Posted on by Andy Tomaswick

Dozens of Robots Competed to Race Through Underground Caves

America’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is well known for its challenges.  It held a series of autonomous driving competitions back in the early 2000s that directly led to today’s self-driving cars.  Now that Grand Challenge has evolved into a new one – the Subterranean (SubT) challenge, which took place last week.  This new one also happens to be directly applicable to technologies that would be useful in space exploration.

Continue reading “Dozens of Robots Competed to Race Through Underground Caves”
Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Look down into a pit on Mars. The caved-in roof of a lava tube could be a good place to explore on the Red Planet

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took this image of a pit on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Want to look inside a deep, dark pit on Mars? Scientists and engineers using the HiRISE Camera on board NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have done just that.

From its orbit about 260 km (160 miles) above the surface, HiRISE can spot something as small as a dinner table, about a meter in size. But can it look inside a cave-like feature on the Red Planet and actually resolve any details inside this pit?

Continue reading “Look down into a pit on Mars. The caved-in roof of a lava tube could be a good place to explore on the Red Planet”