The satellite-borne phone will map the Earth with its 5 megapixel camera and conduct a number of scientific and engineering experiments, the most significant of which will be to hand total control of the spacecraft over to the Nexus.

BBC: Thinking outside the box in space

Instead of using aircraft-borne chemicals as seeds, the researchers propose spraying seawater from unmanned, wind-powered, satellite-controlled vessels that would cruise the latitudes where hurricanes form since droplets of brine have a similar effect to dry ice and silver iodide.

ECONOMIST: Fiddling with clouds could help tame hurricanes