Space

Japan just became the latest country to set up camp on the moon -- although, how hard it actually touched down is still a little unclear.

Yes, it's a big deal ... Japan is now the fifth country to get some kind of spacecraft up on the big ball of cheese in the sky -- landing their "Moon Sniper" explorer Friday ... part of which they streamed live to document the momentous occasion.

The question at this point, however, is whether the explorer crashed onto the moon ... or if it successfully made contact. There are conflicting reports on what the actual case is.

We suppose we'll know soon enough -- but in any case, it's cool to see the human race continue to try and explore our moon. This mission is called SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) and this launch of Japan's robot went down way back in September.

The other countries that have been to the moon ... Russia, China, India and, of course, the US of A. We're the only ones to get humans up there ... no one's been back since.

Japón se acaba de convertir en el último país en aterrizar en la Luna, aunque todavía no está muy claro hasta qué punto ha llegado.

Es un gran acontecimiento... Japón ahora es el quinto país en conseguir que una nave espacial llegue hasta el cuerpo celeste, con el aterrizaje de su "Moon Sniper" el viernes y parte del evento se transmitió en vivo para documentar la ocasión trascendental.

La cuestión en este momento, sin embargo, es si el explorador se estrelló en la luna o si hizo contacto con éxito. Hay informes contradictorios sobre la realidad actual.

Suponemos que pronto lo sabremos, pero en cualquier caso, alucina ver que la raza humana sigue intentando explorar nuestra Luna. Esta misión se llama SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) y el lanzamiento del robot japonés tuvo lugar en septiembre.

Los otros países que han estado en la luna antes son Rusia, China, India y, por supuesto, los Estados Unidos. Somos los únicos que hemos logrado llevar seres humanos hasta allí, nadie ha regresado desde entonces.

Jeff Bezos dice que la calidad de vida para la humanidad es mejor ahora que nunca, pero no puede decir lo mismo del mundo natural y cree que el espacio es la respuesta.

El multimillonario dice que la idea de "todo tiempo pasado fue mejor" es 0una ilusión, porque básicamente todas las métricas indican que la calidad de vida es mejor ahora de lo que era en el pasado.

Sin embargo, mientras Jeff dice que la humanidad avanza, ve que la naturaleza retrocede. Dice que el mundo natural era "prístino" hace 500 años, pero desde la Revolución Industrial los humanos han dañado la naturaleza para mejorar nuestras propias vidas.

Jeff tiene una solución para devolver la naturaleza a donde estaba, mientras que también continúa moviendo a la humanidad a un lugar mejor. Compartió estas ideas en el podcast de Lex Fridman.

La solución... el espacio exterior.

Jeff dice que en algún momento la humanidad tendrá que vivir afuera, porque la Tierra tiene recursos finitos y necesitamos más y más energía para seguir mejorando nuestra calidad de vida.

Por supuesto, la compañía aeroespacial Blue Origin de Jeff se dedica a esta misma idea.

Jeff Bezos says the quality of life is better now than it has ever been for humanity, but he can't say the same about the natural world ... and he thinks space is the best alternative.

The billionaire owner of Blue Origin Aerospace Co. says the notion of "the good ole days" is mostly an illusion, because basically every metric for measuring the quality of life is higher now than it was in the past.

But, while Jeff says humanity is moving forward, he sees nature moving backward. He says the natural world was "pristine" 500 years ago, but since the Industrial Revolution humans have damaged nature to improve our own lives.

Jeff's solution for bringing nature back to where it was before, while also continuing to move humanity into a better place ... is outer space, and he shared his vision on the Lex Fridman podcast.

He says, at some point, humanity will have to live off the moon and beyond ... because Earth has finite resources and we need more and more energy to keep improving our quality of life.

Of course, Jeff's Blue Origin aerospace company is dedicated to this very idea, and it's interesting to hear him explain why he's banking on it.

A bunch of Texans could've sworn they saw something extraterrestrial in the sky last night -- but fortunately, it was just an out-of-this-world personality from this planet ... Elon Musk.

Several sightings got reported online Friday evening -- with a purported UFO being spotted flying over multiple different cities all throughout the the Lone Star State. In all the clips -- some of which have been obtained by TMZ -- everyone's seeing the same thing.

Take a look ... all these folks see a bright light up in the heavens, which looks to be cruising along -- only to spit out a giant plume of smoke, which expands into an ever-growing ring.

The reactions in about all the videos are pretty much the same ... THE HECK IS THAT???

In the 1st clip above, people are watching a local football game when they spot the celestial phenomenon -- captured right in Dallas. The second clip was filmed in nearby Greenville, TX ... and a third clip was shot quite a ways away in Georgetown, TX, closer to Austin.

Like we said, all of these folks seem to have thought they witnessed a classic flying saucer -- but as it turns out ... it was just a Starlink satellite launch courtesy of EM's SpaceX company.

The subsidiary announced they'd be launching a new fleet from a station of theirs in Florida -- and noted it'd be in "low-Earth orbit." The giant halo effect is called a "space jellyfish" ... something that happens when a rocket's propulsion emission hits sunlight at a certain angle.

