The Indian Cabinet recently approved four important space missions, marking a major step forward in India’s space exploration journey. These missions aim to boost India’s position in space research and technology, highlighting the country’s dedication to advancing its space capabilities and playing a key role in global space exploration efforts. The approved missions include Chandrayaan-4, the Venus Orbiter Mission, the creation of the Bharatiya Antariksha Station, and the Gaganyaan follow-up programme. Each mission comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities, and their success will depend on advanced technology, skilled expertise, and considerable financial support.

Foremost among them is the Chandrayaan-4 which is India’s next leap towards lunar exploration. Chandrayaan-4 is set to be a ground-breaking mission for India, focusing on collecting samples from the Moon and returning them to Earth. This mission, with an impressive budget of Rs 2,104.06 crore, builds upon the success of Chandrayaan-3, which proved India’s capability to land on the Moon. Now, Chandrayaan-4 aims to deepen our understanding of the Moon’s composition and geological history.

The primary objective of Chandrayaan-4 is to gather and analyse soil and rock samples from the lunar surface. These samples will provide valuable insights into the Moon’s structure and evolution, offering scientists a better understanding of its formation and the processes that have shaped it over billions of years.

“The mission is not without its challenges. A precise lunar landing is essential to ensure the spacecraft touches down safely in the targeted region. Additionally, efficient sample collection and the safe return of these samples to Earth are critical. These operations will demand high levels of precision and advanced technology to be successfully executed. To achieve its goals, Chandrayaan-4 will utilise advanced robotics and autonomous systems, which will allow the spacecraft to navigate the lunar surface and collect samples efficiently. A sophisticated heat shield will also be crucial to protect the spacecraft from the intense heat generated during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere,” explained space expert Girish Linganna.

Chandrayaan-4 is more than just a sample return mission; it is a key stepping stone for India’s ambitious goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2040. Scheduled to launch in 2027, the mission will serve as a critical testing ground for technologies essential to crewed lunar missions. The mission will involve five modules launched in two separate phases, demonstrating ISRO’s innovative approach to handling complex space operations. These modules will work in tandem to collect lunar samples and return them to Earth—a feat previously achieved by only a few countries, including the United States and China.

“Chandrayaan-4 will test important capabilities, such as docking and undocking in lunar orbit, precision landings, and ensuring safe re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere. These technologies are vital for future crewed missions and will lay the groundwork for India’s eventual human moon landings,” remarked Linganna.

ISRO Chairman S. Somanath highlighted the mission’s importance, stating, “Chandrayaan-4 is not just about bringing back Moon rocks; it’s about demonstrating our capability to send humans to the Moon and safely return them. This mission represents a significant leap forward in India’s space ambitions, bringing the nation closer to achieving its goal of a human presence on the Moon.

Similarly the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) is set to launch in March 2028, with a budget of Rs 1,236 crore, recently approved by the Union Cabinet. This will be India’s second interplanetary mission, following the successful Mars Orbiter Mission, which was launched in 2013 and entered Mars’ orbit in 2014. The VOM aims to study Venus in detail, focusing on its surface features, clouds, lightning, volcanic activity, atmosphere, and how the Sun interacts with the planet. Scientists are particularly interested in understanding why Venus, once thought to be similar to Earth and possibly habitable, underwent such a drastic transformation.

This mission is expected to provide valuable answers to long-standing questions about Venus, shedding light on its evolution and contributing to important scientific discoveries. Out of the total budget of Rs 1,236 crore for the Venus Orbiter Mission, around Rs 824 crore will be allocated to the development of the spacecraft. ISRO will be in charge of designing and launching the spacecraft, ensuring the project is managed efficiently through their well-established procedures.

Various industries will be involved in building the spacecraft and launch vehicle, which is expected to create significant employment opportunities and have positive effects on other sectors through technological advancements.

The data collected from the mission will be shared with the scientific community using existing systems. Additionally, this mission will prepare India for future planetary missions that can carry larger scientific instruments.

“The Venus mission is highly intriguing but is expected to be one of the most difficult tasks ISRO has ever taken on. Venus is an extremely hostile planet, with its atmosphere mostly made up of carbon dioxide, resulting in scorching surface temperatures. Due to a strong greenhouse effect, temperatures can soar up to 870°F (470°C)—hot enough to melt lead. The planet’s surface is dotted with numerous volcanoes, many of which are dormant, though some could still be active. Adding to the challenge, Venus has an extremely high surface air pressure, about 90 times greater than what we experience at sea level on Earth,” pointed out Linganna.

