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NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully shot a laser toward India's Vikram lander on the Moon. However‚ this was not the first shot in a new space war but a carefully planned scientific experiment. The laser traveled about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from orbit to the surface of the Moon‚ hitting a target just 5 centimeters (2 inches) wide. It was the first time a laser was shot from around the Moon to a target on its surface. The tiny Oreo-sized target‚ a Laser Retroreflector Array‚ was placed on the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)’s Vikram lander. The laser bounced off the target and was picked up again by NASA as it whizzed around the Moon. Bouncing light to and from satellites is used on Earth to know where they are in their orbit. On the Moon‚ this approach could be used to determine the precise location of a stationary object. “We’ve shown that we can locate our retroreflector on the surface from the Moon’s orbit‚” mission leader Xiaoli Sun‚ from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center‚ said in a statement. “The next step is to improve the technique so that it can become routine for missions that want to use these retroreflectors in the future.”The Laser Retroreflector Array has eight quartz-corner-cube prisms set into a dome-shaped aluminum frame.Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterXiaoli Sun’s team developed the retroreflector on Vikram as part of a partnership between NASA and ISRO. The device can reflect light coming from any direction. It is also completely optical‚ so it doesn’t require power or maintenance. This means they could keep finding the precise location of Vikram over and over again for decades to come. Vikram is no longer functional so it's not actually going anywhere‚ but future missions will move on the Moon‚ and knowing where they are will be important.Surprisingly the difficulty was not the target. Retroreflectors on the Moon about the size of a suitcase have been used since the Apollo era. Thanks to those we know that the Moon is moving away from us by 3.8 centimeters (1.5 inches) every year. NASA used the only laser instrument around the Moon right now‚ the Lunar Orbiter's altimeter‚ LOLA. LOLA‚ which has been working 13 years beyond its primary mission so far‚ was not designed to hit such a small target‚ usually aiming for an area 10 meters wide.      “We would like LOLA to point to this Oreo-sized target and hit it every time‚ which is hard‚” said Daniel Cremons‚ a NASA Goddard scientist who works with Sun.It took LOLA eight goes to hit the Vikram retroreflector but if LOLA can do it‚ specialized future lasers could easily make retroreflectors a crucial technology for future lunar missions. NASA also has a retroreflector on Japan's SLIM‚ which landed on the Moon on Friday. We shall see if LOLA can repeat the same impressive feat again.

The yellow-winged bat is a vibrant species that comes in brilliant yellow‚ found flapping across countries in Africa. They’re one of five species of false vampire bats from the continent‚ but that’s not the only fake thing about them.Yellow-winged bats (Lavia frons) are around 58–80 millimeters (2.3–3.1 inches) in size with the females typically a little larger than the males. This comes in handy when they’re with pup‚ as the females have the laborious task of flying around with their babies clinging on. A recent preprint revealed how carrying young can influence a female bat’s flying ability.“Our results suggest that pregnancy has a significant effect on flight in female bats‚ with a particularly strong impact on achieving upward motion after emergence‚” wrote the authors of the preprint that hasn’t yet undergone peer review. "However‚ the higher wingbeat rate per second recorded from bats flying during the pregnancy period implies that bats acclimate to such changes in body mass by altering their flight behaviors to sustain upward motion while pregnant.”Not an easy task‚ then‚ but the female yellow-winged bat has a sneaky set of tools to make the process a little easier for her freeloading carry-on. Close to her anus sits a pair of false nipples that the pup uses as a way of clinging on. The fake nipples mean the female can continue foraging and feeding while she carries her pup for several weeks after birth. It’s an unusual setup‚ but for the yellow-winged bat‚ it works.The pups hang onto their flying moms with the aid of false nipples.Image credit: abubakaringim via iNaturalist‚ CC BY-NC 4.0“The mother-young attachment was secure: young Lavia held a 'false' (non-functional) inguinal nipple in its mouth‚ wrapped its legs around its mother's neck‚ and clutched the back of her neck with its feet‚” wrote the authors of a 1987 observation of yellow-winged bat parental behavior.“The young periodically released its hold on a false nipple and suckled from a pectoral nipple. Occasionally the young released its hold with its mouth‚ suddenly dropped down and hung pendant‚ grasping the mother's neck with its feet. From this position the young could stretch‚ groom‚ or flap its wings.”Human babies might not cling to false nipples on their parents’ butts (thankfully)‚ but we do get our own kind of false nipple. Known as supernumerary nipples‚ they affect around 6 percent of the popular and are present from birth‚ but often get mistaken for moles.The other false thing about yellow-winged bats is their vampire status‚ being one of five false vampires found across Africa. Falling into the familiar Megadermatidae‚ the false vampires get their name for their superficial resemblance to true vampire bats‚ but crucially‚ they have a much broader diet that encompasses insects‚ small vertebrates‚ and fruits‚ rather than just chugging blood.The yellow-winged bat looks more Pokémon than animal‚ so it seems fitting that it has a couple of special moves up its sleeve. Or anus‚ as it were.

