Technologies
NASA says ISS operations will be extended through 2030
The extension will «enable a seamless transition» to commercial space stations, says NASA.

The Biden administration has committed to extending International Space Stations operations through 2030, said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Friday.
«The International Space Station is a beacon of peaceful international scientific collaboration and for more than 20 years has returned enormous scientific, educational, and technological developments to benefit humanity,» said Nelson in a release. «I’m pleased that the Biden-Harris Administration has committed to continuing station operations through 2030.»
The extension comes as NASA is already making plans to transition from the ISS to commercial space stations and other private platforms in low Earth orbit. Earlier in December, NASA awarded more than $400 million to three companies — Blue Origin, Nanoracks and Northrop Grumman — to develop designs for space stations and other «commercial destinations» in space. NASA has said the transition away from the ISS will allow it to save money and focus on its Artemis missions to the moon and Mars.
The ISS was previously approved to operate through 2024, though NASA had reportedly said it was cleared, from a technical standpoint, to fly through 2028 and beyond.
Extending operations through 2030 will help NASA «enable a seamless transition of capabilities in low-Earth orbit to one or more commercially owned and operated destinations in the late 2020s,» the space agency said in a release.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, June 11
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 11.

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.
Make sure you think of the right computer shortcut for 8-Across in today’s NYT Mini Crossword, or you’ll be off by a letter. Don’t ask me how I know. 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 to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: For this, you’ll be swimming with the fishes
Answer: SCUBA
6A clue: Birth-related
Answer: NATAL
7A clue: «They’re in for ___ awakening!»
Answer: ARUDE
8A clue: «Cut» shortcut, on PCs
Answer: CTRL-X
9A clue: Nairobi is its capital
Answer: KENYA
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Quick bite
Answer: SNACK
2D clue: À la ___
Answer: CARTE
3D clue: Maneuver done from the left lane only
Answer: UTURN
4D clue: In the worst way
Answer: BADLY
5D clue: Whom to tell «Turn off the lights» or «Play some music»
Answer: ALEXA
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
My Favorite Portable iPhone Charger Is 35% Off in All Colors
The ultraconvenient Anker 622 MagGo snaps neatly onto the back of my iPhone, and I take it everywhere I go. The price just dropped to $31 across the board at Amazon.

I take my phone with me wherever I go, and I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve come to rely on it for just about every aspect of my life — from getting news, weather and navigation help to staying in close contact with friends, family and co-workers. That means, like many people, I live in constant fear that my iPhone’s battery will die on me right when I need it most. That is, I did until I found the Anker 622 MagGo, which CNET ranked as the best magnetic power bank with an integrated stand, and which I now take with me everywhere I go.
Right now it’s available with a 35% discount on Amazon. That drops the price to just $31 from the $48 list price, making this an excellent value for a major convenience. The charger comes in a variety of colors, including white, dark gray, lavender, pale blue and pale green, and it’s pretty common to see one or two colors on sale at any given time. But the current discount applies to every option.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.
Here’s why I’ve stuck with this little charger for so long
Have you seen people walk around with a loop of cable hanging from their pocket to their phone? I’ve been there and hooked that loop on too many chairs and table corners. Never again. The ring of magnets in the Anker 622 MagGo aligns with the MagSafe magnets in every iPhone since the iPhone 12, latching securely and charging without wires. (The notable exception is the iPhone 16E, which does not offer MagSafe but does charge wirelessly using Qi technology. The Anker 622 MagGo will charge the iPhone 16E but won’t latch to it magnetically.)
It’s also compact — a little backpack feeding power to the phone while you’re holding it or have it stashed in a pocket, even a jeans pocket if your fit isn’t too tight.
Those features alone would have convinced me but the Anker 622 also includes a fold-out back flap that props up my iPhone and can also hold the phone in its wide orientation for StandBy mode. With a power adapter such as the Anker Nano Pro (not included) and a charging cable, I’ve taught long classes with the phone angled to help me keep track of the time without checking my watch.
Essential Anker 622 MagGo specs
Here’s what you need to know.
- Battery capacity: 5,000 milliamp hours
- Voltage: 1.55 volts
- Output: 7.5-watt Magnetic (compatible with MagSafe-equipped devices, iPhone 12 and later) or 20-watt USB-C port. Can charge only one device at a time.
- Input: The same single USB-C is also how you recharge the device.
- Size: 4.13-inch by 2.61 inches by 0.5 inch
- Weight: 5 ounces
- Included: Magnetic battery, 60cm (23.6 inches) USB-C to USB-C cable
- Warranty: 24 months
MagSafe-compatible charging
I’ve owned several battery chargers and each one has some sort of compromise. They’re bulky. They require a cable. They charge wirelessly but don’t include a magnet to keep the phone in place so it’s hard to maintain that connection. There’s always something.
The Anker 622 is half an inch thick and snaps onto the back of my iPhone using the MagSafe-aligned magnets. I don’t have to turn it on to start charging — power flows as soon as the connection is made.
Now, this isn’t the highest-capacity (5,000 mAh) or fastest portable charger. That’s fine. What I usually need is a way to eke out a few more hours of battery life on my iPhone. I can typically get a full top-off of my iPhone 15 Pro.
Making a stand
The other appealing feature of the Anker 622 MagGo for me is its built-in stand. Honestly, it doesn’t look like it should work well: It’s a fabric-covered set of plastic pieces that lie flush against the case, folds in two places and attaches to the back of the unit with a magnetic strip when extended. Yet I’ve had no problems with the stability of my iPhone 15 Pro or even the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max size.
This also lets me use standby mode by turning the iPhone to landscape orientation (the magnets are strong enough to hold the phone in place) when it’s on a table or desk.
Smart port placement matters
The charger gets its juice from a single USB-C port, which is positioned on the edge of the case, not the bottom. That means you can replenish it while the stand is open — many chargers’ ports are stuck on the bottom.
That USB-C port also acts as a charger for other devices when you plug in a cable, such as when your Apple Watch needs a boost.
How the Anker 622 MagGo compares to similar power banks
Before getting the Anker 622 MagGo, I carried an Anker PowerCore III 10K Wireless, which doubles the battery capacity, includes a USB-A port and charges wirelessly but without magnets to hold the phone in place. That meant if I didn’t use a cable, the phone and charger needed to be stable and level; too often I’d find the iPhone slid off its wireless perch and not charged. It’s also larger and heavier. I still use it, but it’s the power bank that goes into my carry-on suitcase as a backup charger.
Since I’ve owned this Anker 622 MagGo, the company has released a few updated models. The $55 Anker 633 (currently on sale for $45) packs 10,000 mAh into a slightly thicker brick, includes a USB-A port in addition to USB-C and has a metal kickstand for resting the phone upright.
You can also consider getting the chunkier Anker MagGo Power Bank that delivers 10,000 mAh and follows the same idea of compact magnetic charging and a convenient kickstand. Its main appeals are faster 15-watt magnetic charging and Qi2 compatibility, plus a small display on the side that reports the battery capacity and an estimate of the remaining battery in hours.
For more smart buys, check out this amazing multitool and a portable TV that can go anywhere. And if you happen to be gift shopping, check out our roundup of the best gifts for grads, the best Father’s Day gifts and the best tech gifts for anyone, anytime of year.
Technologies
Anyone Can Now Access the Largest Space Map Ever Created. Here’s How
The data includes a map of nearly 800,000 galaxies and covers 0.54 square degrees of the sky.

