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NASA has confirmed it is turning off key instruments on Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, leaving just three science instruments in operation on each spacelab. The reason: to prolong the lives of the spacecraft, which left Earth's surface in 1977.

Distro hopping isn’t exactly uncommon in the Linux world, but have you ever found yourself switching distributions by accident? Because that’s exactly what happened to me when I decided to give the Arch-based CachyOS a try.

Love playing armchair detective and theorizing about TV shows? Then brace yourself for the upcoming interactive series Dreamcrusher, which will give one viewer a $100,000 reward for solving the show's central mystery.

SEE ALSO: 2025 TV preview: All the TV shows you need to know, and where to stream them

Created and directed by Gavin Michael Booth (Blumhouse short Fifteen, Last Call), Dreamcrusher invites viewers into the final hours of rising pop star Gwyn (Brittany Charlotte Smith), who's about to release her latest album, Dreamcrusher. But what should be a major career milestone takes a bloody turn when Gwyn is found dead on the day of Dreamcrusher's release. Now, it's up to detectives — and that includes the viewers! — to solve the murder and get justice for Gwyn. For the audience, that means pairing clues hidden within each episode with bonus clues planted in the real world. If you crack the case, you could win the $100,000 reward. The prize will go to the viewer who correctly guesses the killer and racks up the most points by the end of the season. If there is a tie, viewers will be entered for a draw.

Dreamcrusher is the first scripted series on free streaming service Reveel. It is also the first in the Reward anthology, which promises viewers prizes for solving on-screen mysteries. Viewers can sign up to be investigators on the Reward website.

"As someone who loves murder mystery series and true crime podcasts, it was a thrill to build the world of Dreamcrusher," Booth told Mashable in a statement. "Creating Reward meant constantly thinking outside of the box, which is where I feel most alive as a storyteller, and I believe our cast and crew have created something truly unique for a streaming audience. I'm equally thrilled that the series' release is finally around the corner and we get to share Dreamcrusher with the world!"

Check out the trailer above to learn more about what to expect from Dreamcrusher.

Dreamcrusher premieres March 18 on Reveel.

UPDATE: Mar. 6, 2025, 5:39 p.m. EST This article has been updated to reflect the win conditions of "Dreamcrusher."

While most existing 'flying cars' resemble helicopters, U.S. company Alef Aeronautics’ flying prototype is designed to look like a real car. It's an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, which means that, similarly to a drone or a helicopter, the car can launch vertically using electric power, as opposed to an airplane, which needs a long runway to take off.

The company claims that the vehicle, whose current model only fits one passenger, can fly in all directions. The car has undergone a number of tests so far, one of which was witnessed by NBC News, though the news outlet notes that those present didn’t see a driver enter or exit the vehicle. The flying car can also be driven on roads, though it is classified as a Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) and it only goes as fast as 25 miles per hour.

According to Alef, there have been over 3,200 preorders of the $299,999 car so far,  and the company expects to enter mass production within the next year. We’re yet to see if Alef will manage to turn science fiction into reality, and what flying car regulations will look like in the near future.

UPDATE: Mar. 6, 2025, 9:30 a.m. EST This story has been updated with additional preorder listings at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo.

Everywhere you can preorder the new M4 Apple MacBook Air: The Apple Store Apple MacBook Air (M4) Starting at $999 Pre-Order Here Amazon Apple MacBook Air (M4) Starting at $999 Pre-Order Here Best Buy Apple MacBook Air (M4) Starting at $999 (save $50 with a paid My Best Buy membership) Pre-Order Here B&H Photo Apple MacBook Air (M4) Starting at $999 Pre-Order Here

Apple continued its "Air" week with the announcement of the M4-powered MacBook Air Wednesday. The latest iteration of the popular notebook comes in a new sky blue finish — but most notably, it starts at $999 and $1,199 in 13- and 15-inch sizes, respectively, making it $100 less than the previous M3 model.

The M4 MacBook Air is now available for preorder through Amazon, the Apple Store, Best Buy, and B&H Photo ahead of its formal launch on Wednesday, March 12. Paid members of the My Best Buy program (Plus and Total tiers) save $50 when they preorder any configuration.

That M4 chip has a 10-core CPU, up to a 10-core GPU, and support for up to 32GB of RAM (compared to an 8-core CPU and up to 24GB of RAM for its M3 counterpart). In its press release, Apple said this makes its refreshed MacBook Air up to two times faster than the M1 model from 2020 and up to 23 times faster than its bygone Intel-based models, making a clear appeal to longtime upgrade holdouts.

