Month: April 2026

the astronomical event of the century is approaching

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Many of us still have the healthy envy of seeing the spectacular images of the total solar eclipse who toured Mexico, the United States and Canada two years ago. It was an event that paralyzed a continent, especially in the so-called “strip of totality”, the areas that were left completely dark. Well, the next great cosmic event has Spain as a global protagonist. And we won’t have to wait long. August 12, 2026. In just four months the first total solar eclipse visible in Spain since 1905 will take place, a unique opportunity in more than a century. Together with Iceland, which will enjoy 58 seconds of totality, we will be the only country in the world that will be able to see all phases of the eclipse. And let’s be honest: in the middle of August, our chances of having clear skies are considerably better than those of Icelanders. Context. A total eclipse occurs when the Moon aligns perfectly between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow that plunges the lucky ones into twilight darkness in broad daylight. In the event of 2026, this shadow, the strip of totality, will be about 300 kilometers wide and will cross Spain from west to east, from Galicia to the Balearic Islands. The autonomous communities that will remain under the shadow cone of totality are Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y León, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Aragon, Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands. Madrid will be right on the edge, with a fleeting totality in the north of the region. But the rest of the country will not be left empty-handed and will witness a very deep partial eclipse, with coverage of more than 90% (and up to 74% in the Canary Islands, with Lanzarote as the island with the best seats for the show). Almost two minutes. An essential tool to plan the observation of the eclipse down to the millisecond is the interactive map by Xavier Jubier. This resource is the gold standard for eclipse hunters because it allows you to click on any point on the map to obtain the exact times of each phase, the duration of totality, the altitude of the Sun in the area… You can also consult the map of the National Geographic Institute. The eclipse will begin just before sunset. The totality phase will take place around 8:30 p.m. (peninsular summer time), with the sun already very low on the horizon. This turns observation into a race against time against the setting sun. In cities like Oviedo, totality will last 1 minute and 48 seconds, just a few moments longer than in Burgos, León or the island of Mallorca, which is emerging as one of the most tourist places to see the eclipse (with the disadvantage that the Sun sets earlier than in the northwest of the peninsula). Safety first. As much as it may tempt us to look directly at the Sun, even partially eclipsed, can cause permanent eye damage. During all partial phases (before and after totality), it is necessary to wear glasses certified to view eclipses or indirect methods to observe it. For the rest, it will be enough to find an elevated observation place, with a horizon clear of mountains or buildings to the west so as not to miss what will undoubtedly be the astronomical event of the century. In Xataka | Half of Spain waits expectantly for the historic eclipse of August 2026. The authorities are already thinking about the problems In Xataka | Spain is very excited about the three eclipses that will arrive between 2026 and 2028. The Government is worried This article was originally published in June 2025. With the eclipse approaching, we have recovered and updated it.

