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Thursday, 28 January 2021

WhatsApp will now ask users for a biometric scan before they can link their account to the desktop app

Until now, WhatsApp allowed users to use the messenger app on their computer via WhatsApp Web by just scanning a QR code. However, starting today, WhatsApp says it is rolling out an additional layer of security in the linking process. Now, users will be asked for a facial recognition or fingerprint scanning before they are shown a QR code for using WhatsApp Web. "This will limit the chance that a housemate or officemate (when we have those again) can link devices to your WhatsApp account without you. This builds on our existing security measures today, which pop up a notice in your phone whenever a Web/Desktop login occurs, and the ability to unlink devices from your phone at any time," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.

WhatsApp adds new security feature

[hq]How to log in to WhatsApp Web[/hq]

[hans][hstep]Step 1: Open WhatsApp on your smartphone and tap on the vertical dots in the top right corner[/hstep]

[hstep]Step 2: Select More Options>Link a device and follow the instructions for biometric authentication[/hstep]

[hstep]Step 3: Tick the box in front of the "Keep me logged in" option[/hstep]

[hstep]Step 4: With the help of your phone, scan the QR code present on your laptop/desktop[/hstep][/hans]

And that is it! With the help of the newly introduced feature, no one will be able to link your account to another device until you decide to do so.



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Microsoft Xbox Game Pass gaming service surpasses 18 million subscribers

Tech giant Microsoft has announced its quarterly result for its second quarter of 2021, wherein the company has stated that its game streaming service, Xbox Game Pass, now has 18 million subscribers. The company stated that the Xbox Live online gaming service now had more than 100 million monthly active users. The details were mentioned on Windows Central. In terms of revenue, the Xbox content and service revenue has increased by 40 percent in the current quarter at the rate of 38 percent year-on-year basis.

Image: Xbox

The company further stated that its revenue has jumped to 17 percent i.e. $43.1 billion, while its net income operating jumped by 33 percent i.e. $15.5.

In terms of specific services, the Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue grew by 10 percent, which is up to 8 percent in constant currency, while the Windows OEM revenue increased by 1 percent. Microsoft also stated that its Surface revenue grew by 3 percent that is up by 1 percent in constant currency, while its search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs went on to grow by 2 percent.

Apart from the company's high-end and budget-friendly consoles in the market, the Xbox Game Pass will also be available on mobile devices and PC that will allow users more choice, without having to shell out $499 / £449 / AU$749 on the gaming console, just for playing a handful of games.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella went on to say that the company had seen the dawn of the second wave of digital transformation over the past year that has swept every company and every industry, which has helped every organization to build their own digital capability in terms of growth and resilience. Microsoft has powered this shift via the world’s largest and comprehensive cloud platform.



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New coronavirus strains now in dozens of countries, says WHO urging that nations be vigilant

New COVID-19 variants that make the virus more contagious and could render vaccine and antibody protection less effective have spread rapidly across dozens of countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. In its latest epidemiological update, the UN health agency said the more contagious COVID-19 variant first spotted in Britain had by 25 January spread to 70 countries across all regions of the world. That variant, known as VOC 202012/01 or B.1.1.7 and has been proven to transmit more easily than previous variants of the virus, had thus spread to 10 more countries over the past week, the WHO said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week also warned that fresh studies had indicated the strain could be more deadly, but the WHO stressed Wednesday that those "results are preliminary, and more analyses are required to further corroborate these findings".

All viruses mutate when they replicate in order to adapt to their environment, and scientists have tracked multiple mutations of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The vast majority of mutations are of little importance, but the WHO has urged countries to actively work to spot mutations that might significantly alter either the virus's virulence or transmissibility.

Increased reinfection risk?

That was the case for the 501.V2 variant first found in South African in October. The WHO said Wednesday that variant had now spread to 31 countries, eight more than a week ago. Like the British variant, it also has mutations on its spike protein—the part of the virus that latches on to human cells and helps it spread—making it potentially more infectious than other strains.

But studies have also indicated that this variant "is less susceptible to antibody neutralisation", WHO said.

This has raised concerns the variant poses a heightened risk of reinfection, and also could hamper the effectiveness of the growing number of COVID-19 vaccines.