SEE ALSO: Apple announces MacBook Air with M4 chip for less than $1,000

The new MacBook Air has the same 18-hour battery life as the M3 model and a virtually identical design, save for the addition of a new 12MP Center Stage webcam and support for up to two 6K external displays with its lid open. Besides the new sky blue colorway, it still comes in midnight, starlight, and silver, but no longer space gray.

Its price is really the big story here. By selling the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air at $999 to start, Apple is matching the last selling price of the M2 model from 2022 and beating the final MSRP of 2024's M3 model by $100. (Both older MacBook Airs are no longer available in the Apple Store following the M4 announcement, for what it's worth.)

At a time when a lot of tech is getting more expensive, not less, a $999 price tag for a brand-new MacBook Air is both a pleasant surprise and extremely competitive.

UPDATE: Mar. 6, 2025, 9:30 a.m. EST This story has been updated with new preorder listings from Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy.

PREORDER NOW: On March 4, Apple dropped the new Apple iPad Air with M3 chip as well as the updated Apple iPad, now with an A16 chip. Both models are available for preorder at The Apple Store, Amazon, and more, and will ship on March 12.

Where to preorder the new iPad and iPad Air: The Apple Store Apple iPad Air 2025 Starting at $599 Pre-Order Here The Apple Store Apple iPad 2025 Starting at $349 Pre-Order Here The Apple Store Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Air $269 Shop Now Amazon Apple iPad Air 2025 Starting at $599 Pre-Order Here Amazon Apple iPad 2025 Starting at $349 Pre-Order Here Walmart Apple iPad Air 2025 Starting at $559 Pre-Order Here Walmart Apple iPad 2025 Starting at $329 Pre-Order Here Best Buy Apple iPad Air 2025 Starting at $599 Pre-Order Here Best Buy Apple iPad 2025 Starting at $349 Pre-Order Here

It's been less than a year since Apple debuted its 2024 iPad Air with M2 chip, and yet, they're already back with an upgraded model. On March 4, Apple introduced its latest model, the iPad Air with M3 chip. Apple CEO Tim Cook teased that a new product was coming earlier this week, and at Mashable we suspected it was the launch of the MacBook Air with M4 chip. However, it turns out we'll be waiting a little longer for that device.

However, this drop is more than just the iPad Air. The base iPad model, which hadn't seen an update since 2022, is finally getting a chip and storage upgrade, too. Both iPads are available now for preorder at The Apple Store, with plans to ship as soon as March 12.

SEE ALSO: Apple announces the M3 iPad Air with Apple Intelligence and a new Magic Keyboard

The new iPad Air with M3 chip is a prime example of Apple doubling down on AI. With the upgraded chip, Apple Intelligence is being incorporated into every element of the tablet. In photos, users can now clean up unwanted distractions in the background. Plus, ChatGPT is built into Writing Tools and Siri, so users don't have to watch between applications. Apple seems to be getting around users' privacy concerns with OpenAI. Users can use ChatGPT free and without an account, plus IP addresses are secured.

With all these new capabilities, the iPad Air might as well be a laptop. Apple thought of that and also delivered a new Magic Keyboard for both the 11- and 13-inch iPad Air models.

In addition to getting a new chip, the base Apple iPad, the most affordable model in the line-up, is also starting with double the storage. Now with an A16 chip, iPad users will notice a powerful boost in performance from the previous model's A14 chip. The 2022 model started at 64GB of storage, but the 2025 model now starts at 128GB of storage. However, it remains a great value, still starting at just $349.

Both the iPad and iPad Air are available for preorder now at a variety of retailers including Apple and Amazon, and will be released on March 12.

Apple iPad 2025: Price and preorder details Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad Air 2025 $599 at Apple
2025 iPad Air models starts at $599 Pre-Order Here Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad 2025 $349 at Apple
2025 iPad models starts at $349. Pre-Order Here

Check out our sibling sites CNET, PCMag, and ZDNET for more analysis.

A Houston-based space company just released a tantalizing sneak preview — an image sequence of its robotic spacecraft flying over the moon's south pole, near its planned landing site.

The destination is Mons Mouton, one of NASA's potential landing locations for its Artemis astronauts. Intuitive Machines' Athena moon lander began circling the moon on March 3, just one day after a competitor, Firefly Aerospace, landed on the lunar surface without a hitch. 

