Monthly Archives: July 2022

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Scientists released the first pieces of the multispectral maps made by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) June 29, 2022, according toNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

NASAsMars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been mapping minerals on the red planet for the last 16 years with the help of CRISM.

Anyone can access these maps from NASAs Planetary Data System website.It has managed to map 86 per cent of Mars surface with its multispectral mode, detecting nearly all of the minerals on the surface.

CRISM is a visible-infrared spectrometer whose primary goal is to look for mineralogical evidence for past water on the surface and subsurface of Mars.

The coverage goal for the multispectral mode was 80 per cent, owing to the limited lifetime of the coolers needed by its infrared detector. But it has managed to exceed that goal.

The hyper spectral mode, which uses the wavelengths from the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) detector, doesnt require cryogenic cooling and has attained more than 99 per cent coverage.

For the first Mars year of MROs mission, every other orbit was restricted to nadir pointing (placingdirectly below a particular location). This was done to allow early rapid accumulation of multispectral mapping data. Subsequently, we eliminated that restriction, Scott Murchie, the principal investigator for CRISM, told Down To Earth.

We did give preferences to those regions that were known to have the most diverse mineralogy, he added.

The data gathered by CRISM over the last 16 years is invaluable for numerous research avenues and missions to Martian surface.

For example, NASAs Mars 2020 mission, which saw the Perseverance rover land on the surface of Mars, heavily relied on data gathered by CRISM.

NASA used a community-based process in which anyone could propose a landing site for MarsScience Laboratory (MSL) on Mars, Murchie elaborated.

The cryocoolers onboard the MRO completed their life cycles in 2017. Since then, the scientists working on CRISM have been focusing on building coverage in the VNIR hyperspectral map.

They are now focused on correcting the two sets of mapping data for differences in illumination and atmospheric conditions and releasing them to NASAs Planetary Data System.

Readily available and accessible data will help planetary scientists, geologists, and meteorologists conduct research. It will also increase the prospects of humanity understanding the universe more easily.

When asked which discovery made by CRISM excited him the most, Murchie said:

That would have to be the discovery that the Jezero crater preserves a habitable environment. Cutting-edge analyses of CRISM data is used to select sites within the crater for collecting the rock samples.

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NASA releases first pieces of the multispectral maps of Mars - Down To Earth Magazine

Tom Mueller is a self-described race car guy. Upon retiring from his role as CTO of Propulsion at SpaceX in November 2020, he mostly wanted to go racing and ride dirt bikes and travel, he said in a recent interview. Mueller, who is 61, was putting behind him a storied career: While at SpaceX, he led the development of the Merlin rocket engine, which powers the Falcon 9 rocket, and the Draco engines that power the Dragon spacecraft.

Retirement was the plan but plans dont always work out as intended.

As soon as he retired, Mueller, who is widely considered one of the leading experts of propulsion alive today, started sketching up a small thruster. That thruster now has a name, Rigel, after the blue supergiant in the constellation Orion. Its become a cornerstone of Muellers new startup, Impulse Space, which he founded in September 2021. With the new venture, Mueller wants Impulse to be the go-to option for cost-effective, efficient in-space transportation.

It was going to be just for fun and not too serious, but then some ex-SpaceX people started talking [to me] and wanted to help and all of the sudden it became real, he said. Now its full on.

The Rigel thruster firing in the Mojave. image Credits:Impulse Space

Full on might be an understatement. Impulse has raised a notable amount of money for such a young space startup, including a $20 million seed round led by Peter Thiels Founders Fund and a subsequent $10 million investment from VC firm Lux Capital. Given Muellers resume, he didnt have to search very hard or at all for people willing to put their cash behind his ideas.

Somebody asked me, How long after you incorporated Impulse did it take for investors to want to give you money? And I said, Well actually, I incorporated Impulse because I had investors tell me they wanted to fund me, Mueller said.

Nor has Impulse had too much trouble finding talent. The startup has now grown to around 40 people, with many on the technical leadership team, such as Kevin Miller, VP of Propulsion, George Ketigian, VP of Integration, and Paul Seebacher, VP of Manufacturing, with prior experience at SpaceX. Impulses COO, Barry Matsumori, also had a nearly four-year stint at SpaceX as the SVP of Sales and Business Development.

