

News
NASA tests Dragonfly flying drone to explore Titan
Dragonfly is a car-sized space drone that will be powered by an RTG (radioisotope electricity source) and search for potential precursors to life on Saturn’s moon Titan. But before Dragonfly can go on an actual mission, NASA engineers need to make sure it can withstand Titan’s conditions.
Dragonfly’s main goal is to study the complex chemistry on Titan, which could provide insight into the origins of life in our solar system. Equipped with cameras, sensors and a sampling system, the craft will explore areas on Titan known for the presence of organic molecules, particularly regions where they may have interacted with water beneath the icy surface in the past.
To move through Titan’s atmosphere, Dragonfly will use four dual coaxial rotors – like helicopters. To ensure these rotors were capable of operating under mission conditions, the Dragonfly team conducted numerous tests, including tests in a wind tunnel capable of simulating the atmospheric conditions of Saturn’s moon.
Four Dragonfly tests have already been carried out: two in a subsonic wind tunnel, and two more in a transonic dynamic tunnel. The first wind tunnel was used to test dynamic models developed by mission engineers, and the variable gas densities possible in the transonic tunnel helped test computer models simulating the conditions of Titan’s atmosphere that Dragonfly would encounter.
The latest tests, which took place in June, used a 1:2 scale model of the Dragonfly and involved hundreds of tests, said Bernadine Giuliano, APL’s test manager.
We tested at various wind speeds, rotor speeds and flight angles to evaluate the Dragonfly’s aerodynamic performance. We performed over 700 test runs and collected 4000 datasets. All test objectives were successfully achieved and the data will help increase confidence in our simulation models that simulate Titan conditions
Analyzing multiple data requires the joint efforts of specialists from various institutions. Rick Heisler of NASA’s Applied Physics Laboratory, who led the transonic tunnel tests, emphasized the significance of these tests in understanding the performance of Dragonfly’s rotors in Titan’s unique atmosphere.
The density of heavy gas in this tunnel is 3.5 times higher than the density of air at standard pressure and temperature on Earth. This allows the rotors to operate in conditions close to those of Titan, and allows us to better simulate the dynamic loads that a real drone would experience
“With Dragonfly, we’re turning science fiction into real-world exploration. The mission is slowly taking its final shape, and every next step towards the surface of Titan fills us with excitement,” said Hibbard.

Phones
A truly unique smartphone design. Nubia Z60 Ultra turned out to be extremely unusual

The Nubia brand cannot boast of a large assortment of smartphones or good sales, but what cannot be taken away from Nubia devices is the design. Recently, everyone was surprised by the gaming Red Magic 9 Pro with cameras without any protrusion and a flat, minimalistic design, but now images of the flagship Z60 Ultra have appeared on the Internet, which does not look like Red Magic, but at the same time looks no less unusual, if not more.
As you can see, the device does not have any separate block of cameras, while three cameras are placed in an unusual way and each is designed in its own way.
Thanks to this design, the Z60 Ultra does not look like any other smartphone at all, and not even close. Plus, it has the most angular shapes and a screen without any cutouts, since the front camera is sub-screen.
The new Nubia should receive SoC Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, a battery with a capacity of 6000 mAh and cameras with a resolution of 50, 50 and 64 megapixels, including a periscope module.
Phones
Three cheap smartphones and all without AMOLED. Infinix Hot 40 lineup unveiled

In addition to the ultra-cheap Smart 8 HD smartphone, Infinix also presented a whole line of budget models: Hot 40.
It includes the junior model Hot 40i, basic Hot 40 and Hot 40 Pro. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but the company says they’ll all cost less than $200.
Hot 40 Pro, as expected, looks the most interesting. There is a camera with a resolution of 108 megapixels, a 120 Hz screen, and 8/128 or 8/256 GB of memory. The device is also equipped with a 5000 mAh battery with 33-watt charging, Helio G99 SoC and a 6.78-inch Full HD+ display.
The Hot 40 is similar to the older model, but it has a screen with a frame rate of 90 Hz, is based on the Helio G88 and a 50 MP camera. The remaining parameters are identical.
The younger model Hot 40i is more different. The heart here is the less productive SoC Unisoc T606, the basic amount of RAM is 4 GB, although there is also a version with 8 GB, the screen here has HD+ resolution with a diagonal of 6.56 inches and supports a frame rate of 90 Hz, and charging power is limited to 18 W. Other parameters are the same as Hot 40.
It is also worth noting that all models received IPS screens.
News
In 2024, Huawei will “rewrite industry history.” The company will release “advanced, innovative and revolutionary products”

For almost five years now, Huawei has been under strict American sanctions, and all this time the company has worked tirelessly. Now it may be time for a major push. At least the words of Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business group, indicate exactly that.
At Huawei’s annual reporting conference, Yu Chengdong promised to rewrite the history of the industry and announced completely new revolutionary devices. The top manager said the following verbatim: “When the time comes, you will see how we can rewrite the history of this industry. I hope to continue to exceed everyone’s expectations and do what others can’t even think of, or what they can’t do, or even what they don’t dare do.” And we were not talking about some distant future, but about 2024.
There are no specifics yet. But one of the breakthroughs could be the release of our own single-chip systems with 5G support – very well-established insiders are talking about this. Moreover, SMIC is rumored to be preparing to produce 5nm SoCs for Huawei. If this really happens, it can be called a breakthrough for the entire period of Huawei’s existence under sanctions. And next year, new, and far from trivial, cars are expected to be released on Huawei platforms and with the proprietary HarmonyOS operating system.
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