Tag Archives: III

NASA Responds to Criticism Over All-Male Astronaut Crew for Artemis III Mission

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As NASA prepares for the highly anticipated **Artemis III mission**, scheduled for launch next year, the decision to select an all-male crew has sparked significant controversy. This announcement, made on Tuesday, revealed the four astronauts who will be part of the mission.

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“It’s an insane choice to have no women onboard **Artemis III**,” remarks space influencer Alexandra Doten (aka Astro Alexandra). She posted her thoughts on X on Tuesday.

In response to the backlash, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman addressed the criticisms directly on Wednesday.

“I’ve seen reactions that range from disappointment to anger,” he stated in a recent announcement.

Isaacman explained that some astronauts might not have been chosen for **Artemis III** due to their readiness for missions to the International Space Station or because their expertise aligns better with future Artemis missions aimed at landing on the moon.

“The astronaut office evaluates many factors, including an astronaut’s background, expertise, test pilot experience, and the specific needs of the mission to assemble a crew that maximizes the chances of mission success,” he elaborated.

The selected crew members include NASA astronauts **Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas**, along with European Space Agency astronaut **Luca Parmitano**. Their mission, set to launch by summer **2027**, aims to test commercial lunar landers, laying the groundwork for the **2028 Artemis IV mission** that will transport astronauts to the moon’s surface. The Artemis III crew will spend approximately two weeks in Earth orbit conducting this test.

Both **SpaceX** and **Blue Origin** are developing these lunar landers, with the Artemis III mission designed to demonstrate rendezvous and docking procedures between NASA’s **Orion capsule** and the new landers.

Looking ahead to **Artemis IV** in 2024, one of the landers will partner with the **Orion spacecraft**, which carried Artemis II astronauts on a 10-day journey around Earth and the moon this past April. The lander’s role will be to transport astronauts to the lunar surface and then return them safely to Earth.

Since **2023**, NASA has pledged to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon during its Artemis missions. However, they have since modified the language on some platforms amidst discussions surrounding diversity and inclusion.

Isaacman clarified that the crew selection process at NASA “does not involve political appointees,” likely addressing concerns about potential external influence in the astronaut selection.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attends a House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing on April 22 at the Capitol.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

While NASA may be reserving the most experienced female astronaut for the upcoming **Artemis IV mission**, the crew member has yet to be disclosed.

Currently, NASA has 37 active astronauts eligible for missions, among which **15 are women**. Impressively, the latest astronaut class announced last year included a historic majority of women.

Astronomy PhD student **Jasmin Singh**, known as **@astro_jaz** on X, commented that the all-male crew of **Artemis III** was a “huge blow,” especially for those inspired by astronaut **Christina Koch** during her contributions to **Artemis II**.

“For those who aren’t offended by the absence of women in **Artemis III**, they may not grasp the significance of seeing someone who resembles you achieve something monumental, particularly after centuries of underrepresentation,” Singh expressed.

“The selected astronauts for **Artemis III** are experienced and qualified, deserving recognition for their mission, just as future crews will receive the same honor,” Isaacman stated.

For the **Artemis III flight**, Bresnik will serve as mission commander, Parmitano as pilot, and Douglas and Rubio as mission specialists. NASA astronaut **Bob Hines** will act as a backup crew member.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

NASA Unveils Astronaut Crew for Artemis III Mission to Test Innovative Lunar Lander

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NASA has released the names of the four astronauts chosen for the Artemis III mission, marking a significant milestone in its ambitious plan to return humans to the moon.

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Astronauts Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas are set for launch into Earth orbit next year as part of testing initiatives for commercially developed lunar landers that will transport NASA astronauts to the moon’s surface by 2028. Bresnik will co-lead the mission with Parmitano, an astronaut from the European Space Agency, while Douglas and Rubio will serve as mission specialists. NASA astronaut Bob Hines will also train with the crew as a backup.

The competition to build the lunar lander for the Artemis III mission includes Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Both companies confirmed on Tuesday their timelines align for having the lander ready.

