I got 2 units of solar lantern lamp from a friend to test.They are made in China. One of the lantern is modified so that it has a charging and low power indicator. I put a simple charge controller inside it and a brand new Panasonic 6V 4.5AH Sealed Lead Acid Battery. The other lantern is kept original. I want to compare which one has better performance. Both have been put into test since the beginning of June 2008 and are still working just fine. I charge them whole day from dawn till dusk (effectively from 6:30 till 17:30). Both can light brightly whole night long (Actually it is not as bright

Saqr Bin Saif, 30, from UAE built a solar powered car. The car is small, only two people can get seated in it. Maximum speed is also low - just 50 kmph. Four solar batteries on the roof keep the vehicle going. It took seven months to develop and construct the car, which is not going to be produced for sale.

Europe's comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta has sent back new images of Mars after swooping over the planet's surface at the weekend.The craft came within just 250 kilometres of the Red Planet and used Martian gravity to swing its course onward, as it pursues its looping mission around the solar system.During a dramatic 15 minutes, the probe disappeared from mission control screens as it passed the far side of Mars in relation to Earth.Then the spacecraft was forced to switch from solar to battery power for even longer as it traversed a Martian solar eclipse. Via Abc.net.au

Five satellites were launched into space from Florida on Saturday aboard an unmanned Delta rocket to investigate electromagnetic storms, the dark side of the phenomenon that causes Earth's dazzling aurorae. The $200 million mission is expected to help scientists develop better forecasting techniques for potentially dangerous solar storms, which can knock out power grids, navigation and other satellites and even force airlines to abandon polar routes due to loss of radio contact. The satellites were carried into orbit aboard a Boeing-built Delta 2 rocket that lifted off at 6:01 p.m.