Gearing up for more tech coverage
Feb. 19—As you're reading this, technology tested in New Mexico is on its way to the moon.
Last week, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocketed to space from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, carrying Intuitive Machines' lunar lander, Nova-C.
The lander — the first private lander to touch down on the moon's surface, if all goes well — will be the first U.S.-launched space vessel to land on the moon in more than 50 years.
Intuitive Machines, which is based in Houston, Texas, traveled to New Mexico in 2021 and 2022 to test equipment that it hopes will make for a soft landing.
The 14-foot lander will use laser range finder technology that was tested in Spaceport America southeast of Truth of Consequences.
The company strapped the equipment to a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter, which used the Spaceport's restricted airspace to test the laser.
If all goes well, the unmanned vessel will land on the moon later this week.
The New Mexico connection to an ongoing spaceflight comes as the Journal's business desk is seeking to increase its coverage of all things tech in New Mexico.
In the near future, we will announce details of the launch of our tech-oriented podcast, Tech Outlook.
It will ultimately be a platform to showcase local business leaders who are using various forms of technology to solve problems.
The types of stories we will share will run the gamut.
Virtually every company or patent that comes out of New Mexico's national laboratories has a tech component to it. There's a story in this week's edition about various companies that are using technology to treat contaminated water so that it can be reused, and a short report about a Rio Rancho company that got a grant to support programs that help science, technology, engineering and math students. The cover story is about new state requirements mandating that future parking lots include infrastructure so an electric vehicle charging station can be easily installed, so its easier to rollout the technology.
Earlier this month, I spent a day skiing a Ski Lift Pitch, where local entrepreneurs pitched their business proposals to investors on a ski lift. Nearly all of the pitchers were doing something in the tech space, from rethinking battery storage to making super computing mainstream.
I'll admit I'm not the most tech-savvy guy. I listen to folk music and play the banjo. I like to read the actual newspaper and my idea of staying up to date on the latest technology is the never-ending struggle to keep track of my various usernames and passwords.
So I could use some help.
If someone you know is in anyway connected to tech businesses in New Mexico, please consider sending us a note so we could see if they are interested in being part of Tech Outlook. We're looking for all kinds of stories: Can you explain what 3D printing is, or directed energy? Are robots or artificial intelligence being deployed to fix a problem in New Mexico?
My email is rboetel@abqjournal, and I'd love to hear your pitches.
