Artist’s conception of Perseverance working on the Martian surface.Image: NASA/JPL-CaltechAfter months of anticipation and a naming contest that involved hundreds of thousands of voters, NASA has finally settled on a name for its upcoming Mars rover: Perseverance.Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity—and now Perseverance.The next-gen Mars 2020 rover is basically ready for launch, which is scheduled for…
Tag: Science
Scientists Save Quantum States in a Diamond, a Tiny Step Toward a Quantum Internet
A scanning electron micrograph of the device used to store quantum information in order to extend the reach of quantum communications.Image: Bart Machielse (Harvard University)A newly created system can enhance quantum communications over longer distances—a small but crucial step toward a quantum internet.We’re in the early stages of a quantum boom, as researchers are attempting…
The Pandemic Has Led to a Huge, Global Drop in Air Pollution
This story originally appeared in The Guardian and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.The coronavirus pandemic is shutting down industrial activity and temporarily slashing air pollution levels around the world, satellite imagery from the European Space Agency shows.One expert said the sudden shift represented the “largest-scale experiment ever,” in terms of the reduction of…
Space Photos of the Week: Rovers Taking Selfies—for Science
When spacecraft leave the Earth they are destined to either land somehere, orbit something or fly by a planetary object. And one of the very first things NASA does when a spacecraft lands on another planet is to have it take a selfie: “Let me see your wheels in the dirt so I know you…
Reddit’s Wedding Planners Pivot to Covid-19 Crisis Comms
The moderators of r/weddingplanning are no strangers to controversy. Divisive dresses, family dramas, and anxious brides and grooms are par for the course for the volunteer supervisors of Reddit’s go-to forum for the recently betrothed. Then came the coronavirus.Wired UKThis story originally appeared on WIRED UK.Suddenly, the usual mix of wedding dress pictures and etiquette…
What We Think We Know About the Coronavirus Is Going to Keep Changing
Viral particles of SARS-CoV-2, seen under a transmission electron microscope in a sample taken from a person.Image: C.S. Goldsmith and A. Tamin (CDC)With new information about the novel coronavirus seemingly arriving every hour on the hour, it’s perfectly understandable to feel confused and discombobulated. With that in mind, here’s a mantra I’ve held close to…
Greta Thunberg Urges World to ‘Unite Behind the Experts’ as Youth Climate Strikes Move Online
If Queen Greta stans, so do we.Photo: GettyFor the last two weeks, youth climate organizers in New York have been discussing how climate striking may change now that the novel coronavirus had reached the state. These conversations have been happening elsewhere, too, including in Spain and Belgium. And now Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen activist…
Energy and Policy Experts Have a Plan to Fight Covid-19 and the Climate Crisis
Photo: APRight now, it seems like everything is fucked.A global pandemic is spinning out of control—350,000 people have tested positive for covid-19, nearly 42,000 of whom are in the U.S. We’re facing an impending economic recession. Fifteen percent of American workers have already lost their jobs or hours due to the pandemic, and according to…
Where to Take Free Online Classes While You’re Stuck at Home
Graphic: ShutterstockIf you’ve always wanted to go back to school, why not put your ongoing involuntary stay-at-home downtime to good use with a free online class? There are literally thousands of virtual university courses (known as Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs) and one-off videos to help you exercise your brain and fight back the…
Joining the Stay-at-Home Bread Boom? Science Has Some Advice
Bread is on the rise. The number of people Googling “bread” hit an all-time high this week. Instagrammers and Twitterers alike are rolling in dough—not figuratively, but literally—and bread-making has become such a popular activity during this incredibly stressful time of coronavirus self-quarantining that grocery stores are running low on flour and yeast.None of this…