Another major space mission is making significant strides in space exploration with its ambitious plan to build the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS-1), the country’s first space station module. The Indian government has officially approved the construction of this module, which has been integrated into the expanded Gaganyaan mission. This crucial decision sets India on a path to operate its own space station by 2035 and also opens the door for a manned Moon mission by 2040.

The Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) aims to create India’s very own space station, which will orbit 400 km above the Earth’s surface. Weighing 52 tonnes, this massive structure will act as a research hub where Indian astronauts and scientists can carry out experiments in areas like microgravity, astronomy, and Earth observation. The station will also allow astronauts to stay in orbit for periods of 15 to 20 days.

The Gaganyaan mission, originally designed for human spaceflight, has now been expanded to include eight missions, all to be completed by December 2028. This expansion covers not only additional uncrewed missions but also the launch of the BAS-1 unit, alongside the necessary hardware to support long-term human spaceflight activities.

With the updated scope, the overall budget for the Gaganyaan programme has risen to Rs 20,193 crore, with an additional Rs 11,170 crore allocated specifically for the expanded scope. This substantial financial investment underscores India’s growing ambition to become a major player in space exploration.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will spearhead the project, working in collaboration with industry partners, educational institutions, and various government agencies. The focus of the programme is to develop and demonstrate key technologies needed for extended human space missions. Four missions are planned under the current Gaganyaan schedule by 2026, followed by the construction of the BAS-1 module. Another four missions dedicated to technology demonstration and validation will be completed by 2028.

The Bharatiya Antariksha Station will play a pivotal role in advancing scientific research in microgravity, leading to breakthroughs that could benefit various sectors on Earth. The mission is also expected to create numerous job opportunities in high-tech fields related to space and technology.

Moreover, this initiative is poised to inspire a new generation of young Indians to pursue careers in science and technology. The innovations developed during this mission will have far-reaching societal benefits, further establishing India as a leader in space exploration and scientific discovery.

The fourth mission approved by the Union Cabinet focuses on the development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV). This new launch vehicle will be designed to carry heavier payloads, be cost-effective, and reusable, with the potential to be commercially successful. According to the government, the NGLV will have three times the payload capacity of the current LVM-3, while only costing 1.5 times more. Its reusability will help lower the cost of accessing space, and it will feature modular green propulsion systems. A total of Rs 8,240 crore has been approved for the NGLV, covering development costs, three test flights, the setup of necessary facilities, programme management, and the launch campaign.

According to the government, the NGLV will strengthen India’s ability to carry out a variety of space missions, such as human spaceflight, lunar exploration, and satellite launches. This will greatly enhance the country’s space programme and overall space ecosystem.

SpaceX’s Crew-8 members are finally on their way home after spending nearly eight months at the International Space Station (ISS).

The crew members were supposed to depart the ISS several weeks ago but poor weather conditions at the splashdown site off the coast of Florida prompted mission planners to delay the homecoming. Prior to that, delays to departure were caused by measures to deal with Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft, which was docked at the station over the summer.

The Crew Dragon Endeavour carrying NASA astronauts, Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, undocked from the space station at 5:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday about 260 miles above Earth. They’re expected to splash down at around 3:30 a.m. ET on Friday. NASA will livestream the homecoming on NASA+.

The mission was originally supposed to last about six months, but the extra time in space saw Crew-8’s Crew Dragon Endeavour set a new record for time spent in orbit: 232 days.

Before this, the Crew-2 mission in 2021 held the record for the longest duration in orbit for a Crew Dragon capsule. It was actually achieved by the same vehicle, Endeavour, which stayed at the station for 197 days.

Crew-8 is undocking after spending 232 days docked to the space station – the longest mission Dragon has spent on-orbit to-date

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 23, 2024

Crew-8 rode a Falcon 9 rocket to orbit in a launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 4, 2024.

During their time in orbit, the crew members carried out science research in microgravity conditions. Dominick also earned a reputation as an ace space photographer, sharing some stunning images on his social media account during his time in orbit.

To close out the Snapdragon Summit this week, Qualcomm held a benchmarking session for the new chipset. Showing just how confident they are with the new 2nd generation Oryon CPU. And boy, it did not disappoint.

We were given about an hour or so to benchmark a reference design device and run all sorts of benchmarks. We mostly ran benchmarks that we use in our reviews, this way we can compare it to many other chipsets over the past year, like the A18 Pro, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, MediaTek Dimensity 9300, etc. The results were surprising, but they were also not surprising.

Qualcomm has a reference device here at Snapdragon Summit, which we’ll call the “Snapdragon 8 Elite QRD” moving forward. This device of course has the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside, it also has 24GB of LPDDR5x RAM up to 4.8Gbps, 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage and a 6.8-inch WFHD+ 144Hz AMOLED display. It also has a fairly small battery, but this isn’t meant to show off the battery life – it’s only 4,167mAh.