the “wolf pack” robots with all kinds of autonomous weaponry

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China has turned robotics into a state issue. In the last five-year plan, the country made clear its total commitment to autonomous robots, agentic AIthe development of your semiconductor industry and 6G as the great ‘cloud’ to give life to Physical AI. Within the technological commitment, we already knew that robot dogs were of great importance. What we didn’t expect is that they already had packs of robodogs ready to go into action. And all this under a brain that makes them work like a swarm. Robowolves. The Asian giant has been performing simulations with these robot dogs armed. The advantage of these units is that the base is the same for all, but they can be customized so that they carry whatever is needed: from weapons to sensors of all kinds. Each one weighs about 70 kilos and can carry another 25 kilos, so the versatility when it comes to having ‘extras’ for attack, reconnaissance, transportation and supplies is maximum. And they can be operated remotely by humans, but the key to the Chinese system presented by the state channel CCTV (as stated SCMP) is that they can also be under the control of a central AI. Herd. We have already mentioned that one of China’s objectives is physical AI, AI being the software that controls – the brain – and the robot the hardware that has contact with the real world -the dog-. Within a show of force, television highlights operations such as “urban cleanup” in which a pack of ‘wolves’ operates through a shared detection network that acts as a collective brain. It is an autonomous mode and decision-making is joint within the group. As in a pack of flesh and blood wolves, each one has different roles. And they have names. ‘Shadow’ is the recognition, giving information about the situation to the rest of the group. ‘Polar’ is the one that offers logistical support and ‘Bloody’, as its name suggests, is the one that can carry weapons such as grenade launchers, missile launchers and automatic rifles. What’s scarier is that the group can automatically maneuver into tactical formations thanks to that swarm control system to surround targets, block them, and ultimately open fire. One of those responsible for researching the Atlas weapons system in China pointed out that these drones “understand” the intentions of others and can execute collaborative actions even in the absence of communication signals with the command. Utility? Operate in situations where satellite signals are not available. An example of one of the ‘Polar’ Limitations. Although it may seem like science fiction – and it is – these units are not perfect. The army itself has revealed on occasion that robodogs lack armor, so they are easily shot down even with light fire. They have recognized that the idea is no longer to achieve perfection, but to advance in the demonstration that they can replace human troops with robots, minimizing casualties in the event of open conflict. There is also something more underlying: as in a pack, the strength is not in the individual, but in operating together as CCTV claims these swarms of robots can do. And another limitation (and thank goodness) is that, although robots are capable of identifying and focusing on targets autonomously, they cannot attack without human confirmation. And a ‘Bloody’ show of strength. The reports shared by CCTV indicate that the algorithms of this system allow collaborative tasks to be carried out between different types of weapons. For example, coordinating attacks between ground and aerial drones, but also guiding laser weapons. One case is an algorithm that allows robots to prioritize targets, such as neutralizing the most threatening ones first, leaving less important targets aside. And Zhang Wei, a researcher at the China Electronics Technology Group corporation, pointed out that the goal is to achieve robots with “full autonomy on a large scale”, a scenario in which many different drones operate collaboratively without human intervention, achieving objectives and making decisions in complex missions autonomously. Total commitment to robotics. As always, you have to take anything that comes from any government with a grain of salt when talking about this type of thing, since (and even more so now) propaganda is super important. However, it is undeniable that China is betting heavily on the development of robotics and that these robowolves are not a render like the ‘space destroyer’ that they showed a few weeks ago. They are already carrying out simulated missions and we have seen them in other scenarios, such as in the daily life of different firefighting units. helping carry out reconnaissance missions and firefighting. And, deep down, I can’t get out of my head how cool these things were when we saw them in the movies and how scary it is when they seem to be one step away from becoming a reality. Image | CCTV/China In Xataka | China has asked Russia for an airborne battalion and training. That can only mean one thing: they are preparing a landing

Most complete geological map reveals billions of years of impacts and volcanism

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We have been talking for years not about landing, but about colonize Mars (above all, Elon Musk), but with Artemis II making history and the Orion ship just splashed down After the first manned mission to the Moon in more than 50 years, the old moon has returned to the forefront. Four astronauts have just photograph it up close and leave us with our mouths open. But the Moon is much more than a satellite full of craters: each of those craters tells a story of billions of years. At this moment when our satellite has hit us again, we rescue geological cartography most complete overview ever published. It is the unified geological map of the moonprepared in 2020 by the United States Geological Survey combining data from the lunar reconnaissance orbiter missions (LRO) from NASA and Kaguya from the Japanese Space Agency. The good thing is that although you can see a general sample, you can also download it to have a greater level of detail, since it is at a scale of 1:5,000,000 and derived from six digitized geological maps. Visually, this world map draws attention both for the number of craters and for the shades chosen to color it. The choice of color is not casual or ornamental, but rather each color represents a type of terrain with a specific age and origin. So, at a glance you know whether you’re looking at an ancient lava plain, a recent crater, or the original crust from 4 billion years ago. Without the colors, everything would be a gray mass of craters impossible to distinguish. The moon is full of secrets and this map provides information in abundance to discover them. The unified geographic map of the moon Fragment of the unified geological map of the Moon, scale 1:5M. Via: USGS The moon has five geological eras: Pre-Nectarian, Nectaric, Imbrian, Eratosthenic and Copernican, which range from 4,000 million years ago to today. How to differentiate them on the map? Because they go from purple and orange for the oldest to green and pink for the youngest. All that is seen is the fossilized record of its turbulent youth because it has been “geologically dead” for almost 3,000 million years, but it had a turbulent past as evidenced by its orography. The moon offers a striking visual dichotomy between the highlands (in reddish tones and saturated with craters) and the seas, which are the large dark spots. Of course, they don’t have any water. They are actually basaltic lava plains that filled huge impact basins about 3,000-4,000 million years ago. It is, in short, what we see from Earth. The clear, cratered areas constitute the original crust and are much older. The most characteristic thing about the Moon to the naked eye are the craters, which are something like scars that witness the passage of time: the more softened, diffuse and even buried it appears on the map, the older it is. On the contrary, the sharper, brighter and surrounded by bright rays, the younger. “Lightning bolts” are bursts of dust and rock launched after impact and can extend for many kilometers. There is two especially spectacular craters on the map: Tycho and Copernicuswhose rays cross hundreds of kilometers and are geologically very recent. The part of the Moon that we never see from Earth and that arouses so much curiosity in us (there is a project to install a radio telescope there) is its hidden side: there are almost no blue spots there. And while the visible side is rich in lava plains, the hidden side is a highland fortress, much more rugged and with a significantly thicker crust. Map At its south pole is the basin South Pole-Aitkenthe largest known impact scar in the entire Solar System, with 2,500 km in diameter and 8 km deep. Precisely that area where there are shadow craters science hopes to find water frost. This geological imbalance between both sides suggests that the Moon is asymmetric inside, a mystery that is also on the table of the scientific community. In Xataka | The Earth’s seabed has always been a mystery: an amazing 3D map reveals it in unprecedented detail In Xataka | Astronomers have stitched together 10,000 images from the Webb telescope to make the largest map of the universe. Something doesn’t fit Cover | USGS, NASA

