Month: September 2022

Categories
Science

Ocean-poor oxygen-poor zones shrank throughout earlier heat intervals. Why are ours rising? – Watt with it?

Ocean-poor oxygen-poor zones shrank during previous warm periods. Why are ours growing? - Watt with it?

Essay by Eric Worrall

Yet another mystery for mainstream science.

Climate change and ocean oxygen: Oxygen-poor zones have shrunk under past warm periods, scientists note

from Princeton University
31 AUGUST 2022

Oxygen-depleted zones in the open ocean have increased over the past 50 years. Scientists attribute this development to rising global temperatures: less oxygen dissolves in warmer water, and the layers of the tropical ocean can become more stratified.

But now, contrary to popular expectations, an international team of scientists led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and Princeton University has found that oxygen-poor zones have historically shrunk during long warm periods.

“We didn’t expect such a marked effect,” said Alexandra Auderset, first author of the new publication in the journal Nature and currently a visiting scholar at Princeton University. She led the study together with Alfredo Martínez-García at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, as part of a long-term collaboration with Daniel Sigman’s group at Princeton University.

…

However, what this means for the current extent of open-ocean low-oxygen zones is not yet clear, Auderset said. “Unfortunately, we don’t yet know whether our discovery of shrinking marine anoxic zones is applicable to the coming decades or just a much longer timeframe,” she said. “Because we have to clarify whether short-term or long-term processes were responsible for the change.”

…

Read more: https://phys.org/news/2022-08-climate-ocean-oxygen-oxygen-poor-zones.html

The abstract of the study;

Improved oxygen supply to the oceans during the Cenozoic interglacial periods

Published: August 31, 2022
Alexandra Auderset, Simone Moretti, Björn Taphorn, Pia-Rebecca Ebner, Emma Kast, Xingchen T. Wang, Ralf Schiebel, Daniel M. Sigman, Gerald H. Haug & Alfredo Martínez-García

abstract

Dissolved oxygen (O2) is essential to most marine ecosystems because it fuels the respiration of organisms and facilitates carbon and nutrient cycling. Oxygen measurements have been interpreted to mean that ocean depleted zones (ODZs) are expanding under global warming1,2. However, models provide an unclear picture of future ODZ change in both the short and long term3,4,5,6. The paleoclimate record can help examine the possible range of ODZ changes in warmer than modern periods. Here we use foraminifera-bound nitrogen (N) isotopes to show that water column denitrification was greatly reduced in the eastern tropical North Pacific during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum (MMCO) and Early Eocene Climate Optimum (EECO). Because denitrification is restricted to oxygen-poor waters, our results show that during these two Cenozoic periods of sustained warmth, the ODZs contracted rather than expanded. The ODZ contraction may have arisen from a decrease in buoyancy-driven biological productivity in the tropical Pacific, which would have reduced subsurface oxygen demand. Alternatively, the Southern Ocean’s revival of deep-sea ventilation may have weakened the ocean’s “biological carbon pump,” which would have increased deep-sea oxygen. The mechanism at play would have determined whether the ODZ contractions occurred in step with warming or took centuries or millennia to develop. Therefore, while our Cenozoic findings may not necessarily apply to the near future, they may imply that global warming may eventually lead to a contraction of the ODZ.

Read more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05017-0

I am personally surprised by this discovery. I accepted the theory that outgassing from warmer water would slightly reduce ocean oxygen levels, although given the abundance of marine life during previous warm periods, I didn’t think this would be a problem.

Obviously, it would be funny to claim that this startling discovery is evidence that the oceans are cooling, and this may actually be the explanation – sea levels have dropped 6 feet since the end of the Holocene Optimum 6,000 years ago. Perhaps our modern warm period was too short to affect the oxygen changes in the ocean caused by our long-term Holocene cooling trend.

But I accept Princeton’s explanation that we just don’t know.