People have been discussing the "dark forest hypothesis"‚ a potential solution to the Fermi paradox‚ finding it either cool‚ terrifying‚ or hilarious.If you haven't heard of the Fermi paradox‚ this is the simple version: with all the stars‚ space‚ and time in the universe allowing for the possibility of alien life‚ how come we have not found any signs of it? If there is intelligent life out there‚ why has nobody got in touch?    Answers range from the frustrating (the oxygen bottleneck could keep aliens trapped in the stone age) to the terrifying (what if there is no paradox at all). The dark forest hypothesis‚ a piece of speculation on the topic outlined in Liu Cixin's sci-fi novel The Dark Forest‚ falls towards the creepier end of the spectrum.        IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.In the book‚ the second in the Three Body Problem series (also known as Remembrance of Earth's Past)‚ conversations take place between a sociology professor and former astronomer‚ and their dead friend's mother.The professor states that life will always strive to stay alive‚ and there is no way of knowing the intentions of other alien species. Some could be benevolent‚ some could be hostile. Even if the life out there isn't hostile‚ it will still be expanding in a universe with limited resources‚ increasing the likelihood of conflict with others who need those same resources.Given these factors‚ the book suggests‚ all intelligent life is left with the safest course of action: to wipe out any other lifeforms before they can do the same to them.“The universe is a dark forest. Every civilization is an armed hunter stalking through the trees like a ghost‚ gently pushing aside branches that block the path and trying to tread without sound. Even breathing is done with care. The hunter has to be careful‚ because everywhere in the forest are stealthy hunters like him. If he finds other life – another hunter‚ an angel or a demon‚ a delicate infant or a tottering old man‚ a fairy or a demigod – there’s only one thing he can do: open fire and eliminate them‚" a key passage from the book reads."In this forest‚ hell is other people. An eternal threat that any life that exposes its own existence will be swiftly wiped out. This is the picture of cosmic civilization. It’s the explanation for the Fermi Paradox.”This doesn't mean that we haven't heard from other species because they have all been wiped out‚ the book argues. If even one species out there acts like this‚ destroying others for resources or sport‚ it makes sense for all others to keep quiet‚ and not advertise their existence to others.Which‚ as people are pointing out‚ is not what humans have been doing.      IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.As Greg Bear's sci-fi book The Forge of God put it when killer probes are found‚ "We’ve been sitting in our tree chirping like foolish birds for over a century now‚ wondering why no other birds answered. The galactic skies are full of hawks‚ that’s why."However there is one factor that the book expands on – that though wiping out others before they can do the same to you is the most rational course of action‚ aliens may not do it for practical reasons. Say you send out a fleet of destroyers to another star system. By the time it gets there‚ your fleet will remain at the same technological level you sent it‚ while the people you are attacking will have advanced by centuries or even millennia.As such‚ it may be beneficial to most civilizations to simply sit out there like many other forms of benevolent lifeforms‚ all hiding themselves in the forest in fear.An earlier version of this article was published in April 2021.

Dogs truly are man’s best friend‚ and their unwavering loyalty and love for their owners create some of the strongest bonds in the world. This heartwarming story perfectly illustrates the depth of such a bond. Meet Cesar‚ a resident of Alto Vale in Brazil. Life hasn’t been easy for him; he has no home‚ no... The post Homeless man arrives at urgent care for a procedure‚ then doctors see his support team waiting appeared first on Animal Channel.