If you’ve ever wanted a better look at deep space, you now have your chance. A treasure trove of data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope is now available for public consumption. Included with the data is an interactive map that contains nearly 800,000 galaxies and various filters so you can view them in different ways.
The data was made available starting on June 5 by the Cosmic Evolution Survey out of Caltech. It consists of survey data that mapped out 0.54 square degrees of the sky. For reference, if you take a look at this month’s strawberry moon, the amount of sky that the telescope mapped is equivalent to about three full moons side by side. The total size of all the map data is about 1.5 TB.
Read more: Coolest Space Photos of 2025 Will Fill You With Cosmic Wonder
Included in the map are galaxies and stars that are 13.5 billion years old, which means it provides the best look into the early universe that science has offered so far. NASA estimates that the universe is 13.8 billion years old, so those galaxies and stars are positively ancient. In all, there are galaxies and stars in the data that cover about 98% of the known universe’s history.
That makes this newly released map bigger than the largest Milky Way galaxy map ever created, which still only covers a small slice of the galaxy’s overall layout. However, the Milky Way galaxy map is still larger in terms of data, as that map is over 500 TB in size.
Researchers mapped the sky with the JWST’s near infrared camera, and 0.2 square degrees of the sky were mapped with the mid infrared instrument. In total, there’s about 1.5 TB worth of data to sift through. Arguably the coolest part of the info dump is the interactive map, which loads in a web browser and allows users to move around and see everything that was included.
Using the interactive map viewer
Curious individuals can check out the project’s map viewer. To use the map, you simply have to follow the link and click the «check it out!» button. Once the map loads, you’ll see a square-ish image that contains over 700,000 galaxies and other objects.
Once you load the map, the best way to view it is using the layers and filters in the top right corner. The first box contains views, including NIRCam RGB and several other views. The second box breaks up the image into tiles. These tiles are how the image was mapped, so you can see which instrument was used to capture each segment of the map.
For educational purposes, the third box is the one to use. These options outline the objects of interest. Clicking on them provides you with a catalog ID (which lets you search for those objects again later), the raw images taken of each object and additional data points like light wavelength.
The tools in the top left are used for search and configuration, like increasing the brightness and changing the hue to make some objects easier to view. With the controls, your best bet is to just look around and find all the cool stuff. At any point, you can reset all of the settings by refreshing the browser window.
How to access the data
The data is accessible in a couple of different ways. The COSMOS2025 project published three research papers on the data they collected. The first is a catalog of everything that was observed. The other two focused on the near infrared imaging and mid infrared imaging used to obtain the data.
You can obtain the data by filling out this form. Once done, you’ll be able to download the data. It’s available as a single, large download or you can download individual tiles if you prefer. There are more advanced instructions available from the COSMOS2025 project website if you need them, and more data available here if you want to download it.
You may notice that the majority of the map data is in the FITS file format. That’s an unusual file format that your standard Photoshop or image viewing application won’t be able to handle very well. Fortunately, NASA has a trustworthy list of FITS image viewers that you can choose from.
The data will also be used to help answer questions about the early universe, and all this data being freely available to researchers the world over will help with that.
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