Mobile Tech & Gadgets

The megabattery that aspires to alleviate the drought of the island in full controversy

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90% of the territory of Gran Canaria will present a high or very high risk of desertification, with increasingly frequent calimas and droughts, According to the Foresta Foundation. In response to this situation, 14 years ago, the Electricity of Spain, with the support of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, initiated the construction of a project that will supply water and electricity, although not without controversy. The initiative. El Salto de Chira It is a hydroelectric plant of reversible pumping in southwest Gran Canaria, which will use the dams of Chira and Soria. The project consists of a renewable energy storage megabattery and also wants to ensure water supply in the area. The plant, which is still being built (40%), has a budget of 391 million euros. In addition, it has the support of the European Investment Bank and the Government of Spain. It will be ready in 2027. The central will become a 200 MW megabattery with storage capacity of up to 18 hours, According to eldiario.es. In addition, the project includes a desalination company that will supply water to the system and allow pumping between dams, taking advantage of the excess renewable energy in low demand hours and improving the insular electrical system. A very long management. More than a decade to claim that everything works correctly due to the technical complexity of building a reversible hydroelectric plant, as has happened in Galicia, and this is in turn linked to a desalination company, so planning and execution advance at a slower pace. On the other hand, permits and authorizations have been a long process due to environmental impact studies and public consultations. In addition, the logistics difficulty derived from the steep terrain of the island is added. However, a neighborhood group by Barranquillo Andrés and Soria Guapil has declared In the country that 90% of the neighbors support the work for the positive impact on local agriculture and livestock. Also, the Bentorey association has recognized in the same medium the discomfort, instead they positively value the project for its impact on the water supply. There is a rejection. In face B of the matter, various environmental organizations and technical voices have expressed their rejection. The Ecologist Turcón collective They have considered That the central is energetically inefficient, when requiring the desalination and pumping of water from the sea to high areas, which implies a high energy expenditure and a considerable environmental impact. In addition, they have criticized that it is promoted as a clean energy initiative when, in their opinion, it is rather a storage infrastructure that depends on a privatized energy model and controlled by large corporations such as Naturgy or Iberdrola. Other controversies in the islands. Although El Hierro Island can be set as an example of the future of energy self -sufficiency through renewable energies, a couple of months ago jumped to the press that depended on diesel to meet its energy demand. Therefore, it is important that they continue to carry out energy storage projects if you want to achieve a system of renewable with intermittent energies. Forecasts According to the province, the works They are underway with four kilometers of the planned tunnels already executed and the desalination and the completed electricity line. It is expected that, throughout 2025, water discharges will begin in the reservoirs of Chira and Soria, marking a milestone in the execution of the project. Image | Unspash Xataka | A cave in Galicia will be a new energy warehouse: a 1,800 MW macroproject without the need for new reservoirs

The olive oil campaign is doing so well that Spanish olivers have already lost 270 million euros

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At the end of January, the Almazares de Middle Country They were working 24 hours a day and were direct to triple the amounts of olive last year. It seemed good news. Moreover, after years of drought, it was excellent news. But, As we warnedcould become a problem. Well, it is already becoming a problem. But how will it be a problem? I recognize that it may seem paradoxical. We carry several campaigns in which the big problem is that There were no olives. That shot prices, yes: but hardly compensated for the different links in the production chain. It is no coincidence that the world’s largest olive oil company lost 34 million euros only in 2023. Now there are olives. The problem is that there are too many and that the sector is in such a weak state, that it has not been able to contain the price drop. There the complications begin. Have prices fallen so much? At consumer level, not so much. But originally the situation has been very down. To get an idea, According to data from the Information and Food Control Agencyonly in March, “135,000 tons have been marketed (including imports) to an average of 3.62 euros in all categories.” The amount is important, yes. Above all, because (Docked by international trade problems) We have reached a rhythm that can be at risk of the campaign link: reserves that allow stabilizing the price throughout the year. That is, it is important. But the key is the price. What can we learn from the price? Historically, the line of the traditional dry land olive tree I was around four euros. It is true that the irruption of the irrigation olive tree and the New superintenive varieties They make many profitable farms at lower prices, but the bulk of the Spanish oil Keep from dry. And that dry land has been the worst the crisis of recent years. The current price drop in origin puts it in a very complicated situation. A complication of 270 million euros. In that amount, the UPA Secretary General Andalusia, Jesús Cózar, the dimension of the problem. “The olive groves have stopped receiving 270 million euros in the month of March, or what is the same, more than 8 million daily, due to the current situation of ruin prices at origin,” explained. Your complaint is debatable, but makes sense. Because, indeed, “There are no objective reasons that justify this bearish trend of prices at origin.” Taking into account current reserves, technically speaking the price would have to be superior: oil is coming out at a rate that is not sustainable. And that is what worries the producers. Knowing that in normal circumstances, the olive would have to sell almost two euros more expensive and, in this way, the 2024-2025 campaign would have been a revulsion. Right now is just another year of agony. Image | MILTOF | Pom ‘ In Xataka | Right now there are thousands and thousands of tons of olive oil embarking on the United States