The best MediaMarkt offers in technology and entertainment, today April 11

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There is very little left until the end of the two MediaMarkt campaigns, April Savings and Semana Web, which end on April 12 at 9:00 am. There are many offers to choose from, but some are better than others. For this reason, in this article we are going to review the best of the best within the store itself. iPhone 17 by 1,129 eurosthe lowest price MediaMarkt has ever had in the 512 GB configuration. nintendo switch 2 by 459 eurosthe console along with a video game to choose from four options. Apple Watch Series 11 by 379 eurosthe lowest price the store has had so far. Motorola moto tag by 24.90 eurosa much tighter price on the brand’s locator. Nintendo Switch 2 Camera by 39 eurosan especially interesting accessory if you play online with friends. Nintendo Switch 2 + video game to choose from four options The price could vary. We earn commission from these links iPhone 17 If you are going to change your mobile phone and want to make the leap to the Apple ecosystem, the iPhone 17 has dropped in price in its configuration 512GB storage and can now be purchased for 1,129 eurosMediaMarkt’s all-time low. It is a mobile phone that comes with a 6.3-inch screen that offers a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. It has a good photography section and has a good processor that guarantees excellent performance. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links nintendo switch 2 Right now is one of the best times to make the leap to nintendo switch 2as MediaMarkt is back with its best offer yet: for 459 eurosgives you a video game to choose from these four different options: Nintendo Switch 2 + video game to choose from four options The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Apple Watch Series 11 The same happens with the Apple Watch Series 11since MediaMarkt has it at its lowest price to date: 379 euros. It is about one of the best smartwatches within the Apple brandespecially for its construction (also for its rotating crown which is especially useful), for its screen that looks great even outdoors and for its sensors to monitor physical activity. Apple Watch Series 11 (46mm, M/L) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Motorola moto tag If you are planning to go on a trip or simply want to avoid losing your keys, backpack or suitcase, the Motorola moto tag has dropped to 24.90 euros. It is a locator with the same format as the AirTagso their covers are useful. It uses Find My Device to locate it and is compatible with Android phones. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Nintendo Switch 2 Camera If you already have a Nitendo Switch 2 or are going to take advantage of the MediaMarkt offer before it ends, you may be interested in the official nintendo camera which, in addition, has dropped in price to 39 euros. It is ideal for playing online video games with friends or family, especially competitive ones to enjoy great times. Nintendo Switch 2 Camera The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Image | MediaMarkt and Compradicción (header), Apple, Nintendo, Motorola In Xataka | Five brands and one goal: we look for the perfect locator for your keys, wallet or suitcase In Xataka | Best smartwatch in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and seven recommended models

France has begun to retire Windows from its administration. It is the beginning of his divorce from Microsoft, Google and Amazon

