Tag: Mars
Tech Digest daily roundup: SpaceX shows how it plans to colonise Mars
Elon Musk has revealed in a short animation clip how he plans to colonise Mars in the next few years. SpaceX released a five-minute animated promotional video on Tuesday, showing how it plans to land humans on Mars using Mr Musk’s Starship spacecraft. The animation, with a space-themed soundtrack, shows what it may look like if a Starship spacecraft landed on Mars…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Neuralink ‘brain chip’ trials to begin soon
Image: Neuralink Elon Musk said on Wednesday he expects a brain chip developed by his health tech company to begin human trials in the next six months. During a presentation by Musk’s company Neuralink, Musk gave updates on the company’s wireless brain chip. In addition to forecasting clinical trials, Musk said…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Google to shut Stadia cloud gaming service
Google has announced plans to shut down its Stadia cloud gaming service and refund players. Stadia was touted as a "Netflix for games" when it launched in November 2019, allowing players to stream games online without owning a console. But the service will now come to an end on 18 January 2023 because of a…
Tech Digest daily round up: China’s spacecraft lands on Mars
An unmanned Chinese spacecraft has successfully landed on the surface of Mars, Chinese state news agency Xinhua has reported, making China the second space-faring nation after the US to land on the red planet. The official Xinhua news agency said the lander had touched down on Saturday, citing the China National Space Administration. China’s Tianwen-1 probe, consisting…
Tech Digest daily round up: NASA instrument produces Oxygen from Mars
An instrument aboard Nasa’s latest Mars rover has produced oxygen from some of the Red Planet’s thin carbon dioxide rich atmosphere, an advance that could lead to new ways for future astronauts to produce breathable air on the planet. According to the US space agency, the breakthrough also opens new doors for future missions where oxygen…
Tech Digest daily round up: Nissan ‘quits talks’ with Apple over driverless car
Nissan has quit talks with Apple over its secretive Project Titan electric autonomous vehicle project. Discussions didn't reach an advanced stage, the Financial Times reports, with the two companies apparently disagreeing about branding. Nissan said today (Monday 15th February) it wasn't in talks with Apple about developing self-driving cars, after Hyundai also denied reports it was…
Elon Musk unveils SpaceX for Moon or Mars
Elon Musk has unveiled a SpaceX spacecraft designed to carry a crew and cargo to the moon, Mars or anywhere else in the solar system and land back on Earth perpendicularly. In a live-streamed speech from the SpaceX launch facility near the southern tip of Texas, Mr Musk said the space venture’s Starship is expected…
Mars Rover assembly complete ahead of 2020 launch
The assembly of the ExoMars Rover is now complete ahead of its proposed blast-off date next year. However, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars mission to the Red Planet could hang in the balance, as successful tests on the rover’s parachutes are yet to be conducted. The Rosalind Franklin rover’s supersonic parachutes will be put…
Could silica aerogel make Mars habitable?
Mars could be made habitable by the creation of small islands that mimic the Earth’s greenhouse effect, according to new research. A two-centimetre thick shield of silica aerogel – an ultralight material derived from a gel – would be effective in insulating the planet and melting ice beneath the surface for permanent water, scientists say.…
NASA Mars Rover detects methane. Could it be sign of life?
A NASA Mars rover has detected its largest amount of methane yet, which could be an early indication of life on the Red Planet. The gas is commonly associated with living things back on Earth, though it can also be created through interactions between rocks and water. However, the American space agency’s Curiosity Rover is…
