The Man on Moon - Pictures By NASA

With two currently functioning orbiters, and five more missions planned in the next year, Earth's Moon may soon have seven active probes operated by five nations, with even more coming soon. NASA's plans to return humans to the Moon by 2020 are moving steadily ahead, with some concrete prototypes and initial designs beginning to emerge. Called the Constellation Program, NASA's vision involves new and upgraded launch vehicles, exploration vehicles, autonomous rovers, new spacesuits, crew and cargo vehicles, and much more. Here are seven photographs of our possible future on the Moon, and a look back, with ten images from our last visits with the Apollo missions, more than 36 years ago now

Looking Forward -- Spacesuit engineer Dustin Gohmert drives NASA's new lunar truck prototype through the moon-like craters of Johnson Space Center's Lunar Yard. The lunar truck was built to make such off roading easy, with six wheels that can be steered independently in any direction. In addition, the steering center can turn a full 360 degree, giving the driver a good view of what's ahead, no matter which way the wheels are pointing. (NASA/JSC)

During field tests near Moses Lake, WA, NASA's Autonomous Drilling Rover demonstrated dark autonomous nagivation with a light detection and ranging system. (NASA)

The Crew Mobility Chassis Prototype is NASA's new concept for a lunar truck. Researchers were trying it out at Moses Lake, WA, as part of a series of tests of lunar surface concepts. One feature is its high mobility. Each set of wheels can pivot individually in any direction, giving the vehicle the ability to drive sideways, forward, backward and any direction in between -- important if the truck becomes mired in lunar dust needs to zigzag down a steep crater wall or parallel park at its docking station. (NASA)

NASA's ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer) robotic vehicle seen during field tests near Moses Lake, WA. Athlete could be the RV of choice for future explorers. Its multi-wheeled dexterity could allow robots or humans to load, transport, manipulate and deposit payloads to essentially any desired site on the lunar surface. (NASA)

NASA's lunar truck during field tests near Moses Lake, WA. Whatever direction the lunar truck is headed, the driver has a good view.. The astronauts' perches can pivot 360 degrees. The whole wehicle can be lowered to the ground for easy access in bulky spacesuits. (NASA)

Testing a critical Launch Abort System. NASA and Alliant Techsystems (ATK) performed an igniter test of the Orion Launch Abort System at ATK's Promontory Facility on June 13, which lasted for approximately 150 milliseconds. The igniter was just over 36 inches tall and was the first time the newly developed igniter had been tested. Its purpose is to ignite the primary motor on the LAS that pulls the capsule away during an emergency on the pad or during launch. (NASA and Alliant Techsystems)

A mock-up of the NASA's new Orion space capsule heads to its temporary home in a hangar at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. In late 2008, the full-size structural model will be jettisoned off a simulated launch pad at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to test the spacecraft's astronaut escape system, which will ensure a safe, reliable method of escape for astronauts in case of an emergency. NASA's Constellation program is building the Orion crew vehicle to carry humans to the International Space Station by 2015 and to the moon beginning in 2020. (NASA/Sean Smith)

And Looking Back -- A view of the Moon's surface taken from lunar orbit in the summer of 1971. Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission to the Moon. (NASA)

April 20, 1972 - Apollo 16. A view from the Landing Module, looking toward the Command and Service Module with Earth over the lunar horizon. Astronauts John Young and Charles Duke took this shot as they piloted the LM down to the lunar surface. (NASA)

Also April 20, 1972 - The Command and Service Module named "Casper" viewed from the Lunar Module shortly after undocking. Astronaut Ken Mattingly stayed aboard the CSM while the LM went to the surface - orbiting over 60 times, and performing twenty-six separate scientific experiments. (NASA)

December 10, 1972 - Apollo 17. A tiny, distant Command and Service Module seen above the Taurus-Littrow landing site photographed from the Lunar Module as it descended to the Moon - the last time Men would set foot on the lunar surface. (NASA)

December, 1972 - Apollo 17. Astronaut Eugene Cernan drives the final Lunar Rover (of 3 total) sent to the Moon. Also seen is one leg of the Lunar Module, at right. (NASA)

December, 1972 - Apollo 17. Astronaut Harrison Schmitt near the Lunar Rover at Shorty crater. (NASA)

April, 1972 - Apollo 16. Astronaut Charles Duke's family portrait, laid on the lunar surface. Pictured are Charles and Dotty Duke, and their sons Charles, 7, and Tom, 5. (NASA)

July 21, 1969 - Apollo 11. The Lunar Module approaches the Command and Service Module for docking, with earthrise in background. Aboard the LM were astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, returning from a 21-hour stay on the Moon - the first Moon landing by Man. (NASA)