Like this:

As Loading…

Categories
Technology

Neglect chess, DeepMind is coaching its new AI to play soccer

Forget chess, DeepMind is training its new AI to play soccer

Researchers at DeepMind, the British AI laboratory, have abandoned the noble games of chess and Go for a more plebeian pastime: soccer.

Google sister company yesterday published a research paper and an accompanying blog post detailing its new neural probabilistic motor primitives (NPMP) – a method by which artificial intelligence agents can learn to operate physical bodies.

According to the blog post:

A NPMP is a general-purpose motor control module that translates short-horizon motor intentions into low-level control signals and is trained offline or via RL by mimicking motion capture data (MoCap) recorded with trackers on humans or animals performing movements of interest .

Sign up for the TNW conference newsletter

And be the first in line for ticket deals, event updates and more!

In front: Essentially, the DeepMind team built an AI system that can learn how to do things in a physics simulator by watching videos of other agents performing those tasks.

And of course, when you have a huge physics engine and an endless supply of curious robots, the only sensible thing to do is teach him how to dribble and shoot:

According to the team’s research:

We optimized teams of agents to play simulated soccer through reinforcement learning and restricted the solution space to that of plausible movements learned with human motion capture data.

Background: In order to train AI to operate and control robots worldwide, researchers must prepare the machines for reality. And outside of simulations, anything can happen. Agents must contend with gravity, unexpectedly slippery surfaces, and unplanned interference from other agents.

The purpose of the exercise isn’t to build a better footballer – Cristiano Ronaldo has nothing to fear from the robots for now – but instead to help the AI ​​and its developers figure out how to optimize the agents’ ability to predict outcomes.

As the AI ​​begins training, it is barely able to move its physics-based humanoid avatar across the field. But by rewarding an agent every time their team scores, the model is able to get the numbers up and running in about 50 hours. After several days of training, the AI ​​begins to predict where the ball will fly and how the other agents will react to its movement.

According to paper:

The result is a team of coordinated humanoid soccer players that demonstrate complex behavior at different levels, quantified through a range of analyzes and statistics, including those used in real sports analysis. Our work represents a full demonstration of learned multilevel integrated decision making in a multiagent setting.

Take fast: This work is pretty awesome. But we’re not so sure it’s a “full demonstration” of anything. The model is obviously capable of running an embodied agent. But, based on the obviously picked GIFs in the blog post, this work is still deep in the simulation phase.

The bottom line is that the AI ​​doesn’t “learn” how to play soccer. It’s a brutal move within the confines of its simulation. This might seem like a bit of a quibble, but the results are pretty obvious:

Photo credit: DeepMind

The above AI agent looks absolutely terrified. I don’t know what it’s running from, but I’m sure it’s the scariest thing there is.

It moves like an alien wearing a human suit for the first time because, unlike humans, AI can’t learn by watching. Systems like the one trained by DeepMind parse thousands of hours of video footage, essentially extracting motion data about the subject they are trying to “learn” from.

However, it is almost certain that these models will become more robust over time. We’ve seen what Boston Dynamics can do with machine learning algorithms and pre-programmed choreographies.

It will be interesting to see how more adaptive models, such as those developed by DeepMind, will perform once they move beyond the lab environment into actual robotics applications.

Categories
Health

FDA approves Covid booster photographs focusing on omicron BA.5 variant

FDA approves Covid booster shots targeting omicron BA.5 variant

A medical worker prepares a booster dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a vaccination center in Brussels, Belgium, January 5, 2022.

Yves Herman | Reuters

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Covid booster shots targeting the omicron BA.5 subvariant as the US braces for a further spike in infections this fall and winter.

It is the first time since the original vaccines were introduced in December 2020 that the FDA has approved an updated vaccine formula. Pharmacies are expected to begin dispensing the new boosters after Labor Day weekend.

So far, the US has secured 171 million doses of the updated Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, according to the Department of Health.

Pfizer’s new booster vaccine is approved for people 12 and older, while Moderna’s new vaccines are approved for adults 18 and older. The eligible age groups can receive the boosters two months after the completion of their primary series or their last booster with the old vaccinations.