The WHO said more studies were needed, but stressed that observational studies in South Africa did not indicate an increased risk of reinfection.

The WHO said a third variant of the virus, first discovered in Brazil, was now in eight countries, up from just two a week ago.

That variant, called P1, has raised similar concerns it could be more contagious or cause more severe disease.

"Further studies are needed to assess if there are changes in transmissibility, severity or antibody neutralising activity as a result of these new variants," the WHO said.

A new visualisation of the COVID-19 virus. Fusion Medical Animation/Unsplash

Global cases number declining

All variants and strains included, WHO said 4.1 million new cases of COVID-19 were registered around the world over the past week, and some 96,000 deaths.

While the number of deaths was similar to the previous week, the new case number marked a 15-percent decline week-on-week.

It was the second consecutive week that new case numbers declined, after peaking in the first week of January.

The global decline was largely driven by relative reductions in case incidence in some countries that have seen the highest case numbers in recent months, WHO said, including in the United States—the country hardest hit by the pandemic

All regions saw new case numbers come down or remain flat.

The European region saw the sharpest drop, with a 20-percent fall in new cases, followed by Africa at 16 percent and the Americas at 14 percent.

Nonetheless, the Americas and Europe accounted for a full 86 percent of all new cases recorded last week.



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From the portal to the pod: Virgin Hyperloop releases concept video that showcases the passenger experience

Months after its first passenger testing, Virgin Hyperloop has unveiled a new concept video, which takes the viewer step-by-step through a hyperloop journey, from arriving at the portal to boarding the pod. “Showing the passenger experience of Virgin Hyperloop is a glimpse of the future, following the success three months ago when people rode in a hyperloop pod for the first time,” said Sultan Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Virgin Hyperloop and Group Chairman and CEO of DP World.

Virgin Hyperloop pod

“We have demonstrated the maturity of our technology. We are getting closer to commercialisation of what will be the first new mass-scale transportation mode in a century,” Sulayem added.

The designs and concept seen in the video imitate what the global hyperloop systems would look like, including the operations in India. It shows that each hyper loop vehicle will carry only about 28 passengers.

“Imagine being able to travel between Mumbai and Pune in under 30 minutes, with a seamless and relaxing end-to-end journey,” said Harj Dhaliwal, Virgin Hyperloop’s Managing Director of Middle East and India. “We are committed to bringing this vision to life – in Maharashtra and beyond – and are working closely with our partners, investors, and governments to do just that.”

Interestingly, for the Hyperloop, the company researched heavily on sound.

“We respond to sound quicker than any other sense, so sound actually drives the multi-sensory experiences. The sonic cues of the Virgin Hyperloop identity system serves as a guide for passengers throughout their experience while instilling confidence, safety, and clarity – you ‘feel’ it rather than ‘hear’ it. Just like a great movie score, it tells you the story. We know when we’ve got it right when you don’t notice the sound at all: the interface is humanized in ways that are both fresh and familiar,” said Joel Beckerman, Founder and Lead Composer at Man Made Music. Hyperloop is working with Man Made Music for the score and sonic identity of the transportation.

As for the cost of travel in the Virgin Hyperloop, a recent study in Ohio, USA found that Hyperloop fares would be more akin to the cost of driving, rather than flying.

After its first passenger testing, Virgin Hyperloop is currently waiting for regulation and certification of hyperloop systems around the world – including those in India.

The Virgin Hyperloop will likely run at 496 km per hour

The company is working on the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop project, which would connect the cities in under 25 minutes with zero direct emissions. Beyond Maharashtra, Virgin Hyperloop is also working with Bangalore International Airports Limited (BIAL) to conduct a feasibility study for a proposed hyperloop corridor from BLR Airport.

Virgin Hyperloop aims to achieve safety certification by 2025, with commercial operations beginning in 2030.

The conversation about a hyperloop project in India has been going on since December 2016. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) had reached out the Indian government five years ago, followed by Virgin Hyperloop One signing agreements with the governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka in 2017 to study the impact of a hyperloop in the region.