This marks Intuitive Machines' second journey to the moon, following its success last year in becoming the first business — rather than a government space program — to touch down on the surface without crashing so badly it ended the mission. But telling the flight controllers to "break a leg" might not be the good-luck wish they want to hear ahead of Athena's descent: Even though its uncrewed Odysseus lander was able to send back some data in 2024, it damaged one of its struts and ended up on its side. 

The latest mission, referred to as IM-2 or PRIME-1, is slated for a moon landing at 11:32 a.m. CT on March 6. Intuitive Machines and NASA will provide live event coverage, starting at 10:30 a.m. CT. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. SEE ALSO: A company is returning to the moon. Here's how it will avoid tipping again

In the video above, the Athena lander can be seen flying over the lunar south pole near its intended landing site.

If it succeeds in getting to the surface, the company's mission will be among the first onsite demonstrations of resource detection on the moon. A drill and mass spectrometer, a device that identifies the kinds of elements or particles in a substance, will measure the potential presence of gasses in the lunar soil. A Laser Retroreflector Array on the top deck of the lander also will bounce laser light back at any orbiting or incoming spacecraft to give future missions a permanent reference point on the moon. Other instruments will test a surface communications system and deploy a drone that can hop along the lunar surface.

Athena is the second Commercial Lunar Payload Services-supported lander of the year. The NASA program has invested $2.6 billion in contracts with private-sector vendors to help deliver instruments to the moon and send back crucial data. 

Athena flies over the mid-latitudes of the moon in the above image sequence.

But landing on the moon remains onerous. The moon's exosphere provides virtually no drag to slow a spacecraft down as it approaches the ground. Furthermore, there are no GPS systems on the moon to help guide a craft to its landing spot.

A combination of gravity and inertia factors seemed to stymie Intuitive Machines' previous landing. Everything on the moon is "six times tippier," said Phil Metzger, a planetary scientist at the University of Florida, then in a post on X. The Japanese moon lander SLIM, short for Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, experienced a similar outcome.

"Why did we end up at a 30 degree angle? We know exactly why we did," Trent Martin, senior vice president of Intuitive Machines' space systems, told reporters during a news conference. "There was an issue with the laser altimeter that we used during the final operation just before landing that would have told us exactly how close we were to the surface."

When Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lander touched down on the moon in 2024, landing gear had broken off from one of the robotic spacecraft's six struts. Credit: Intuitive Machines

Instead of using the laser altimeter, flight controllers actually were using the camera systems on board the spacecraft, which were less accurate, ultimately resulting in a harder landing than planned. Martin said an investigation into the spacecraft data resulted in 85 upgrades, including contingencies that should allow Athena to land up to 10 degrees off in any direction — perhaps more — and still complete the mission objectives. 

Meanwhile, NASA is trying to troubleshoot problems with another spacecraft that shared a rocket with Athena. Engineers were able to establish communication with NASA's Lunar Trailblazer in space the day of its launch, only to lose it the next morning, Feb. 27.

"The mission operations team for NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer at Caltech’s IPAC is continuing efforts to re-establish communications with the small satellite," the space agency said on March 4.

TL;DR: Live stream Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United for free on ServusTV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Manchester United are really struggling in the Premier League, and they are no longer in contention to win the FA Cup after losing to Fulham on penalties. So what now? They can still find success in the Europa League, but it's not going to be easy.

Real Sociedad will be confident of progressing into the quarter finals, and they'll be looking to start strongly at home against Rubem Amorim's side.

If you want to watch Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United?

Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United kicks off at 5:45 p.m. GMT on March 6. This fixture takes place at the Anoeta Stadium.

How to watch Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United for free

Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United is available to live stream for free on ServusTV.

ServusTV is geo-restricted to Austria, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Austria, meaning you can bypass geo-restrictions to access ServusTV from anywhere in the world.

Unblock ServusTV by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Austria

4. Visit ServusTV

5. Stream Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United in the Europa League for free

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to provide free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to ServusTV without committing with your cash. This is not a long-term solution, but it gives you plenty of time to stream Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for ServusTV?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for streaming live sport on ServusTV, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Austria

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Stream Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United for free with ExpressVPN.

1Password has remained one of the top password managers out there for several reasons. It's reliable, and it has a ton of features, and even though it's paid, it gives you a really good bang for your buck if you need to juggle through multiple passwords, passkeys, and other things. Now, it's getting a location-based feature for finding the right password where you need it the most.

