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After a successful call to restore Neil Armstrong’s suit on Kickstarter, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum needs a different kind of help from space fans: your Star Trek photos. “Our prime directive, if you will, is that everything goes back to a primary source.“But not just any photos. The museum is performing some big conservation for the USS Enterprise model for the Boeing Milestones of Flight exhibit. But to bring it back to its state in the late 1960s and early 1970s, they need original fan photos....

Media Platforms Design TeamUPDATE (5:45 EST): We just got back from GM’s West Coast unveiling, where we shot the first live pics of the 2010 Chevy Camaro in yellow. So scroll down for all the mouth-watering photos you can handle, then revel in a couple of finalized specs: The V6 now makes 304 hp and delivers 27 miles per gallon on the highway; the L99 V8 with automatic transmission will hit 396 hp; and production will officially begin February 16, 2009....

Media Platforms Design TeamCuriosity has driven about the length of a football field across Mars since it landed on August 6, but so far the rover has mostly been looking at itself. But the rover’s first stage of self-checks is nearly complete, Jennifer Trosper, the Curiosity mission manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a mission update this afternoon. Engineers and technical experts have been on hand in the control room to remotely test all the equipment for the first month of the two-year mission....

Artist Oscar Santillan climbed England’s highest peak, chipped an inch off the top rock, and put it on display in an art show. Now he’s at the center of a debate about whether his actions were art or vandalism. Santillan chipped the chunk off of the top of Scafell Pike, a 3,209-foot mountain in England. In statements on the matter, Santillan compared it to taking pebbles or rocks while out on a hike or on the beach....

Media Platforms Design TeamI’ve got a vacation cabin, and for the first time we’ve had repeated break-ins and some theft. To increase security, I was thinking of chaining a few valuables down. Is there a chain that can’t be cut with bolt cutters?The short answer is yes, you can get cut-resistant chain. It’s hardened throughout its thickness, and its flat face distributes the force of the bolt cutter’s jaw over a wide area, thereby diffusing it....

Media Platforms Design TeamIs there life on Mars? The possibility took a hit this week as Curiosity reported back from the Red Planet that it has been unable to find methane.So what? Rewind the clock to 2009. Michael Mumma and his team from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center reported in the journal Science that they had seen plumes of methane in the martian atmosphere back in 2003. They couldn’t be sure then what caused that release of the gas, but the appearance of methane raised many hopes for the possibility of life on Mars....

Media Platforms Design TeamNorth Korea shocked the world in 2006 and 2008 when it detonated nuclear warheads in underground chambers. So when Lars-Erik De Geer, a researcher with the Swedish Defense Research Agency, published a paper early this year claiming evidence of low-yield nuclear detonations in 2010, it seemed feasible. His evidence is a spike in radionuclides—isotopes of xenon and argon that are produced by a nuclear weapon—picked up by detectors in Asia....

It takes a very special trash can to change your life, and Bruno might just be that kind of trash can. It’s got a tiny vacuum slot at the bottom to suck up everything you’ve been sweeping and to relegate your dustpans to a lonely life of crying in a corner under the sink. What more could you want?This vacuum-packing dream can is currently a project over at Kickstarter, and has already blown past its $50,000 goal with almost a month left to go....

In Prescott, Ariz., where so many firefighters died in the deadly Yarnell Hill blaze last summer, the fire department is borrowing gadgets and tactics from the U.S. Special Forces to prevent that tragedy from happening again.The fire that killed 19 firefighters proved so deadly in part because ofpoor communication, investigators said. So, in the year-plus since then, Prescott firefighters have been training on a sophisticated voice, data, and video-sharing system that Special Forces use when operating in difficult environments where radios might not work....

The Nissan NV200 won’t be carrying cab passengers around the Big Apple for another two years, but New Yorkers are getting a first look inside the “Taxi of Tomorrow.” This morning, in the shadow of the famed Flatiron Building, Nissan showed off the early version of the van’s interior, outfitted with lots of extra conveniences for when the cabs go into service in October 2013.Nissan has been selling the NV200 cargo van as a light commercial vehicle in Asia and Europe since 2009....

Media Platforms Design TeamGoogle’s app already translates more than 90 languages into English. Now, Google Translate is about to make the jump from written translation to the much harder problem of real-time audio translation. According to The New York Times, a new update will allow the app to recognize spoken language and turn it immediately into written text. Skype was the first to try this, having rolled out a service to translate between English and Spanish in real time....