The US will stop using the original vaccines as booster doses for people 12 and older after the updated vaccines are approved by the FDA, according to the FDA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must approve the boosters before pharmacies can distribute them to patients. The CDC’s independent advisory committee is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday to review the data and issue its recommendations for health care providers.

Bivalent vaccines

Public health officials believe the redesigned boosters will offer longer-lasting protection against the virus and reduce hospitalizations this fall and winter. The new boosters target both the original strain, which emerged in China more than two years ago and which scientists call “wild type,” and omicron BA.4 and BA.5, which are now the dominant variants in the US

Vaccines that target two different strains are called bivalent vaccines.

Vaccine manufacturers developed the original vaccines against the Covid strain that first emerged in Wuhan, China in 2019. But the virus has changed dramatically since then. Omicron and its subvariants have strayed so far from the original Covid strain that the virus can slip past the protective antibodies induced by the vaccines.

As a result, the effectiveness of vaccinations in preventing infections and minor illnesses has decreased significantly as the virus has evolved. Although vaccines still generally prevent serious illnesses, the protection they offer from hospitalization has also diminished over time.

“Efficacy against hospitalization and serious illness is declining. The problem has been persuading the American people to strengthen themselves regularly,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. Hotez led a team that developed a protein-based Covid vaccine that is approved in India.

Original vaccines are losing effectiveness

About 76% of people ages 12 and older in the US have had their first two doses of the vaccine, according to CDC data. About 50% of these people have received their first booster shot.

In adults 18 years and older, three doses of original Pfizer or Moderna vaccines were 55% effective four months after the third dose in preventing hospitalization for the omicron BA.2 subvariant, according to CDC data.

According to CDC data from August 2021 to May 2022, three injections prevented infection by omicron by 19% five months after the third injection. The fast-spreading BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants have since phased out omicron BA.2.

dr Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s office responsible for reviewing vaccines, said the hope is that the updated boosters will restore the high level of protection against disease that vaccines showed when they were first approved in December 2020.

“We don’t yet know exactly if we’ll reach the same level, but that’s the goal here. And we think the evidence we’ve seen suggests that,” Marks told reporters during a post-approval news conference Wednesday.

The Biden administration moved quickly over the summer to prepare updated shots for the fall. Public health officials are concerned the US is on the verge of another wave of infections as more transmissible omicron variants spread, immunity to the original vaccines wanes and people go indoors to escape the colder weather.

Pfizer and Moderna originally developed boosters against omicron BA.1, the variant that caused the massive wave of infections last winter. But the FDA in late June urged vaccine makers to shift gears and target BA.4 and BA.5 instead, as those variants were quickly gaining ground. The sudden change in plans left little time for human clinical trials ahead of a fall launch.

As a result, the approval is based on human clinical trials of the BA.1 shots, which the FDA says elicited a better immune response than the original doses. However, it is unclear how the BA.5 boosters will behave in humans since the data are based on BA.1.

Marks said it will likely be at least two more months before clinical data on the BA.5 shots is released to the public.

According to the FDA, the most common side effects from the human trials of BA.1 syringes were pain, redness, swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, chills, nausea, vomiting, and fever. The Covid vaccines have a well-established safety profile even after being administered to millions of people over the course of the pandemic, the FDA said.

mouse data

In addition to the human data from the BA.1 shots, the approval was also based on animal testing of the BA.5 boosters, Marks said. In June, Pfizer also submitted data to the FDA’s Independent Vaccine Advisory Committee showing that the Omicron BA.5 bivalent syringes increased antibodies in mice that protect against infection by about 2.6-fold compared to the original vaccine elevated.

Marks said the FDA used the same approval process that it has relied on in the past for switching strains in flu vaccines.

“We’re pretty confident that or what we have is very similar to the situation that we’ve done in the past with influenza mutations where we’re not conducting clinical trials for them in the United States,” Marks said. “We know from how the vaccine works and from the data we have that we can predict how well the vaccine will work.”