Dell has introduced a 1080p 14-inch portable monitor, with only one USB-C cable required for both power and display input. Importantly, you can also use it horizontally or vertically, which is somewhat unique with these portable monitors.

Who wouldn’t want a carrier that genuinely offers unlimited data plans without hidden limitations or caps? Maybe it's about time you consider all your options and find out which companies offer the best plans.

The sheer number of extensions for VS Code can be so overwhelming that even veteran users get lost searching for what they need. Let me show you how to take your coding experience to an entirely new level with ten VS Code extensions I just can’t live without!

There’s no shortage of options when it comes to apps for your family’s group chat, but I found many of them to be too limiting. I just needed to look a bit off the beaten path to find a near-perfect solution: Discord.

SAVE $100: As of March 6, the Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi, 128GB) is on sale at Best Buy for $399. That's 20% off its list price of $499.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro Chip) $399 at Best Buy
$499 Save $100 Get Deal

A new iPad and iPad Air may be coming down the pipeline later this year, but if you've had your eyes set on the iPad mini, we've got good news. The tiny but mighty tablet is on sale right now at Best Buy, so you can scoop it up for $100 off its list price.

This has dropped the price of the Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi, 128GB) from $499 to $399. On top of that nice little discount, your purchase also comes with bonus offers to kickstart your journey with this new tablet: Apple Fitness+ for free for three months if you're a new subscriber, up to three months of Apple Music for free if you're a new or returning subscriber, up to three months of Apple Arcade for free if you're a new or returning subscriber, and Apple TV+ for free for two months if you're a new or qualified returning subscriber.

SEE ALSO: Here's what you need to know about preordering the new M4 Apple MacBook Air

Alongside its smaller 8.3-inch size that's perfect for taking on the go, the iPad mini boasts a vibrant Liquid Retina display and powerful performance with the A17 Pro chip. In our review, Mashable's Stan Schroeder says that, "If you're new to the iPad, and you want the most compact one around (or any compact tablet), the new iPad mini 7 is the best choice."

We also consider it the best iPad for reading in our roundup of the best iPads, noting "The iPad Mini got a 2024 upgrade, and is now equipped with the A17 chip but with the same 5-core GPU and 6-core CPU. Along with the chip upgrade comes Apple Intelligence, an especially helpful feature if you plan to use it for reading as it can summarize articles."

This deal is worth taking advantage of while it's still live. Don't miss out on $100 off the Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi, 128GB) at Best Buy.

There are a few more Apple deals floating around right now that are also worth a look. The Apple Magic Keyboard is currently enjoying over $80 off at Amazon and the AirPods Pro 2 are $50 off there as well.

While the Raspberry Pi 5 might be the latest tiny computer, for most people it's honestly overkill. Instead of a Pi 5, I chose to use a Pi 3 B for a recent deployment in my homelab just last week. Here's why I chose an older Pi 3 B over the Pi 5, and why I think you should too.

A new working paper from various university researchers suggests that age-verification laws aren't effective.

Age-verification laws differ by state, but typically require visitors of websites with over a third of explicit content to submit ID as proof of age. Forms of ID can range from a digital ID to facial recognition. Since 2022, 19 states have passed age-verification laws, all of which are in effect except Georgia's, which will be in effect as of July 1.

SEE ALSO: All the states Pornhub is blocked in as of January 1

In January, the Supreme Court heard a case about age verification, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. Its decision, which will likely come this summer, will impact current and future age-verification laws.

Free speech and digital privacy experts agree that children shouldn't have access to porn, but have told Mashable since 2023 that age-verification laws won't work for that aim. Among other reasons, some porn sites that are not U.S.-based may not feel the need to comply with the law, and people can use VPNs to pretend like they're in another location.

Now, researchers from New York University's Center for Social Media & Politics and several other universities looking into whether these laws impact search behavior have found the same thing.

Research suggests age-verification laws don't work

Through analyzing Google Trends data, researchers found a 46.6 percent traffic reduction of searches to Pornhub, the biggest platform compliant with the laws. Pornhub has blocked most states with age-verification laws because of the burden of complying to the laws. In Louisiana, where Pornhub still operates while complying, traffic has dropped 80 percent, its parent company Aylo confirmed to Mashable. (Pornhub continues to operate in Louisana because the state has a digital ID that is fairly commonly used, called LA Wallet.)