Despite not having stock a while ago, you can get the record reader for PS5 for less than 80 euros

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If at the time you opted for the PS5 Slim Digital to save you a few euros but, over time, you have realized that you like physical games and that you even want to take advantage of some you had at home, there is an accessory that solves this problem. This is the DISCAL DISK UNIT FOR DIGITAL PS5 (that even exhausted after the presentation of the new Ps5 pro). Now, you can get said reader at a good price, since it is reduced to 79.99 euros In Fnac. Disco unit for PS5® Digital Edition (Slim Model Group) * Some price may have changed from the last review An essential accessory that will be exhausted at this price This reader serves all versions of PS5 Digital (both the Slim and the PRO, which is the last launch of Sony). If you have bought this console and then you have regretted by Do not have record readerthis is the gadget you need. Installing the record reader is very simple. You just have to attach it to the console and when you start the console, you will have to enter your data from PlayStation Network. Of course, you must keep in mind that, to be able to match the album to your Digital PS5, You will need an Internet connection. In addition to being able to play physical games, this Sony reader will help you to watch movies in Blu-ray and DVD. The design of this Sony accessory is Very minimalist and follow the line of the console itself and is available blank with matte finish. Some games for PS5 that may interest you Assassin’s Creed Shadows Limited Edition (exclusive to Amazon.es) (PS5) * Some price may have changed from the last review Split Fiction PS5 | Video games | Castilian * Some price may have changed from the last review Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Images | Freepik and Sony In Xataka | PlayStation 5 Pro vs PlayStation 5: These are all the differences between the two Sony consoles In Xataka | Two years ago I bought a PS5. I wish someone would have told me that I also needed these accessories

The startup of ia of one of Openai’s co -founders has no product. Even so it is valued at 32,000 million dollars

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Promises and expectations can use a fortune. It is the only thing that justifies that a startup of which nothing is known It is worth good 32,000 million dollars. That is more than eBay, Endesa or Hyundai, but with the difference that these companies have been working for years and even decades to achieve that figure. But we are in the AI ​​era, and here, we insist, promises and expectations are worth a lot. There is not much more than right now it seems to offer Safe Superintelligence (SSI), the startup of Ia co -founded by Ilya Sutskever, who was already confused of OpenAi and abandoned his ranks less than a year ago. According to Financial TimesSutskever has managed to lift a financing round of 2,000 million dollars for its startup, which makes the assessment of the same ascend to those mentioned 32,000 million dollars. The figure is also surprising because the economic moment we live, with tariffs threatening everything, precisely raises an important brake on investment. In September SSI He already lifted $ 1 billion and that made its valuation out of 5,000 million. That figure has multiplied by six, which seems to make it clear that they have something striking in hand. In An interview Last year Sutksver raised an AI with “nuclear safety”clarifying that “no matter how safe we ​​mean as when we talk about nuclear safety, as opposed to safe when we talk about” trust and security “”. In a later interview in September this engineer and entrepreneur indicated that he and his team had “identified a new mountain to climb and that it is something different from what I previously worked on.” Sources close to SSI have indicated that the company works in very special ways to develop and climb AI models. If true The milestone would certainly be intriguingespecially now that it is criticized that climbing – more gpus and more data to train AI models— It no longer provides such striking improvements. Be that as it may, the former OpenAi employees are apparently very well after having left the company. We have another example in Look Muratiwhich has also launched a call startup Thinking Machines Lab. He is also working to raise an important investment round … and also does it without having any product to show. So are these times. Image | OpenAI In Xataka | There are too many AI models. That raises a true death sentence for Anthropic and Claude

