The Texas Advanced Computer Center talks to Masahiro (Hiro) Ono, who leads the Robotic Surface Mobility Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory which led all the Mars rover missions (also one of the researchers who developed the software that allows the current rover to operate):
The Perseverance rover, which launched this summer, computes using RAD 750s — radiation-hardened single board computers manufactured…
Tag: rovers
Amazing photos in Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter celebration
NASA has posted a sampling of some of the most awe-inspiring photos of Mars, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the launch of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They are proof that Mars is a very photogenic world. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-photos-mars-reconnaissance-orbiter-15th-anniversary…
Deep learning will help future Mars rovers go farther, faster, and do more science
NASA’s Mars rovers have been one of the great scientific and space successes of the past two decades. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-deep-future-mars-rovers-faster.html…
Could ice sheets, not rivers, have formed the channels on Mars?
New research suggests that many of Mars’ ancient channels, thought to have been carved by flowing surface water, were formed instead by meltwater beneath glacial ice sheets. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-river-channels-ice-sheets-devon-island-canadian-arctic-archipelago…
Mars landings: ‘7 minutes of terror’
To celebrate the 8-year anniversary of Curiosity rover’s arrival on Mars, here’s a video on the final 7 minutes of its chilling descent on August 5-6, 2012. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-curiosity-rovers-seven-minutes-of-terror…
Is there life below the Martian surface?
Galactic cosmic rays are high energy particles from explosive events like supernovae, zinging through our solar system, constantly bombarding both Earth and Mars. A researcher suggests they supply enough energy to make subsurface life on Mars possible. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/is-there-life-below-the-martian-surface…
Giant Waves of Sand Are Moving On Mars
“Researchers have spotted large waves of martian sand migrating for the first time,” reports Science magazine. “The discovery dispels the long-held belief that these ‘megaripples’ haven’t moved since they formed hundreds of thousands of years ago. They’re also evidence of stronger-than-expected winds on the Red Planet.” It’s pretty staggering that humans can detect these changes on Mars, says Ralph Lorenz, a…
Humanity on Mars? Technically possible, but no voyage on horizon
Robotic landers and rovers have been touching down on Mars since the 1970s, but when will humanity finally set foot on the Red Planet? Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-07-humanity-mars-technically-voyage-horizon.html…
Check out this sloth robot
SlothBot is a slow-moving and energy-efficient robot that can linger in the trees to monitor animals, plants, and the environment below. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/sloth-robot-video…
Help a Mars Rover’s AI Learn to Tell Rocks From Dirt
Slashdot reader shirappu writes: For eight years now, the Mars Rover Curiosity has been exploring the surface of Mars. Even now, it’s still exploring, and still getting upgrades. According to Tech Crunch, NASA is now looking to interested volunteers to help upgrade the rover’s terrain-scanning AI systems by annotating image data of the planet itself. “The problem is that while there…