3... 2… 1… News Bites! I mean… blast off!

I'm Trevor Tortomasi…

And I'm Paz Bueno.

Okay, let's take a look at today's stories:

Taiwan prepares its Space Agency, artists are going to the moon, and Europe says goodbye to airplane mode.

Stay tuned for those stories… here we go!

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台灣國家太空中心將變成公共基金會

Taiwan's National Space Organization to become Public Foundation

We've talked about a lot of other countries getting into outer space (外太空).

So how do WE get up there, from Taiwan?

Well, we know about rockets (火箭), space stations (太空站), probes (探測器), and all kinds of spacecraft (太空船).

But it takes a lot of hard-working people to build all of this technology (科技).

All of these people working together makes a country's space industry (航天工業).

So does Taiwan have a space industry, too?

Yes, and it's getting ready to take the next step (要走下一步了)!

Taiwan's National Space Organization (國家太空中心), or NSPO, is going to become a public foundation (公共基金會), on January 1st, 2023.

That means the NSPO will have a lot more responsibilities (責任).

These responsibilities include hiring more workers, managing technology, and working on more projects with other countries.

國家太空中心的新責任包括雇用更多員工，管理太空科技，並且跟外國有更多合作。

If that seems like a lot of work… it is!

But all of these new responsibilities will help Taiwan's space industry develop (發展).

That means more satellites, more rockets… and then maybe even more astronauts (太空人)!

So, starting from next year, Taiwan's NSPO should have a lot more jobs open.

And that leaves more space (空間，太空) for hard workers here in Taiwan!

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Man, people just keep making news in space…

日本大亨 帶藝術家環繞月球

Japanese Businessman to Take Artists Around the Moon

Usually, only scientists can go way up there…

But one man wants to change that.

A Japanese man named Maezawa Yusaku (前澤友作) is taking artists (藝術家) to the moon!

Mr. Maezawa has a lot of money… like, a LOT… and in 2018, he announced that he had bought a trip to the moon, from the company SpaceX.

He also said he would accept applications (申請) from anyone who would like to go.

前澤先生2018年宣布他跟SpaceX買了一趟太空旅遊，準備帶八個藝術家環繞月球，於是開始接受申請。

And more than one million people applied!

結果有一百多萬人來申請！

Four years later, Mr. Maezawa has finally chosen eight young artists to go with him around the moon.

One of the artists is Choi Seung-hyun, also known as T.O.P., a South Korean pop star (韓國流行音樂明星).

Another one is Steve Aoki, a Japanese-American DJ, who is famous for his electronic music (電子舞曲).

And then there's Tim Dodd, a YouTuber from the U.S., who has a channel (YouTube 頻道) called "Everyday Astronaut".

Mr. Maezawa has named this project "dearMoon", and he hopes it will be special.

He says that with filmmakers (製片人) and musicians (音樂家) in outer space, they can bring a new perspective (看法) back to Earth.

We'll be seeing more videos, and hearing more music, from people who have really been there!

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Okay, back to Earth, but still not back to the ground…

歐盟將允許 飛機上打 5G 電話

EU to Allow 5G Phone Calls on Flights

If you've ever been on an airplane (飛機), then you have probably had this experience (經驗)…

Before the airplane takes off (起飛), the flight attendants (空服員) ask you to turn off your phone's Wi-fi, or 5G, or 4G.

That's because airlines say these phone signals could affect airplane communications.

因為航空公司說，這些手機訊號會影響到飛機通訊。

And they say that could be dangerous.

In fact, because this happens for every airplane flight, most phones now have something called "airplane mode" (飛航模式).

When you put your phone into airplane mode, it turns off all of your phone services, like Wi-fi and 5G.

【飛航模式】表示關掉手機所有的通訊服務。

But soon, our phones might not need airplane mode anymore!

The European Union (歐盟), or EU, has announced that planes can let people use Wi-fi and 5G on flights, starting from June of next year.

The EU says that with newer technology, these phone signals shouldn't be dangerous for planes anymore.

Of course, we can let them decide first…

But it would be nice to send some messages to friends in the sky!

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So, in today's News Bites:

Taiwan's National Space Organization, or NSPO, is going to become a public foundation on January 1st, 2023.

That means the NSPO will have a lot more responsibilities, such as hiring more workers, managing technology, and working on more projects with other countries.

All of these new responsibilities will help develop Taiwan's space industry.

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And,

A Japanese man named Maezawa Yusaku is taking eight artists to the moon.

The artists include pop star T.O.P., DJ Steve Aoki, and a YouTuber named Tim Dodd, of the channel "Everyday Astronaut".

Mr. Maezawa has named the project "dearMoon", and hopes these artists can bring a new perspective back to Earth.

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And,

The European Union has announced that planes can let people use Wi-fi and 5G on flights, starting from June of next year.

The EU says that with newer technology, these phone signals shouldn't be dangerous for planes anymore.

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And that's today's episode of News Bites!