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Digital sovereignty in Europe has gone from being a theoretical concept to something increasingly tangible and desirable with respect to the technology we consume. It is no longer just a trend that is increasingly more individual people are tryingbut has also become an object of desire for administrations and companies. The path to becoming independent from big tech in the United States is not easy and while there are startups like Mistral who gets rich in the processthere is a state that has decided to take a brave step forward: France. In a global environment where data and infrastructure are geopolitical weapons, the French Government, through the Interministerial Directorate for Digital (DINUM), has launched an aggressive roadmap to regain control over their information systems, thus reducing the hegemony of non-EU technological solutions. And it has started with Windows. The decision. In a high-level inter-ministerial seminar, DINUM together with ANSSI, the State Purchasing Directorate and the DGE formalized the most ambitious commitment to digital sovereignty adopted to date by a Western European power. Or what is the same: France wants to exit the American technological ecosystem in a systematic, planned way and with specific deadlines. It is not an experiment, it is state policy. The guideline is clear: map and reduce dependence on technology suppliers from outside the EU. The measure is not a veto but rather a mandatory transition towards a model where public administration must prioritize local or open source solutions, especially in critical services and sensitive data processing. As has declared the Minister of Action and Public Accounts David Amiel: “ We can no longer accept that our data, our infrastructure and our strategic decisions depend on solutions whose rules, prices, evolution and risks we do not control.” Why is it important. From a systems engineering and cybersecurity point of view, the measure is vital for issues such as protecting against Cloud Act of the United States, the law that allows its authorities to access data stored in American companies regardless of where the servers are located. On the other hand, it guarantees that the state maintains its necessary technical capabilities to operate its own infrastructure without depending on proprietary “black boxes” and to heal itself in the event of a change in conditions or other external problems. But this phased migration is much more than an OS change: it involves dismantling the entire associated ecosystem, certificates and applications designed for Windows. It means rebuilding the digital foundations of the state from the roots so that they function with total autonomy and without foreign parts, without citizens noticing the change on the surface. Context. Our daily personal, professional and bureaucratic lives live in an ecosystem governed by hyperscalersthose technology companies like Microsoft, Google or Amazon that dominate storage and cloud computing. This mention is not random: they alone eat more than 60% of the cloud cake, as Statista collects. The increase in cyber threats and the US technological monopoly in the West and its increasingly invasive turn to the privacy of others have done the rest. France has been maturing the doctrine for years “Cloud au Center“. While the ANSSI audited the dependencies on critical infrastructures, its sovereign cloud was being forged as a real alternative. In addition, the European regulatory framework, with the NIS2 directive wave cyber resilience lawhas created the ideal breeding ground. With tools like TchapVisio, FranceTransfert and Socle Numérique (alternatives to WhatsApp, Teams, WeTransfer or Microsoft 365, respectively) France no longer only has a plan, but a real operational base on which to scale. The plan towards sovereignty. It is neither a toast to the sun nor does it have vague and diffuse measurements or distant dates, but concrete, tangible movements and which is either already being implemented or is scheduled to be completed before the end of the year: DINUM abandons Windows and migrates its jobs to Linux. It is the first central State agency to do so. Already underway. Migration of 80,000 agents from the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie (equivalent to Social Security) to sovereign tools: Tchap, Visio and FranceTransfert. Already underway. Migration of the health data platform to a reliable European solution. Scheduled for the end of 2026. Duties for each ministry: present a dependency reduction plan, which includes databases, antivirus, AI or collaborative tools. For this fall. Yes, but. France has a basic skeleton and a legal framework, as well as public-private coalitions to accelerate the transition through concrete and measurable public commitments. But it won’t be easy. Exiting Windows involves disassembling Active Directory and what is behind it, something that costs a lot of time and money. And migrating 80,000 agents to new tools is not so much a technology problem but rather a problem of implementing new management. Also, go out where. Many European solutions still do not reach the integration, ease of use and capacity (especially in AI) of American big tech, which implies a step backwards in terms of quality. But even if it were possible, moving from a proprietary infrastructure to a sovereign one implies an enormous investment in time, personnel training and data migration. Finally, maintaining and evolving our own infrastructure requires specialized and experienced personnel in a market where talent is scarce and expensive. In Xataka | The CEO of Mistral sends a message to Europe: the end of being the technological vassal of the United States In Xataka | Europe seeks to become independent from Microsoft Office. Your alternative is already here, but not without controversy Cover | Clint Patterson and Arno Senoner

Your t-shirt from 15 years ago is better preserved than the one from last summer for a very simple reason: the yarn