While searches for Pornhub dropped in these states, researchers saw a 48.1 percent increase in searches for a large non-compliant platform, XVideos (which didn't respond to Mashable's request for comment), and a 23.6 percent increase in searches for VPNs. This occurred in the states with age-verification laws on a rolling timeline based on when the laws were enacted.

This shows that when it comes to internet regulation that primarily tries to impact access, there are unintended consequences, said Zeve Sanderson, co-author and executive director of the NYU Center for Social Media & Politics, in an interview with Mashable. One is the substitution effect, which undermines the potential efficacy of the policies. This is seen here with explicit websites, but was also evidenced by TikTokkers flocking to RedNote when TikTok users thought the ban was imminent.

"In Louisiana last year, Pornhub was one of the few sites to comply with the new law. Since then, our traffic in Louisiana dropped approximately 80 percent. These people did not stop looking for porn," Aylo told Mashable in an emailed statement. "They just migrated to darker corners of the internet that don't ask users to verify age, that don't follow the law, that don't take user safety seriously, and that often don't even moderate content. In practice, the laws have just made the internet more dangerous for adults and children."

Aylo stated that it has publicly supported age verification, but the way many jurisdictions have chosen to implement it is "ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous." It pointed to the safety and privacy risk of requiring websites to collect a large amount of highly sensitive personal information (from people's names to the content they consume). Like free speech advocates Mashable has previously spoken to, Aylo stated the best solution to prevent children from seeing explicit content is device-level filters.

Studying search trends for porn sites

Researchers used a method called synthetic control to analyze the Trends results. Basically, they created a "digital twin," or synthetic version of the state to show what could've happened if the state had not passed these laws. To make sure their results were robust, they also used a multiverse analysis and adjusted the dates they used. Their results held.

As the authors explain in the paper, though, there are some limitations to using Google Trends to measure policy efficacy. For one, Google Trends data doesn't measure website visits or actual web traffic. It also can't account for actions like typing in a URL on a browser and going to a website directly.

Researchers were also unable to differentiate search results by age, which is the main component of these laws. The question of whether these laws are impacting minors' behavior is probably unanswerable, however, because of ethical and legal concerns of exposing minors to explicit content.

Google Trends does measure search behavior, and previous research cited in the paper confirms that it is reliable for tracking population-level behavioral patterns. These researchers also conducted a correlation analysis and found a strong correlation between Google Trends volume and actual Pornhub and XVideos traffic data from SimilarWeb.

The study has yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a journal, but the authors wanted to publish it as a working paper now because the Supreme Court decision still hasn't come down and because states continue to debate this topic, Sanderson said.

"Given how quickly this regulatory space is moving, we wanted to be able to contribute to it when it was most meaningful, not on the timeline of journal publication," he continued. The results will be updated once SCOTUS makes its ruling.

For now, however, these initial findings propose that, as experts warned, age-verification laws don't achieve their intended purpose.

This "first large-scale empirical analysis of these of these laws suggests that they're likely not reaching their stated goals," Sanderson said, "and if anything, could be incentivizing riskier behavior."

SAVE $160: As of March 6, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra smartwatch is on sale at Best Buy for $489.99. That's 24% off its list price of $649.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra $489.99 at Best Buy
$649.99 Save $160 Get Deal

If you're not an Apple user and looking for a smartwatch that can keep up with your active lifestyle, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is the one to go for. This smartwatch is built for the ultimate outdoor adventurers, boasting a rugged build and plenty of features to keep you on top of your goals. While it normally retails for $649.99, you can actually score a nice discount on it right now at Best Buy.

The retailer has dropped the price of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra down to $489.99, saving you $160 overall. All available colors are discounted as well, so you can save on the titanium silver model with a dark gray marine band, the titanium gray model with a orange marine band, the titanium white model with a white marine band, and the titanium gray model with a dark gray marine band.

SEE ALSO: The best smartwatch for every wrist

Alongside a durable design that's built to withstand any adventure you embark on, this smartwatch offers plenty of health and fitness features to keep you updated. This includes an Energy Score that shows you how ready you are to take on the day based on insights from the day before. Our hands-on review also notes that, "It can reportedly handle temperatures between -4 and 131 degrees Fahrenheit, and it can tolerate deep-sea diving and other challenging environments."