Impulse made the ambitious announcement earlier this month that it would be attempting a Mars mission with Relativity Space. The two companies, neither of which have yet to send their respective technologies to orbit, want to launch as soon as 2024. It was Relativitys idea, Mueller said. He recounted how Zach Dunn, Relativitys SVP of Engineering and Manufacturing and former SpaceX-er, approached Mueller about the mission. (Mueller and Dunn go way back, with Mueller hiring him for an internship at SpaceX.)

[Dunn] goes, Are you in? I just thought it was the coolest thing. It was kind of scary super scary, super hard, but I think were the right guys to do it. I actually feel better if Im kind of scared.

The agreement between Impulse and Relativity is through 2029. If they dont make the 2024 launch date, theyll have another opportunity when the stars (literally) next align, in 2026. Relativity will be providing the launch vehicle, its heavy-lift Terran R rocket, while Impulse will be building a Mars cruise vehicle spacecraft, entry capsule and lander.

If all goes to plan, the Mars mission will not be Impulses first mission. The company wants to fly an orbital transport vehicle late next year and is at work in the meantime running tests on the Rigel engine, making and testing valves, the avionics suite and more. And while Mars will likely be the most challenging mission on Impulses docket, Mueller has shown he is not the type to be cowed by a challenge.

Much of Muellers vision for Impulse is premised on launch becoming extremely low cost, and as a result, there being a lot of payloads in space that need to be moved around. He likened fully reusable heavy-lift rockets like Starship, Terran R and Rocket Labs Neutron to the internet in the early 90s. People dont know really what its going to do or what its all about or what the real killer apps are, he said.

Terran R will have a 20,000-kilogram payload capacity and Neutron will be capable of sending 13,000-kilograms to orbit. If SpaceX can pull it off, each Starship launch will be able to carry a staggering 100-150 tons. The possibilities that could arise from such a paradigm-shift in launch are hard to even conceive.

I think that were going be surprised how much is going to change in space to be able to put so much cargo up at so low cost, Mueller added.

Relativity CEO Tim Ellis and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have each separately talked about a vision for the future of humanity as one that is multiplanetary in numerous public statements, Musk has summed up his mission as one to extend the light of consciousness in the cosmos and Mueller is clearly on board to go to the Red Planet. But he said hes also motivated by things slightly closer to home.

He pointed to the moon and the potential for a lunar and cis-lunar economy to help offload the resources of Earth. There are many valuable elements present on and below the Moons surface, as well as water and ice. Myriad startups, as well as the worlds major space agencies, have started eyeing up ways to exploit those resources. Mueller said he wanted to help build a future where heavy industry and power generation, two sectors that are notable for their carbon emissions, can move into space.

Thats like my noble goal, he said. It may not happen in my lifetime, but I think helping establish a low-cost reliable transportation network in space can help get it started.

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SpaceXs CTO of propulsion retired. Now he wants to go to Mars. - TechCrunch

NASA has shared a unique image of the surface of Mars with blue ripples all over it. The image reveals the secret behind winds on the red planet.

On Monday, July 25, NASA shared a stunning Mars image. It displayed the surface of the red planet with sand dunes that form small hilly crests. However, the top of the crests were covered in a blue colour, giving it an appearance of blue ripples moving over the sand dunes of Mars. The space agency revealed that the blue tinge did not come naturally in the Mars photo. NASA says the colour was added by it. But it was not added as a fancy filter to make the image look cool. There is an important scientific reason behind it. Scientists have been studying the wind movements on the red planet and this photo elaborates on how the wind systems work there. Read on to know the secrets of the wind revealed by this Mars photo.

It should be noted that just a month ago, the NASA Mars Rover reported dust carrying whirlwinds known as dust devils on Mars. It was an intriguing find that such dust storms not only got as large as 4 square kilometers, but also occurred multiple times a day. Now, expanding upon its knowledge of the wind system on the red planet, NASA researchers decided to use these blue ripples to understand how the wind moves.

The image was taken near the center of Gamboa Crater. It explained in the post accompanying the image, There are tiny ripples on the tops of the dunes, only several feet from crest-to-crest. These merge into larger mega-ripples about 30 feet apart that radiate outward from the dunes. The larger, brighter formations that are roughly parallel are called "Transverse Aeolian Ridges" (TAR). These TAR are covered with very coarse sand.

