Technology
We tipped over, again! Intuitive Machines’ second Moon mission ends in a fall – The Times of India

Intuitive Machines‘ latest attempt at a Moon landing ended in disappointment as its Athena spacecraft tipped over upon touchdown, mirroring its first lunar setback last year. The Houston-based company confirmed Friday that the solar-powered lander is unable to recharge, cutting the mission short.
The setback marks a premature end to what had been an ambitious effort, featuring cutting-edge experiments, including a hopping drone, ice drill, multiple rovers, and a 4G network test. Athena had aimed for a historic landing on the Mons Mouton plateau, closer to the Moon’s south pole than any previous mission.
But after launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and traveling over a million kilometers, Athena stumbled at the final hurdle. It came down at an awkward angle, landing face-first into a crater at least 250 meters from its intended spot.
Faulty instruments, familiar problems
NASA’s associate administrator for science, Nicky Fox, remained optimistic despite the setback. “Each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow,” she said, emphasizing the mission’s role in shaping future lunar and Mars exploration.
Athena’s laser navigation system appears to have contributed to the botched landing—an issue eerily similar to Intuitive Machines’ previous failure with its Odysseus lander in February 2024. The system, designed to measure altitude and velocity, provided unreliable data, making precise landing difficult.
NASA was able to power on the ice drill and move it around but couldn’t use it for its intended purpose. The mission was originally expected to last 10 days, capturing a lunar eclipse from the Moon’s surface on March 14.
Texas rival succeeds as CLPS struggles
The failure came just days after Texas-based Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost lander, intensifying scrutiny on Intuitive Machines’ designs.
These missions fall under NASA’s $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which aims to leverage private industry for lunar exploration and Artemis program support. Of the four CLPS missions attempted so far, only one lander has managed an upright touchdown, while two, including Athena, landed sideways, and one failed entirely.
Adding to the ill-fated voyage, two probes that hitched a ride with Athena—NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer and the private Odin probe—have also been lost.
Despite the setback, Intuitive Machines remains committed, with two more Moon missions in the pipeline. The company now faces a critical review of IM-2’s data to determine what went wrong—and whether it can finally stick the landing next time.
Technology
Motorola launches Moto Buds Loop powered by Bose audio and Swarovski ‘luxury’

The Moto Buds Loop are equipped with 12mm drivers, tuned by Bose technology, which the company claims gives users a clear and more balanced sound. The earbuds also support spatial audio for a more immersive listening experience. Additionally, the dual-microphone setup and AI-powered noise reduction on the earbuds ensure high-quality calls by minimising background noise, making these earbuds a practical option for both listening and communication.
Motorola has designed the earbuds to easily switch between devices with its “Smart Connect” feature. This allows users to connect seamlessly to other Motorola and Lenovo devices via Bluetooth, which offers a quick and simple pairing process.
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In terms of battery life, the Moto Buds Loop offers up to eight hours of use on a single charge, while the included charging case provides an additional 37 hours of battery life, making it ideal for extended use without frequent charging, claims the company. Whether commuting, exercising, or on a long trip, the Moto Buds Loop promises to keep you powered for days.
Design and Built Quality
The earbuds are designed for all-day wear and feature a lightweight and secure fit. Motorola also highlights the water-repellent design of the earbuds that ensures they are resistant to sweat, splashes, and general wear and tear. This makes them suitable for various activities, from daily use to outdoor adventures.
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The Moto Buds Loop also includes the CrystalTalk AI technology, which further enhances call clarity. When paired with compatible Motorola phones, users can activate Moto AI voice actions, such as requesting meeting summaries or controlling media playback through Smart Connect.
Wear Like Jewellery
Motorola is tapping into the luxury market with a special edition of the Moto Buds Loop, which features Swarovski crystals for an elegant touch. This premium version comes in the “Pantone French Oak” colour, while a more understated Trekking Green option is also available for those who prefer a simpler aesthetic.
Moto Buds Loop: Price and Availability
While the Moto Buds Loop shows promise in both audio quality and style, Motorola has not yet announced a specific price or release date. The company has only stated that the earbuds will be available “in the coming months.”
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Moto Watch Fit: Key Features

