Technologies

Oscar Mayer offers NASA a Wienermobile to transport moon astronauts

So, yeah, that’s probably not going to work out.

Some day, in the hopefully not-too-distant future, NASA’s next moon-bound astronauts will catch a ride to the launchpad to board their Orion spacecraft atop a massive SLS rocket. Oscar Mayer, the food company known for hot dogs, would like to offer a bold and dignified vehicle to take them there. A Wienermobile.

NASA actually is looking for some new astronaut ground transportation. It put out a call last week for commercial providers to chime in on possible replacements for the shiny Astrovan that once moved shuttle astronauts the nine miles from their crew quarters to the launchpad.

NASA is gearing up for its crewed Artemis missions, with the intention of returning humans to the moon. «The proposals should be unique, embrace new technology and visually embody Artemis to the public,» NASA said.

I’m not sure a Wienermobile quite embodies the Artemis spirit of lunar exploration full of courage and space adventure. It embodies a hot dog, full of beef.

NASA’s vehicle request came to the attention of Oscar Mayer, which tweeted «Hey, NASA, we got you» on Friday along with a photo of a Wienermobile.

window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel(‘%c One Trust ‘, «Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5»);

The Wienermobile is likely to face some competition. In recent years, Airstream kitted out a touring coach for use with Boeing’s delayed Starliner missions and SpaceX Dragon astronauts have had the chance to enjoy a lift in a Tesla Model X.

This isn’t Oscar Mayer’s first attempt at getting into the space game. It jumped on the Blue Origin «dong rocket» meme bandwagon when Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos flew to suborbital space in July by tweeting a photo of the Wienermobile rocketing off this rock.

window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel(‘%c One Trust ‘, «Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5»);

Even though I know an astro-hot-dog-mobile would be so, so wrong, I still kind of want to see it happen. A Wienermobile, boldly rolling toward the launchpad, astronauts safely ensconced within its tubular shell, with nothing but space and the bright lantern of the moon ahead of them. Epic.

Technologies

The Pause on iPhone Tariffs Is Set to Expire After June. Should You Buy Now?

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, May 10

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for May 10.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword is that extra-long Saturday one, and some of the answers were pretty tough! I thought for sure the answer to 6-Across was two words, but nope, it was only one. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Common inclusion in a tourist’s brochure
Answer: MAP

4A clue: Olympic honor
Answer: MEDAL

6A clue: Any of a set of green plastic toys in «Toy Story»
Answer: SOLDIER

8A clue: Still on the loose
Answer: ATLARGE

9A clue: Driver’s license or passport
Answer: PHOTOID

10A clue: Star of the Eras Tour
Answer: SWIFT

11A clue: 30, 45 or 50, on a beach bottle: Abbr.
Answer: SPF

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Chills (out)
Answer: MELLOWS

2D clue: Prompt after swiping one’s card at an iPad cash register
Answer: ADDATIP

3D clue: Form groups of two
Answer: PAIROFF

4D clue: Flittering fliers around a flame
Answer: MOTHS

5D clue: Totally authentic
Answer: LEGIT

6D clue: Sticky stuff
Answer: SAP

7D clue: No turn on ___» (road sign)
Answer: RED

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 10, #229

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 229, for Saturday, May 10.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

I always start Connections: Sports Edition by scanning for clues I know that can’t fit into too many categories. Today, I spotted names of particular places, and was off to the races with the green group. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Players sometimes disagree.

Green group hint: Also Lumen, or U.S. Bank.

Blue group hint: Academic sports organizations.

Purple group hint: Tennessee signal-callers.