The TAR explains the wind feature of the planet. On the right side the ripples appear in blue-green color while on the left side, it appears in bright blue. This happens because the wind is blowing faster on the left side of the image and the TAR appears in bright color. On the right side, the slower moving wind gives it an ocean green color.

All of these different features can indicate which way the wind was blowing when they formed. Being able to study such variety so close together allows us to see their relationships and compare and contrast features to examine what they are made of and how they formed, the NASA post added.

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NASA shares stunning image of Blue Ripples on Mars, reveals wind mystery - HT Tech

More than 100,000 Husqvarna robots are preparing to sing the traditional Happy Birthday song to NASAs Mars Curiosity Rover robot in the weirdest birthday party ever.

Husqvarna says its robots will shout at the top of their voices or whatever it is they use to communicate from Earth to Mars, which is a distance of more than 174 million km, in an effort to get through to the loneliest robot in the universe, according to the company.

It generally takes about 5 to 20 minutes for a radio signal to travel the distance between Mars and Earth, depending on planet positions.

Husqvarna says its doing this because its noticed that, while the Mars Curiosity Rovers first birthday was celebrated, its subsequent nine birthdays have gone largely unnoticed.

Now, on its 10th birthday, the Mars Curiosity Rover is set to get a shout out from Husqvarnas robots, most of which will be the companys Automower, a robotic mower which itself looks somewhat spaceship-like in its design.

Husqvarna says this initiative derives from its long history of engineering and innovation, where robotic lawn mowers have played an important role in the companys success.

With technology based on the Automower robotic mowers existing alarm signal, Husqvarna used the integration platform IFTTT to enable the mowers to sing Happy Birthday.

Husqvarna has been working with IoT and external third-party solutions for years, for example Google Home, Amazon Alexa and IFTTT.

Bjrn Mannefred, robotics software manager at Husqvarna, says: For us this is a way to pay homage to the great engineering work of NASA, and that of our extensive team of robotic experts, by letting our robotic mowers celebrate a fellow robot.

Nobody should have to sing Happy Birthday to themselves, right?

Automower owners of the 405X, 415X and 435X AWD models that have the latest firmware installed will be notified about the update through the Husqvarna Automower Connect app where they have the opportunity to opt in and join the choir pre-event.

If they accept and follow the necessary steps, Automower robotic mower will automatically sing at 12, 3 and 6 pm (local time) on August 5th, as a fitting homage to Curiositys 10-year anniversary on Mars.

To learn more and get step-by-step instructions to participate, visit http://www.husqvarna.com/happybirthday.

Husqvarna is also demonstrating a choir of its robotic mowers singing Happy Birthday, as shown in the video below.

You might also like

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100,000 Husqvarna robots prepare to sing 'Happy Birthday' to NASA's Mars robot - Robotics and Automation News

In the early morning on July 30 and 31, 2022, use binoculars to focus on Mars, and youll spot Uranus in the same field of view. Mars shines relatively bright and red. Uranus appears as a dim greenish light. This view is for the Northern Hemisphere. Chart via John Jardine Goss.Mars and Uranus in one binocular field of view

On July 30 and 31, 2022, before the sun rises and while the sky is still fairly dark, grab a pair of binoculars and head out under the stars. If youve never spotted Uranus before, nows your chance.

The elusive 7th planet from the sun is dim, shining at magnitude 5.8. Sure, some people can spot objects of magnitude 6 with their eye alone. But unless you have a lot of experience, very dark skies and great eyesight, youll want a pair of binoculars to see Uranus.

Uranus is a challenge to observe because its just one point of light floating against the background stars of similar brightness. But on July 30 and 31, you have a not-so-secret weapon on your side: Mars. Mars shines bright at magnitude 0.2 and has a reddish glow. Look high above the southeastern horizon to spot it, then use binoculars to focus on Uranus hiding in the dark depths nearby.

Uranus will be to the upper left of Mars for Northern Hemisphere observers. Its the brightest point of light close to Mars. (If youre in the Southern Hemisphere, Uranus will be the brightest point of light in binoculars thats just below Mars.)