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Among the things that are no longer what they were cotton t-shirts take center stage. That’s because we have physical evidence: almost all of us have some cotton garment from years ago with better look than a newly purchased one. Why is this happening? For technological development. Like any industry, the textile industry seeks to be more efficient, to achieve more with less. What is sacrificed in the process is quality. However, all is not lost and those great t-shirts from before can still be found, if you know what to look for (and when you finish reading this article you will). In the case of cotton fabric, quality is determined by two variables: The raw material. The spinning process. Let’s start with the raw material. The best varieties of cotton are Sea IslandEgyptian, Egyptian American and pima. Its fibers exceed 32 millimeters in length, and are fine and resistant. Despite this, its production volume is ridiculously low in proportion to international volumes: only 3%. The problem is that it grows slowly and its harvests are small. 90% of world cotton production belongs to the type American Upland. Within this variety there are different levels of quality, depending on the thickness and length of the fibers, but these do not usually exceed the 25 millimeters. The problem is the yarn Depending on the quality of the fiber, one spinning process or another is used, causing the fabrics to improve or worsen greatly. The vast majority of advertising t-shirts or brand t-shirts fast fashion They use a yarn called “open end”. What does it consist of? It is a technology developed in the ’60s. in Czechoslovakiacreated specifically to take advantage of low-quality, short-fiber cotton. It is very similar to the manufacture of cotton candy: the fibers spin in a giant drum and if you start pulling on a rope, they wind around it, creating the thread. (Keagan Henman/Unsplash) A T-shirt made with “open end” cotton has a less soft touch, breaks faster and pills after a few washes. The explanation? If we greatly enlarge the photo of such a thread, we see that it looks like a tangled skein, with many ends sticking out. It is precisely these ends that form the balls. The problem is not only the use of short-staple cotton. In addition, in the process it is damaged even more: with the rotation of the drum, any imperfection on its surface functions as a bladechopping up the fibers. To improve the quality of this yarn, surgical steel drums have begun to be used. Its surface is very smooth, which reduces breakage. This is how, for example, t-shirts are made. Fruit of the Loom marked with the Belcoro seal. Improving the “open end“ The next level of quality is the threads ring spun. In its manufacture, medium-length fibers and an older technology are used, which imitates manual spinning: the cotton is carded to eliminate impurities and to align the fibers that are then twisted and stretched. The result is a smooth, uniform thread, with few protruding ends. A fabric made with these threads is much more resistant, hardly pills and has a pleasant touch. It is used by brands such as Gildan, Russel or Anvil. But the maximum level of quality in t-shirt fabrics is ring spun combed cotton. For this type of fabric, the highest quality fibers, the longest, are reserved. In addition to following ancient spinning technology, this cotton includes an additional step after carding, combing. In this process all the shorter fibers are removed, discarding up to 15% of the cotton. A fabric of this type is resistant, has a smoother and more uniform surface and is softer to the touch. They are easy to identify, because the inside label usually says “combed cotton.” However, a loss of 15% of cotton cannot do anything other than make the material more expensive, so they are also the most expensive. (Jason Leung/Unsplash) The brands that use this type of fabric are American ApparelSol’s, Bella & Canvas. Even so, it is advisable not to blindly trust brands. Not all t-shirts from a producer are made with the same cotton. What is not very relevant to the quality of a t-shirt is the information that many of us use: the weight of the fabric. A thick, heavyweight, knit t-shirt open endit will be of poorer quality and will last less than a thin combed cotton t-shirt. Comparing the weight of the fabric makes sense only within the same quality. So if you are looking for a cotton t-shirt like the ones before, the ideal is to ask about the type of cotton it uses. If they say “combed cotton”, it is the best you can find. If they say “ring spun”, you will get a much higher quality than what you are used to. If they tell you: “What cotton? 100% cotton”, you will be able to provide all this information and differentiate between poor quality t-shirts and those that will last a lifetime. Image | https://unsplash.com/es/fotos/variada-ropa-hung-en-perchero-3JAOcgZ_ZXU In Xataka | Converse sneakers were once the symbol of the millennial generation: now they have been in free fall for years In Xataka | France had maintained the monopoly on luxury perfumes for centuries: Arab countries are taking it away

making history. Orion has landed after a mission that we have not seen since Apollo

