Japan‘s latest space venture, the “moon sniper” lander, named SLIM, has hit a snag right after its historic landing on the Moon. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, as it’s officially known, is now in a race against time due to a technical glitch with its solar cells.

The spacecraft was aiming for a precision landing at the Shioli Crater edge

Launched in September 2023, SLIM’s main goal was a precision landing like no other – to hit a target within 100 meters on the lunar surface. This spot, at the edge of the Shioli crater, was not chosen at random. Scientists believe it might hold keys to understanding the Moon’s origins, possibly containing ancient matter from deep within the Moon’s mantle.

But space exploration is full of unexpected challenges. As SLIM descended towards its target, something went amiss. Although it managed to deploy two rovers, its solar cells, vital for powering the spacecraft, encountered an issue. This has left the SLIM lander with limited battery life – a few hours at most.

This situation puts pressure on the Japanese space agency, JAXA, to gather as much data as possible before the power runs out. There’s hope, though. The lander might revive after the lunar night, thanks to a change in sunlight angle recharging its batteries.

Meanwhile, the two rovers on the lunar surface, equipped with their own communication systems, might continue the mission. This setback, however, doesn’t overshadow Japan’s achievement. SLIM’s landing places Japan among a handful of nations to have achieved a soft landing on the Moon – a club that includes former Soviet Union, the USA, China, and India.

Despite the current predicament, SLIM’s journey represents a significant stride in space exploration, reflecting the relentless pursuit of knowledge and the inherent challenges of venturing into the unknown. As JAXA works to solve this hiccup, the world watches, hoping for a successful continuation of this ambitious lunar mission.

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(Via)

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There are tons of smartwatches in the market at the moment. While some have  a LCD/AMOLED display, others look no different from your average analog watch. LunaR falls under the second category.

LunaR has some unique features that makes it stand out from other watches. First, inspiration for the name comes from the moon but the watch recharges via solar. The face (dial) is actually a transparent solar panel that recharges the built-in 110mAh battery. Apart from charging via light rays from the sun, LunaR will also recharge via indoor lighting or the bundled charger.

With respect to functions, the LunaR is no slouch either. While it can’t show you stats of your physical activities on its display (only via the app), it can display two different time zones – one with the aid of LEDs and the other using the analog hands. It also has sunrise and sunset tracking and is waterproof too (5 ATM).

Activity tracking such as running and steps taken can be viewed on the app as well as sleep tracking details. Using LEDs and vibrations, LunaR will inform you if you have reached your daily goal. The multi-color LED light can also be customized for individual app notifications.

The LunaR app which is available for both iOS and Android can also be used to monitor charging time, set alarms, and modify time zones. There is Bluetooth 4.0 LE for connectivity and its compatible with iOS 10+ and Android 4.3+ devices.

LunaR has a steel design that is simple yet classy. By default, it comes with a nylon strap but you can pick up a leather strap for $17.50 or a colorful knit strap for $13.50. The LunaR watch has a diameter of 41mm and a thickness of 13.3mm. The glass is either Sapphire coated or Sapphire crystal (latter version will ship in 2018).

The watch has already surpassed its $50,000 goal three times over. It is expected to ship to the first 3,000 backers by December.

READ MORE: BlackBerry and Timex May Collaborate to Launch a Smartwatch

Do you like the LunaR smartwatch? If you do, head to Kickstarter and back it up. Your pledge can start from $138 and go up to $9,900 depending on how many units you want to buy. $138 will get you the watch which will retail for $239 when it launches and $9900 will get you 100 units just in case you want to give this out as Christmas gifts to your employees (Shine, this is not a bad idea).

(Source, via)

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The post LunaR is A Solar-Powered Analog Smartwatch Inspired By The Moon appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has today launched a new product under its crowdfunding platform and it is dubbed Luna Smart sleep sensor. The latest product is a pebble-size smart sensor device that is said to monitor the sleep pattern of the user.

The Lunar smart sleep sensor intelligently analyzes the user’s sleep quality as well as provide periodic sleep reports via the mobile app. Yes, there is a mobile app it can connect to via Wi-Fi and with the app, loved ones can remotely monitor the sleep pattern of their loved ones. The app works on Android phones running Android 4.0 and higher and also on iPhones running iOS 8.0 and higher.

There is also the feature of using the Triple sound button when the user is having inability to sleep. The Triple sound gives expert advice and also plays cool music which aids falling asleep. The device also comes with zero radiation, so users don’t have to be scared of bring it in direct contact with their  skin.

The Lunar Smart sleep sensor doesn’t need to be placed directly in contact with their skin, though, to function. The smart gadget just needs to be placed on the pillow or inside the pillowcase. It also does not generate electromagnetic wave while the user is sleeping.

Most importantly, the device uses very low power, such that a one hour charging is enough to last for 90 days. The battery has an entire durability period of 50,000 hours. It costs just 69 Yuan ($10) and is already available on the crowdfunding platform. The device is expected to ship on January 12, 2017.

You can check out the promo video from below as it explains the product further.

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