Month: March 2022

Enlarge (credit: janiecbros | Getty Images)

For more than 20 years, the Landsat 7 satellite circled Earth every 99 minutes or so, capturing images of almost all the planet’s surface each 16 days. One of many craft that observed the changing globe, it revealed melting glaciers in Greenland, the growth of shrimp farms in Mexico, and the extent of deforestation in Papua New Guinea. But after Landsat 7 ran short on fuel, its useful life effectively ended. In space, regular servicing has not been an option.

Now, though, NASA has a potential fix for such enfeebled satellites. In a few years, the agency plans to launch a robot into orbit and maneuver it to within grabbing distance of Landsat 7. The robot will use a mechanical arm to catch hold of it and refuel it, mid-air.

If successful, the mission would mark a milestone—the first time a satellite would be refueled in space. And this mission is just one of a number of planned public and private ventures intended to use robots to repair and improve the billions of dollars’ worth of satellites in orbit.

Enlarge / The promotional key art for Apple's "Peek performance" event. (credit: Apple)

At 1 pm EST on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Apple will broadcast its first product launch event of 2022. We're expecting new product announcements and more, and as always, we'll be liveblogging the proceedings right here at Ars Technica.

In case you didn't catch our roundup already, Apple will likely introduce a new version of the iPhone SE and name a release window for iOS 15.4. Other possibilities include a new iPad Air, updated Macs, and a first look at the next step for Apple Silicon.

Additionally, Apple's spring events often have updates about services like Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, and more.

Enlarge (credit: Elena Lacey | Getty Images)

On Thursday, hackers defaced a Russian Space Research Institute website and leaked files that they allege are stolen from Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Their message? “Leave Ukraine alone else Anonymous will f*ck you up even more.” Meanwhile a DDoS attack pummeled Russia's .ru “top level domain,” with the aim of essentially cutting off access to all URLs that end in .ru. These are just the latest incidents in a surge of hacktivism in support of Ukraine.

Protests against Russia’s war of choice with Ukraine have been held around the world, including in 48 Russian cities. The global community has raised millions of dollars for Ukraine through cryptocurrency donations, and private companies from Shell and BP to Apple have temporarily or permanently pulled out of the Russian market. Amidst the havoc, hacktivists are joining the cacophony in an attempt to make a statement and advance their cause.