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NASA is delaying its return to the Moon with the Artemis program. “To give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges with first-time developments, operation and integration, we’re gonna give more time on Artemis 2 and 3,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters on a call.

As such, Artemis 2, which had been scheduled for a November 2024 launch, is now targeting September 2025. That four-person mission is set to fly around the Moon, in a similar fashion to the uncrewed Artemis 1. As for Artemis 3, which will take humans back to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, that’s now targeted for September 2026, marking a nine-month delay.

Those are the only delays NASA has announced for now. Nelson said “Artemis 4 remains on track for September 2028.” Along with a lunar landing, that mission will mark the delivery of a habitat module to the Lunar Gateway, a space station that’s planned for lunar orbit.

The delays are for safety reasons. “For Artemis 2, there are new capabilities being on-ramped for the mission,” Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator of the Moon to Mars Program said. Those include propellant loading, crew loading and egress and fresh abort and life support systems.

Kshatriya said NASA is learning from both the data it obtained from Artemis 1 and the production of components for future missions. “From the test flight in particular, we had one major finding that we need a little bit more time to work [on] and that is the performance of the thermal protection system on the spacecraft, on the heat shield,” Kshatriya said.

While the heat shield performed well overall during the Artemis 1 landing in terms of thermal protection, it experienced “some unexpected phenomena we need to make sure we understand perfectly,” namely some charred material. NASA doesn’t want to leave anything to chance when it comes to astronauts’ safety and it spent “the bulk of 2023 investigating” that concern, Kshatriya noted. NASA hopes to identify the root cause of the issue in the spring.

Meanwhile, among other concerns, NASA encountered some issues with the life support system. “During the acceptance of some components for Artemis 3, we noticed a failure in some motor valve circuitry,” Kshatriya said. “These components passed acceptance testing for Artemis 2, but did not pass them for Artemis 3. That gave us pause to stop and look at that circuit in a more detailed way.” As such, NASA found a design flaw in the circuit. 

Given its importance to the life support system, the agency deemed the system unacceptable as is. “We have to replace it to guarantee the safety of the crew,” Kshatriya said. It’s likely to take quite some time to resolve the issue as NASA will have to carefully test every change, but Kshatriya added the agency knows how to solve the problem. 

The Artemis delays follow the failure of a mission that sought to transport the first US commercial payload to the Moon. Astrobotic had hoped to make a soft landing on the lunar surface with its Peregrine lander. However, due to some post-launch issues (in particular, a propellant leak) the soft landing is no longer possible.

“Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the moon. However, we do still have enough propellant to continue to operate the vehicle as a spacecraft,” Astrobotic wrote on X. “The team continues to work to find ways to extend Peregrine’s operational life.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasa-delays-its-first-crewed-artemis-mission-until-september-2025-195019383.html?src=rss 

Netflix’s long-anticipated sci-fi series 3 Body Problem finally has a full trailer, following a short teaser released last year. This new trailer is over two minutes long and absolutely filled with exciting moments and tantalizing clues. Watch it below.

The show’s based on a hit book series by Chinese author Liu Cixin. The showrunners include David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, formerly of Game of Thrones. Yes, everyone hates them because of the ending of HBO’s fantasy epic, but here’s the thing. 3 Body Problem is the first novel in the finished Remembrance of Earth’s Past series, and the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones, when working from pre-existing material, were absolutely iconic. So this could be very good, though it has suffered from delays.

As for the plot, well it’s complicated and hard to even discuss without getting into spoilers. The books are out there if you can’t wait until the show’s March 21 release date. As a clue, the clunky title actually refers to a common problem with both classical physics and quantum physics involving Newton’s laws of motion and universal gravitation. In other words, it’s hard sci-fi, but the books have plenty of action and mystery set-pieces, and the show looks to follow suit. Expect plenty of advanced technologies and otherworldly weirdness.

3 Body Problem stars Benedict Wong, Eiza González and several Game of Thrones alums including Jonathan Pryce and John Bradley. Besides Benioff and Weiss, screenwriter Alexander Woo is on-board as a co-showrunner. Woo’s best known for his work on True Blood and The Terror, among other well-regarded series.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflixs-sci-fi-adaptation-3-body-problem-finally-gets-a-full-sized-trailer-200027248.html?src=rss 

EcoFlow has arrived at CES 2024 in Las Vegas to show off its largest and most useful home battery backup solution, the Delta Pro Ultra. It’s calling the hardware a “smart hybrid whole house battery generator and backup” that will draw power from a wide variety of sources. You’ll be able to charge it from either high or low-output solar panels, from the grid, or even juice it up from a gas powered generator. (But also, don’t do that unless lives are on the line, please, the planet can’t handle it.) The Delta Pro Ultra also vastly increases how much power you can keep on hand at any one time. The existing Delta Pro can scale — with additional batteries — up to 25kWh but, if your wallet is thick enough, you can equip the Ultra with 90kWh of batteries, which the company says should be enough to keep your home’s essentials running for up to a month.

