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Watch the best bits of Elon Musk's SXSW talk
Elon Musk took the stage about 30 minutes late at the Moody Theater in downtown Austin, Texas, and when he finally appeared, the soldout crowd cheered and jumped to their feet, smartphones glowing. His conversation at SXSW was a surprise, announced late the night before, and the talk itself was just as casual. Westworld co-creator Jonathan Nolan took prewritten questions from the audience and asked Musk for his thoughts on a vast array of topics, covering everything from colonizing Mars to the benefits of a carbon tax and the future of artificial intelligence.
SpaceX aims to test its Mars rocket system in first half of 2019
You might not have to wait long to see SpaceX's BFR rocket system in action ... maybe. In a talk at SXSW, Elon Musk said he expected the spacecraft's first "short up-and-down flights" by the first half of 2019. He was quick to hedge his claim, noting that his timelines tend to be "optimistic" (remember how Falcon Heavy was supposed to launch in 2013?), but this at least gives you a timeframe. Test flights couldn't place too much later when the goal is to send cargo missions to Mars by 2022.
NASA’s Opportunity rover sees its 5,000th day on Mars
This weekend, NASA's Opportunity rover spent its 5,000th day on Mars. While that is a feat in and of itself, it's even more impressive when you consider that it was only planned to last 90 Martian days, or sols. Both Opportunity and its companion rover Spirit were launched towards Mars in 2003, landing on two different parts of the planet in January 2004. Neither were expected to make it through Mars' harsh winter though, which lasts about twice as long as ours and is severely lacking in light, but NASA's team discovered that pointing the rovers towards the north and towards the sun was enough to keep them powered through the winter. Further, making sure the rovers were on north-facing slopes each winter helped to keep them going for years longer than they were ever intended to function.
SpaceX to launch its satellite internet prototypes this weekend (update: delay)
For years, Elon Musk has been talking about his plans to launch thousands of low-orbiting satellites that will be able to provide high speed internet to people around the globe. While the details of those satellites have been kept largely under wraps, we've known that the first round of prototypes were nearing a launch date, and according to a letter posted on the FCC's website yesterday (and spotted by CNET), the first two test satellites will be placed into orbit this weekend.
NASA tests treatment that could slow astronauts’ muscle loss
Even though astronauts exercise everyday while they're aboard the International Space Station (ISS), they still experience a fairly significant loss of muscle mass. So much so that they require physiotherapy once they return to Earth. However, researchers with the Houston Methodist Research Institute and the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research are testing a device that can continuously administer a medicine that may help prevent muscle deterioration, Seeker reports. The team sent 40 mice to the ISS in December, some with devices that deliver the drug and some with devices that just deliver an inactive solution. Half returned to Earth in January and the other half will do so this month.
Buzz Aldrin wants you to buy this $150 solar backpack
Buzz Aldrin: revered engineer, astronaut of our time and now, the face of high fashion backpacks. Bag brand Sprayground has released a new collection, "Mission to Mars", and the campaign sees Aldrin playing the role of a flight coach, modelling the collection's pieces as he hangs around Mars surrounded by attractive astronauts going about their space business. At the center of the collection is a limited edition solar backpack which comes with a power pack, so it's as useful as it is futuristic looking, which you'd expect for its $150 price tag. Aldrin has been increasingly vocal in recent years about his plans to get astronauts to Mars, so at least we know they'll look good when they get there.
SpaceX animation shows the ideal outcome for the Falcon Heavy launch
SpaceX will attempt to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time tomorrow. It's no small feat and a lot could go wrong, but SpaceX has a released a video showing how the launch will work if everything goes according to plan.
Curiosity's sweeping Mars panorama shows how far it's come
After over five years on Mars, the Curiosity rover has done a lot of science and taken a few knocks. While trekking up Mount Sharp recently, however, it paused at Vera Rubin Ridge during a rare period of clear weather. There, it used its mast camera to snap 16 images that NASA assembled into a magnificent, ultra-wide-screen panorama (and video, below) that shows its entire trip to date.
NASA tests small nuclear reactor that could power a habitat on Mars
Everyone from Elon Musk to Donald Trump wants to send a crewed mission to Mars in the not too distant future, but there are quite a few problems that need to be solved before we can achieve that goal. A major one is the issue of energy. Long-term stays on Mars, or anywhere else for that matter, will require lots of energy, as will the trip back to Earth. However, loading a rocket up with all of the necessary fuel won't work -- we would need too much. So a way to create fuel on the go is a must and researchers at NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Department of Energy announced today that they've conducted successful tests of a system that can do just that.
