NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission was once a bold dream to scoop up Martian dirt and bring it back to Earth, but it slammed into a brick wall due to skyrocketing costs nearing $11 billion. Lockheed Martin, an aerospace heavyweight with 50 years of Mars know-how, has unveiled a new budget-friendly plan that cuts the price to under $3 billion.
Hunting for an audio version of that rare book from your local bookstore can feel like chasing a shadow. Meet PageParrot, a brilliant DIY creation by Nick Bild that turns any physical book into an audiobook in seconds.
Konami’s Silent Hill f broke through the mist at Anime Expo 2025, held in Los Angeles from July 3 to July 6, with a panel that gave fans goosebumps. A sneaky in-engine cinematic trailer, filmed by an attendee despite a no-cameras rule, gave a spine-chilling peek into this psychological horror comeback. Slated to hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on September 25, 2025, the game’s ready to drag players into a haunting story set in 1960s Japan.
Jumping into the jam-packed world of dash cams, the VIOFO Dash Cam A119 Mini 2 is a little dynamo that delivers big-time value for its price. This compact device boasts a STARVIS 2 IMX675 image sensor, grabbing super-clear footage whether it’s bright daylight or pitch-dark night.
Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, has always been a grueling test of human grit, where climbers push their bodies against thin air and punishing conditions. Now, DJI, the king of consumer drones, has dropped a jaw-dropping video of the Mavic 4 Pro drone soaring in one unbroken shot from the North Col Glacier at 6,500 meters to 8,800 meters, just a stone’s throw from Everest’s summit.
Photo credit: University of Queensland
An unassuming darkling beetle hustles over a messy pile of rubble inside a lab at the University of Queensland, sporting a tiny microchip backpack. Researchers are actually steering this beetle, called “ZoBorg”, with a video game controller.
Photo credit: Makerworld
DirkMcGirk’s latest project, the Cheese Plate Keyboard, is basically a mechanical keyboard dressed up as a cheese board. Spotted on MakerWorld, this 3D-printed gem turns a regular keyboard into a charcuterie-inspired work of art. Each key looks like a slice of cheese, complete with Swiss-style holes that riff on Rob Meyerson’s Swiss Cheese Mono font.
Stepping into the world of tiny yet mighty computers, the GMKtec NucBox M7 stands out as a real gem, especially if you’re a fan of the Mac Mini’s sleek, compact form factor. This mini PC, powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (*title fixed) with 8 cores and 16 threads cranking up to 4.7GHz, packs a serious punch that can go toe-to-toe with rigs costing double. It’s a pint-sized powerhouse that fits snugly next to your monitor.
Fairphone’s carved out its own space in a world obsessed with shiny, disposable tech, and the Fairphone 6 brings a modular design that’s as practical as it is forward-looking. Scoring a perfect 10/10 for repairability from iFixit, this phone is proof of Fairphone’s mission to build devices that stick around for the long haul.