Posts Tagged: Mars
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has gone silent on Mars
NASA is trying to figure out how to reach its Ingenuity Mars helicopter after losing contact with the craft earlier this week. During its 72nd flight — a “quick pop-up” to an altitude of about 40 feet — NASA says Ingenuity stopped communicating with the Perseverance rover before it was meant to. It went quiet on Thursday, and as of Friday afternoon, NASA still hadn’t heard from it.
Perseverance serves the go-between for all communications to and from the helicopter; Ingenuity sends information to Perseverance, which then passes it on to Earth, and vice versa. According to NASA, the small helicopter completed the ascent as planned, but ceased communications while on its way back down. “The Ingenuity team is analyzing available data and considering next steps to reestablish communications with the helicopter,” NASA said in a status update on Friday. Ingenuity had previously ended a flight earlier than it was supposed to, and Thursday’s jaunt was meant to “check out the helicopter’s systems.”
Ingenuity has been on the red planet since 2021, when it arrived with the Perseverance rover. And it’s far exceeded its mission goals. NASA originally hoped the experimental helicopter would be able to complete a handful of flights. It went on to fly more than 20 times within its first year in operation. The space agency officially extended its mission in 2022, and it’s since executed dozens more more successful flights. Ingenuity is the first aircraft to take flight from the surface of Mars.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasas-ingenuity-helicopter-has-gone-silent-on-mars-195746735.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
NASA can’t talk to its Mars robots for two weeks because the sun is in the way
NASA’s Mars exploration robots will be on their own for the next two weeks while the space agency waits out a natural phenomenon that will prevent normal communications. Mars and Earth have reached positions in their orbits that put them on opposite sides of the sun, in an alignment known as solar conjunction. During this time, NASA says it’s risky to try and send commands to its instruments on Mars because interference from the sun could have a detrimental effect.
To prevent any issues, NASA is taking a planned break from giving orders until the planets move into more suitable positions. The pause started on Saturday and will go on until November 25. A Mars solar conjunction occurs every two years, and while the rovers will be able to send basic health updates home throughout most of the period, they’ll go completely silent for the two days when the sun blocks Mars entirely.
That means the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, the Ingenuity helicopter, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Odyssey and MAVEN orbiters will be left to their own devices for a little while. Their onboard instruments will continue to gather data for their respective missions, but won’t send this information back to Earth until the blackout ends.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasa-cant-talk-to-its-mars-robots-for-two-weeks-because-the-sun-is-in-the-way-213022922.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
SpaceX workers face above-average injury rates as Musk prioritizes Mars over safety, report finds
A Reuters investigation into unsafe working conditions at SpaceX has uncovered more than 600 injuries going back to 2014 that have not been publicly reported until now. Current and former employees cited in the report blame CEO Elon Musk’s aggressive deadlines and hatred of bureaucracy, alleging his goal of getting humans to Mars “as fast as possible” has led the company to cut corners and eschew proper protocols.
Injury rates at some SpaceX facilities are much higher than the industry average of .8 injuries or illnesses per 100 workers, Reuters found. At its Brownsville, Texas location, the 2022 injury rate was 4.8 per 100 workers. At the Hawthorne, California manufacturing facility, it was 1.8. In McGregor, Texas, where the company conducts rocket tests, the injury rate was 2.7.
Employees have suffered broken bones, lacerations, crushed fingers, burns, electric shocks and serious head wounds — including one that blinded Brownsville worker Florentino Rios in 2021 and another that left employee Francisco Cabada in a coma since January 2022. At SpaceX’s McGregor site, one worker, Lonnie LeBlanc, was killed in 2014 when wind knocked him off the trailer of an improperly loaded truck. Yet over the years, SpaceX has only paid meager fines as a result of its safety lapses. After LeBlanc’s death, the company settled with OSHA for $ 7,000, according to Reuters.