In fact, the theme of this hardware is supersized capaciousness since every element of it has been built to service the most extravagant McMansions. For instance, the solar input can take up to 16.8kW of power at a time, letting you wire up to 42 400W panels at a time. Combined with the ability to draw extra power from the grid when energy costs are low and you should see the initial outlay paid back fairly quickly. And the company says output runs from 7.2kW — enough to run a Central Air unit — all the way through to 21.6kW with enough additional gear, which should be enough to power most key appliances in your home.

On its own, the Ultra is plug-and-play, although if you want to take advantage of its higher outputs and deeper integration with the home, you’ll have to buy its Smart Home Panel 2. That will of course require the services of a qualified contractor but, even so, the company says that installation is pretty clean and tidy. Not to mention that it’s nice and quiet when outputting less than 2,000W to help avoid complaints from the neighbours.

If you’re looking to splash out on a new whole house battery backup system, the Delta Pro Ultra is available to order starting today. For the first month, the inverter and battery will set you back $4,999, while the Smart Home Panel 2 costs an extra $1,599 when bought separately. Not to mention you can snag both in a bundle for $6,399 until February 9, when prices for all three will leap up to their RRP of $5,799 (Ultra), $1,899 (Panel 2) and $7,499 (bundle).

We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ecoflow-delta-pro-ultra-is-a-home-battery-that-can-harvest-power-from-42-solar-panels-190032452.html?src=rss 

The modern classic mystery game Immortality is finally coming to PS5 on January 23 and it’ll cost $20, which is in line with the price on other platforms. It already exists on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Android and iOS. The game was originally released back in 2022.

For the uninitiated, Immortality is more of an interactive film trilogy than a video game, recalling full-motion titles from the 1990s. The surreal narrative tasks you with solving the disappearance of an actress named Marissa Marcel. You do this by scrubbing through video clips and gathering clues. Creator Sam Barlow has likened the gameplay to a “mental Metroidvania”, in that you return to previously-viewed clips once you have a new understanding of some aspect of the mystery.

We loved the title upon release and it made our list of the best games of 2022. The script, penned by writers behind films like Wild at Heart and TV shows like Mr. Robot, is not just good for a video game, but engaging throughout. The atmosphere is moody and tense, recalling the cinematic stylings of Alfred Hitchcock and, especially, David Lynch. Immortality is geared more towards cinephiles than mainstream gamers, so don’t expect a lot of action. The acting performances, however, are excellent.

Sam Barlow made a similar game called Her Story, which was also well-received, and the less popular Telling Lies. He’s been involved with several entries in the Silent Hill franchise, including Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cinematic-mystery-game-immortality-comes-to-ps5-on-january-23-191054771.html?src=rss 

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing thousands of performers, has struck a deal with an AI voice acting platform aimed at making it easier for actors to license their voice for use in video games. Under the deal, which was announced during a press event at CES 2024, SAG-AFTRA members will be able to work with Replica Studios to license their voice to game studios.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s top negotiator, said that the agreement “paves the way for professional voiceover artists to safely explore new employment opportunities for their digital voice replicas.” The agreement comes as Hollywood is still grappling with the use of AI. Last year, SAG-AFTRA reached a deal with Hollywood studios that included AI protections following a months-long strike. As a result, studios are now required to pay actors (and obtain their consent) before using an AI-generated version of their likeness.

SAG-AFTRA’s latest agreement with Replica Studios seems to follow a similar framework. According to Crabtree, the agreements cover the creation of so-called “digital voice replicas” and how they can be used by game studios and other companies. The deal has provisions for minimum rates, safe storage and transparency equirements, as well as “limitations on the amount of time that a performance replica can be employed without further payment and consent.”

Notably, the agreement does not cover whether actors’ replicas can be used to train large language models (LLMs), though Replica Studios CEO Shreyas Nivas said the company was interested in pursuing such an arrangement. “We have been talking to so many of the large AAA studios about this use case,” Nivas said. He added that LLMs are “out-of-scope of this agreement” but “they will hopefully [be] things that we will continue to work on and partner on.”

SAG-AFTRA’s deal with Replica only covers a sliver of the game industry. Separately, the union is also negotiating with several of the major game studios after authorizing a strike last fall. “I certainly hope that the video game companies will take this as an inspiration to help us move forward in that negotiation,” Crabtree said.

We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sag-aftra-strikes-deal-for-ai-voice-acting-in-video-games-at-ces-2024-191533846.html?src=rss