LaLiga breaks with mediopro. Production passes to Telefónica and a Swiss giant who comes from retransmitting world

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LaLiga has closed the contest to renew its audiovisual production and has done so marking distances: Mediapro disappears after decades to the front, and enters strong HBS (Host Broadcast Services), which takes three of the five blocks offered. This Swiss company is the new person in charge of showing the world the first and second division matches during the next five seasons, which at least until 2027 will continue to be broadcast in Spain by Movistar and Dazn. This affects production. Why is it important. Production is no longer an addition, it is part of the product. In an industry that competes for global attention, how football looks is almost as important as the game itself. And LaLiga, which in this sense has been winning for years, wants to play in the same league as the Premier and the Champions. The backdrop. HBS is not new in this. It has been producing all soccer World Cups since 2002, and has worked in Champions, Eurocups and Olympic Games. His arrival in LaLiga is marked by the technical and quality approach to retransmissions, with a commitment to international standards and centralization of key services. In detail: HBS will be in charge of the production of LaLiga EA Sports and LaLiga Hypermotion (1st and 2nd division) parties, in addition to technical and centralized services. TSA (Telefónica Audiovisual Services) will deal with the contribution and distribution block, that is, to bring these signals to national and international operators. Mediapro is out of the scheme after years being the main supplier. Telefónica, which already distributes LaLiga and European competitions, reinforces its position as a sports technical infrastructure, in turn part of Its strategy of being less and less telecus and more technological. He is not the protagonist, but a key part of the ecosystem that holds the viewer’s experience. Yes, but. One of the five blocks has been deserted: the content creation. LaLiga reserves that space to integrate it with other contracts. Perhaps for wanting to have more control and flexibility about the narrative that surrounds its most valuable product. The big question. Why now? The change is part of a new stage for LaLiga: greater control, greater international projection And an answer to criticism – as those of Real Madrid– On the editorial approach of retransmissions. In fact, six years ago The White Club already broke with Midopro For these same criticisms. In Xataka | There are people paying $ 100 to see basketball matches in the cinema. The immersion is amazing Outstanding image | LaLiga

