The Artemis II crew made history as they traveled further from our planet than any other living humans. The astronauts and NASA are making the most of the trip, including by capturing some utterly stunning photos . The space agency shared some that were taken from the far side of the Moon, including the "Earthset" shown above. This is a depiction of our planet setting behind the Moon, just as the sun sets over the horizon for us on terra firma every single night. "The image is reminiscent of the iconic Earthrise image taken by astronaut Bill Anders 58 years earlier as the Apollo 8 crew flew around the Moon," the NASA Artemis account on X noted. The crew also witnessed a solar eclipse from the far side of the Moon, with the satellite totally blocking out the sun. This lasted for around 57 minutes as Orion travelled more than 4,000 miles beyond the Moon. You can see several photos of the eclipse and Earth from the lunar flyby in the slideshow above. (And yes, the astronauts used eclipse glasses to protect their eyes.) While they were circling the Moon, the Artemis II crew discovered two new craters. The astronauts suggested names for them: Integrity (after the nickname for their spacecraft) and Carroll, after the late wife of Commander Reid Wiseman, describing the latter as a “bright spot on the Moon.” The mission will last a few more days as the astronauts are now returning to Earth. Orion is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego on April 10. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-shares-incredible-photos-from-the-far-side-of-the-moon-142355972.html?src=rss
As ever, Xbox is bringing a bunch of high-profile titles to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass this month, while adding several to the lower tiers of the service. There aren't too many surprises among this first wave of April newcomers, though. Many of these additions were previously confirmed, while EA Sports NHL 26 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (the remake) were always going to join Game Pass at some point. Still, there's plenty to dive into on the service this month. April 14 is a particularly eye-catching day, with both Hades 2 (which is debuting on Xbox Series X/S and PS5) and the long-awaited Replaced hitting Game Pass alongside the turn-based, character-driven RPG The Thaumaturge . Here's a breakdown of everything coming to Game Pass over the next few weeks: April 7 Final Fantasy IV — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass April 8 DayZ — PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, Game Pass Essential and PC Game Pass Endless Legend 2 — PC game preview on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass) FBC: Firebreak — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass) Warhammer Vermintide 2 — Cloud and console on Game Pass Essential (already on Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass Premium) April 9 Planet Coaster 2 — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass April 10 Tiny Bookshop — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass April 13 Football Manager 26 — PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass) Football Manager 26 Console — Cloud, console and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass) April 14 Hades 2 — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass Replaced — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass The Thaumaturge — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass April 16 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass) EA Sports NHL 26 — Cloud and Xbox Series X/S on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass April 17 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — Cloud, console and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass April 21 Little Rocket Lab — Cloud, console and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass) Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato — Cloud, console, handheld and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass) Vampire Crawlers — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld, and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass April 23 Kiln — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass As Xbox adds more titles to Game Pass, so too must it remove some. It's yet again erasing Grand Theft Auto V (Cloud, console and PC) from Game Pass, this time on April 15. The other games leaving the service on the same day are: Ashen (Cloud, console and PC) Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (Cloud, console and PC) My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery (Cloud, console and PC) Terra Invicta (game preview on PC) This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-game-pass-additions-for-april-include-hades-2-and-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-155130801.html?src=rss
Sony just announced a truly strange initiative called The Playerbase . This is a program to scan people's likenesses and pop them in PlayStation games. That's pretty wild, but potentially cool to those who have always wanted to become a weird humanoid version of Crash Bandicoot. The program is ramping up slowly. Sony has announced a contest of sorts to place one lucky fan inside of Gran Turismo 7 , though in a reduced fashion. The chosen player will get an image of their face placed inside the game as a character portrait and will get the chance to design a logo and the exterior of a vehicle. Sony This person will also get a trip to Los Angeles to participate in a full-body scan, but Sony hasn't said what, if anything, they'd do with this scan. After all, Gran Turismo 7 is a racing game without too many full-body models walking around. Fans have a lot of hoops to jump through to be considered for placement. There's a traditional application process , but also video interviews and other stuff. The promotion is available to players in the Americas, Europe, Asia, South Africa and Australia. Of course, there needs to be actual new PlayStation games for people to scan their likenesses into. Sony hasn't exactly been providing us with a robust lineup of first-party titles this generation. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sony-is-starting-a-weird-service-that-scans-people-to-put-them-in-playstation-games-150130276.html?src=rss