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Artemis II already had a place in history assured before it even hit the water, but its closure gives the mission a different dimension. Orion has splashed down off the coast of San Diego (United States) and with this has culminated a ten-day trip that has returned astronauts to the vicinity of the Moon for the first time since 1972. What we have seen has not only been a round trip flight around our satellite, but also the validation in real conditions of a ship, a crew and a roadmap with which NASA and its international partners want to go further than ever. The key moment has arrived at 8:07 p.m. EDT on April 10, equivalent to 2:07 a.m. on April 11 in Spanish peninsular time. With this splashdown, Orion’s flight sequence is closed and a less visible, but equally measured phase begins: recovery in the ocean. We are not just talking about a capsule touching the water, but about the point at which a maneuver calculated to the minute gives way to helicopters, military means, medical checks and transfer of the crew out of the vehicle. Artemis II has made history: the most difficult return culminates over the Pacific The most delicate part was not the lunar flyby, but the return home. To return safely, Orion had to enter the atmosphere under the right conditions, with heat shield exposed after separating from the service module and prepared to withstand extreme conditions: intense friction, plasma around the capsule and a communications outage expected for six minutes. NASA had further explained that, in a nominal profile, the crew could withstand up to 3.9 G. Everything in this phase depended on physics, engineering and timing being exactly where they needed to be. The US space agency communicated this sequence in EDT time, but to better follow the outcome from Spain it is advisable to transfer it to peninsular time, where everything happened already in the early morning of April 11. 01:33: service module separation and heat shield exposure (completed) 01:37: final adjustment of entry path (completed) 01:53: start of upper atmosphere re-entry and start of communications blackout (completed) 02:03: opening of drogue parachutes at high altitude (filled) 02:04: deployment of three main parachutes to reduce descent speed (completed) 02:07: Orion splashdown off San Diego (completed) Before 04:07: crew recovery and transfer to support ship (earring) As we say, from this moment on the recovery device that NASA has deployed together with US military personnel off the coast of California comes into play. According to the sequence planned by the agency, the crew must be extracted from the capsule and transferred by helicopter to the USS John P. Murtha, where the first medical evaluations after ten days of mission. If we look at the mission as a whole, Artemis II leaves several well-defined milestones. It was the first manned flight beyond Earth’s orbit since 1972, it completed a lunar flyby without landing on the moon and established a new distance record for humans by exceeding 400,000 kilometers from Earth, above the Apollo 13 mark. In between so much hard data, Artemis II has also left small scenes capable of becoming fixed in the collective memory. There are the images of the hidden side of the Moon taken by the crewcaptures of a solar eclipse or video calls from deep space. And then there is the most unexpected detail of all, the one that gave the mission a touch of color in the middle of the institutional solemnity: a jar of Nutella appearing floating in the ship during one of the broadcasts. What comes next helps you better measure what you just finished. NASA now faces a demanding calendar phase for the next stages of the Artemis program, with a new mission already in preparation and with the focus on the operations that must support a future lunar landing. The next test will seek to advance that architecture with new maneuvers and tests before taking the next leap. When the images of the landing, the parachutes and the recovery in the Pacific pass, what will remain will be something much more profound than a postcard of the return. Artemis II will have shown that it is possible send astronauts back to the lunar environmentbring them back and successfully complete the most demanding part of the flight. Images | POT In Xataka | We knew there was water on the Moon, but not why some craters were empty. Finally we have the answer

We knew there was water on the Moon, but not why some craters were empty. Finally we have the answer

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It’s been a while since It is known that there is water on the Moon. However, accessing it is quite complicated. To begin with, so far only water in the form of ice has been detected. But also, it’s not clear what the best places to look are. There are some clues, but exceptions keep appearing that baffle scientists. That’s why, the study recently carried out by scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder It has been very illuminating. Frozen water hidden in the shadows. The missions that have detected ice on the Moon have located it in the depths of the craters of the lunar south pole. Mostly, in something known as cold traps. These are places that are permanently in shadow, so that the very high temperatures that are reached during the day, of more than 120ºCthey cannot evaporate the water. An essential resource for lunar colonization. The detection of water on the Moon was a great milestone at the time, since it would make it easier for lunar colonizers to use water to cover basic needs in the future. They could use it for drinking, but also, for example, it would be possible separate hydrogen from oxygen through hydrolysis and use it as fuel. Let us remember that the formula of water is H2O, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. It’s not that easy. Some craters containing ice have already been detected, like the Cabeus. We could think that all the craters of the south pole that are found in cold traps, like this one, will serve as water sources. Unfortunately, the task is not so simple. It is known that several craters in this situation do not contain water, so another pattern must be sought to help future lunar colonizers know where to look. A question of orientation. The authors of the study just published relied on two types of data. On the one hand, the surface temperature data provided by the Diviner instrument of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). On the other hand, the results of a series of computer simulations on lunar evolution. Studying all of this together revealed something interesting. That the orientation of the Moon has not always been the same. Its relative inclination with respect to the Earth has changed slightly over billions of years, so that what is in shadow today may not have been in the past. That’s why there are craters in cold traps that don’t have water. The older the better. Something that these scientists have also observed when reviewing previous studies is that the oldest craters at the lunar south pole are more likely to house water. Therefore, the ideal is to look for ancient craters that are located at the south pole and in cold traps. The number of likely places to search is greatly reduced. In fact, there is already a candidate following this premise: the Haworth crater. According to the models, it has been in shadow for 3 billion years. We will have to check it. The authors of this study are already designing an instrument, called Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System (L-CIRiS), to analyze this and other candidate craters for water ice. NASA plans to deploy it near the lunar South Pole at the end of 2027. It will be a good way to detect the best lunar water sources with an eye on future long-term missions on our satellite. The more the ground is prepared, the better. Image | Xataka | The “hidden” side of the Moon has been a mystery for decades: China already has a chemical map to shed light