promises to manufacture up to half a billion dollars in AI products in the US

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Nvidia has announced an ambitious plan to manufacture artificial intelligence infrastructure (AI) in the United States by value of up to 500,000 million dollars during the next four years. The initiative includes the production of Blackwell Chips in Phoenix (Arizona), as well as new plants dedicated to assembling their AI superorders in Texas. The company will also have facilities in Houston and Dallas. It provides that mass production in plants take off within between 12 and 15 months. Now, the announcement arrives at a delicate time, marked by the commercial war promoted by the administration of Donald Trump that, Despite a temporary exemptionmaintains the focus on semiconductors. Factories in the US, foreign experience. Although Nvidia has not detailed what models of Blackwell chips or AI systems will be involved, it has confirmed with who will carry out this industrial expansion. The company will support weight partners such as TSMC, Foxconn and Spil, three Taiwanese giants, in addition to the American Wistron. Behind this international collaboration is the model Fables that follows Nvidia. The company designs its chips, but does not have its own manufacturing plants. To do this, he trusts specialized manufacturers such as TSMC, a formula that also use other heavyweights of the industry such as AMD, Qualcomm or MediaTek. But after the announcement underlies an uncomfortable reality, especially for the aspirations of technological self -sufficiency pursued by the United States. Large companies in the sector, such as NVIDIA or Apple, continue to depend largely on the production capacity and foreign expertise for the production of most of its products. Taiwanese firms land in the US. Match the level of technological sophistication offered by Taiwan remains a distant goal. Giving up that capacity simply is not a viable option. The alternative, As already begun to glimpse with the Chips Law promoted by the Biden Administrationgoes to attract factories to the US territory. But the deployment has not been simple. TSMC has faced delays due to the difficulty of finding workers willing to assume their demanding work culture. According to Fortunethe 12 -hour days and weekend shifts did not fit the American model, and caused internal tensions and high staff rotation. The plants begin to take off. After months of delays, the first TSMC factory in Arizona has started producing chips for Apple and AMD using the N4 node (5 Nm). It is not its most advanced technology, but marks an important step. The second plant, scheduled for 2028, will work with nodes of 3 Nm and 2 Nm. In the case of Nvidia, the company has confirmed that the production of its Blackwell chips has already begun at the TSMC facilities in Arizona. What is not entirely clear is at what exact point the process is located or if the final packaging is being carried out in the United States or continues depending on shipments to Taiwan. As A ASML points outthere are several processes involved in chips production. Let’s see them in general: Deposition: It starts from an ultrapuro silicon wafer on which very thin layers of different materials are added. These layers form the base of the chip. Fotor resistant coating: The wafer is covered with a photosensitive material that reacts to light and allows to transfer the design of the circuit. Lithography: Ultraviolet light on the resist To draw the chip pattern. This phase defines the size of transistors. Recorded: The exposed areas of the resist To mark the pattern on the wafer. It can be done with gases (dry) or with chemicals (wet). Ionic implantation: The wafer with ions is bombarded to modify its conductivity and form the transistors. Packaging: Chips are cut, place on a substrate with connections and encapsulate with a cover that protects them and helps to dissipate heat. Waiting for advances. Analysts cited by Reuters point that “it is unlikely that Nvidia had transferred its production to the United States of not being for the pressure of the Trump administration.” They add, however, that the announced figure could be an exaggeration, and compare the maneuver as the one performed by Apple when it promised to invest half a billion dollars in the country. Images | Nvidia In Xataka | After strictly regulating AI, the European Union has identified a problem: it has been too European Union

The USA most exclusive golf club spent a fortune to buy the neighborhood. They did not have the resistance of an old woman