In addition to the Moto Buds Loop open-ear earbuds, Motorola has also unveiled the Moto Watch Fit, a sleek smartwatch designed for Android users. The Moto Watch Fit features a 1.9-inch OLED display with a brightness of up to 1000 nits, which allows users to easily read in direct sunlight. The watch is built with a slim aluminium frame and is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for durability.
The Moto Watch Fit is packed with features like over 100 workout modes, built-in GPS, advanced heart rate monitoring, and sleep tracking, making it a solid fitness companion. With 16 days of battery life and IP68 and 5ATM water resistance, the watch is ready for a variety of activities. Users can also personalise their watch faces with custom wallpapers generated via Moto AI. Additionally, it has a long-lasting 16-day battery life and is compatible with 22mm watch bands, claims the company.
Technology
Mysterious ‘zombie star’ speeds through the Milky Way at 177,000 km/h, capable of ripping human atoms; origin remains unknown | – The Times of India

In a stunning cosmological find, astronomers saw an ultra-massive and magnetic stellar remnant speeding through our galaxy at record speed. Called a “zombie star,” the object—properly known as SGR 0501+4516—is moving through the Milky Way at over 110,000 miles per hour (177,000 km/h). Even more dramatic is the star’s fatal magnetic field capable of ripping human matter apart atom by atom.
But aside from its velocity and brutality, the origin of this star is confounding astronomers and could redefine existing theories of how such objects are formed.
A ‘zombie star’ SGR 0501+4516 moving through Milky Way
SGR 0501+4516 is a magnetar—a neutron star with an unusual and extreme magnetic field. Neutron stars in general are dense remnants of giant stars that exploded as supernovae. Though tiny, a little larger than a city, neutron stars contain more mass than our Sun and are among the densest objects known in the universe, except for black holes.
Magnetars, though, take it a step further. With magnetic fields as much as 100 trillion times more powerful than Earth’s, they are the most magnetic objects in the universe. Only about 30 of these objects have been found in our galaxy.
SGR 0501+4516 was discovered in 2008, about 15,000 light-years from Earth. But a new study published April 15 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics has found something surprising: it’s not only strong—it’s also speeding through space at a surprisingly high speed.
Magnetic field strength of the ‘zombie star’
The magnetic field strength of SGR 0501+4516 is unimaginable. If it were to fly by at half the distance to the Moon, its magnetism would wipe out all credit cards on the planet. Get within 600 miles, and its magnetic force would dissolve the human body on an atomic level. Fortunately, the magnetar is no threat to our solar system and will stay safely far away.
By employing data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft as well as the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists tracked the magnetar’s recent history and discovered a great enigma. At first assumed to have been born of the local supernova remnant HB9, SGR 0501+4516 was travelling much too quickly—and in the opposite direction—to have been born out of that place.
Indeed, when researchers mapped its galactic trajectory over the course of millennia, they found it doesn’t seem to be associated with any supernova remnants or giant star clusters. That’s a fly in the ointment of the conventional view of magnetar formation.
Zombie star hints at rare cosmic transformation
This surprising path has brought astronomers to a new theory: SGR 0501+4516 could have developed without a supernova explosion whatsoever. Rather, it could have resulted from the direct collapse of a white dwarf—the dense core that remains after a medium-sized star exhausts its fuel.
Usually, a white dwarf would explode as a supernova if nuclear reactions are triggered within it. But in exceptional conditions, theorists have suggested, it could instead collapse directly into a neutron star without going through the explosive stage.
“We think that this magnetar might have been formed through this exotic pathway,” said Andrew Levan, study co-author and astronomer at Radboud University and the University of Warwick.
Zombie star theory could unlock cosmic mysteries
This uncommon formation mechanism may have wider cosmic implications. If white dwarf collapse can actually produce magnetars, it may shed light on the enigmatic fast radio bursts (FRBs)—brief, brilliant pulses of radio waves—from distant galaxies that are too old to contain star deaths.
The group stresses that additional observational information is required to verify this theory. But the research raises new questions regarding magnetar formation and their contribution toward creating some of the universe’s most powerful and fleeting phenomena. “Figuring out where magnetars are born is one of the greatest challenges of high-energy astrophysics,” said study co-author Nanda Rea, an astrophysicist at Spain’s Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona. “It might help us understand some of the most violent events in the universe.”
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Technology
Yahoo ready to buy Chrome browser if Google is forced to sell
Apr 25, 2025 03:44 AM IST
The Justice Department and a group of US states have argued that Google should be forced to sell off its popular Chrome browser.
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