“We will make America stink.” So declared a Soviet Communist International leader after deploying Kremlin agents to teach at American universities and refine critical theories to destroy our society from within. The “critical” nature of those theories was to heap relentless criticism on every aspect of our society — family‚ faith‚ founding principles‚ and all that was good — not to fix their flaws but to grind them down as oppressors to be destroyed. And so developed the critical race theory that excreted “diversity‚ equity‚ and inclusion” and the critical law theory that weaponized the legal industry to wreck anyone hindering progressivism. The colossally successful Soviet active measures campaign to “make America stink” through cultural Marxism began a century ago during a meeting at the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow. Participants included Hungarian Bolshevik György Lukacs‚ who pioneered the politically motivated sexualization of children; Willi Münzenberg‚ the top Communist International strategist who would deploy his spawn to “make America stink”; and Feliks Dzerzhinsky‚ founder of the Cheka‚ which would become the KGB. A 20-something Justice Department official stood as America’s first line of defense against foreign communist and anarchist agents and agitators. His job was to identify them‚ round them up‚ and deport them to Russia. For the next half-century he would warn the country repeatedly about communist subversion of American schools‚ newspapers‚ churches‚ entertainment‚ politics‚ and government. His name was J. Edgar Hoover. The FBI‚ politicized at the top‚ became a target for critical Marxist infiltration. Hoover had been on the trail of communist agents since Joe McCarthy was in elementary school. The left understandably hated Hoover. For all his flaws‚ Hoover was a patriot who clearly understood the idea of foreign-sponsored subversion. Hoover built the Federal Bureau of Investigation not only to fight crime but also to neutralize foreign agents bent on undermining the American way of life and all it stood for. Today’s FBI has morphed into something that Hoover would have investigated and opposed. That metamorphosis unfolded gradually over recent decades. It gained momentum under President Barack Obama‚ who campaigned in 2008 to “fundamentally transform America.” Obama spoke publicly of his intellectual upbringing with the works of Herbert Marcuse‚ a founding father of critical theory and cultural Marxism and‚ yes‚ a Comintern man. Marcuse was one of scores of Soviet and communist agents who infiltrated American intelligence during World War II. He broke with Stalin but not with communism. He became a philosophical godfather of the new left that tore American society apart where the old Stalinists had failed. Communist Party radical Angela Davis became one of Marcuse’s favorite students. New left leaders like Weather Underground terrorists Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers and red diaper babies of the old Chicago Communist Party apparat like Valerie Jarrett became Obama’s closest confidants as he entered Illinois politics. As president‚ Obama filled his administration with acolytes of Marcuse to fill the Justice Department with critical legal theory lawyers and grievance-industry agitators to spread critical race theory through the bureaucracy and across American society. The FBI‚ politicized at the top‚ became a target for critical Marxist infiltration. Obama issued a 2011 diversity executive order to mandate critical race theory at every level of government. The bureau’s armor had rusted and cracked. What Obama’s disgraced FBI director James Comey had begun continued under his successor‚ Republican Christopher Wray. Wray imposed DEI at every level of the bureau. He declared DEI and queer theory as “mission critical.” Wray hired a DEI extremist as the FBI’s chief diversity officer. From there came the imposition on every single FBI agent‚ analyst‚ and employee. In 2021‚ Wray ordered all FBI personnel to undergo an “LGBT+” course‚ not to help agents understand the changing culture around them but to force that culture on them. The course instructed them to use invented pronouns. To get used to being in close quarters with those tormented by sexual and mental disorders. To shed their personal beliefs and morals and take to the streets — literally as protesters — as “allies” of the ever-expanding alphabet soup of gender-queer culture. Wray faced so much pushback that he quietly had the course withdrawn‚ its 56-page PowerPoint slide presentation removed from FBI computer servers. But good FBI agents preserve evidence‚ and the evidence of that rainbow political commissar course made its way into the daylight. The jihadist attacks of September 11‚ 2001‚ ended the American tradition of limiting the powers of intelligence services by keeping them separate. President George W. Bush‚ vowing that terrorists would never harm Americans again in our country‚ effectively merged the FBI and spooks under a single‚ centralized Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Obama then used the ODNI to impose his Comintern/Marcusian critical theory on the entire intelligence community‚ especially the FBI and CIA. The Trump team didn’t stop it. Biden accelerated it. But there’s still time to do something about it.