Ring, the company known for its doorbell and home security cameras, wants to see proof of alien life ... and is offering up a hefty cash prize for anyone who can capture footage.

The company launched its "Million Dollar Search for Extraterrestrials" this week, offering up a $1M grand prize for anyone who has "unaltered proof of Extraterrestrial life" -- specifically documented on one of its Ring cameras.

Ring says the footage can be of an unearthly being walking around your backyard, or even a UFO pullin' up to your driveway ... but all submitted materials will be looked at by an expert for approval.

Skeptics might see this as an easy challenge from Ring -- putting up big bucks for something that may not be legit ... but for those that buy the strange phenomenon, here's your shot.

In case ya forgot, we spoke with Neil deGrasse Tyson in August about the potential of alien life visiting our planet -- especially as the topic's being taken more seriously in the U.S.

According to Neil, the high-tech world we live in is a reason why he's not so sure UFOs are here ... mostly because the only alleged footage we've seen is grainy as hell! But, Ring's big challenge might put Neil's concerns to rest.

Ring, la compañía conocida por sus cámaras de seguridad para el hogar, quiere ver pruebas de vida extraterrestre y para ello está ofreciendo un premio en efectivo bastante considerable para quien pueda capturar esas imágenes.

La compañía lanzó la campaña "Million Dollar Search for Extraterrestrials" esta semana, en donde ofrece un premio de 1 millón de dólares para quien tenga una "prueba inalterada de vida extraterrestre", y tiene que estar documentada específicamente en una de sus cámaras.

Ring dice que las imágenes pueden ser de un ser sobrenatural caminando en tu patio trasero, o incluso de un OVNI acercándose hasta la entrada de tu casa, pero todos los materiales serán examinados por un experto para su aprobación.

Los escépticos podrían ver esto como un reto fácil para Ring, esto es, poner mucho dinero en algo que puede que no sea legítimo, pero para aquellos que compran estos extraños fenómenos, esta puede ser su oportunidad.

En caso de que lo hayan olvidado, hablamos con Neil deGrasse Tyson en agosto sobre la posibilidad de que los extraterrestres visiten nuestro planeta, sobre todo considerando que el tema se está tomando más en serio en Estados Unidos.

Según Neil, el mundo de alta tecnología en el que vivimos es una de las razones por las que no está tan seguro de que los ovnis estén aquí, ¡sobre todo porque las únicas supuestas imágenes que hemos visto son muy granuladas!

Pero el gran reto de Ring podría acabar con las preocupaciones de Neil.

Paul Pierce is opening up on the most terrifying experience of his life ... revealing his near-fatal stabbing in 2000 shaped him into the man he is today.

The Celtics legend reflected on his past in an emotional conversation on Monday night's episode of Fox's celebrity competition show, "Stars On Mars" ... explaining the Boston nightclub incident -- in which he was stabbed 11 times -- completely changed his point of view.

"I've showed endurance in my life because I never gave up," Pierce said in the clip. "I kept going and going."

The Truth added he was at the "lowest point in my life" when he got in the altercation ... saying, "I was like 23 years old, living my dream, and then all of a sudden I'm fighting death."

But, instead of letting the stabbing derail his journey, Pierce said it made him want to work even harder.

"Not only was it a low point, it was a high point for me, too. It changed my thinking, it changed my mindset, it changed how I lived."

Pierce compared the stabbing to his experience on the show ... as he spent the first few days struggling to gain any ground, but persisted and made it to the very end.

"It's kinda been my life, starting at the bottom and rising up."

Pierce went on to play every game of the 2000-01 season ... eventually bringing a championship to the Celtics in 2008.

India's boldly gone where no other country has -- landing a spacecraft, the Chandrayaan-3, on the moon's south pole, and becoming only the 4th nation to achieve lunar success.

The Indian Space Research Organisation's mission control erupted in cheers as the unmanned Chyandrayaan-3 softly touched down on the moon's south pole Wednesday morning ... marking a successful end to a more than month-long mission.

India's now earned its Moon Card, along with the U.S., Russia and China -- although, only America's landed manned missions there.

One thing the ISRO has on just about every other lunar mission is cost, 'cause they really did it on the cheap. India's budget for the entire mission is a paltry $75 million ... an amount that pales in comparison to the budgets of several Hollywood movies about space exploration!!!

The Chandrayaan-3 landing on the moon's south pole is a big deal because traces of ice were recently discovered there ... so the ISRO is hoping to explore the area for water that could be used to fuel future spacecraft.

Russia's first mission to the moon in 5 decades has ended in failure, as their Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the surface on approach.

The unmanned vessel, which launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome earlier this month, crashed on the moon's surface Saturday. Not much is known about the cause of the failure, but officials called it an "abnormal situation."

The launch marked Russia's first attempt to approach the moon since 1976 ... the goal was to attempt a landing near the moon's south pole.

The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, said they lost contact with the craft Saturday afternoon stating, "spacecraft entered an unplanned orbit and ceased to exist after colliding with the surface of the Moon."

Rep. Tim Burchett says he's determined to get to the bottom of several disturbing UFO allegations ... and that means digging deeper into the bombshell claims that just came out in Congress.