“This test flight will showcase our ability to conduct meticulously planned operations with partners in a high-stakes space environment, which includes hardware interfaces, software propulsion systems, and crew life support,” stated Jeremy Parsons, NASA’s Artemis program manager.

Parsons noted that the Artemis III mission is projected to last about two weeks—approximately four days longer than the recently completed Artemis II mission. This serves as the final test before NASA’s goal of landing a crew on the moon during Artemis IV.

“Every aspect of Artemis III provides insights to refine our plans for Artemis IV,” Parsons explained. “This mission is purposefully designed to take calculated risks, ensuring the safety and success of future lunar crews.”

The overarching goal of NASA’s Artemis program is to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon. This year, NASA revealed plans to allocate $20 billion to facilitate the construction of a lunar base.

Originally, NASA intended for Artemis III to land astronauts on the moon, but following an overhaul by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, the mission now focuses on testing docking operations with lunar landers.

The Artemis III crew will remain close to Earth, testing rendezvous and docking maneuvers with lunar landers from SpaceX and/or Blue Origin. These operations are vital for the program, as the chosen lander must rendezvous with the Orion spacecraft, which previously carried the Artemis II crew, while orbiting the moon.

If it all goes as planned, NASA could achieve its first moon landing in over 50 years, potentially ahead of China, which has announced its own plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2030.

Parsons confirmed that critical components of the Artemis III program are progressing as planned. For instance, a newly designed heat shield has been built and tested for NASA’s Orion spacecraft.

“Our upgraded heat shields have been thoroughly inspected and are prepared for installation,” Parsons said.

Nonetheless, Blue Origin’s readiness is a point of concern due to a recent setback where one of its rockets exploded during an engine test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, damaging facilities essential for launching its lunar module.

“Production of the Artemis III Mark February crew module and essential systems is advancing well. Our manufacturing facilities are operational around the clock,” stated Blue Origin’s John Couris. “The vehicle is scheduled for completion and anticipated readiness for launch in 2027.”

Days prior to the explosion, NASA had engaged Blue Origin for an unmanned lunar mission intended to deliver a payload later this year, marking the beginning of a series of robotic missions aimed at preparing for human landings and scouting lunar resources.

For the Artemis III launch, NASA will utilize the same framework as for Artemis II, sending the newly announced crew into space aboard the Orion spacecraft, which will be launched using a Space Launch System rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Can the Light Phone III prevent “brain rot”?

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Dear reader, I have a confession: I suffer from the illness that young people call “Brain corruption” Things I can’t think deeply after scrolling too much on my phone. It’s difficult to complete a book these days.

Many people have this problem. Many have created a category of minimalist tech products that strive to eliminate us to be distracted, from AI pins, the artificially intelligent lapel pins that take notes to phones that only have basic features.

The latest example, $600 Light Phone IIIa peeled mobile phone that does little from a Brooklyn startup. The latest version, which began shipping in March and has been set to a wider release in July, can call, text, take photos, view map instructions, play music and podcasts, and many others can’t.

There is no web browser. Also, there is no app store. That means there are no Ubers who welcome rides, slacks, or social media. There’s no even an email.

“When you use it when you need it and turn it back on, it goes away in your life,” said Kaiwei Tang, chief executive of Light, a startup that has developed multiple iterations of light phones over the past nine years. “We tell many customers that they feel less stressed, they become more productive and creative.”

I used it as my main phone for a week, because I wanted to know if a light phone can cure me brain rot. There was a moment when I enjoyed it. I didn’t want to stare at the phone screen while I was waiting for the train, resting at the gym or eating alone. The phone sounded wonderful and clear. The Maps app did an amazing job navigating me around town.

It reminded me of a simple time when we mostly used our phones for Converse before we put them away to focus on other tasks.

But for a week, the flaws of the stupid phone call were lacking in my enjoyment. I suddenly realized I couldn’t enter the station. We looked up the names of our new restaurants and controlled the garage doors.

Part of it has nothing to do with the light phone itself, which is a decent product, but how society as a whole relies on advanced smartphone capabilities.

This is how my week ran errands, commute, and went out on Lower Technology phones.