Uranus and Mars are about 2 degrees apart on the morning of July 30. Theyre a bit closer around 1 1/2 degrees apart on July 31. In reality, the planets are quite far apart. They average about 17.69 astronomical units (AU) from each other. Thats about 1.6 billion miles or 2.6 billion kilometers.

For more great observing events in the coming weeks, visit EarthSkys night sky guide

Bottom line: Use Mars to spot the elusive 7th planet, Uranus. A pair of binoculars will help you see the faint outer planet.

Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Her childrens picture book, Solar System Forecast, was published in 2012. She has also written a young adult dystopian novel titled A Different Sky. When she is not reading or writing about astronomy and staring up at the stars, she enjoys traveling to the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis, and paddleboarding. Kelly lives with her family in Wisconsin.

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Uranus and Mars conjunction on July 30 and 31 - EarthSky

Remade by Tobe Hooper in 1986, the original sci-fi classic Invaders from Mars was released in 1953, and Ignite Films is celebrating the films 70th anniversary with a brand new release.

Directed by William Cameron Menzies, Invaders from Mars has received a sensational 4K restoration, and Ignite Films is bringing it to Blu-ray & 4K UHD on September 26, 2022.

Pre-orders for the new release have launched TODAY!

Special bonus features include a restored 4K version of the original 1953 trailer, an interview with the films star, Jimmy Hunt, an in-depth look at the restoration process led by Scott MacQueen, Restoration Supervisor, plus a new documentary about the film featuring interviews with directors Joe Dante (Gremlins), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Visual Effects Academy-Award winner Robert Skotak, and other luminaries.

The full list of Bonus Features includes:

From the official press release, heres everything you need to know

Im excited for audiences, old and new, to finally be able to watch this masterpiece of both film and restoration on Blu-ray and 4K UHD!, said Ignite Films Director Jan Willem Bosman Jansen. We have taken great care to cover as many aspects of the movie in our bonus materials and design to bring it back to life for as wide an audience as possible. The work we have done is also a homage to the overall genius of William Cameron Menzies, and I cannot speak for him of course, but I think he would be thrilled with how his movie looks today.

Fearful memories of this timeless 1953 bone-chiller still haunt the dreams of fans who have never forgotten the story of David MacLean, a young boy (Jimmy Hunt) who witnesses an alien invasion. Invaders from Mars was filmed from a childs point of view, using exaggerated sets and upward angles. It became a modern classic and was also one of two early 50s classic alien-invasion science fiction films (the other is Robert Wises The Day the Earth Stood Still) reflecting Cold War tensions, the Red Scare and paranoid anxiety typical of many films in the 50s.

Invaders from Mars stars Jimmy Hunt, Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Morris Ankrum, Leif Erickson, and Hillary Brooke.

Cinecon will honor former child actor Jimmy Hunt with a special screening of the 4K restoration of Invaders From Mars at this years festival, which will run Labor Day weekend, from September 1-5, 2022 in Hollywood. Other special screenings of the 4K restoration have wowed audiences at the TCM Classic Film Festival, Hollywood, CA in April, Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, Italy, and the Fine Arts Film Festival, Venice, CA in June.

The restoration of Invaders from Mars has been much hoped for and a long time coming but the process was not an easy one. Leading the effort was longtime enthusiast and preservationist of classic cinema Scott MacQueen, who previously was head of preservation at UCLA Film & Television Archive for more than a decade, before retiring in 2021.

The biggest challenge for MacQueen was that the color negative confirmed for printing in SUPERcineCOLOR lacked many shots and needed to be sourced from 70-year-old prints.

Invaders from Mars was one of the most complex projects I have ever undertaken, said Restoration Supervisor Scott MacQueen. In the days of analog restoration, it would not have been possible, but 21st century digital tools have been game-changers. Released in an archaic process that is irretrievable today, Invaders from Mars was pieced together from five different sources. Additionally, eight minutes of European scenes and an alternate ending, and the original trailer, have been preserved. As star Jimmy Hunt says, Invaders from Mars has never looked so good, added MacQueen.

The 4K restoration process of the sci-fi classic Invaders from Mars required a lengthy search for the final elements, which was conducted by Ignites Janet Schorer. Additionally, it was imperative to locate the elements necessary to fill in the gaps in the original camera negative, which was stored with great care at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. The George Eastman Museum and National Film and Sound Archive of Australia were instrumental in supplying additional key elements which were essential to completing the film.

