With the Orion spacecraft having a successful test flight Friday, when can we expect to see manned trips to Mars?

 And if you thought watching a harrowing space survival journey (a la Sandra Bullock in Gravity) was intense, try playing one. 

 It’s only been 9 days since the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed teaser trailer exploded onto the internet, but dedicated fans have already built one of the new, controversial “crossguard lightsabers” using a 3D printer. Check it out below:

 IMAX may soon be getting some high-def competition in movie theaters with Dolby Cinema. 

 German Chancellor Angela Merkel argues against net neutrality, calls for special access fast lanes. 

 Check out Sony’s latest marketing stunt showing off their waterproof devices – the Xperia Aquatech Store in Dubai. It’s an underwater concept store that requires scuba gear and an invitation to reach. 

 Awareness or alarmism? Stephen Hawking’s recent comment on artificial intelligence potentially leading to the “end of the human race” has stirred debate among AI experts. 

 In related news, if you have 20 minutes to spare be sure and check out this new TEDx Talk on the wonderful and terrifying implications of computers that can learn. 

 Work has begun on the European Extremely Large Telescope, an enormous telescope with a 128 ft main mirror that will be able to obtain high-resolution imagery of planetary formation and potentially even detect water and other organic molecules on far off planets.

 A fascinating look at how ultrafast cameras that capture 100 billion frames per second will enable us to watch how light moves and may even help us study invisibility cloaks.

 Introducing the word’s first 1,000 mph car. 

 If you’re not down to fork over $200+ for a smartwatch, check out the $7 Fastfox. 

 Yota’s slick, dual-screened e-paper smartphone is now on sale in the UK.

 The virtual reality headsets that give Oculus Rift a run for its money. 

 Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg fires back at Apple’s Tim Cook after Cook suggested that free online services (like Facebook) treat their users as “products”. 

 Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice has just wrapped filming. 

 Why ultrasonic devices may be the key to haptic feedback for virtual reality. 

 Pizza Hut’s new tablet-menu will track your eye movements to pick your favorite toppings for you. 

Somebody said to me, ‘Look, no matter if [Dil was] a guy or a girl, if this guy was in love with you, why was his penis not erect?’ Of course the thing was, you wouldn’t be allowed an erect penis [on film]. You were allowed a penis, but not an erect penis. A lot of men will tell you, sadly, it isn’t always erect when it’s supposed to be [laughs], but anyway, that’s just a technicality. Most people were just shocked at the presence of the penis, not whether or not it was aroused.”

Representatives of the Civil Society Associations Gambia and other advocates for Gambian human rights gathered in Washington, D.C. last week to implore the U.S. government to redouble its supposed commitment to supporting the West African nation. In recent months there’s been a spike of Western attention that many of the activists attributed to the rise of visibly anti-LGBT sentiment within Gambia.

Officially the United States State Department has publicly condemned Gambian president Yahya Jammeh for passing a law that criminalizes “aggravated homosexuality.” The Gambian government, however, has expressed its intentions to continue its crusade against queer individuals regardless of aid cuts or retaliation from the West.

Banka Manneh of the Civil Society Associations Gambia spoke at a panel held at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights to voice his concerns about the U.S.’s inconsistent attention. While the media attention towards Jammeh’s discriminatory laws has been well intentioned, many feel that it belies the seeming blind eye that’s been turned to other Gambian atrocities committed against non-LGBT people.

“In all these years of efforts to go to the state department, going to all these different levels in the U.S. government lobbying and lobbying for them to do something about the Gambia, we haven’t been having any traction at all,” said Manneh. “All of sudden they arrest these 15 gays and lesbians, and we’re seeing really what seems to be a firestorm.”

Jammeh’s “aggravated homosexuality” law bears a number of parallels with Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, and has similarly captured the attention of the world press for its severity. As horrific as Jammeh’s avowal to hunt down Gambia’s LGBT population may sound, however, they are not uncharacteristic of the dictator’s generally oppressive politics.

“What we are hoping is that this could be a catalyst – maybe this could be a wake up call,” Manneh said. “Maybe [the U.S. has] been asleep all this time. If this serves that purpose, that would be awesome because then it benefits the LGBT community and the regular Gambians.”