NASA finds easy-to-access water all over Mars
NASA and private companies like SpaceX are busy planning Mars missions, but only have a vague idea of how they're going to find critical water supplies. Now, using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), researchers have discovered abundant, easy-to-access H20. A survey found no less than eight sites where cliff erosion has exposed thick deposits of nearly pure ice that lie just three to six feet below rock and dust. The findings mean that future missions, both manned and robotic, may have an easier time than expected digging up water for drinking and making rocket fuel.
NASA lends a hand to new American Girl doll with Mars aspirations
While the American Girl brand is well-known for teaching the past through dolls with fictional ties to important events, its latest aims to inspire youths to make history themselves. On the first day of 2018, the next American Girl will hit stores: 11-year-old Luciana Vega, who aspires to be the first person to reach Mars.
Researchers say life on Mars may have had a better chance underground
Mars is now a dry, cold planet, but whether it once supported life is still an open question. On Earth, areas that once hosted long dried-up bodies of water have been a rich source of evidence of ancient life and because of that, those sorts of areas have been the target of searches for ancient Martian life. But a paper published recently in Nature Geoscience says that might not be the best place to look.
Elon Musk shows off the Tesla Roadster he's prepping for space
When Elon Musk revealed his plans for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, he also promised the delivery of his own cherry-red Tesla Roadster to space, all while David Bowie's Space Oddity plays. Not the most subtle of promotions, for sure. Now Musk is teasing us with an even more overblown set of seven photos that show said Roadster prepping to head into orbit near Mars.
Trump to sign directive ordering NASA to return to the Moon
President Trump's administration hasn't been shy about wanting to put people back on the Moon, and now it's taking action to make sure that happens. In a statement, the White House said the President would sign Space Policy Directive 1, which orders NASA to lead an "innovative space exploration program" that sends astronauts to the Moon and, "eventually," Mars. Details of what the policy entails aren't available at this point, but the signing will take place at 3 PM ET. The date isn't an accident -- it's the 45th anniversary of the landing for the last crewed Moon mission, Apollo 17.
Budweiser is blasting barley into space to brew Mars beer
Settlers could arrive on Mars as soon as 2024, if SpaceX gets its way. And, those newcomers to the red planet are going to need supplies, like...beer. While Elon Musk and co. are aspiring to send (useful) cargo to Mars two years ahead of the first visitors, Budweiser is planning for the inevitable celebrations. The company previously said it wanted to be the first beer on Mars, and it's moving ahead with its publicity-stunt-cum-science-experiment, with plans to send barley into space in December. Cue (disastrous) micro-gravity beer pong and drunk astronauts joyriding in Mars rovers (Engadget does not condone intergalactic drink-driving).
The Mars InSight lander is on track to launch in May
The InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) lander has passed its last major environmental test ahead of a planned May 2018 launch to Mars. The thermal vacuum testing, or TVAC, lasted two weeks and simulates the harsh, stressful environment of space. "With InSight coming out of TVAC, the team has successfully completed the environmental testing phase and will now be finalizing launch preparations over the coming months," Scott Daniels, the InSight assembly, test and launch operations manager, told Space.com, which reported the news.
Dark streaks on Mars may not be caused by flowing water
In 2015, scientists analyzing mysterious dark streaks on the surface of Mars found evidence that they were formed by liquid water -- an exciting discovery that meant microbial life might be supported on the planet. But new findings published this week in Nature Geoscience suggest it might not be liquid water after all.
First observed interstellar object is a speedy, cigar-shaped asteroid
Last month, astronomers running the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawaii spotted an intriguing object moving through our solar system and it became clear pretty quickly that the object, whether it was a comet or an asteroid, had come from outside of our solar system. Now, in a paper published this week in the journal Nature, researchers have described the interstellar visitor, dubbed 'Oumuamua, including its peculiarities as well as its similarities to objects originating in our own solar system.
How NASA will defend the Earth against plagues from outer space
In the summer of 1957, the Earth stood witness as a meteorite cratered in rural Pennsylvania, bringing with it a people-eating plague never seen: an alien amoeba with the taste for human flesh. While we had Steve McQueen around for the first invasion, humanity is now defended against microbial marauders from outer space by NASA and its international counterparts.
NASA insists its Mars rocket will still launch in 2019
NASA is aiming to launch its deep space-bound Space Launch System (SLS) in December 2019, even though a review has suggested it's not likely to fly until mid-2020. The launch date has already been pushed back once due to technical issues, but NASA is confident it will hit its 2019 target and has taken steps to "protect" the launch date.