December, 1972 - Apollo 17. Astronaut Jack Schmitt took this telephoto picture of the Lunar Module, seen from a distance of about two miles (3.1 km). For an idea of scale, the Lunar Module is about 24 feet tall (7 meters). (Image is a combination of AS17-139-21204 and AS17-139-21203 - credit: NASA)

December, 1972 - Apollo 17. Earthrise

viewed from Apollo 17 (NASA)

Spectacular Helicopter Static Electricity Phenomenon

In the middle of a desert, a military helicopter creates a stunning show while initiating an impossible static electrical discharge, spectacular phenomenon for all the lucky viewers on site. Luckily someone had a camera, and probably, a permission to take photos of this amazing light show, so that we may enjoy this as well. It would be great if I had one of those and a desert with lots of sand in the air. Meanwhile, enjoy the photos.

Top 10 Tips To Make Your Mobile Battery Last Longer

If you’re expecting a call and your battery icon starts blinking, the first thing you should do is find a charger. But if that’s not an option, here are ten things you can do to hang on. We’ll skip the usual tips about the ‘memory effect’ and which battery type is better NiCd or Li-Ion because you don’t really have a choice in that.

Close Background Applications
If you’re using a Smartphone, close applications that you don’t need. Applications that stay active in the background use up a bit of CPU, which uses up battery. Make sure you ‘exit’ the applications from the menu, not by pressing the ‘End’ key, as that merely puts the application in the background. In Series 60 Smartphones (mostly Nokias), hold down the ‘Menu’ key to get a list of all applications running in the background to close them. In Windows Mobile 5 phones, open the ‘Memory’ application and check the ‘Running programs’ tab to close them.

Turn Down Screen Brightness
The screen is one of the most power-consuming parts of the mobile phone. The lower the brightness, the lesser power it needs. Keep it as low as you can, so long as you can still see it! Also, some phones like the E61 and the BlackBerry Pearl come with auto-adjust features that increase the brightness in brightly lit areas and dim it in low-light areas. If you’re setting the brightness low, make sure that auto-adjust is turned off.

Don’t Use Animated Wallpapers or Screensavers
The animations in wallpapers and screensavers can drain a bit of battery as they also consume a wee bit of CPU. Turn them off.

Turn Off Keypad Lights
If you’ve been using the phone for a while, you may be able to use the keys without seeing them. If this is the case, the keypad backlight can be turned off. However, not a lot of phones support this, but it’s worth considering if your phone does.

Decrease Screen Standby Time Out
The time till your screen dims out and/or gets turned off is configurable in most phones. 10 seconds is good, 5 seconds is better. Set it as low as you can go without it becoming inconvenient.

Turn Off Vibration
Probably the second most power-consuming feature of any mobile phone is the built-in vibration alert. See if you can do without it.

Turn Down Ringer Volume, Keypad Tones and Speaker During Calls
If you’re mostly indoors, like in the office or at home, a low ringer volume can go a bit towards saving your battery. Most phones also have DTMF-like keypad tones, which are not necessary if the keypad has decent tactile feedback. I keep them turned off most of the time you can try it too. Volume of the earpiece when you’re on a call can also be lowered, and that helps too.

Disable Voice Clarity / EFR / Voice Privacy
Almost all phones now do Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) for voice communication that consumes a little more power. In most cases, the enhanced quality of EFR doesn’t make a difference thanks to the high noise levels in our city. Keep it off, you probably won’t miss it. Some phones (mostly Samsungs) have a ‘voice privacy’ feature which can also be turned off to save battery.

Turn off 3G / GPRS / EDGE
Most 3G/UMTS/WCDMA phones keep searching for 3G coverage by default. In India, they’ll keep searching till 2008, draining your battery, so go to the network selection screen and choose GSM-only. If your phone has a secondary camera near the screen, it’s a 3G phone. Check your phone’s specs on the website if you aren’t sure. Sometimes, even regular GPRS or EDGE connections stay active in the back, so make sure you specifically disconnect when you’re done browsing the web.

Use Bluetooth and WiFi Only While Transferring
If you only use Bluetooth occasionally to transfer files to and from other devices, there’s probably no point keeping it on all the time. Most phones only come with an on/off setting for Bluetooth, unlike the ‘Turn on for 10 minutes’ setting available for Infrared in some phones (mostly Sony Ericssons). People tend to forget about Bluetooth being left on after transferring the file avoid doing this. Same goes for WiFi, if you’re phone has that.