In our comparison of Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra vs. Apple Watch Ultra, Mashable's Stan Schroeder also says that, "When it comes to fitness tracking, Samsung's new watch offers Heart Rate Zones, allowing you to keep precise track of whether your workout has crossed that anaerobic threshold. The Race feature lets you compete against yourself. Cyclers will appreciate the new Functional Threshold Power Test, which helps you figure out your max power on the bike."

If you've been on the hunt for a smartwatch upgrade, this deal on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is something to carefully consider.

If you'd prefer to see what Apple has going on right now instead, some of their smartwatches are discounted as well. The Apple Watch Series 10 is $70 off at Amazon and the Apple Watch SE 2 is $50 off at Amazon.

Wireless chargers won’t provide the same rapid charge as a wired alternative, but the aesthetically pleasing InfinaCore T3 Pro is bearably slower when you consider its price point. For a similar 3-in-1 option that works just as efficiently and as easily, expect to pay double.

If you want to feel very old, just watch this clip of Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt talking about '90s technology.

To promote their upcoming Netflix film The Electric State, the video sees Pratt explaining everything from a tape recorder to an answering machine to a mildly baffled Brown, whose reactions fall somewhere between confused ("You can't see yourself?" she says about a Polaroid camera) and appalled ("You can't send a text on that!").

She is a fan of the classic Walkman, though.

NASA and the Italian Space Agency say they have broken the record for the farthest detection of Earth-based navigation signals from 243,000 miles away in space. 

The test was among 10 experiments the U.S. space agency sent aboard the Blue Ghost moon lander, a private spacecraft built by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace. The uncrewed robotic lander softly touched down on the moon on March 2. A few hours after that landing, the receiver picked up and tracked signals again from the lunar surface — a first-time achievement. 

Called Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment, or LuGRE, the demonstration has proven that a spacecraft on the moon or flying in lunar orbit could detect GPS and other navigation signals from Earth. This breakthrough could make future Artemis missions easier, allowing spaceships carrying astronauts to independently determine their location and speed as they approach the moon.

"This is a very exciting discovery for lunar navigation," said Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation Program, in a statement, "and we hope to leverage this capability for future missions."   

SEE ALSO: NASA is back in the moon business. Here's what that means. Engineers examine Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment, or LuGRE, hardware in a clean room. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

For the general public, it may seem odd that spacecraft continue to crash or keel over on the lunar surface, though the first soft moon landing occurred six decades ago. But landing on the moon remains onerous. The moon's exosphere provides virtually no drag to slow a spacecraft down. And there's the fact that everything is about six times tippier there than on Earth. Furthermore, there are no GPS systems on or around the moon to help guide a ship to its landing spot, which could be riddled with treacherous craters. 

Normally, engineers track spacecraft using signals from stations on Earth, along with sensors on the spacecraft themselves. The LuGRE experiment has shown that future landings might not require as much reliance on people in mission control if distant spacecraft can use Earth's navigation signals autonomously.

These navigation signals refer to radio signals sent from satellites in Earth’s Global Navigation Satellite System, which includes GPS used in the United States and Galileo, a similar system used in Europe. The signals contain information about a satellite’s location and the exact time it was sent. Smartphones, cars, and airplanes receive these signals, and the directions they provide have become an indispensable part of everyday life.

The Earth-orbiting satellites don't just send signals straight down to the ground but far into space. The question was just how far they could reach and still be helpful. The previous record holder for signal acquisition was 209,900 miles from Earth, a feat achieved by NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission. 

Given that the signals are significantly weaker at a quarter-million miles from Earth — and come from satellites that weren’t designed for lunar navigation — they aren’t a permanent solution for the problem. In the future, a system of satellites orbiting the moon could provide stronger and more reliable navigation service. 

But for now, engineers are excited about the advancement and what it could mean for a potential lunar economy. Mining for lunar water alone could be a $206 billion industry over the next 30 years, according to Watts, Griffis, and McOuat, a geological and mining consulting firm. In order for the space between Earth and the moon to host such an industry, though, navigation improvements are critical. 

The LuGRE experiment was a team effort between NASA, its Italian counterpart, and some industry groups, including Qascom and Politecnico di Torino. The receiver was the first Italian-built hardware to operate on the moon, and the study won't just benefit the United States and Italy, but anyone headed to the moon. The partners intend to make their data public.  

"A project like LuGRE isn’t about NASA alone," said Lauren Konitzer, a NASA navigation and mission design engineer, in a statement. "We’re sharing our discoveries with the world."