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In Augusta, Georgia, where the average value of a house is around $ 125,000, the offers of the most famous golf club in the United States, the Augusta National Golf Clubto residents and owners of the adjoining lands have been much more than generous. The prestigious club that houses the Masters tournament has allocated at least 200 million dollars to the purchase of more than 100 properties, from modest houses to neighborhood shops, with uprights that even quintupled or more the fiscal value of the property. Only A house is brought to the ambitious renewal project. Money and aesthetics. The last week told the Wall Street Journal exclusively. In the last 20 years, the most legendary golf club on the planet has executed one of the most ambitious (and discrete) land acquisition campaigns in the recent history of American sport. The goal was not just to gain physical space. It was also transforming everything that surrounds the club into an extension of its controlled, elegant and exclusive aesthetic. The image of the visitor who is going through a neighborhood of houses for rent, street vendors and cigarette stalls on the way to the perfect grass fields did not fit with the narrative of the “Golf Sanctuary”. Therefore, the club began to Buy the houses and to demolish themturning whole neighborhoods into parking lots and green areas, redrawing even road limits and suffocating any trace of the popular bustle that once surrounded the masters. White cheches. To do this and as we said at the beginning, they have not spared when taking the neighborhood. He WSJ counted Cases such as the Lakemont Presbyterian Church, sold for 1.65 million dollars, or that of Madeleine Liles, who received 1.1 million dollars for the house that his father built in 1953. These cases exemplify a clear pattern: Augusta National does not discuss. Pay. Fast, in cash, and without hesitation. The strategy has generated a Unexpected wealth For many residents, he has strengthened local tax coffers and has silenced much of community resistance. The newspaper explained that the phrase “You know they have the money” has become a mandatory between sellers and local real estate agents. And yet A house He has resisted the “charm” of green. Club entrance A “ordinary” house vs. Empire. Yes, apparently, just a few steps from the legendary club, a 92 -year -old woman, Elizabeth Thackerresists firmly multimillionaires offers that surround her. In a modest house with three bedrooms and a single floor, built in 1956 on a land of 27 hectares, Thacker has lived most of his life, along with his late Husband Herman and his family. The house, located in the Stanley Road 1112in Augusta, Georgia, he has witnessed generations: his children grew up there and also played his grandson as a child, the professional golfer Scott Brown. However, for years, property is also the object of desire for the powerful golf club, which has invested those More than 200 million dollars in expanding its urban domain and converting the surroundings in part of its private infrastructure. The roots value above all. Although the estimated value of the house is of 338,026 dollars (Well above the local average of $ 215,000), Augusta National has presented multiple offers above that figure, all rejected. And not because business has not been done before: the Thacker sold another property to the same institution for 1.2 million dollars. The difference in this case is because the house where Elizabeth still lives is different. It is home to his life, the site where he formed a family and where he still finds meaning and belonging. His late husband made clear in 2017: “Money is not everything.” And that phrase, simple and powerful, seems to summarize the spirit with which the woman has faced one of the most influential sports clubs on the planet. Resistance between demolitions. WSJ counted That Augusta National strategy these two decades has been silent but forceful: buying properties at prices far superior to those of the market, sometimes through limited liability companies with opaque names such as BC Acquisition Co. or WSQ. Many of those acquired homes have already been demolished, replaced by parking areas or empty spaces, ready for future constructions. In fact, right in front of Thacker’s house there is now unfaled land that functions as a parking lot for tournament attendees. Under this context, his looks like an island in the midst of the advance of a tide that buys and transforms everything. The “other” Elizabeth. Next to the old woman, there is another person who has also resisted the offers of the club, although from another perspective. Rebecca Freeman81, he lives nothing from the club par-3 of the club. The woman has also seen how a dozen houses in her street were sold and demolished, and although Augusta National has made her an offer, she was lower than the 500,000 dollars obtained A neighbor, and she, patient and calculator, has decided to wait. No doubt, he plays with an ace in the sleeve: he knows that the club will end up wanting his property and a few others who still stand. “When they are ready to stay with the remaining, the price will rise,” He said to the WSJ. Its logic, like that of others who have resisted, is simple: when a buyer has infinite pockets and an immovable plan, the key is to wait for the right moment. Tenacity as a legacy. In it Thacker case And although many neighbors have already sold, she not only remains, but is still the soul of her house. Your daughter, Robin Thacker Rinder, confirmed the media With pride: “Yes, it’s ours. And yes, mom still lives there. He has an iron will.” That stubbornness, in simple appearance, encloses an act of dignity that challenges the logic of the great transactions. In times where everything seems to have a price, the story of Thacker has become these days a rare reminder that there are decisions that They … Read more