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US President Joe Biden signs executive climate action orders: ‘Time to act’ on jobs, economic growth

In the most ambitious US effort to stave off the worst of climate change, President Joe Biden signed executive orders to transform the nation’s heavily fossil-fuel powered economy into a clean-burning one, pausing oil and gas leasing on federal land and targeting subsidies for those industries. The directives aim to conserve 30 percent of the country’s lands and waters in the next 10 years, double the nation’s offshore wind energy, and move to an all-electric federal vehicle fleet, among other changes. Biden’s sweeping plan is aimed at staving off the worst of global warming caused by burning fossil fuels.

But his effort it also carries political risk for the president and Democrats as oil- and coal-producing states face job losses from moves to sharply increase US reliance on clean energy such as wind and solar power.

“We can’t wait any longer″ to address the climate crisis, Biden said Wednesday at the White House. ”We see with our own eyes. We know it in our bones. It is time to act.″

He said his orders will “supercharge our administration’s ambitious plan to confront the existential threat of climate change.”

Biden has set a goal of eliminating pollution from fossil fuel in the power sector by 2035 and from the U.S. economy overall by 2050, speeding what is already a market-driven growth of solar and wind energy and lessening the country’s dependence on oil and gas. The aggressive plan is aimed at slowing human-caused global warming that is magnifying extreme weather events such as deadly wildfires in the West and drenching rains and hurricanes in the East.

Biden acknowledged the political risk, repeatedly stating his approach would create jobs in the renewable energy and automotive sectors to offset any losses in oil, coal or natural gas.

"When I think of climate change and the answers to it, I think of jobs," Biden said. "These aren’t pie-in-the-sky dreams. These are concrete actionable solutions. And we know how to do this."

In a change from previous administrations of both parties, Biden also is directing agencies to focus help and investment on the low-income and minority communities that live closest to polluting refineries and other hazards, and the oil- and coal-patch towns that face job losses as the U.S. moves to sharply increase its reliance on wind, solar and other energy sources that do not emit climate-warming greenhouse gases.

Biden pledged to create “millions of good-paying, union jobs” building electric cars, installing solar panels and wind turbines, and performing specialized work to cap abandoned wells, restore mine-scarred land and turn old industrial sites “into the new hubs of economic growth.″

Even so, Republicans immediately criticized the plan as a job killer.

"Pie-in-the-sky government mandates and directives that restrict our mining, oil, and gas industries adversely impact our energy security and independence," said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Biden also is elevating the warming climate to a national security priority, directing intelligence agencies, the military and others to do more to prepare for the heightened risks. The conservation plan would set aside millions of acres for recreation, wildlife and climate efforts by 2030 as part of Biden’s campaign pledge for a $2 trillion program to slow global warming.

President Donald Trump, who ridiculed the science of climate change, withdrew the US from the Paris global climate accord, opened more public lands to coal, gas and oil production and weakened regulation on fossil fuel emissions. Experts say these emissions are heating the Earth’s climate dangerously and worsening floods, droughts and other natural disasters.

Currently, 61% of the nation’s electric power comes from natural gas and coal, 20% from nuclear and 17% from wind, solar and other renewable energy, the US Energy Information Administration says.

Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said that "if this Day 7 momentum is representative of this administration’s 4-year term, there is every reason to believe that we might achieve carbon neutrality sooner than 2050," even as key roadblocks lie ahead.

Biden’s actions came as his nominee for energy secretary, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, faced deep skepticism from Republicans as she tried to pitch the president’s vision for a green economy.

“The last Democratic administration went on a regulatory rampage to slow or stop energy production,” said Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a leading Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I’m not going to sit idly by ... if the Biden administration enforces policies that threaten Wyoming’s economy.″

Granholm, whose state was devastated by the 2008 recession, promoted emerging clean energy technologies, such as battery manufacturing, as an answer for jobs that will be lost as the U.S. transitions away from fossil fuels.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry, now Biden’s climate envoy, said oil, gas and coal workers “have been fed a false narrative″ that ”somehow, dealing with climate is coming at their expense. No, it’s not. What’s happening to them is happening because of other market forces already taking place.″

Instead of possible black lung disease, a miner would have a brighter future as a solar power technician, Kerry said. “The same people can do those jobs, but the choice of doing the solar power one now is a better choice.″

The oil industry said curtailing domestic production will lead to an increase in imported oil.

