Seen & Heard: Amazon sued, Europe’s first lunar lander and more

“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.

Amazon sued for alleged privacy violations

Photo: Hispanolistic / E+ / Getty Images

Amazon is facing a lawsuit in Washington state, marking the first dispute under the state’s My Health My Data Act. The lawsuit accuses Amazon of violating privacy laws by collecting location data from millions of Americans without their consent through its software development kits used in various mobile applications. The collected data allegedly included information that could indicate a consumer’s attempt to acquire health services, violating the My Health My Data Act, which requires explicit consent for collecting and selling health-related data.

Europe’s first lunar lander underway

Photo: ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) has partnered with Thales Alenia Space to develop Argonaut, Europe’s first lunar lander. This spacecraft will provide autonomous access to the Moon, supporting international exploration efforts. Starting in the early 2030s, Argonaut will conduct regular lunar missions, delivering infrastructure, scientific instruments, rovers and essential resources for astronauts. Designed to withstand harsh lunar conditions for up to five years, Argonaut will play a crucial role in sustainable lunar exploration, according to ESA.

Leica Geosystems, SCI-Arc equip future architects

Photo: Leica Geosystems

Leica Geosystems and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) have partnered to equip future architects with advanced technology skills. Leica is donating more than $200,000 in equipment, including lidar scanners, and offering expert guidance and scholarships to students. SCI-Arc students are applying this technology to create digital archives of Los Angeles structures and visualize rewilded wilderness.

GNSS spoofing disrupts wildlife tracking

Photo: rockptarmigan / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images

In a recent study published by Nature Communications, researchers share that GNSS spoofing in conflict zones is disrupting wildlife tracking efforts, particularly affecting black-tailed godwits migrating through Eastern Europe. Researchers tagged 15 godwits in Finland in May 2024. Eight of these birds displayed spoofed geolocations during their migrations. The most significant spoofing occurred near Simferopol airport in Crimea, where birds were falsely located while flying over Ukraine or Romania. This spoofing added substantial errors to migration tracks, in one case creating a false 7,200-km round trip.