Geekbench 6

Let’s start off with Geekbench 6. As you likely know, Geekbench 6 tests the raw performance of the CPU and GPU, including both single- and multi-core. It’s a really good test to gauge just how powerful the device is, and here’s the results:

• Single-core: 3,220
• Multi-core: 10,415
• GPU: 17,867

These are pretty insane numbers, which actually beat Apple’s latest and greatest, at least on the CPU side. Apple is still doing some crazy stuff with their CPUs. Here’s how it compares to the Galaxy S24 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy), Apple iPhone 16 Pro (A18 Pro), Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra (MediaTek Dimensity 9300), and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL (Tensor G4).

On the single core, these scores break down as:

• Snapdragon 8 Elite QRD: 3,220
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 2,176
• Apple iPhone 16 Pro: 2,981
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra: 2,191
• Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: 1,947

On the multi-core score, these scores are:

• Snapdragon 8 Elite QRD: 10,415
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 6,567
• Apple iPhone 16 Pro: 7,939
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra: 7,358
• Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: 4,654

And finally on the GPU test, these scores are:

• Snapdragon 8 Elite QRD: 17,867
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 11,414
• Apple iPhone 16 Pro: 32,846
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra: 12,204
• Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: 6,464

As you can tell, Apple still has a health margin on the GPU, but then again the iPhone does have console-quality games running on their chipsets. So, that score is definitely what you’d expect to see from an Apple chipset. When comparing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to the new Snapdragon 8 Elite, we’re seeing about a 37% increase year-over-year. That is pretty much unheard of in the world of processors, but definitely good to see.

3D Mark Extreme Stress Test

This is another test that we run quite a bit on our review devices, so we can do a good job of showing how it compares to other devices on the market today.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite QRD scored a 7,121 in the 3D Mark Extreme Stress Test. Now we do tend to measure the thermals with this test, but since the QRD is not designed for dissipating heat, it would be kind of unfair. So we’ll have to save that for a device that launches with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which will be as soon as next week.

Compared to other chipsets, this really blows everything out of the water.

• Snapdragon 8 Elite QRD: 7,121
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 4,376
• Apple iPhone 16 Pro: 3,976
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra: 5,352
• Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: 2,565

That’s nearly double what the A18 Pro could do, about 39% faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and almost triple what the Tensor G4 has done in our testing. This is expected, as the Tensor G4 is not built for speed but for AI.

AnTuTu

The last test we ran, we don’t typically do on our reviews, but we did have a few devices with different chipsets here in Maui with us to do the testing here. So here’s how it broke down.

• Snapdragon 8 Elite QRD: 3,035,115
• Xiaomi 14 Ultra: 1,771,035
• Apple iPhone 16 Pro: 1,657,579
• Samsung Galaxy S10 Ultra: 2,038,129
• Google Pixel 9 Pro XL: 1,187,754

This means that on AnTuTu, the Snapdragon 8 Elite has over a million-point lead on every single processor here. And it nearly triples what the Tensor G4 did, which is not surprising in the least.

There’s a new king in the world of mobile devices, and anything powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite is going to have incredible performance.

One of Tesla’s biggest downsides has always been the upfront cost of its electric vehicles versus gas models. The cheapest car it currently sells is $42,490 before subsidies, and the average starting price of its 2024 models is just over $63,000.

Tesla wrote in its that it’s making “preparations” to offer new vehicles with “more affordable models.” The EV maker’s cost of goods sold per vehicle also came down to “its lowest level ever” at $35,1000.

“Plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025,” the report reads. “These vehicles will utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up.”

Tesla also says it plans to “begin launching” its cheaper EV models “in the first half of 2025.” That wording is still fairly loose, so there’s no guarantee that a new model will ship the same year.

The other surprise in Tesla’s report came from the numbers. It turns out that despite setbacks like the and a federal investigation into its , Tesla had a fairly robust third quarter. The carmaker’s net income rose by 8 percent to $2.51 billion and sales rose by 2 percent year-over-year. The news also ends its four-quarter streak of .

Livewire, a marketing company, recently put out its new study that examined how the next generation of consumers expect brands to market to them. This “Next-Gen Attention Study” revealed that Gens Z and Alpha expect entirely new strategies from brands: Namely, they expect to be advertised to in-game. And not just in-game, either — they expect brands to meet them in-game authentically, with experiences. Livewire’s own platform offers insights on this “attention economy” and how brands can effectively engage with a young audience with changing needs and wants.

