NASA’s Antares rockets took three smartphones on its voyage to space, the first of its kind to become PhoneSats – smartphones used as tiny satellites. The program set a record by using the cheapest satellites in the history of the space program (possibly the cheapest in the history of man made satellites).

Michael Gazarik, NASA Associate Administrator

Smartphones offer a wealth of potential capabilities for flying small, low-cost, powerful satellites for atmospheric or Earth science, communications, or other space-born applications. They also may open space to a whole new generation of commercial, academic and citizen-space users. Read more

The future, according to Apple and designers of modern devices, looks clean, minimal and lacking in texture. It looks pretty – it feels … like nothing. I’ve spoken with a number of users who purchased cases for their new iPhone 5 simply because they couldn’t hold it. It was too thin, too sleek, and too clean.

I’m with the minority that believes that the lack of tactility in modern devices is less interesting, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit optimistic when I saw this elastic touchscreen design. Its strangely rubberized material reminds me of skin and its interface is nothing short of interesting:

Create mountains by pulling them out of the screen, draw rivers with your fingers, elevate an entire terrain to see a cut section view. Make your data come alive. The video shows our working prototype.

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Technology is great at simplification – so much so that we forget how much work is being displaced at the touch of our fingertips. Likewise, with the invention of the touchscreen and its ubiquitous use in mobile devices, many gestures have come to replace our analog life with varying degrees of appreciation.

When was the last time you had to use a rotary phone? Do you recall how long it took to dial the number 9? It’s that kind of technological provocation that informs the work of artist Gabriele Meldaikyte:

Nowadays, finger gestures like tap / scroll / flick / swipe / pinch are considered to be ‘signatures’ of the Apple iPhone. I believe that in ten years or so these gestures will completely change. Therefore, my aim is to perpetuate them so they become accessible for future generations. Read more

Taiwainese LED glass manufacturer Polytron Technology is developing a transparent smartphone. The see-through device is only in its initial prototype phase, but it promises to be interesting at the very least.

The prototype shows the hardware potential of a transparent phone with clear, laminated sheets, batteries, speakers, and a micro SD card. The design is even more sleek and modern than Apple products and reminds me of the clear backpack phase in my high school years – except those backpacks were mandatory for security.

Polytron’s clear phone will use Polivision glass:

When the power is off, the liquid crystal molecules are randomly oriented [way] that scatters incident light and the screen becomes opaque. When electricity is applied, the liquid crystal molecules line up, the incident light passes through, and the screen looks clear.

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HzO waterproofing nanotech liquid was the most fascinating invention at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, though I wouldn’t go swimming with my iPhone just yet. The water-blocking nanotech compounds can make devices work even when fully submerged underwater, meaning those Google underwater street views are now applicable! I can’t wait to take my phone on an underwater trip to the great barrier reef.

Like a transparent shield, HzO’s proprietary WaterBlock™ nanotechnology is a coating of bonded molecules that seals the internal components of electronic devices. This chemical vapor deposition process blankets vital electronic circuitry to protect even the most sensitive devices from damage by water, moisture, contaminating particles and humidity.

Unfortunately, the coating is not available to consumers so you’ll have to wait until the next line of Samsung and Apple phones are produced. While I can’t repair my water damaged laptop from its premature demise from a watery dip, this landlubber is looking forward to some watery adventures with tech gear in the near future.

Have you dreamed of living on another planet? The Mars One team will select four astronauts to make a one-way trip to Mars after a grueling and public training period.