Europe has grown tired of being NASA’s “supporting actor.” And that is why it is starting to work with China

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The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have teamed up to launch an ambitious mission, aimed at studying the mechanisms used by the Earth to protect itself from solar inclement weather. The SMILE mission was scheduled to launch this April 9, but a small technical problem has forced it to be postponed until a date that is still unclear. In any case, it is just a small stone on the road for a mission that reinforces Europe’s intention to join forces with the Today it is considered the direct competition of NASA on many space issues. Given the ups and downs that the United States faces in scientific matters, it could be an interesting idea. The terrestrial sunscreen under a magnifying glass. The SMILE (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) mission has four instruments aimed at analyzing the interaction of solar winds with the magnetosphere that acts as the Earth’s shield. It is a necessary mission for many reasons. On the one hand, because many of the mechanisms used by the Earth to protect itself from solar radiation remain partly a mystery. And, on the other hand, because data analysis could help predict solar storms more accurately. Currently it is possible to know with high probability whether they will occur, but the situation is far from being exact. Since these types of events affect terrestrial communications systems, forecasting would be a key point. Four instruments. The instruments that SMILE has They are the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI), the Light Ion Analyzer (LIA), the Detector Plane Assembly (DPA) and the Ultraviolet Imager (UVI). The SXI is responsible for taking X-ray images to study the boundaries of the magnetosphere, while the DPA provides mechanical and thermal support. That is, it helps keep the imaging systems at a stable temperature, something essential given the proximity to the Sun. As for LIA, its function is to analyze ionized particles. Solar winds consist of a flow of ionized particles that form in the Sun’s corona and are released into space. They are directly related to the harmful effects of solar storms, so it is important to analyze them. For its part, UVI is responsible for taking images in the ultraviolet range of the spectrum. Above all, they will take images of auroras, closely linked to peaks in solar activity. European and Chinese contribution. The European Union has provided the SXI and DPA instruments, in addition to the Vega rocket that will propel the satellite and all its instruments into space. For its part, China has developed the UVI and LIA instruments, as well as the SMILE suite satellite platform. Spain is not missing either. One of SMILE’s instruments, the DPA, It has been developed at the Spanish National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA). Little recognition. NASA has given Canada a seat on the Orion capsule to travel to the Moon. Canadian Jeremy Hansen is one of the crew members of Artemis II, despite having never traveled to space. Canada has not participated in the technological development of the mission. Europe, on the other hand, has provided the engine system that has propelled the four astronauts towards our satellite. Even so, little mention has been made of ESA’s important contribution during the development of Artemis II. Why China. A long time ago, China stopped being an emerging space power and became one of the most consolidated on the current scene. With its Tiangong Space Station Located in low orbit, it is the only facility of its kind besides the International Space Station. Its lunar mission has great relevance thanks to the exploration of the Chang’e unmanned missions. Besides, hopes to take its own taikonauts (as Chinese astronauts are known) to the satellite in 2030. Its exploration on Mars is also important thanks to rovers like Zhurong. Tiangong Low hours for NASA? Donald Trump’s government wants to make drastic cuts to science with public investment in the United States and possibly NASA will not escape. Therefore, it may be a good time to seek other support in the space race, as ESA is already doing with SMILE. That does not mean that it will stop collaborating with NASA, but it is true that it is open to exploring new partners. If there is one thing that history has taught us, it is that the best way to advance in the space race is to put egos aside and move forward as a team. Closing yourself off only to a traveling companion can end up being counterproductive. Images | ESA | Shujianyang In Xataka | Astronauts’ food is not appetizing at first, especially in China

