It looks like the Mars Insight Lander light will soon go out. In the two years that the lander has been studying the geophysics of Mars since Elysium Planetary’s solo post, Insight’s twin solar arrays have been collecting dust, and now so dirty that they’re producing about 500 watts per hour, just enough to run a science package on the lander. And with the onset of winter on Mars, it is likely to get worse, which will throw more dust into the sky and lower the angle of the sun, reducing the sunlight on the panel. With the exception of a “clean event” courtesy of a well-placed cyclone, NASA plans to shut down almost everything on the lander except the seismometer, which is already needed by thousands of Marscoeks and internal heaters to survive the cold Mars night. They are putting a bold face on it, constantly emphasizing the achievements of science and mission. But just two years of science and a failed high-profile test we could not expect from the NASA mission, especially with a $ 800 million price tag.
Near the house, it turns out that there is always a reason to have a human crew on a sailing ship: to fix things that went wrong. It was learned by Mayflower Autonomous Ship when it tried to cross the Atlantic from England to the States, when it was Recently diverted for repairs. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. The project dashboard says the problem has been repaired, and the AI ship has moved away from Azores and is hitting west once more. There is now a long stretch of ocean in front of it, and there are a few options to enter if something else goes wrong. Still, it’s a great project, and we wish them a fair ride.
Have you ever walked past a wall clock display in a store and wondered why someone had trouble setting the time at 10:10? We’ve noticed this, of course, and always thought it had something to do with some obscure horological tradition, such as “IV” instead of the Roman numerals to mark four o’clock on the clock using “IIII”. But no, it turns out that 10:10 is apparently more enjoyable, and at least in analog timepieces, because it makes people smile. The research cited in the article rated the volunteers for how enjoyable the clocks were when set at different times and won 10:10 easily that it made them smile. So it’s nice to know how easily we humans can be manipulated.
If geriatric pop stars have had anything more tragic than their glorious days trying to raise some cash from the waves of nostalgia, we’re not sure what it could be. Still, a lot of work tries to do it, and many succeed, although seeing the excess of time and stardom can be a bit calming. But Swedish megastar ABBA seems to have found a way to cash in on their reputation by sending digital avatars for them to travel. The “ABBA-tars”, created by a 1,000-member team from Industrial Light and Magic, will appear alongside a live backing band to live in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The avatars represented Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha, and Annie-Fried when they appeared in the 1970s, and were animated thanks to the Motion Capture Suite, which performed 40 songs. It remains to be seen how fans will embrace this idea, but we will say it – Swedish Septuagenarians look quite beautiful in skin-tight spandex.
And last but not least, the headline made you read this article. It’s one of those food delivery bots that swarms the college campus these days; Anyone can guess how it rotates on the railway tracks. The bot bounces slightly before slipping under the wheels of the train, with predictable results after smoothing out the battery pack.