Discounts of up to 415 euros delivering your old mobile

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A few months have passed since Google announced their Pixel 9but a new device was still keeping in the sleeve: Google Pixel 9a. This device comes with a great value for money if we take a quick look at its characteristics, although we can get with it For much less if we buy it at the official Google store. We tell you more about this new promotion. 10 Google applications that could have triumphed The Google Pixel 9a is very cheap if we deliver our old mobile The new Google device can be purchased from 549 euros (In its version with 128 GB of storage), although we can get it for much less in the official store of the company. This promotion, which begins today and takes place until next May 18, is very simple: we can get A refund of up to 415 euros delivering our old phone. This figure will depend on the phone and the status of the same that we deliver. If we welcome this program, we will have a period of 30 days To count since we received the 9a pixel to send our old mobile. Google experts will assess the device and the company will make the corresponding refund depending on their status. This is not the only advantage we have to buy Google’s new phone in the official store. In addition to being able to opt for this reimbursement, We will also receive 25 euros of balance to spend on Google Store. A telephone with a very difficult value for money Google has launched a new phone that is going to give much to talk about this 2025. It is an authentic SUV, also inheriting some key aspects of its older brothers. The most prominent, of course, is in its processor: the Google Tensioner G4, The same one that all other Pixel 9 set up That we already have available. The screen is another of the key points of this new device. It is a 6.3 -inch poed panelthe same size as the Google Pixel 9. This screen, in addition, has a 120 Hz soda rate, is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and has a maximum brightness of 2,700 nits, so we can see it even on stage with a lot of external lighting. In the back we will find ourselves A camera system composed of two sensors: a wide angle of 48 MP (F/1.7, Dual Pixel and OIS) and an ultra wide angle of 13 MP (f/2.2). The front camera in this case is 13 MP, thus forming a photographic system with which we will be able to take good photos in any situation. We leave two of the strengths of the device to the end. One of them is artificial intelligence, since this Pixel 9A has all the best of Gemini. The other is its great durability, since you will receive 7 years of updates. All this makes it a round phone that, despite arriving from 549 euroswe can greatly reduce its price thanks to the promotion that is active in Google Store. Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Images | Google In Xataka | The best mobiles (2025), we have tried them and here are their analysis In Xataka | The best price quality price (2025). Your analysis and videos are here

China has found a solution to tariffs for Amazon sellers in the US. The problem is that it is illegal

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The commercial war between the United States and China can shoot so many prices That the list is, a priori, endless. However, this 145% tariff figure imposed by the Trump administration (later Replicated by Beijing), it affects more products than others, and within that giant on online purchases called Amazon, the problem is much more fat for some vendors than for others. In China they have found a solution, although it does not seem legal. Fraud hidden behind shipments. I told it exclusively Fortune weekend. The rates imposed by the Trump administration of Chinese imports, which have reached such high levels Like that 145% We were talking about, not only have they destabilized great American retailers and sellers In Amazon, but they have also put in check the Chinese manufacturers and distributors who feed those supply chains. In response to this increasingly hostile commercial environment, several Chinese suppliers have begun to offer their US clients a “solution” as simple as illegal: falsify the declared value of imported products to reduce tariff load. It is, without any type of rodeos, a type of customs fraud. Illicit offers in digital tray. The medium lo He explained with examples. In messages sent by email and through the Wechat platform (then obtained by Fortune) at least half a dozen Chinese suppliers explicitly proposed to an American brand of domestic goods with a wide presence on Amazon that Subdeclara The value of its imports. “Many companies in the United States use invoices with minor values ​​to facilitate customs office and reduce rates,” wrote one of them. Another was still More direct: “We can modify the declared value in commercial invoices to help with tariff costs.” These proposals apparently have been frequent and formulated with total normality, as if they were part of the usual treatment. In some cases, suppliers added the option to use the shipping method Delivery Duty Paid (DDP), where the supplier assumes customs management and is responsible for manipulating the declared value of the shipment, thus creating a kind of deliberate barrier between the American seller and customs. Everything, of course, with the aim of relieving the tax burden, but assuming significant legal risks. A mined land for small importers. According to the medium, the founder of the American company involved (which anonymity requested so as not to compromise its usual suppliers) expressed concern that many small companies They can fall In these traps without fully understanding the legal consequences. Such and As he saidone of its suppliers said that this tactic is already common among competitors based on China. It is precisely this type of practices that, according to him, distorts the playing field: Chinese vendors who falsify the value of their shipments not only avoid high tariffs, but also obtain a direct competitive advantage over US vendors who follow the rules. From suspicion to confirmation. Apparently, suspicions about this type of practices are not new. Many American sellers have been complaining that their rivals in China could be Systematically subdeclating The values ​​of your products. Be that as it may, last week the issue exploded within the Amazon sellers community after a Chinese consultant published An entrance to LinkedIn stating that “the declared value of a typical container from China to the United States usually ranges between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars”, a figure that US vendors consider ridiculously low, especially in categories such as “home and garden”, where products such as furniture significantly raise real value. Play within legality. Options under the legal framework? Fortune said that in the face of pressure, some Chinese suppliers have begun to Offer small discounts in wholesale prices as a palliative measure, but that barely touch the surface of the problem. Others mention the possibility of Move production To other countries with lower tariffs, although they recognize that this alternative can only materialize over time. Meanwhile, illegal offers seem to continue on the table. The combination of punitive rates, unfair competition and lack of effective customs supervision has created a scenario where the incentive to the trap overcomes The will to respect the norms. A fraud without punishment. It is the last of the aid legs to explain this type of movements. Impunity seems to be a central ingredient of the crisis. Several American businessmen expressed to Fortune his frustration for the absence of consequences for those who commit customs fraud from China. The control mechanisms do not seem to be prepared to respond with the necessary forcefulness, and each container that enters undervalued represents not only a loss of fiscal income, but also a direct affront to the principle of loyal competition. In other words: the system, as it is, does not seem to punish the cheater. And as long as that does not change, the temptation to cross the line will remain there, in this case, disguised as a simple commercial proposal in an entrance tray. Image | World Bank In Xataka | The tariff war will shoot the price of a component that nobody speaks: the SSD units In Xataka | China responds again to US tariffs and rises to 125%: from here it would be a “joke” to keep climbing