“I don’t think any American wants to go back to the days of being held hostage to foreign entities that don’t have America’s best interest at heart as we lose American energy leadership,” said Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute.

Sommers and other industry leaders warned that states could lose hundreds of thousands of jobs and critical funding. Nearly one-third of New Mexico’s state budget comes from oil and gas, said Ryan Flynn, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

Biden’s directive to double energy production from offshore wind comes after the Trump administration slowed permit review of some giant offshore wind turbine projects. Significantly, he is directing agencies to eliminate spending that acts as subsidies for fossil fuel industries.

The pause in onshore leasing is limited to federal lands and does not affect drilling on private lands, which is largely regulated by states. It also will not affect existing leases and could be further blunted by companies that stockpiled enough drilling permits in Trump’s final months to allow them to keep pumping oil and gas for years.

The order exempts tribal lands, mainly in the West, that are used for energy production.

Biden also directed U.S. agencies to use science and evidence-based decision-making in federal rules and announced a U.S.-hosted climate leaders summit on Earth Day, April 22.



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Jeep Compass 2021 Facelift launched in India at starting price of Rs 16.99 lakh

Jeep India has launched its most awaited Jeep Compass in India. The new Jeep Compass gets novel styling elements, updated design and new features. The car will be available in four trims of Sport, Longitude (O), Limited (O), Model S, with 11 variants. Apart from the regular variants, the company has also introduced a special 80th Anniversary Edition as well. The Jeep Compas is listed on the Jeep India website.

Jeep compass

Jeep Compass features

The new updated Jeep Compass now features revised, slimmer headlights with integrated LED DRLs, new fog light housing, a newly designed front bumper with a large air dam and new alloy wheels.

Getting on to the interiors, the Compass now gets a revamped dashboard, new AC vents, HVAC controls and a 10.1-inch touchscreen at the centre. Other interior changes include a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, double-stitched leather inserts on the dashboard and a new three-spoke steering wheel.

The top-spec Model S variant of Jeep Compass will include integrated Amazon Alexa support, FCA’s UConnect 5 infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The infotainment system will also receive updates over-the-air (OTA). Other features in the top trim include dual-zone automatic climate control, a powered tailgate, 360-degree parking camera, 8-way electrically-adjustable front seats with ventilation support, as well as 18-inch alloy wheels.

As far as safety is concerned, the Compass Model S will come with traction control, six airbags, ESC, hill-start assist, ABS with EBD and brake assist, parking sensors, and ISOFIX child seat mounts.

Jeep Compass Engine and powertrain

Powering the new Jeep Compass facelift are two types of engines. There is a 2.0-litre diesel engine that makes 173hp of power and a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine that pushes out 163hp of power. Both engines get a standard six-speed manual transmission. Other options include a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic option for the petrol variant and a nine-speed torque converter auto option for the diesel variant. The four-wheel-drive system will only be exclusive for diesel variant with surface-specific drive modes.

Jeep Compass Facelift Price

The 2021 Jeep Compass Facelift price starts at Rs 16.99 lakh and goes up to Rs 28.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The 80th-anniversary edition price starts at Rs 22.96 lakh that goes all the way to Rs 26.76 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom, Delhi).



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Facebook will no longer recommend politics-themed groups to users, says Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said the social network will no longer recommend politics-themed groups to users, a measure already taken in the US due to election tensions. The social media giant is aiming to shine up an image tarnished by the political controversy, including Donald Trump's rise the White House. "We plan to keep civic and political groups out of recommendations for the long term and we plan to expand that policy globally," Zuckerberg said in an earnings call.

He added that Facebook would also reduce political content in users' main news feeds as part of a push "to turn down the temperature and discourage divisive conversation."

The move makes permanent steps taken by Facebook to guard against being a platform for violent or misleading messages during the US presidential election.

Mark Zuckerberg , CEO of Facebook.

Facebook last week said it is asking its independent experts to rule on whether former president Trump's suspension for "fomenting insurrection" should stand.

Facebook and Instagram suspended Trump after his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, an attack on the seat of democracy that led to Trump's unprecedented second impeachment.