When I set up a light phone review unit over the weekend, the phone, which looked like a black rectangular slab, was quite bare bones. The phone’s menu was a black screen showing a white text list for mobile phones, cameras, photo albums and alarm functions. To add more tools, I had to access the dashboard using a web browser on my computer. There, we were able to install features such as the map app, notepad, and timers.

I was ready to go, so I decided to live without my iPhone for at least a while.

On Monday morning, I took the train from Oakland, California to San Francisco and started commuting. When I arrived at the station I realized that I couldn’t get in without an iPhone. This is because many years ago, I had converted my physical transit pass, Clipper cards, into virtual cards stored in my smartphone’s mobile wallet.

The light phone didn’t have a mobile wallet to load a virtual transit card, so I went back home badly to get my iPhone and eventually showed up in the office 30 minutes late.

One night, I got a similar hit at a rock climbing gym. To enter, members use their mobile phones to log in to the gym website and generate a temporary barcode that is scanned at the entrance. The light phone didn’t have a web browser and could not create a barcode, so we had to wait in line at the front desk.

I added some of my closest friends to my address book over a light phone and texted them explaining my experiment. When I typed the device’s keyboard, some felt slow as there was no auto-correct feature to fix typos. As a result, the conversation was concise.

The cheer continued as I sent pictures of people. The unlit and grainy image appeared to have been created with telephone cameras for at least 15 years.

“Retro!” said one friend in response to a blurry photo of my daughter.

“Wow, that’s bad,” another friend said of the dimly lit photo of my corgi Max.

Photo taken on the author’s Corgi’s light phone, Max looked unlit and grainy.credit…Brian X. Chen/New York Times

The founders of Light said they are proud of the Light Phone camera, which has a nostalgic feel to it.

One afternoon I had to drop off Amazon’s return at the UPS store. We have selected the most convenient shipping options, including displaying QR codes for scanning.

problem? Light phones didn’t have an email app or web browser to download codes. Instead, I loaded it onto my computer screen and snapped mediocre photos on my phone.

When I brought the package to UPS and presented the photos, I held my breath and hoping the image was clear enough. UPS employees kept the scanner and after three attempts they heard beeps and transport labels printed.

Not only is it a relief, but how troublesome.

Another afternoon my wife and I went out for an improvised lunch. I had to back out the car and ask my wife to use her iPhone to close the garage door with the app myq. (Our physical garage door opener stopped working years ago.)

After that, I was trying to remember the name of a new sushi restaurant I read recently on my food blog. It was inevitable that I would dig deeper into my blog posts on a light phone. In the end we speculated and went to the wrong restaurant. However, it was good to have lunch together without the temptation to check my email.

I admire the goal of light phones, but my experience shows that there is nothing realistically possible or can buy to bring us back to a simpler era. Many aspects of our lives revolve around highly capable smartphones, travelling around town, working, paying for things, dominating home appliances.

This light cell phone experiment reminded me of glamping.

I can’t think of many people who make them work to make light phones realistically use only their mobile phones. Many of us rely on tools like Slack and email to communicate.

A light phone may be a good choice for unplugging while you’re off work, as a secondary leisure phone similar to a weekend car. But even so, camera quality may be a contract breaker for some.

Light’s CEO Tang admitted that Light Shone is not for everyone, but added that parents are considering buying a mobile phone for their children not distracted at school. The company is also working on adding more tools, including the ability to request mobile payments and Lyft cars.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Playground Global secures $410 million Fund III for early-stage deep tech investments

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playground globalThe renowned early-stage venture capital firm has brought $410 million in capital commitments to Fund III to invest in early-stage deep technology and science companies. With this new fund, Palo Alto-based Playground will have more than $1.2 billion of his assets under management.

Co-founder and general partner Peter Barrett started his career as an engineer (a video game engineer, to be exact) before becoming a venture capitalist.Interesting fact about him — he still codes every day and is touted give Elon Musk his first job.

Barrett is surrounded by similarly tech-loving general partners Jolie Bell, Matt Hershenson, Bruce Leake and Laurie Yolar, all with similar deep scientific and operational backgrounds. I have.