Here’s another tip find a USB cable if your phone supports recharging via USB. The Motorola RAZR/KRZR/SLVRs and most Windows Mobile Smartphones have a standard miniUSB slot that can use the same cable as most digital cameras. You’re more likely to find one of these lying around somewhere than a charger for your phone, unless it’s a Nokia, of course.

Finally, the last tip is not very recommendable, but it is something to consider if you’ve tried everything else above: don’t use the phone too much. Of course, you can’t use the camera and media features (most Samsung phones won’t even let you, if the battery is low) but you can also be a bit choosy while answering incoming calls not all of them need to be answered. This is even more true in case of unknown numbers!

Modern Innovative Technology

Gadgets are more unusual and more clever than normal technological objects and that makes them gain popularity. These wonderful gizmos ease our daily routine and keep us in contact with the innovative movement, making sure we don’t get stuck in the past. But of course, in the world of gadgets there are also some devices that take it a little bit far, making us gaze at them with hope that we will get our hands on them sooner.
Window phone concept
Is it a window, is it a phone? No. Actually, it’s Window phone and this is the part where you are saying “Whaaat? What are you talking about?”. The phone is actually a concept with extraordinary features. Surely if this could be actually put into production, it would set a new standard for the term “cool”.

AFGT Gaming Device
This gadget seems to be the holy grail of the gaming world. Its interesting feature is the tactile feedback that is used to enhance the gaming experience. This very interesting gadget is made out of touch sensitive silicon, to be more specific, silicon air pockets, each with a pressure generator.

Sound Mug Speaker
This particular device could look a little bit strange at a first impression but actually it’s a damn cool thing. The crazy looking speaker can fit in your car’s cupholder and don’t worry about batteries, the gadget is powered by car’s accessory socket.

Vestalife BumbleBee Earbuds
If you’re a guy, it’s unlikely that you will be interested in these little pink earbuds but as a girl, you’ll find them pretty glamy.

Babelfisk
In case you’re getting lazy in classes these wonderful glasses will give you some help. They have two microphones that can be directed to where someone is speaking and you have text and audio recorded into a flash drive.

QWERTY Keyboard For iPhone
Surely, this sounds like a dream come true. The Iphone is everywhere and probably a lot of you have it encountered the typing problem. With this tiny little qwerty keyboard you can type fast and accurately.

Sliding Pooltable

Bio Robot Refrigerator
The Bio Robot fridge cools biopolymer gel through luminescence. It might look stinky and sticky but it’s actually an odorless gel that envelopes the food.

eRoll
eRoll could be the future of e-reading, along with iPad and another gadget that will be presented in this article. If you don’t want it to read ebooks on it, you can use it as a self defense weapon.

Folding-out Laptop
The Transformers wallpaper on this laptop says it all. This laptop transforms into a mega-laptop as soon as you unfold its keyboard.

MU SPACE
Listening music in bed with your headbuds in your ears can be really annoying and it appears that Yuan-Hao Hsu and Lin Tzu Hsuan have figured that one out. The result consists in a mp3 player pillow that will help you relax when taking your nap.

Wind circle
This will surely start a lot of discussions with your house guests but besides that it will also cool the air in the room. Yeah, it does that too…

Bracelet phone
Concept phones are becoming very popular these days. The stranger their shape is, the more popular they get. Probably that’s why this bracelet phone got so many fans or because it has a round dialer on it, like in old land phones.

Mint Sputnik projector

Portable Interactive Display
This device should be interesting especially for architects or industrial designers because of its interesting features. Its software can take CAD drawings and display them on the surface where they can be manipulated easily.

Newspaper of the future
Nowadays people try to find alternatives to using paper and they come up with interesting solutions. We already saw the eRoll in this article and tablets like iPad are made in a lot of variations today but Seon-Keun Park and Byung-Min Woo came with a different idea.

Air Clean Balls
Enough with the serious talking, let’s talk about balls (…?!). They have a funny name but an interesting feature, they can clean the air in the room by using a form of ionization with a photocatalyst complex sterilizing. It is interesting that it doesn’t freshen the air as you would probably think, but it actually cleans it, removing bacterias and viruses too, besides strange odors.

Geist Projector
We’ll keep on going with the balls issue but this time it’s about a projector. The mobility of the projected image is given by the levitating ball that sustains itself in the air with the help of electromagnetism.

Help Readers device
This device converts text to audio, helping you in case you have eye problems or because you’re infected with the laziness virus. in

HP LIM Glass computer
The HP LiM (Less is More) concept is set to feature a 19″ transparent touch OLED screen along with a wireless keyboard. The touch screen slides down to create a more ergonomic touch experience and easy navigation.