However, some infectious disease and vaccine experts say the FDA should have waited for human data from the BA.5 shots before approving them. dr Paul Offit, a member of the FDA’s advisory committee, said data based on mouse studies are insufficient to warrant approval of the new boosters.

“You have to show some evidence in people that the immune response you get with the bivalent vaccine is clearly better, and that data hasn’t been presented,” said Offit, an infectious disease and vaccines expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Human Trials

“You can’t ask millions of people to get this booster dose without some human data showing that you have a dramatic increase in neutralizing antibodies against the BA.4/BA.5 strains compared to the ancestral type booster.” Offit said, referring to the currently approved footage based on the version of Covid that surfaced in China more than two years ago.

Michael Osterholm, a leading epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, also said more data needs to be presented on how the BA.5 vaccines perform in humans.

“It’s not that I don’t think it could work,” Osterholm said. “But I think we need the data first to show that the immune response to this vaccine is equal to or better than what we already have.”

But CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a radio interview that waiting longer for human data from the BA.5 recordings could mean that by the time a new variant emerges, the boosters will be out of date. Walensky said the vaccine formula change is small and should not affect safety.

“It’s always about too slow versus too fast,” Walensky said in a radio interview with Conversations on Health Care. “One of the challenges is waiting for that data to show up in human data […] we will use a vaccine that I would consider potentially outdated.”

CNBC Health & Science

Read CNBC’s latest global health coverage:

Categories
Sport

Erling Haaland’s hat-trick exploits present the Man Metropolis star is poised to smash any goalscoring file

Erling Haaland's hat-trick exploits show the Man City star is poised to smash any goalscoring record

5:44 p.m. ET

  • Rob Dawsoncorrespondent

MANCHESTER, England — If Erling Haaland really is the heir to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, then he’s wasting no time collecting the numbers to prove it.

The odds are we may never see goalscoring like the likes of Ronaldo and Messi during their time in Spain, but Haaland’s start in life at Manchester City has raised the possibility – at least – that we could.

– Report: Man City blast Nottingham Forest | Premier League Table | Upcoming appointments

The Norwegian’s previous record is five games and nine goals after his second hat-trick in five days helped City to a 6-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. No player has scored more goals in their first five Premier League games and the way Haaland is doing it likely won’t be the last record he breaks this season.

To put his exploits in context, it took Sergio Aguero more than three years and nearly 100 games to score two league hat-tricks for City. Haaland did it in less than a month and only played a full 90 minutes once in that span of time.

“What he did in Norway, Austria and Germany, he’s trying to do here,” said Pep Guardiola afterwards. “The first time he touches the ball, he scores a goal. We knew that. He always scores players up front to score goals.

“He’s strong in all areas but especially around the box, his finishing and work ethic is so great.”

2 relatives

The concern for the rest of the league is that Guardiola is adamant that Haaland is still settling in, but he has already been remarkably efficient. In 68 minutes against Forest, he touched the ball 16 times but managed four shots, three on target and three goals. He has contributed 105 touches so far this season and averages a goal every 11.6. It’s a scary return so early in his City career.

“So far it’s been good,” said Haaland with a certain understatement. “I’m not complaining. There will be many games, so it’s important to keep going and enjoy as much as possible. Amazing, nothing more to say.”

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (USA)

With the exception of Ilkay Gundogan, Guardiola is keen that Haaland is still trying to get on the same wavelength as his team-mates, although his physical attributes alone are enough to worry the defence. Just ask Joe Worrall, the 6-foot-3 Forest centre-back who was shaken off with a lift from Haaland’s right arm as he jabbed in City’s first goal. Worrall has spent almost his entire career in the Championship, which is considered a physical league, but even he looked shocked as he lay in a heap on the ground while Haaland solemnly drove away.