Together, they are attracted to companies creating next-generation technologies across the computing, automation, infrastructure, logistics, decarbonization, and engineered biology industries.

Similar to the $500 million Fund II raised in 2017, Fund III’s capital deployment will focus on seed and Series A companies with initial investments of $1 million to $20 million.

Playground is often an early or first investor, and Barrett told TechCrunch that the company “believes that only a few transformative companies are born every year.” Examples of exits from the company’s portfolio include MosaicML, which was acquired by Databricks in June for $1.3 billion, and the company that will enable Elon Musk to print the Raptor engines to power Starship, which will be announced in 2021. Includes listed Velo3D.

TechCrunch spoke with Barrett via email about how the funding landscape has changed since his last round, the lessons he learned investing in deep tech, and what he looks for in startups.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

TC: Playground last raised funding in 2017. What was the funding environment like this time around?

P.B.: The macro environment is difficult for everyone, but when I meet with investors from around the world, they avoid fads and trends and instead focus on companies and industries where real and lasting value is being created. I said I was trying. A company with excellent durability and defense.

The new fund and the raising of several of our companies have proven that there is never a bad time to invest in great companies, especially in a down market, with investors flocking to quality.

We have received significant support from our existing investors and also used this opportunity to invite new investors. Fund III expanded its LP base to include endowments, foundations, single-family and multi-family offices.

What is unique about what Playground offers to startups?

We are an early stage venture capital firm and have been true partners in our companies since our inception. When you talk to our entrepreneurs, you’ll find that they consider us both investors and co-founders. We have the unique superpower to take on and eliminate technology risks, and can leverage the roadmaps we develop to identify best-in-class emerging technologies.

And because we don’t invest in competing companies, there’s a real sense of camaraderie within our portfolio. We were introduced to several new portfolio companies by the founders of Fund I and Fund II. In addition to our platform services, our 70,000 square foot studio is home to many of our portfolio companies and other non-competitive startups deep in the tech space.

Tell us about the pivot from consumer to deep tech. What led to that decision?

When we founded Playground, our team was assembled with the goal of helping both consumer technology and deep technology companies develop. It was clear early on that our superpowers were not reading the market risk tea leaves and were taking on technological risks. By focusing on deep technology and investing in roadmaps that guide our investment decisions, we have captured an undeserved share of the world’s most innovative companies.

What did you learn from diving into deep technology?

Since we founded Playground, we have invested in deep technology companies. PsiQuantum was one of our first investments. We have learned that everything is impossible until it happens, and that the combination of prudent capital and brilliant, tenacious people can move civilization forward.

What areas of deep tech are you interested in, and which areas do you tend not to invest in?

By taking on chemistry, biology and computing as a first-principle approach, we can invest in breakthrough companies across next-generation computing, AI/automation, infrastructure, artificial biology and decarbonization. .

There is no contradiction between the resulting technology investment and significant returns. We are attracted to companies that can build large technological moats and enter markets where they are clear category leaders. We follow the roadmap and don’t surf the zeitgeist.

What do you look for in a startup?

We look for testable hypotheses that address important problems with a plausible path to success. We are not looking for potential solutions to problems. We look for solutions that bring together the right ideas, the right people at the right time.

How many investments have you made from Fund III so far?

Playground has already made several investments from Fund III including d-Matrix, Ideon Technologies, Amber Bio, Infinimmune and Atomic AI, in addition to other portfolio companies operating in stealth.

We believe that our companies, operating in stealth, are well-positioned to revolutionize green metal production and provide the foundation for the next generation of semiconductor manufacturing.

d-Matrix, whose Series A was led by Playground, secured an oversubscribed Series B round of $110 million announced in September, and has already raised another round. The company is building the next generation of AI hardware through an in-memory computing platform focused on inference in the data center.

Given your past relationship with Elon Musk, what do you think about his stewardship over X, Tesla, etc.?

We all wish Elon would focus more time on electrifying the Earth and sending rockets into space.

Source: techcrunch.com