The U.S. Congressman from Tennessee joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live," and we asked how he and other lawmakers intend to follow up on former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch's suggestion murders were committed as part of a government conspiracy to hide evidence of extraterrestrials ... including recovered spacecraft and non-human lifeforms piloting them.

Rep. Burchett says he's hoping to get into a super secret room with Grusch to get specific details on who was allegedly killed as part of a UFO conspiracy ... and to get more info about what kind of alien craft our government might have in its possession.

Remember ... Wednesday's historic Congressional hearings on UFOs included some bombshell testimony from Grusch, and Burchett explains the meaning behind a term that kept coming up -- "SCIF," short for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility -- and why it's so important here.

Rep. Burchett is among the lawmakers most determined to share information on UFOs, and possibly alien life -- and he says some of his colleagues have actually seen UFOs, but were scared to come forward.

The federal government goes to great lengths to keep alien spacecraft secret from the public, even killing its own citizens ... at least that's what a whistleblower is strongly suggesting.

The bombshell claim was levied during Wednesday's historic Congressional hearing on UFOs ... with former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch hinting murder has been a key part of a government conspiracy to hide evidence of extraterrestrials.

Ya gotta see the exchange on Capitol Hill ... Rep. Tim Burchett straight-up asks Grusch if he has any personal accounts of people being murdered over something they've seen in our skies.

The whistleblower's answer is revealing ... "I have to be careful answering that question. I directed people with that knowledge to the appropriate authorities."

Grusch is one of 3 whistleblowers from our military testifying under oath about UFOs and secret government programs allegedly involving extraterrestrial technology. He claims almost 95 percent of UFO sightings go unreported, mainly out of fear of being blackballed, or worse.

The 2 other men being sworn in are Navy fighter pilot commander David Fravor, a witness of the infamous "Tic Tac" UFO sighting, plus former pilot Ryan Graves.

Grusch also testified the U.S. has known about extraterrestrials since at least the 1930s, with the feds covering up a longstanding government program that retrieves and reverse engineers UFOs ... or as he put it, "non-human" spacecraft and pilots.

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is gunning to accomplish an incredible feat in the world of commercial space travel -- and if successful, puts him on a short list with the likes of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Branson's company is having its first commercial launch Thursday, dubbed Galactic 01. The VSS Unity is taking off from New Mexico attached to a carrier plane, eventually detaching and soaring about 3 times the speed of sound above the earth before coming back down.

Despite the commercial aspect, the trip is more about business than pleasure -- the space vessel will carry members of the Italian Air Force and a research engineer, collecting data while airborne.

As we reported, the VSS Unity turned Branson into the first billionaire in space in 2021 when he and a handful of others went into sub-orbital space ... paving the way for Thursday's big milestone.

The view inside the vessel was almost as cool as what they were seeing on the outside -- especially the look on Branson's face when the Unity shot toward space!

Marshawn Lynch and Lance Armstrong turned the heat all the WAY up while out on "Mars" ... wielding some massive flamethrowers -- and the video of them chucking fireballs is awesome!!!

The dudes got armed with the weapons for a challenge on the latest episode of the Fox show, "Stars on Mars" ... and the former athletes sure seemed to love being fungus-killing pyros for a few minutes.

Check out the clip ... as Lynch went to extinguish his foe with a massive blaze, he channeled his inner Al Pacino -- screaming out, "Say hello to my little friend!"

Armstrong, too, handled the big gun well ... though he did note the thing was hot as hell!!

It was a cool change of pace for the guys ... because in last week's episode, some of the show's contestants were seen really feeling their separation from the real world.

In fact, Ronda Rousey actually broke down in tears while FaceTiming with her fam.

But, everyone seemed to enjoy the most recent hot challenge ... especially Lynch!!

Tom Sandoval has been in a vortex of bad press these past few months -- all over his cheating scandal, of course -- and now ... his best bud's weighing in on the galactic fail.

Of course, we're talking about Tom Schwartz -- Sandoval's right-hand man in business and fellow costar on "Vanderpump Rules" ... who's had a front-row seat to all the drama unfolding of late. Naturally, seeing how he's close with Tom #1 -- Schwartz caught flak too.

Now, the dude's spilling his guts about it all in the aftermath -- as seen on FOX's new reality show, "Stars on Mars," on which TS is a contestant -- and it sounds like he wants to distance himself from Sandoval/his poor decision-making ... trying to get light years away.

BTW, if you think our space references are a bit much ... wait 'til you hear how Schwartz puts it. The guy's got a ton of creative ways to explain how out of this world Scandoval has been from his POV ... and this is just a taste. He'll dish even more on Monday's episode.

Also, if you're wondering what the "Stars on Mars" show is ... we'll tell ya. The series just launched and it's very much so in the vein of "Big Brother" -- only here, celebs are living together in a manufactured Mars-like environment ... competing against each other.

The other contenders run the gamut of stardom -- folks like Lance Armstrong, Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman are on ... as are Ariel Winter, Porsha Williams, Ronda Rousey and others. It truly is a who's-who of reality TV ... also, William Shatner's hosting!