The platform is referring the decision to its independent oversight board, which is tasked with making final decisions on appeals regarding what is removed or allowed to remain on the world's biggest social network.

"We believe our decision was necessary and right," Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg said in a blog post at the time.

Members of the oversight board come from various countries and include jurists, human rights activists, journalists, a Nobel peace laureate and a former Danish prime minister.

Launch of the panel came late last year amid rising concerns about misinformation and manipulation around the US election.

Reaction to the Trump ban has ranged from criticism that Facebook should have booted him long ago to outrage over his online voice being muted.

Zuckerberg said the decision to dial down politics related recommendations stemmed from user feedback, and will apply globally to the social network.

"We want these discussions to be able to keep happening," Zuckerberg said.

"But one of the top pieces of feedback that we are hearing from our community right now is that people don't want politics and fighting to take over their experience on our services."



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Number of sharks, rays have fallen more than 70 percent between 1970-2018

When marine biologist Stuart Sandin talks about sharks, it sounds like he’s describing Jedis of the ocean. “They are terrific predators, fast swimmers and they have amazing senses — they can detect any disturbance in the ocean from great distance,” such as smells or tiny changes in water currents. Their ability to quickly sense anything outside the norm in their environment helps them find prey in the vastness of the open ocean. But it also makes them especially vulnerable in the face of increased international fishing pressure, as global fishing fleets have doubled since 1950.

The last 50 years have been pretty devastating for global shark populations.

“You drop a fishing line in the open ocean, and often it’s sharks that are there first — whether or not they’re the primary target,” said Sandin, who works at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Scientists have known for decades that individual shark species are declining, but a new study drawing on 57 global datasets underscores just how dramatically worldwide populations have collapsed in the past half-century.

Globally, the abundance of oceanic sharks and rays dropped more than 70 percent between 1970 and 2018, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

And 24 of the 31 species of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction, while three species — oceanic whitetip sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks and great hammerhead sharks — are considered critically endangered.

“The last 50 years have been pretty devastating for global shark populations,” said Nathan Pacoureau, a biologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a co-author of the study.

Sometimes sharks are intentionally caught by fishing fleets, but more often they are reeled in incidentally as “ bycatch,” in the course of fishing for other species such as tuna and swordfish.

Sharks and rays are both fish with skeletons made of cartilage, not bone. In contrast to most other kinds of fish, they generally take several years to reach sexual maturity, and they produce fewer offspring.

“In terms of timing, they reproduce more like mammals – and that makes them especially vulnerable,” said Pacoureau. “Their populations cannot replenish as quickly as many other kinds of fish.”

The number of fishing vessels trolling the open ocean has risen steeply since the 1950s, as engine power expanded ships’ range. And while climate change and pollution also imperil shark survival, increased fishing pressure is the greatest threat for every oceanic shark species.

“When you remove top predators of the ocean, it impacts every part of the marine food web,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University, who was not involved in the study. “Sharks are like the lions, tigers and bears of the ocean world, and they help keep the rest of the ecosystem in balance.”



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Google Maps improves discoverability by rolling out automatic transliteration for Indian languages

Google is working on improving the discoverability factor Maps in India by adopting an ensemble of learning models that automatically transliterate certain points of interest (POIs) to 10 prominent local languages. Google Maps is of the opinion that this new feature will help users to issue queries in their own language and find information for the same in a comprehensible fashion. Be it tips on restaurants, petrol pumps, hospitals, grocery stores, banks, bus stops, or train stations, Maps will be able to use automatic transliteration to display their name in a known local language.

Google-Maps-720

As per a press release by the firm, the transliteration will be carried out from the Latin script (English) name of a POI in any of the following Indian languages: Hindi, Bangla, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, and Odia. The language to which your query gets automatically transliterated into depends upon the language you have picked on Google Maps from the settings of the app.

Cibu Johny, a software engineer at Google Maps said, “Nearly three-quarters of Indians interact with the web primarily using local languages rather than English, and this number is only growing. To make Google Maps as helpful as possible for millions of Indian language users, we’ve introduced an updated automatic transliteration system that enables us to deliver more accurate results when users search for POIs in their preferred language”.