The study, which includes data from 1,801 gamers across the UK, U.S. and Australia, shows that 76% of Gen Alpha gamers surveyed expressed enjoyment for branded moments in game — which can include things such as custom-built worlds and experiences or cosmetics such as character skins — as opposed to 49% of millennials (54% of Gen Z gamers expressed the same enjoyment). Elsewhere in the report, 73% of Gen Alpha gamers said they preferred playable experiences over video ads, and 58% said they found immersion to be part of the enjoyment of gaming and in-game advertising.

GamesBeat spoke with Tom Simpson, Livewire’s CEO, about the changes in marketing across generations — and the disruption that the gaming era has brought: “You’ve got to show up in these gaming environments, which is sort of table stakes, isn’t it? You’ve got to put your message where the audience is. But actually that fundamental kind of communication experience and expectation changes the way that the next gen expects brands to talk to them, to engage with them, to show up for them, It’s completely different to how it been before, and just bringing your video over is not enough.”

The next generation’s expectations

Livewire recently launched in the North American market, bringing its “next-gen attention platform” to the new audience alongside Australia. Simpson said in a statement at the time of the expansion, “As we build the next-gen attention platform, we’re focused on harnessing the power of gaming to connect with Gen Z and Alpha, who are fundamentally reshaping the advertising landscape. Our approach is to create immersive, interactive experiences that capture and sustain their attention, positioning brands at the forefront of this dynamic new era.”

The major difference that Gens Z and Alpha have over Millennials, says Simpson, is that they (and Alpha especially) expect brands to meet them where they are — and where they are is in games such as Fortnite and Roblox. Roblox recently opened its immersive ads experience to all brands, and Enrico D’Angelo, Roblox VP of economy told GamesBeat at the time that this was a great way for advertisers to connect with a “highly coveted audience like Gen Z.”

Simpson conceded that it may take some time for brands to fully understand the next-gen audience and how different they are. “Their heads are different because their heads were formed in this environment, and that because their heads were formed in this environment, the way that you got to talk to them is completely different to what to the way that you talked to them previously, and that that fundamental unit of marketing attention is being disrupted… It’s almost an expectation of the next-gen is that brands are there, and they see huge advantages in it, because brands often bring fun things for them to do.”

But while the audience is ready, Simpson notes that it’s also on games companies to work with advertisers. “Brands talk a particular language and have particular expectations. And those are things that the gaming industry, honestly, often just doesn’t understand and, historically, hasn’t cared about. But consumers are there and they want it, so you’ve got to evolve your offering… Expectations for quality of content are high. Consumers expect experiences that are amazing and inspirational and are as good as any other experience they might participate in. If you don’t make it as good as other games, they’ll go and play those other games.”

New parental controls and insights are coming soon

Dear parent,

We’ve been working on a series of important changes that we’ll be making to your child’s account, ____________, next month.

About Roblox accounts with parent privileges

Next month, we’re changing the way parents manage their child’s experience on Roblox by introducing Roblox accounts with parent privileges. After linking your account to your child’s, parents can view and update parental controls for their child all from their own device. Parents also get access to insights about their child’s Roblox usage, such as their daily screen time and on-platform friends.

Given these changes, starting next month, parents will no longer be able to set a parent PIN, use Account Restrictions, or receive account-related notifications to their parental email. Instead, you will need to use an account with parent privileges. Existing verified parental emails on child accounts will continue to be used for account recovery. Any settings previously set using a parent PIN will not change, but you will need an account with parent privileges to make updates going forward.

As always, if users are interested in an added layer of security on their account, you can set up 2-factor authentication.

Updated content maturity settings

As we shared with the community in July, to help provide parents and users more clarity into the types of content available on Roblox, we’ll soon begin labeling experiences based on the type of content users can expect in an experience, rather than by age. Experience Guidelines will be renamed Content Labels, and you’ll be able to set limits on the type of content accessible to your child through the content maturity setting in parental controls.

New default settings for users under the age of 13

As part of Roblox’s commitment to safety, we are also updating certain default settings for our youngest users. Starting next month, users under the age of 13 will need parent permission to access certain chat features. Users under the age of 9 will also need parent permission to access experiences with content maturity “Moderate,” which may contain things like moderate violence or moderate crude humor.

Your child’s settings will be updated when they reach certain ages, if you and your child haven’t previously made changes to them. You and your child will be notified of these updates in advance.

We will share more information on these setting updates when the changes go into effect next month.

Next steps

To continue receiving notifications about your child’s account related to spending or other important activity, you’ll need to set up a Roblox account with parent privileges and link to your child’s account. When these changes take effect, your child will receive a notification inviting them to add a linked parent account, and we’ll send you an email with instructions.

Since day one, Roblox has been committed to building safety features and tools into the design of our products. We will always continue to explore different ways to update our parental controls to make them even more useful for parents.

Roblox