire TV Stick + Syska 9W bulb at Rs 4999.

Echo + free Syska 9W bulb

Echo Plus + free Hue bulb

Echo Show + free Hue bulb

Get Mi Camera for Rs 1499 (Rs 2299) with the Echo Show 5

Get Echo Show 5 free on purchase of select HP printers (HP OJP 9020, HP OJP 9010, HP OJP 8026)

Deals on Amazon Devices

Amazon says that it is offering “lowest prices ever” on Amazon devices, including Amazon Echo, FireTV and Kindle.

Echo

Lowest prices ever on Echo Dot (third gen), Amazon Echo, Echo Plus (second gen), Echo Show and Echo Show 5

Fire TV

Lowest prices on Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick 4K

Buy Fire TV Stick 4K for full price and get a Fire TV Stick free

Kindle

Best offers ever on All-New Kindle & All-New Kindle Paperwhite

Get Rs 5000 off/Upto 17 percent off on Kindle Oasis (ninth gen)

Alexa Built-in Devices

On Prime Day, shoppers can avail up to 60 percent off on Alexa Built-in products across headphones, speakers and TV category.

New Alexa Built-in products like the iBall decibel (black) headphones and TCL television launching exclusively for Prime Day

Smartphones

Up to 40 percent off on smartphones from the top brands

Up to Rs 8,000 extra off on exchange on range of smartphones from Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo and Vivo

Rs 3,000 extra on exchange on Samsung M40

No Cost EMI starting only ₹1066

Up to Rs 14,000 off on OnePlus phones

Up to Rs 6,500 off on Xiaomi phones

Up to Rs 15,000 off on Samsung smartphones and additional exchange offers up to Rs 8,000

Up to Rs 40,000 off on Apple with unbelievable offers on iPhone XR, iPhone 7, iPhone 6S

Up to Rs 20,000 off on Huawei smartphones

Up to Rs 15,000 off on Honor smartphones

Up to Rs 20,000 off on Oppo smartphones and additional exchange offers up to ₹7,000

Up to Rs 20,000 off on Vivo smartphones including prepaid offers

Up to Rs 10,000 off on Nokia smartphones with unbelievable offers on Nokia 6.1 and Nokia 8.1

Up to 70 percent off on power banks, earphones and other mobiles accessories

Consumer Electronics

Amazon is offering over 5000 deals from over 150 electronics brands.

Up to Rs 35,000 off laptops with No Cost EMI and exchange offers.

Minimum Rs 5,000 off DSLRs and mirrorless cameras from Canon, Sony and Fujifilm

Active noise cancellation headphones starting Rs 7,490 from Sennhieser, Bose and Sony

Wireless Ink tank printers starting Rs 9,999

TV & large appliances

Air conditioners: Up to 45 percent off, No Cost EMI starting Rs 1299/month

Refrigerators: Save up to Rs 35,000, No Cost EMI starting Rs 999/month

Washing machines: Up to Rs 11,000 off, No Cost EMI starting Rs 799/month

Televisions: Up to 50 percent off, No Cost EMI starting Rs 1500/month

Smart TVs: Up to 50 percent off, No Cost EMI starting Rs 1700/month

Games and gaming hardware

Up to Rs 10,000 off on gaming consoles

Up to 75 percent off on antivirus and business software

Up to Rs 10,000 off on PS4 consoles

Up to 40 percent off on video games

Up to 50 percent off on gaming accessories

Shoppers can also use one of the means highlights below to save and get rewards while shopping on Prime Day.

Customers can get 10 percent instant discount using HDFC debit/credit cards.

Customers can shop using pre-paid instruments at Amazon.in and get Rs 1100 back on food, travel, bill payment and send money as follows:

Faasos: 20 percent back up to Rs 100

Goibibo: Flat Rs 500 back (minimum purchase of Rs 6000)

Redbus: 5 percent back (up to Rs 150)

1MG: 15 percent back (up to Rs 150)

Bill payments and recharges at Amazon: Up to Rs 150 back

Send money using Amazon app: Flat Rs 50 back

Prime members can book domestic flights on Amazon.in during Prime Day Sale and get up to Rs 2500 back.

Prime members can get Rs 100 to 2000 back on money transfers.

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Google shuts down Blog Compass just 10 months after launch

Google launched their blog management tool named 'Blog Compass' late last year which could connect sites running either WordPress or Blogger and give the owner valuable insights into trending topics as well as a centralised dashboard for analytics or comments. However, the app is now dead, adding yet another grave in the Google Graveyard. It has been shut down just 10 months after its initial launch.

Blog Compass, however, is still available for download on the Play Store, but opening it only displays a goodbye note which says, "After several months, we have decided to turn down the Blog Compass app. If you want to continue managing your blog, check out the Blogger or Site Kit by Google for WordPress".

A reason for the abrupt shut down could be user reviews, which showed that users were having issues with the app as early as October 2018. Multiple users complained about being unable to sign in with a Google account. As per the Play Store, the Blog Compass app amassed somewhere between 10,000 to 50,000 installs over its lifetime.

It seems like the app hardly had a chance to succeed since it was only limited to India for its entire life cycle. The app for Google's own Blogger platform hasn't been updated since way back in 2016. It seems like Google's interest in the blogging platform may be dying down.