A 65-year-old man walking his dog across a frozen lake Thursday in East Bay Township‚ Michigan‚ fell through the ice and into the frigid depths below. Shoreside witnesses called 911‚ prompting a rapid response by Michigan State Police officer Kammeron Bennetts. While quick to the scene‚ Bennetts‚ 30‚ still had to figure out how to mount a rescue without similarly ending up trapped on the wrong side of the lake. Fortunately‚ the waterlogged man's Brittany bird-hunting dog was more than willing to help. Bodycam footage shows a bystander point out a dog-shadowed gap on Arbutus Lake where the Traverse City man went under. The officer grabs a rescue disc from his cruiser‚ fastens a rope to it‚ then heads out onto the ice. Although able to venture roughly 40 feet away from shore‚ Bennetts nevertheless falls short of the man's position due to his uncertainty about the solidity of the ice ahead. The officer tosses the rescue disc to the man. While unsuccessful‚ the initial attempt excites the dog‚ giving Bennetts an idea. "You revert to the tools in front of you. I only had a dog in front of me‚ so use the dog‚" Bennetts later told People. "I saw she was ready to go to work." "Send your pup here. Will she come to me?" Bennetts can be heard yelling to the man steeped in freezing water. The man indicates the dog's name is Ruby. "Ruby‚ come here! Come here‚ Ruby!" yells the officer. After some whistling and another summons‚ the dog comes bolting over to Bennetts. "Will she get ahold of this?" asks the officer‚ coiling the rope. Ruby quickly indicates she's ready to do that and more. After fastening the disc and rope to Ruby's collar‚ Bennetts yells‚ "Call her! Call her!" Bennetts‚ who has been on the force for two years‚ later indicated‚ "Within a minute your dexterity in your fingers goes‚ you lose speech‚ you lose everything." Although ultimately in the water for 16 minutes‚ the Traverse City man nevertheless manages to call Ruby. The dog brings the disc over to her master. With a direct line to the man‚ Bennetts tells him to take the disc and begin kicking his legs. The MSP officer begins pulling the man to shore with Ruby providing emotional support. A firefighter from Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department soon leaps into action‚ joining Bennetts in the rescue. After the incident‚ the officer suggested to the Traverse City man‚ "You better give the dog a ribeye." According to the MSP‚ the man was transported by ambulance to Munson Medical Center and later released. The MSP Seventh District stated on X‚ "Great team work and well done!" The MSP Sixth District noted‚ "What a good girl!!! ... Creative thinking helped save a life!!!" — (@) Michigan State Police Lt. Derrick Carroll told People‚ "Everyone is impressed by [Bennetts'] ability to take control of the situation and his ability to think outside the box to rescue the man in such a timely manner." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A militant leader of Hamas said the remaining 130 Israeli hostages will never be freed after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down the terrorist organization's conditions for bringing the war to an end‚ according to the New York Post.The development comes after more than 100 consecutive days of war between the two sides. Hamas' surprise attack against the Jewish state in early October resulted in the deaths of 1‚200 Israelis‚ and 240 more were abducted and taken into Gaza.In a video address on Sunday‚ Netanyahu said: “In exchange for the release of our hostages‚ Hamas demands the end of the war‚ the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza‚ the release of all the murderers and rapists."“And leaving Hamas intact. I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas."In response‚ Sami Abu Zuhri‚ a senior Hamas official‚ said Israel's refusal to put an end to its military operations in the area "means there is no chance for the return of the [Israeli] captives‚" according to the Post.Netanyahu also expressed his insistence that the Jewish state would maintain "full security control" of "all territory west of the Jordan River." This comes after the Israeli prime minister spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden about setting up an independent Palestinian state in the region‚ per Reuters.Biden went on to suggest that it could be possible to establish a Palestinian state that would involve a non-militarized government. However‚ Netanyahu does not appear to be budging on this issue‚ saying many "international and internal pressures" have tried to get him to change his position on the matter."My insistence is what prevented for years the establishment of a Palestinian state that would have posed an existential danger to Israel‚" Netanyahu said.But family members of the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas appeared outside Netanyahu's residence on Sunday to demand he find a way to bring their loved ones home.“We need the government to now fix the problem that they have created and get these hostages home immediately‚" said Jon Polin‚ the father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin.The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum urged the prime minister to clearly express that "we will not abandon civilians‚ soldiers and others kidnapped in the October debacle."“We must advance the deal now. If the prime minister decides to sacrifice the hostages‚ he should show leadership and honestly share his position with the Israeli public‚” the group said‚ per the Post. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Tom Johnston‚ Pat Simmons and John McFee will again be joined by Michael McDonald The post Doobie Brothers Set Tour With Steve Winwood appeared first on Best Classic Bands.