In three months of 2026 he has earned more than in all of 2025

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There are brands that are part of our routine almost without us realizing it. Samsung is one of them. For many, it is the cell phone we carry in our pocket, the television in the living room or that appliance we use every day. Therefore, when we look at what is happening with the company in the first months of this year, the surprise is inevitable. In a context where a good part of the technology industry deals with rising costs and certain instability, Samsung is projecting results that have significantly exceeded forecasts. And this is where the story is truly understood. This mismatch with the more restrained tone that a good part of the sector carries is not coincidental, and the data helps put it in context. We are not just talking about an impression, but something that is clearly seen. As soon as we stop to look at the numbers calmly, the picture changes and what is happening with Samsung these days begins to make sense. The rise of artificial intelligence has clear winners and Samsung is one of them The South Korean giant estimates that its operating profit in the first quarter of 2026 could be around 57.2 trillion won, about 37.9 billion dollars, compared to 6.69 trillion won (4.525 million dollars) recorded in the same period of the previous year. The figure exceeds the 43.6 trillion won that the company obtained in all of 2025, which implies that In just three months he has earned more than in the entire previous year. In parallel, revenue would also advance strongly with growth of nearly 70% year-on-year, and above 100 trillion won in a single quarter for the first time. The impressive jump in Samsung’s profit in 2026 after several years of ups and downs | Graphic: Xataka | Source: Samsung/Blooomberg It is important to understand well what we are talking about. Operating profit measures how much a company earns from its core business, before taxes, interest and other financial factors. That is, it gives us a pretty clean idea of ​​how the business itself is working. It is not the same as the net profit, which does include all those adjustments and is the final figure. In the case of Samsung, these data are still preliminary: the company will publish its complete results, with the breakdown by divisions, on April 30. But it’s not enough to look at the accounts, you also have to look at the business. Samsung not only sells devices, it is also one of the largest memory manufacturers in the world, an essential piece in any technological infrastructure. And this is where the story changes scale: a good part of that memory does not end up in cell phones or televisionsbut on servers and data centers that support AI services. It is a business that is less visible to the general public, but much more decisive at this time. What we are seeing, in reality, is the direct impact of that other Samsung, the one that operates at the base of the current technological revolution. The key is to understand that production capacity is limited. As Micron explained a few months agomanufacturers cannot multiply their production from one day to the next, so they have to prioritize. And right now a good part of the industry is directing its resources towards AI. The systems that make it possible need large amounts of advanced memory, especially HBM, and that has pushed manufacturers to focus on that segment. It is not only a technical issue, but also an economic one, because these chips offer better margins and much more intense demand. The side effect appears immediately. If an increasing part of the capacity is dedicated to that advanced memory, other products take a backseat and supply becomes strained. That is exactly what is happening with DRAM, one of the most widespread types of memory in consumer electronics. According to Citigroup, quoted by Bloomberg, its global average price rose by 64% in the first quarter compared to the previous one. The consequence is direct: manufacturing mobile phones, computers and other equipment becomes more expensivewhich puts pressure on margins and forces us to review costs, configurations or prices. It is not worth losing sight of the fact that Samsung is a South Korean company, and that is more important than it seems. We are talking about the largest company in the country and one of the best reflections of the technological muscle that South Korea has built around semiconductors. In addition, it does not play alone: ​​it competes in the same league as other large memory manufacturers such as SK Hynix, also South Korean, and Micron, in the United States. A good part of the memory used by the world is shared between these actors, which turns their decisions into something that goes far beyond their own accounts. If we think about it for a moment, it makes a lot of sense. All of this AI fever is being built on top of data centers filled with very specific hardware. NVIDIA is the clearest example, because its chips are at the center of that infrastructure and have captured much of the attention. But those systems don’t work alone. In order to train models and operating on a large scale require enormous amounts of memory, and that’s where Samsung fits. It does not occupy the symbolic place that NVIDIA has today, but it does benefit from the same wave of investment from a less visible and, as we have seen, very profitable position. Images | Xataka with Bano Bana | Samsung In Xataka | Europe cannot be a “technological vassal of the United States”, and the CEO of Mistral is clear about the path

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