mars

Curious about Curiosity? Here's the latest from Mars

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has driven some 357 feet from its landing site on the floor of Gale Crater -- 269 feet as a martian crow might fly -- on its way to an intriguing area about five times farther away where three different types of rock come together. The rover continues to chalk up near perfect scores during extended checkout operations, with detailed robot arm tests on tap over the next week or so.

"We've been on the surface of Mars for about a month and Curiosity continues to be very healthy and continues to surprise … Read more

Mars panoramic skirt: Wrap a rover around your waist

I have a space dream. I've been invited to the NASA prom by Mohawk Guy. He's going to pick me up in the Mars Curiosity rover. What on earth am I going to wear? I'd better head over to Etsy and order a Mars panoramic skirt.

Etsy seller Go Chase Rabbits has a huge line of geek chic skirts, but the Mars rover panoramic is especially impressive. … Read more

Zoom around in this massive Mars mosaic

When Curiosity touched down on Mars earlier this month, we Earthlings experienced an out of this world multimedia experience showing off amazing angles of the Red Planet. A few days ago, NASA released perhaps the best Mars panorama yet, which simply blows away the rest, at least in terms of size. … Read more

IFA 2012: Big reveals for Sony, Samsung

Time to learn German for Wednesday's tech news roundup:

Tons of devices being unveiled at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The highlights from Wednesday include:

• Sony releases its first 4K TV, the 84-inch XBR-84X900. No official word on cost or availability, but expect to pay close to $30,000 to own one. Here's an explainer on what a 4K TV is, but no need to worry about new formats just yet. Afterall, what movies do you own in 4K? • Sony showed the Xperia S tablet, available Sept. 7 starting at $400. It has several TV-ready features, Android … Read more

Curiosity rover captures stunning vistas of rugged Mars

NASA's Curiosity rover, giving earthlings a glimpse of its ultimate target, has beamed back spectacular high-resolution photos of the rugged foothills of Mount Sharp, showing a khaki-colored landscape marked by towering hills, gaping canyons, and sand dunes reminiscent of the American Southwest, scientists said Monday.

In one view, the rover photographed a scientifically intriguing transition from relatively flat rock beds made up of water-influenced minerals to steeply inclined unhydrated layers marking a dramatic, geologically sudden discontinuity that signals a major change in martian history.

But for sheer visual impact, it was a zoomed-in view of the Mount Sharp foothills … Read more

Angry Birds go to Mars, make first contact with astronaut pig

It seems like only yesterday that Angry Birds blasted into space. Now it seems they've made contact with Martians.

Well, sort of. Rovio, in partnership with NASA (no, really), just released a new "Red Planet" update for Angry Birds Space (Android | iOS).

The episode comes as part of a free update that went live yesterday in the App Store and Google Play store.

In these 20 new levels, the pigs have hijacked the Curiosity Mars Rover. As always, it's up to the birds to save the day.

Speaking of which, Red Planet introduces no new fowl … Read more

There's no escaping the mobile-ad attack

Thursday's tech news roundup is feeling square:

In the search for more money, YouTube is adding video commercials to play before videos on smartphones and tablets. These ads will play for five seconds before users can skip right to the video. As we spend more time on mobile devices, it's only natural for advertising to migrate. Android users will be the first to see pre-roll ads, since the YouTube iPhone app cannot show ads. But that will change in the next YouTube app version for iOS 6.

The Google+ network has updated its sliders. The feature, found in … Read more

Curiosity lands on Mars again, this time in HD

You thought you knew all about the Curiosity rover's Mars landing. You looked at the photos. You watched the NASA folks explode with delight on video. You proposed to Mohawk Guy on Twitter.

Then along comes a new look at the landing. The Curiosity Rover Twitter feed just unleashed an HD video mashup of the landing with play-by-play audio from our favorite space nerds at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission control.… Read more

Curiosity flight director's family lives on 'Mars time'

If you happen to see a family in Southern California with kids ages 8, 10, and 13 at the beach just before midnight or perhaps bowling at 4 a.m., they're not related to Edward Cullen or any other vampires. They're just living on Martian time.

It's all part of NASA engineer David Oh's grand experiment to allow his family to share in an adventure of planetary proportions he's been involved in at work lately. Oh is the flight director for the Curiosity rover, currently wheeling its way along the surface of the Red Planet and occasionally blasting a Martian rock with a laser every now and then.… Read more

Curiosity takes a spin on Mars, completes short test drive

In a major milestone, the six-wheel Curiosity Mars rover took its first baby steps today, rolling about 15 feet forward, performing a slow 120-degree pirouette, and then backing up 8 feet to prove the $2.5 billion science lab is, in fact, mobile -- and ready to rove.

The short test drive began at 7:17 a.m. PT and took about 16 minutes to complete. The actual drive time was about a third of that, but the rover was programmed to stop and take multiple pictures of its tracks in the dusty, pebble-strewn soil of Gale Crater.

The move … Read more