Haaland scored three more goals in an easy Man City win to show the rest of the football world that he will jeopardize many goal records before his time at Man City is up. Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

The second goal was a tap-in – just his third touch of the evening – and the third a thundering header down the goal-line as he got up far higher than two yellow-jersey defenders. A perfect hat trick – left foot, right foot and header – in 38 minutes. His hat-trick against Crystal Palace on Saturday lasted just 19 minutes.

The beautiful game lives here. Stream top leagues, tournaments and teams.
Sign in to ESPN+

THURSDAY, SEPT. 1
• AZ Alkmaar vs NEC Nijmegen (2pm ET)

FRIDAY, SEPT. 2

• Dortmund – Hoffenheim (2:30 p.m. ET)
• Celtic Vigo vs Cadiz (3pm ET)
• West Brom v Burnley (3pm ET)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 3
• Mallorca vs Girona (8am ET)
• Union Berlin vs Bayern Munich (9:30am ET)
• Leverkusen vs. Freiburg (9:30 a.m. ET)
• Wolfsburg vs. Cologne (9:30 a.m. ET)
• Stuttgart vs. Schalke (9:30 a.m. ET)
• Bochum – Werder Bremen (9:30 a.m. ET)
• Real Madrid vs Real Betis (10:15am ET)
• Ajax vs Cambuur (10:30am ET)
• Sociedad vs Atlético Madrid (12:30 p.m. ET)
• Frankfurt vs. Leipzig (12:30 p.m. ET)
• Twente vs PSV (12:45pm ET)
• Seville vs Barcelona (3pm ET)
• Monterrey vs. Mazatlan (8pm ET)

Forest manager Steve Cooper summed it up simply by saying that Haaland “got the lot”.

Haaland has already scored more goals than Harry Kane in August and the England international is in his 11th season in the Premier League. Mohamed Salah’s competitive record of 32 goals in a 38-game season in 2017-18 already feels threatened. For the record: Salah started the season with three goals in his first five games; Haaland has a six-goal lead, although Guardiola believes his No. 9 will only measure success in silverware this season.

“I think he wants to win the titles,” he said. “Knowing him a bit, I don’t know if he would be happy about breaking records if we didn’t win trophies. If we play well, he’ll have more chances.”

“I know Erling is happy to score goals but he wants to win. If he’s breaking records but we don’t win, he won’t be happy.”

The challenge for Haaland is consistency, something Ronaldo and Messi mastered at Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. In nine years at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo scored an incredible 450 goals in 438 games. Messi played 13 consecutive seasons at Barcelona between 2008 and 2021, scoring at least 30 goals. He scored at least 40 goals each season between 2009 and 2019.

The numbers are intriguing and while Haaland, still only 22, is far from matching those feats, it’s the company he threatens to keep. As Messi and Ronaldo draw to a close as their reigns as Europe’s top scorers, Haaland is well placed to take over if he continues at this pace.

Alvarez also impressed up front with Haaland, scoring two goals of his own in the second half. Lynne Cameron – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Man City reviews (by Liam Wheeler)

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players featured after 70 minutes receive no rating)

GK Ederson, 6 – found himself with an early touch, albeit 20 yards from his own goal, after a sloppy pass pushed City back. He had to get back on his feet when Rodri delivered another ball a little too hard to the City goalkeeper. Beyond that, he had little else to do.

DF Kyle Walker, 7 – Provided plenty of width in the early stages but left Renan Lodi unmarked at the back post when the visitors first threatened. In addition, he felt much more comfortable and he showed his experience to win Emmanuel Dennis’ run.

DF John Stones, 8 – Set up Haaland’s record-breaking third with a perfect header over the goal. Previously, he thought he had scored from Haaland’s serve, but the England defender was half a meter offside.

DF Ruben Dias, 7 – A comfortable night for the defender. He had practically nothing to do and will be more than happy to record another goal against his name.

Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and more to bring you the latest highlights and discuss the biggest storylines. Stream on ESPN+ (US only).