In support of the release, Ignite Films has created The Maze, a home for critical and analytical writing pertaining to the exciting restoration and release of Invaders from Mars. Named after the landmark 3D horror noir by William Cameron Menzies, every corner and avenue of the history and subtext of Invaders from Mars will be explored in The Maze by some of film historys greatest critical minds. Led by editor and critic Scout Tafoya. The Maze is available on the Ignite Films website.

Ignite Films will initially release the 4K restoration of Invaders From Mars in US/Region 1 on September 26, and will roll-out the release worldwide, excluding the UK, where Arrow Films will distribute. The Big Pieces Company is supporting the release in the US and overseeing international sales.

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Original 'Invaders from Mars' Returns With New 4K Restoration This September! [Exclusive] - Bloody Disgusting

The 2016 board game Terraforming Mars is an amazing title.

As evidence, I present the following image:

Nate Anderson

And if a board game becomes popular, you can be sure of one thing: A card game version will eventually arrive. If thats a hit, get ready for the dice version. And then, market willing, comes the roll-and-write version. That may sound like cynical resignation to cash-grabby companies endlessly returning to the same well, but these reimagined versions arent necessarily a bad thing. In fact, some of my favorite games are card or dice versions of bigger board games.

Thats where last years Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition comes in. A card-game spin on the original,Ares Expedition aims to capture the feel of the board game in a smaller, tighter package.

We are pleased to report that it succeeds. Advertisement

Any complaints we had about the production values of the original board game have been fixed.

Aaron Zimmerman

The central board tracks how far along you and your opponents are in terraforming Mars.

Aaron Zimmerman

The new games theme is identical to the original board games. You and up to three opponents take on the role of CEOs of megacorporations working to turn the inhospitable terrain of the red planet into something humanity can call home. While your actions contribute to the main goal of raising three key global parametersthe planets temperature must hit 8 Celsius, atmospheric oxygen must rise to 14 percent, and oceanic coverage must become sufficient to kickstart the planets own hydrologic cyclethis is not a cooperative game.

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The Terraforming Mars card game is as good as we'd hoped it would be - Ars Technica

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Deepcool Le Mars AIO RL With "All In One" Anti-Leak Technology - Nation World News

An all-female VALORANT team has been accused of cheating during the recent Galorants Astral Clash event.

Team Fallacy is being accused of cheating at a recent online tournament, with one of the players boyfriends allegedly standing in during a match. An entire document was released to support the shocking accusations, stating Mars boyfriend, ex-TSM FTX star Payen, was using her account during the event.

The document was shared because the event was the Last Chance Qualifier for the Astral Clash LAN tournament in California, with the winner getting a fully paid-for trip.

The Google doc went over an abundance of circumstantial and screenshot evidence that all came together to make mars look guilty of cheating, from suspicious behavior to past performance.

A clip of Mars allegedly getting a 1v5 ace is what initially led to the allegations. During the clip, Mars cannot be heard saying a single thing, which many found to be a strange response from someone who won in a 1v5 situation.

Looking into the situation further, VALORANT players noticed there was a lot of similarities with how Payen plays the shooter. For example, Mars uses F instead of C as a keybind, but went back to default binds during the tournament, the same as her boyfriend Payen. Mars also typically uses a dot crosshair but was using Payens usual crosshair during the 1v5 moment.

Finally, we could not find a single clip of mars using the Discord in-game overlay while playing with her team. Payen, on the other hand, has multiple clips on his Twitter where he has it on. In this 1v5 clip, the Discord overlay is on, the document read.

The Google doc went on to explain that Payen was seen queuing with the Fallacy roster in ranked a day before the event. Interestingly, Mars wasnt there. The document questioned why Payen would be there instead of Mars, speculating that it was because they wouldnt be playing with her in the tournament.

So far, its all accusations.

Riot Games has yet to make any rulings after the evidence was released and mars has her Twitter locked so she has been silent about the situation. This has left fans in the dark about the validity of the accusations.

Some believe all of the items listed in the document are not enough to amount to someone cheating, with some noting that changing a keybind is not too unheard of.

But others feel that all of it together adds up to be a bit suspicious, at least.

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Female VALORANT team accused of having boyfriend stand in during online Galorants tournament - Dot Esports