Reuters spoke to over two dozen current or former employees, as well as others “with knowledge of SpaceX safety practices.” One SpaceX ex-manager told Reuters that “workers take care of their safety themselves,” and others said employees were even told not to wear bright-colored safety gear because Musk does not like it. SpaceX has also repeatedly failed to submit injury data to regulators for much of its history, according to Reuters.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spacex-workers-face-above-average-injury-rates-as-musk-prioritizes-mars-over-safety-report-finds-224235095.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Watch NASA’s Mars helicopter complete a record-setting flight
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter is still pushing boundaries long after its first Mars liftoff. As CNETnotes, the space agency has shared video of Ingenuity's milestone 25th flight on April 8th, when it broke duration and speed records. The robotic helicopter flew at 12MPH for just over two minutes and 41 seconds, providing footage of the Red Planet's rippling sands and rock fields as part of the 2,310-foot journey. The footage you see below was sped up to cut the viewing time to 35 seconds.
The video doesn't include the very start and end of the trip, but for good reason. The navigation camera switches off whenever Ingenuity is within three feet of the Martian surface to prevent dust from interfering with the navigation system. The autonomous flier receives flight plans from JPL, but it uses a combination of the camera, a laser rangefinder and an inertial measurement unit to adapt to real-life conditions.
Ingenuity has flown three times since. It's currently preparing for a 29th flight following a brief scare in early May, when the mission team lost communication after the helicopter switched to a low-power state. NASA isn't easily deterred, then — expect the aircraft to keep flying for a while to come.
We’re going to the red planet! All the past, present, and future missions to Mars
A detailed list of all operational and planned missions to Mars, along with explanations of their objectives.
Emerging Tech | Digital Trends
We’re going to the red planet! All the past, present, and future missions to Mars
A detailed list of all operational and planned missions to Mars, along with explanations of their objectives.
Emerging Tech | Digital Trends
NASA’s InSight lander can finally dig a hole for its Mars heat probe
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NASA starts accepting kids’ name suggestions for its Mars 2020 rover
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Mars crew could 3D-print skin and bones for injuries
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NASA proves its space helicopter can fly on Mars
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Mars Express orbiter snaps stunning image of Korolev crater
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NASA’s Insight lander delivers its first clear photo from Mars
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Opportunity rover stops responding during Mars dust storm
Things have gone from bad to worst for the Opportunity rover now that it's caught up in a massive Mars dust storm. In an update, NASA revealed that Opportunity didn't respond to a contact attempt. The team now assumes the robotic explorer's batteri…
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The UAE’s next ambitious project is to build a city on Mars
The United Arab Emirates, a place that knows a thing or two about constructing cities in harsh environments, has announced its most ambitious building project yet — a city on Mars.
The post The UAE’s next ambitious project is to build a city on Mars appeared first on Digital Trends.
NASA picks three potential drill sites for Mars 2020
When the Mars 2020 rover reaches the red planet, it will quickly begin drilling for samples from its surface. NASA hasn't picked the exact drill site yet, but it has narrowed its choices down to three during a workshop with scientists in Monrovia, Ca…
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Elon Musk’s Mars colony would have a horde of mining robots
If it wasn't already clear that Elon Musk has considered virtually every aspect of what it would take to colonize Mars, it is now. As part of his Reddit AMA session, the SpaceX founder has revealed that his vision of a permanent colony would entail a…
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NASA will answer your questions about its journey to Mars
NASA has a ton of Mars-related projects that it hopes would culminate in sending humans to the red planet within the next 25 years. There's the stationary InSight lander that it plans to launch in 2018 and the next-gen rover that will succeed Curiosi…
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Weekly Rewind: Apple’s no good week, Musk aims for mars, and more
In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on, in fact, that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories.
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Lockheed Martin’s new magic school bus wants to virtually take kids to Mars
Lockheed Martin is bringing STEM education to the next level with its new Generation Beyond program, a national education initiative aimed at bringing “the science of space into thousands of homes and classrooms across America.”
The post Lockheed Martin's new magic school bus wants to virtually take kids to Mars appeared first on Digital Trends.
Elon Musk wants to visit space by 2021, send people to Mars by 2025
While talking at the 2016 Startmeup Hong Kong Venture Forum, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says he wants to travel to the International Space Station by 2021 and that he intends to send astronauts on a mission to Mars by 2025.
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