Tech
Watch the closeup moment they opened the Artemis II hatch after splashdown
When people watched NASA's Artemis II mission return to Earth, they saw helicopter views of little orange-clad figures exiting the spacecraft onto a raft.
But the U.S. space agency has since released a short closeup video of the Navy recovery team as it opened the hatch on Friday, April 10. The trained divers and medical officers entered the tiny 330 cubic-foot Orion capsule, greeted the four astronauts.
From video cameras mounted on the recovery team's helmets, shown in the X post below, it's as if you're right there with them. The team cheers and claps, with shouts of "let's go!" followed by "four green" (a callout that the crew was OK).
"Welcome home," the recovery team said to the Artemis II crew, Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, the first humans to fly around the moon since 1972.
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Up close, the spacecraft, dubbed Integrity by the crew, appeared battered and singed as it bobbed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California. The capsule had just plummeted through Earth's atmosphere, a fiery descent that put the crew through a 25,000 mph ride.
During that intense and dangerous phase, the astronauts experienced nearly 4Gs, a pressure pushing against them equal to four times their bodyweight. Without proper training, those conditions, coupled with adrenaline overload, could cause a person to blackout.
But as the recovery team soon discovered, not only was the returning crew healthy, they were in high spirits, smiling as they waited through the procedures to leave the spacecraft. At the end of the video, one of the recovery officials, referred to as "Vlad," said he had something for Wiseman. The clip ends before that "something" is revealed.
"Jesse, Steve, Laddy, and Vlad….such an incredible feeling to welcome you aboard Integrity after a nearly 700,000 mile journey," Wiseman said in a post on X. "Forever thankful for your service to our crew and the nation."
What is clear is that the people who welcomed Artemis II back to Earth seemed just as exhilarated as the astronauts themselves. Before climbing inside the crew's living quarters for the 10-day journey, the team almost forgot to place the seal cover over the bottom edge of the hatch in their haste to see their friends.
Artemis II, which launched April 1, marked NASA's triumphant return of human-led space exploration. It planned the voyage as the critical shakeout cruise for the spacecraft before the agency attempts to land on the moon. During the flight, the Artemis II crew put Orion through its paces, testing everything from propulsion and communications to how well humans can live, work, and make scientific observations far from home.
Credit: NASA / Bill Ingalls
Packed with cameras, sensors, and experiments, the mission turned the crew into both test pilots and test subjects, gathering data to shape future Artemis voyages. A successful journey vets the hardware and flight controllers for a moonwalk planned for 2028.
NASA isn't just motivated to get back to the moon for the moon's sake but to practice keeping humans alive in another world for extended periods. That's crucial before sending astronauts on a months-long spaceflight to Mars, perhaps possible in the late 2030s.
A new space race also sets the timeline for the Artemis campaign. The United States wants to land on the moon again before China, which is extremely close to achieving its first human moon landing.
If you thought the splashdown meant Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen could finally relax, you'd be wrong. Just hours after landing, NASA tested the crew's mettle again with an obstacle course.
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Tech
The Sony XM6 earbuds are the best audio product Ive tested this year — and theyre back at their lowest price ever
Save $31.99: Take 10% off the Sony WF-1000XM6 earbuds at Amazon as of April 20. This brings them down to $298, instead of their list price of $329.99.
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As a headphones reviewer, I get plenty experience testing out the latest and greatest audio has to offer. As a budget-buys lover, I don't always see the point of increasingly high price points.
Then, I tried the Sony WF-1000XM6 earbuds. At $329.99, these earbuds aren't cheap, sitting at an even higher price than Bose's flagship earbuds and the Technics EAH-AZ1000, another Mashable favorite. However, as of April 20, the Sony buds are down to a slightly better $298, marking a return to their lowest price ever.
Don't get me wrong — I get that $300 isn't exactly chump change. That said, I consider these earbuds an investment for anyone who wants the absolute best blend of sound, comfort, and noise cancellation. To be clear, I still think the Bose QC Ultra 2 buds lead the category on the comfort scale, but between the best noise cancellation and sound I've tried on a pair of earbuds, I get why these are priced the way they are.
As these are Sony buds, the companion app also offers great customization, with a 10-band equalizer for finding the sound that's just right. At eight hours per charge, their battery life is also competitive with other noise-cancelling favorites of Mashable's, like the Apple AirPods Pro 3.
I loved the XM6 earbuds when I first reviewed them earlier this year, and I continue to love them months later. Unless the audio space throws a real curveball, I imagine these will be one of the best releases of the year.
SAVE 20%: As of April 20, you can get the Sony QD-OLED 77-inch BRAVIA XR A95L Series 4K Ultra HD TV for $3,999.99, down from $4,999.99. That's a 20% discount or $1,000 savings.
Hooking up a PlayStation 5 to a mediocre screen is a quick way to ruin the graphics you paid for. If you want your games to look the way they were intended, you need a TV that can keep up with the console.
Right now, you can get the Sony QD-OLED 77-inch BRAVIA XR A95L Series 4K Ultra HD TV for $3,999.99 at Amazon, down from $4,999.99. That's a 20% discount, or $1,000 in savings.
Since Sony makes both the console and the TV, you'll get exclusive features like Auto HDR Tone Mapping that optimize the picture quality while you play. It has HDMI 2.1 for 4K gaming at 120Hz, so you don't have to deal with lag, and there's a dedicated Game Menu to adjust your settings on the fly. When you put the controller down, the QD-OLED screen gives you pure blacks and bright colors for movie night, with Google TV built in so you have all your streaming apps in one place.
SAVE $120: As of April 20, the DJI Mini 3 beginner-friendly drone is on sale at Amazon for only $299 with an on-page coupon. That's nearly 30% in savings and its best price on record.
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Everyone from real estate agents to marketing managers to casual Instagrammers could use a drone to capture more enticing footage. But drones don't typically come with the most affordable price tags, which is why we're highlighting this deal we spotted on the DJI Mini 3. At nearly 30% off, it's the cheapest we've ever seen it.
As of April 20, the beginner-friendly DJI Mini 3 is down to $299 with an on-page coupon at Amazon. That's $120 off its list price of $419 and just the second time we've seen the price drop this low. Just be sure to check the box that says "coupon price" to score the discount.
Weighing in at just half a pound, the DJI Mini 3 is true to its name. It folds up to an even more compact size for transport. It captures 4K HDR video and its innovative gimbal design allows for true vertical shooting and dynamic angles. Translation: you'll be able to snap some truly epic shots for social media. You'll get about 38 minutes of flight time before you need a charge or battery swap, but you can extend that to up to 51 minutes if you purchase the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus (sold separately).
The Mini 3 is level 5 wind-resistant, so you can still take flight and capture footage in less than ideal conditions. Plus, intelligent features like auto takeoff, RTH (return to home), and precise hovering help beginners get started without a steep learning curve.
It's not every day the popular DJI Mini 3 goes on sale for $120 off. If you're in the market for a beginner-friendly drone, click on that coupon box and snag it while you can.
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