In an effort to reach all corners of the Earth and moon, China is building its first continues to melt, the Northwest Passage could offer shorter transport routes between China and Europe, so this is clearly an economic opportunity, too.

Meanwhile, China is sending a third lunar probe in 2013, this time with a lander. China already sent two lunar orbiters, Chang’e-1 and 2, which are all named for the Chinese goddess of the moon. Chang’e-3’s lander will make a “soft landing” on the moon and explore the surface. The lunar craft is set to launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province in the second half of 2013.

When China sends its first Mars rover, we will definitely let you know.

[via AFP]

Digital pills that monitor you from within

No matter how fast pharmaceutical companies can churn out drugs to prevent or cure illnesses, health insurance doesn’t cover the cost of hiring a person to follow you around and remind you to take your meds. So the FDA has approved a pill that can do it on its own by monitoring your insides and relaying the information back to a healthcare provider.

The pills, made by Proteus Digital Health, have sand-particle-sized silicon chips with small amounts of magnesium and copper on them. After they’re swallowed, they generate voltage as they make contact with digestive juices. That signals a patch on the person’s skin, which then relays a message to a mobile phone given to a healthcare provider. It’s only been approved for use with placebos right now, but the company is hoping to get it approved for use with other drugs (which would be where it would get the most use).

Even if there’s a slight whiff of dystopia about a pill that tracks your actions, it does help with a major problem. Patients aren’t the best at taking their pills, especially those suffering from chronic illnesses, so it’s one step of many toward a future where they don’t have to.

[Nature]

T-Mobile users with oversized hands or just a penchant for ginormous smartphones will be delighted to learn that Samsung’s Galaxy Note is coming your way a week from Wednesday. T-Mobile, which had been a bit cagey to the Galaxy Note’s launch, confirmed via Twitter that Samsung’s 5.3-inch smartphone is headed its way on August 8, 2012 for $250 after a $50 mail-in-rebate and with a two-year service agreement.

“Note Takers – The Samsung Galaxy Note will be on T-Mobile Aug. 8th!,” T-Mobile posted to Twitter.

Some have dubbed the Galaxy Note a phablet (equal parts phone and tablet) due to its large size. Outside of its 5.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus HD display and S Pen integration, the Galaxy Tab also features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera, 16GB of built-in storage expandable via a microSD card slot. 3.5mm audio jack, and a handful (literally) of other odds and ends wrapped in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

For more details, visit T-Mobile’s Galaxy Note product page.

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In the second Back to the Future flick, Stephen Spielberg envisioned a future with flying cars, one that according to the date on the DeLorean’s dashboard is just three years away. That gives GM and company several months to get on the ball, but in the meantime, there are still trains, planes, and land-based automobiles to get from point A to point B. Getting with the times not a moment too soon, Amtrak announced it’s now accepting eTickets on all of its trains. Welcome to the Internet era, Amtrak.

“eTickets deliver the convenience and flexibility expected by passengers and its innovative technology is transforming other aspects of how Amtrak does business,” Amtrak chief Joe Boardman said in a statement (PDF).

Amtrak’s eTicket system lets travelers print their ticket at home and skip waiting in line at the ticket window, or present their eTicket to the conductor using their smartphone. Everything should run smoothly at this point, as Amtrak piloted the eTicket program on five routes prior to Monday’s national rollout.

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The motorcycle/plane hybrid is almost a flying car

There was an unusual visitor at the Oshkosh airshow this year: a roadable aircraft manufactured by PlaneDriven. The PD2 takes a Glasair Sportsman amateur-built airplane and adds a separate 50-hp “drive unit” to the rear of the craft to provide ground power. To put the vehicle into drive mode, the pilot folds the wings, starts the drive unit, and away we go.

The drive unit looks like a big powered cart that attaches to a dedicated hard point on the rear fuselage. Steerable main wheels allow the pilot to maneuver on the road. The manufacturer says the craft can hit speeds of as high as 73 mph on the highway and can climb hills acceptably. The company’s website compares its road performance to a mid-1960s Beetle, which is to say, none too peppy. Read more (and see it in action) at flyingmag.com.