DF Joao Cancelo, 8 – Forced the corner that led to the breakthrough after a clean exchange with Phil Foden, and he was also involved in City’s third with a nice detachment from the outside of the boot. Made it 4-0 with Thunder Clap, who ended up defeating Henderson.

MF Bernardo Silva, 9 – A couple of early swell runs from the midfielder, who vaulted beautifully past Lodi before losing his footing in the box. A superb performance from the 28-year-old, who had a big hand in City’s second to score Cancelo to make it 4-0.

MF Rodri, 7 — Typically calm and composed in the middle, shows his experience stopping Brennan Johnson’s run, who was trying to engage the afterburners. Substituted after the break as Guardiola tried to rest his legs for another day.

MF Ilkay Gundogan, 7 – An early swing and miss from the Germany international whose erratic shot went wide of goal and he started the second half in a similar fashion. Caused problems with some good deliveries of set pieces that faltered Forest defenders.

FW Julian Alvarez, 9 – A diligent performance from the young forward who hit the post late in the first half before opening his Premier Eagle account after the break and deftly finding the bottom corner before batting a stunning second home late .

FW Erling Haaland, 10 – Insert endless superlatives here. Nine goals in five games now for the forward, who started with his first touch and completed a remarkable first-half hat-trick with a powerful leap to convert Stones’ header back over the goal.

FW Phil Foden, 9 – Haaland might make the headlines but the Norwegian tall must love playing with this man who was involved in all three of his goals, albeit via a tackle for the second. Another great display.

substitute

DF Sergio Gómez, 7 – Replaced Cancelo in the 69th minute. Denied Neco Williams with a good block as the visitors chased consolation goals and generally looked good going forward.

DF Rico Lewis, NR – Replaced Stones in the 74th minute. A second Premier League appearance for the 17-year-old who represented good value for his performance with some decent challenges.

MF Cole Palmer, 6 – replaced Rodri in the 55th minute. The youngster also held his own when City flatly refused to slow down with the game already over and dusted.

MF Kevin De Bruyne, 6 – Substituted for man of the match Haaland in the 69th minute. I singled out Mahrez’s chest with a prominent switch on the right, and then Gomez’s boot with another on the left. Smart later denied by Dean Henderson.

FW Riyad Mahrez, 6 – replaced Foden in the 55th minute. Should have made it 6-0 but he just missed after creating a golden opportunity with a smart dart in the back.

Manager Pep Guardiola, 8 – Two changes from the City boss: Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez were benched while the Spaniard gave some more valuable minutes to some of City’s up-and-coming young talents. Thank God he didn’t rest Haaland.

Categories
Science

NASA provides an in depth evaluation of all of the touchdown particles Perseverance discovered on Mars

NASA gives a detailed analysis of all the landing debris Perseverance found on Mars

A recent blog by Dr. Justin Maki, imaging scientist and deputy principal investigator of the Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z camera, provides a detailed account of the debris left strewn on the Martian surface by the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) system during its handover of the Perseverance rover to the crater Jezero. This blog highlights the amount of hardware needed to send our brave, robotic explorers to the Red Planet while also discussing the importance of imaging such debris.

“For example, the Ingenuity helicopter on Sol 414 (April 19, 2022) returned a detailed color image of the discarded parachute and back shell located 1 km northwest of the landing site.” Maki writes. But how important is it to locate and identify debris from past missions on Mars?

Image of Perseverance’s outer shell taken by the Ingenuity helicopter on Sol 414 (April 19, 2022). (Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

dr Briony Horgan, co-researcher on the Perseverance rover and associate professor of planetary science in Purdue University’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, said: “The concerns about contamination are pretty minor, but we’re actually using hardware on the surface to track dust accumulations !” The parachutes are particularly good at this, and measuring their brightness over time can help us understand how dust deposition changes over time due to local weather conditions.”

Remove all ads on Universe today

Join our Patreon for just $3!