The application requirements are listed here.  If successful, the venture will use resources from around the world and convert the entire process into a media event across all major social networks. We’ve embedded the introductory YouTube video above–what do you think? Here’s more from the company:

In 2013 Mars One will conduct a global search to find the best candidates for the first human mission to Mars in 2023. On Mars, the primary responsibility for the astronauts is to keep everything, and everyone, up and running. This will be a particular challenge for the first teams. They will need the skills to solve any potential problem – some of which will be completely unforeseeable. Their combined skill sets of each team member must cover a very wide range of disciplines. The astronauts must be intelligent, creative, psychologically stable and physically healthy … In spaceflight missions, the primary personal attributes of a successful astronaut are emotional and psychological stability, supported by personal drive and motivation. This is the foundation upon a mission must be built, where human lives are at risk with each flight. Once on Mars, there is no means to return to Earth. Mars is home.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced a new website last Friday. DigitalLiteracy.gov is dedicated to improving computer and Internet skills in America.

The new site was launched as a partnership  between 9 federal agencies who are working together to provide librarians, teachers, and others a central location to share tips, tricks, and best practices. These trusted groups can, in turn, better reach out to their communities in providing them the skills today’s employers need.

U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, had this to say: “In Maryland and across the nation, people are hungry for good jobs and economic opportunity. Here at Coppin State University, and across America, with www.DigitalLiteracy.gov, we aren’t just talking about the innovation economy. We’re training people to be a part of it. We’re teaching how to use computer skills to get and keep a good job.”

via DigitalLiteracy.gov

This eBookNewser editor is now a mother. I’ll be taking some time off to adjust to my new lifestyle and get to know my new little baby.

During this break, the site will be in the capable hands of eBookNewser Contributor Nathaniel Hoffelder and GalleyCat/eBookNewser Managing Editor Jason Boog. Email them with any story ideas or releases.

I will resume my post after a couple of weeks off, but bear with me as I get the hang of motherhood and struggle to regain control of my email inbox. I’ll be looking forward to checking out all of the cool new kids’ book apps upon my return.

SXSW has revealed a partial list of its panel lineup for the interactive component of its upcoming show in March and there are a couple of digital publishing related sessions. We have listed a couple below, but follow this link to read the entire program.

1. “What Comic Books Can Teach Mobile Application Designers” organized by Anjuan Simmons, Adverlyze
Description: “The comic book medium offers many design standards that mobile application developers can use to improve the effectiveness of their graphical user interface designs. Comic books have evolved through the years to maximize their ability to tell a story while confined to two dimensional static images. Comic book legend Will Eisner published “Comics and Sequential Art” in 1985 in order to document his mastery of using graphics to tell a story. This presentation will explore the design principles Eisner shared in his landmark book and specifically apply them to mobile application design.”

2. “Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted. Not!” organized by Richard Nash, Cursor
Description: “For the future of both, it is imperative that technology and culture learn from one another. Doing more with less is a philosophy that has animated both, especially in recent times with the notion of the minimum viable product, and the injunction against feature creep. But art and culture have always understood the concept of “less is more” even if it took till the 20th century of that to be coined so neatly. For art to be possible, rules are necessary. In the Assassin’s Code, the death of God makes everything possible. Many believe that the network makes everything possible. But if everything is possible, how does anything matter? In art, what is left out is as important as what is included. Can the rules of making art help us make more useful technology? Can such concepts as the minimum viable product help us do a better job of writing, editing, designing, and disseminating novels, films, music. This high interdisciplinary panel will help illuminate how the eternal verities of art and science, when properly framed, can help us be better movers of the hearts and minds of men and women…”
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The Book Futurists: Andrew Malkin, Zinio from Movable Type Literary Group on Vimeo.

GalleyCat, eBookNewser and the Movable Type Literary Group have teamed up to bring you The Book Futurists –a new video series featuring interviews with ten people from across publishing who are leading the digital revolution.

Over the next twelve weeks, we’ll introduce you to people across the digital publishing industry who are at the cutting edge digital book publishing. From design and marketing to editorial and journalism, these folks are turning the wheels of the eBook revolution.

In the first video, Jason Allen Ashlock, Principal at Movable Type Literary Group, interviews Andrew Malkin, VP of book content at Zinio. Malkin addresses Zinio’s eBook content distribution platform, the future of eBooks and the potential of hiring from outside of the publishing industry.