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 2/10AGES: 4+BUILD TIME: 2 HoursPARTS COST: $35-$40Ingredients and Materials · 3 cups white flour · ¼ cup iodized salt · 3 tablespoons cream of tartar · 4 tablespoons vegetable oil · Food coloring · 1 cup tap water · ½ cup sugar · ½ cup distilled water · Dry and liquid measuring cups and spoons · 3-quart saucepan · Two sturdy spatulas · Waxed paper · One medium ceramic or stainless-steel mixing bowl · One 9-volt battery · Two wire leads with alligator clips on each end · 3-to-5-watt component LED bulbs in a variety of colorsSculpt your Squishy Circuit MasterpieceThe Jarvis family made a skull with red LED eyes for Halloween....

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in his workshop in Kaluga, Russia.Sovfoto//Getty ImagesOn May Day 1935, thousands gathered in Red Square to celebrate the glorious Soviet state. It was near the end of the proceedings when the feeble voice of 77-year-old Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky, the preeminent Soviet astrophysicist and a national hero, echoed through the square from speakers atop Lenin’s Mausoleum:“Now comrades, I am finally convinced that a dream of mine—space travel—for which I have given the theoretical foundations, will be realized....

Media Platforms Design TeamWith the release of the entry-level luxury crossover EX, Infiniti remains hot on BMW’s trail: The all-new G37 coupe already offers substantial competition to the BMW 3-series, and now with this premium crossover SUV concept, Nissan’s luxury division is looking to prove itself against BMW’s X3.This relatively new division of entry-level luxury SUVs is becoming quite the craze, and Infiniti is joining in on the fun. These crossover sport vehicles have the advantages of an SUV in a smaller, sportier, more fuel-efficient package—not to mention more luxurious and stylish features....

Media Platforms Design TeamAfter years of speculation, Apple finally announced the Apple Watch Tuesday at the end of the big event. Apple showed off two smartwatches, including a slightly smaller one for daintier wrists.“What we didn’t do was shrink the iPhone and strap it on your wrist—it would be a terrible user experience,” CEO Tim Cook said.The Apple Watch recognizes when you’re lifting your wrist and turns on. It has a flexible Retina display and is controlled using what Apple calls a digital crown (that rotary gear on the side of the watch you have now)....

The Rules 1] When it comes to screws, simpler is better. Where possible, use a screw with an exposed head, as opposed to a recessed head that requires an extra drilling step.2] When in doubt, use a longer screw. The extra length can help make up for a less than perfect pilot hole and boost grip.3] Invest in a set of properly sized screwdriving bits. The right bit is more likely to drive the screw and less likely to strip its head....

Media Platforms Design TeamWhen it comes to red lights, the unpredictable switch from green to yellow to red can be a road-rage inducing nightmare. Some people have the lights on their route timed, knowing the exact speed to travel to completely avoid the brake. The less cleverresort to trickier, more illegal means.With the help of a $100 Opticon, an infrared emitting device that fire fighters use to change traffic lights, Jason Niccum started to get to work on time according to reports....

Media Platforms Design TeamMicrosoft–a company long derided for squashing innovative competitors and producing bloated, uninspired software–seems to be doing everything right these days. In the past year, the company has introduced a clean, refreshingly well-designed new operating system (Windows 7), a search engine that rivals Google’s in speed and effectiveness (Bing), a portable media player that is well-built and fun to use attached to a music service that is actually a bargain at $15 a month (Zune HD), while its Xbox Live online gaming service has become one of the gold standards for online entertainment....

It’s official: Blu-Ray, one of two competing high-definition-ready disc formats (HD-DVD is the other one), is here. Or it will be, soon. On June 25th, Samsung’s BDP-1000 Blu-Ray disc player goes on sale at a head-turning $1000 price point. Make that neck-cracking, whiplash-inducing, jaw-droppingly high, etc. We had a chance to sit down with this new player for an hour, trying out three titles (eight movies in all will be available by player’s launch) on a 60-in....

Speeding Up the Heater Q: I have a 1999 Oldsmobile Alero GL and have a problem with my heater. It seems to take forever to warm up the cabin of the car—even on high speed. Now, I know it can’t be the heater motor because it was replaced a year a go. I checked the antifreeze, and it was fine. I also use synthetic oil to help with the cold starts....