Two atomic watches in space

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The European Space Agency is about to empirically verify one of the most fundamental theories of physics. To try this at home, you will only need an atomic clock and a space station. Three decades of gestation. After 30 years in development, the launch of the ACES INSTALLATION (Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space) is just around the corner. This ambitious ESA project will send a set of atomic watches of very high precision to the International Space Station to measure how gravity affects the passage of time. ACES not only hopes to validate, with unprecedented precision, the effect of the gravitational expansion of time, predicted 100 years ago by Albert Einstein in his theory of general relativity. He also hopes to open the door to new research on fundamental constants and dark matter, in addition to Improve time synchronization global. A little context. According to Einstein’s general relativity, gravity deforms space-time, which has a direct consequence: time goes at different speed depending on the intensity of the gravitational field. Experiments on Earth have already shown that Watches on the top of the mountains (where gravity is slightly lower) they go infinitesimally faster than the watches located at sea level. ACES will take this concept to the extreme. Orbiting 400 km on Earth aboard the ISS, the instrument of ESA will experience a remarkably weaker gravitational field than on the surface. The objective is to create an “atomic watches network” comparing the signals of ACES instruments with the most precise watches on Earth. It will be this comparison that allows measuring temporary dilation more accurately than ever. In addition to ratifying general relativity, ACES will accurately measure the differences in gravitational potential between continents, will verify If the universal constants of physics are constant Over time, and will discover whether dark matter interacts with atomic watches. Two watches better than one. The heart of ACES are two complementary atomic watches with each other. Pharao (Projet d’Onomique atomique French space agency CNES. AND SMH (Space Hydrogen Maser), produced in Switzerland by Safran Time Technologies. Pharao is an atomic cesium clock. Use lasers to cool cesium atoms to almost absolute zero (-273 ° C). This extreme cooling allows incredibly precise time and frequency measurements. Pharao is much more compact than its terrestrial equivalents (which can measure several meters high), since in microgravity, the atoms “float” more time in the interaction zone, without having to launch vertically against gravity. SMH uses hydrogen atoms as a frequency reference. It is an active masier, similar to those used in Galileo navigation satellites, but ten times more stable. It shines for its short -term stability, in periods of up to an hour. Combining this short -term stability with the long -term precision of the Pharao, ACES will offer a time signal with amazing precision, of only a second every 300 million years. Launch by Spacex. After being assembled and subjected to tests at the Airbus facilities, ACES traveled in March 2025 to the NASA Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, where ESA, Airbus and NASA engineers completed the final preparations in a clean room before its launch. The take -off of ACES to the ISS is scheduled for April 21 aboard the CRS-32 repayment missionin a Spacex dragon ship. Once at the orbital station, a robotic arm will install the instrument outside the European Columbus module. It will be operational for 30 months, collecting data continuously. Image | THAT In Xataka | In search of the Interplanetary GPS: NASA projects a space browser with the accuracy of an atomic clock

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