Get the ad-free experience for life

dr Maki continues on his blog, “A few weeks later, Perseverance entered the Hogwallow Flats region and acquired a high-resolution 360-degree Mastcam Z-Panorama. When these images were linked to Earth, a member of the science team in Europe spotted the bright material (at 2:50 p.m. Pacific Time) in a Mastcam Z image of Sol 467 (June 12, 2022) and immediately suggested that it could be debris from the Entry, Decent, and Landing (EDL) system. Later that morning, it was confirmed by the EDL hardware team at JPL: Perseverance had imaged a piece of multi-layer insulation (MLI), likely from the Skycrane, which flew away from Perseverance’s landing pad after touchdown to ensure it would tumble out safely at distance from the rover .” But can debris scattered on the surface of Mars disrupt the operation of the Perseverance rover?

Image of EDL debris captured by Perseverance’s left Mastcam-Z camera on Sol 467 (June 13, 2022). (Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU)

“Mars 2020 includes several design features to protect against this type of debris that will interfere with the rover’s operations,” said Steven Lee, associate project manager for Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity. “The presence of debris on the ground in itself does not pose a risk to the Perseverance mission. Only two rover components were able to contact debris on the ground. First, the mobility system is designed to be robust to a variety of terrain types and to drive right over that debris with ease. Likewise, the sampling system is designed to operate in an environment with dust and pebbles (including dust and pebbles generated during grinding or coring). Occasionally we also perform a “chuck clean hit” to shake material out of the corer chuck.”

NASA’s Perseverance rover isn’t the first Mars rover to photograph its own debris, as Dr. Maki notes on his blog, “The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity rover photographed a heat shield up close on Sol 335 (January 2, 2004) from the surface mission. These images showed a debris field that stretched several meters and contained charred heat shield material, metal springs, and thermal blanket material. The Curiosity images also showed a rock (“Heatshield Rock”) believed to be a meteorite – the original version of EDL debris.” What specific steps can be taken in the future to remove this debris on future missions to reduce?

Image of Opportunity’s heat shield taken on Sol 335 (January 2, 2004). (Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell)

“Right now, the number of missions that we’ve landed on Mars has been so small that they make a very small contribution to the surface,” said Dr. Horgan. “And I like to think that one day future Martians will preserve these historic spacecraft landing sites and hardware, perhaps as the first interplanetary parks!”

As always, keep doing science and keep looking up!

Like this:

As Loading…

Categories
Entertainment

Financial institution of America introduces zero-down mortgage program

Bank of America introduces zero-down mortgage program

Roommates, if you’re thinking of buying a home, now might be the time, thanks to a new initiative from one of the second-largest financial institutions in the United States. According to NBC News, Bank of America is now offering first-time homebuyers mortgages with no down payment and no closing costs in a select group of cities. The initiative aims to help increase home ownership in Black and Hispanic/Latino communities.

Residents living in certain neighborhoods in Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and Miami will be the first to have the opportunity to take advantage. The new mortgage, called the Community Affordable Loan Solution, is designed to help eligible individuals and families get affordable home loans, the bank says.

AJ Barkley, director of neighborhood and community lending at Bank of America, said in a press release, “Home ownership strengthens our communities and can help individuals and families build wealth over time.” He added, “Our Community Affordable Loan Solution will help realize the dream of sustainable home ownership for more Black and Hispanic families and is part of our broader commitment to the communities we serve.”

BOA provided additional information to potential buyers. The institution notes that loans don’t require mortgage insurance — the extra fee typically charged to buyers who deposit less than 20% of the purchase price. Also, no minimum credit rating. Instead, eligibility is based on factors such as on-time rent payments and on-time bills, including utility, phone, and car insurance payments.

They also explained that prospective buyers must complete a homebuyer certification course offered by the institution and state-approved housing counseling partners before they can apply for the loan program. Given Bank Of America’s history, this initiative is a great way to help people of color. If you recall, Countrywide Financial, a subprime lender bought by Bank of America in 2008, was fined $335 million in 2011 for allegations that it charged black and Hispanic homebuyers higher rates than whites applicants.

Roommates, you will seize the opportunity?