All eyes were on Mars this past weekend when NASA had scheduled the first flight of its Ingenuity helicopter. It was supposed to be a monumental moment for NASA, the scientific community, and humanity as a whole, but it ended with a whimper as NASA had to delay the test flight due to some messed …
Nature can be unpredictable at times, but some things are more reliable than others. Spring (usually) brings a lot of rain, birds migrate to warmer areas in the winter months, and glaciers move slow. These are trends that have been established and are expected, but they’re not always universally true. Sometimes spring is dry, sometimes …
There is a beginning and an end to everything. We often measure time in terms of how long our species tend to live, and over that relatively short span it can seem like stars, planets, and galaxies live “forever.” That’s not true, of course, but since these objects and structures exist for so much longer …
Whenever you see news of animals breaking out of a zoo there’s always a hint of fear. Nobody wants their dog to be attacked in their own backyard by a tiger on the loose or something, so I totally get it. Still, not every escaped animal wants to cause problems, and some of them might …
Back in the 1950s, robots that could navigate on their own were nothing but science fiction. The idea that a robot could open a door or walk down a flight of stairs was just a pipe dream, but today we have robots that do all that and more. The “Spot” robot from Boston Dynamics was …
NASA’s Perseverance mission to Mars has been pretty much perfect thus far. The rover and its tiny helicopter companion landed on the Red Planet with ease and after about a month of systems testing and other startup work, both the rover and the Ingenuity helicopter were given clean bills of health. This past weekend, the …
Looking for solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems like poverty, environmental sustainability, and agricultural struggles in developing regions can be absolutely mind-bending. There are so many factors to consider that the sheer scope is overwhelming, and maybe that’s why it’s so hard to solve these kinds of issues. Sometimes it’s better to boil …
It’s now been well over a month since NASA’s Perseverance rover arrived on Mars. Along with it, the Mars Ingenuity helicopter landed safe and sound on the Red Planet, and a significant portion of the rover’s first weeks was dedicated to delivering the helicopter to its test flight location. The helicopter was deployed and has …
SpaceX has been wildly successful in just about every one of its efforts. The company was the first to make reusable rocket technology both safe and reliable, and it’s proven that by launching the same rockets over and over and over again. The company’s Starlink internet service is growing rapidly, and while it’s still in …
The image you see above is the surface of Mars. I know that’s hard to believe since you normally see Mars in dusty, vaguely orangish hues in photos snapped by NASA’s Mars rovers, but it’s true! This image, by contrast, has some orange along with shades of white and a surprising amount of blue, but …