The engineer observed as our country has names of establishments written in multiple languages and acronyms, if they “phonetically” map these words into a native language, it will help Maps reach out to more users in India.

He explained how the feature would work. If the POI is NIT, Maps will now be able to understand that the acronym is pronounced as ‘en-aye-tee’ and not as the English word ‘nit’. Thus, the transliteration provided would correctly convert the pronunciation as well.

Google Maps has used several learned models, along with transliteration dictionaries and a module for acronyms to add names in local languages to millions of POIs across India, as per the company. They believe this feature has increased the quality and the coverage in some languages by nearly twenty-fold.



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Apple might shift iPhones, iPads, Macs production to India and Vietnam: Report

Apple plans on shifting production of its iPhones, iPads and MacBooks to India and Vietnam. This means that the iPhone 12 series could be next in line to sport a Made in India tag. The report was listed on the Asia Nikkei website. According to the sources, Apple is likely to start iPad production in Vietnam as early as 2021 and will commence production of its first iPhone 12 series 5G smartphones in India, within this quarter.

Apple iPhone SE. Image: tech2/Nandini Yadav

Other Apple products that could see a shift in production out of China includes Apple computers, earphones and smart speakers, which would be the part of the diversification strategy.

Apple so far hasn't responded to queries.

Reports suggest that Apple could shift the production capacity of its voice-activated smart HomePod mini speakers to Vietnam, while the local production of other audio devices and AirPods have already been increased in the Southeast Asian region.

Apart from this, Apple could shift MacBooks part production to Vietnam this year. According to sources, Apple could shift the production of the Mac mini to Malaysia.

A supply chain manager told Nikkei Asia that not just Apple, but other major tech companies would also look for an out-of-China production route, even for their core products, something that wasn't possible two years back.

The report further added that Apple suppliers would also be shifting to Vietnam. Foxconn went on to invest $270 million for a subsidiary in the region, whereas Luxshare Precision Industry would also be looking to pace up the production of AirPods and HomePod mini in the country.

Apple started the shift in 2020 and is likely to do so in 2021 as well, despite the hopes of ease in trade tension between the two countries. With the shift in production of significant Apple devices outside China, India remains the company’s second-largest production base.



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Spacewalking astronauts encounter cable trouble while hooking up European lab

Spacewalking astronauts encountered cable trouble Wednesday while attempting to make improvements to the International Space Station’s European lab. Only one of the two lab upgrades was completely successful. NASA’s Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover installed a new antenna on Columbus, one of three high-tech labs at the orbiting outpost. It took a few tries by scientists in Europe to get it turned on properly. No longer needed, the boxy antenna cover was thrown overboard.

“Here we go. Countdown: 3-2-1,” Glover radioed as he heaved it safely away from the space station.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover dons his spacesuit and gets ready to exit the ISS for a spacewalk. Image credit: Twitter @Astro_Jessica ยท

Elsewhere on the lab, Glover could not hook up all the power and data cables on a science research platform that’s been awaiting activation for almost a year. He managed to hook up four of six cables. They checked out well with power flowing, enabling partial use of the platform.

But connectors on two cables would not close all the way, and those had to be capped. Engineers will try to come up with a work-around for a future spacewalk, so the entire platform can house experiments.

SpaceX delivered the platform named Bartolomeo to the space station last spring. The shelf was installed with the station’s robot arm but had to wait until Wednesday’s spacewalk to get hooked up.

Airbus, which built and runs Bartolomeo, is looking to sell space on the platform for private research projects. It’s Europe’s first commercial venture outside the station.

Danish astronaut Andreas Morgensen guided the spacewalkers from Mission Control in Houston, where controllers wore masks and were seated apart because of the pandemic. The spacewalk lasted seven hours.

Hopkins and Glover will perform a second spacewalk on Monday to complete battery upgrades to the station’s solar power grid. The latest spacewalk was the third for Hopkins and first for Glover.

They are part of SpaceX’s second astronaut flight that launched in November. Their docked Dragon capsule was visible on NASA TV during the spacewalk.



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Navigating the World of Crypto: Exploring the Potential of Crypto4u

 In recent years, the world of cryptocurrency has undergone a seismic shift, evolving from a niche interest among tech enthusiasts to a glob...