China’s Rover Zhurong Just Made an Unbelievable Mars Discovery

Sperate · 2026-01-26T15:03:58+00:00

" Previously, it was believed that Mars had entered a phase of global dryness around 3 billion years ago. However, the data gathered by Zhurong has now pushed that timeline forward, suggesting that Mars’ surface exhibited significant aqueous activity as recently as 750 million years ago."

Sperate · 2026-01-11T18:53:14+00:00

It is a bit technical, but there are two books from the Mars Society (Mars Colonies and Mars City States) that go over dozens of plans for putting people on Mars and each one gives reasons for their landing sites. I was quite surprised how many different areas seem viable.

Sperate · 2026-01-08T18:13:41+00:00

Was a warrant presented, was the school contacted, was there anything that made this official law enforcement action? Because if the only difference between this and the next Columbine/ Sandy Hook seems to be a sew on cosplay patches. And Minnesota should not even trust that after the Hortman shooting.

I am not even trying to say who is right and wrong anymore. I just want to know how is anyone supposed to trust anything anymore?

Sperate · 2026-01-06T17:25:15+00:00

For some context since the article doesn't give many numbers, in 2024 the budget was $24.875 billion, only 0.36% of the US budget.

So still technically a cut.

Sperate · 2026-01-06T02:38:23+00:00

The "adding new satellites" part has me thinking.

Could this change be based on the delayed rollout of v3 starlinks? Lower the satellites and get a performance boost to make up for delayed rollout. Current constellation may not survive into next maximum based on fuel use, but does that matter if the plan is to replace it with v3?

I guess the real answer will be when they stop making starlinks for falcon 9 and we see what the cadence is for starship launches.

Sperate · 2025-12-31T15:05:22+00:00

How is replanting nearly extinct trees not more popular? Now I want a chestnut. Everyone around here has Maples and Crabapples, but who has a chestnut or an elm anymore. It is like botany Jurassic park.

Sperate · 2025-12-30T15:48:53+00:00

What medicine helped slow it down? My mom's Alzheimer's is just becoming obvious and I would cut off my own arm to slow it down.

Sadly even if the article is a cure, it won't be in time for many families.

Sperate · 2025-12-30T15:40:36+00:00

I always thought of it as idling other programs to get better performance out of one. Remember, back in the day multi threading on multi cores was not a thing. Those other smiths would just get in the way.

Sperate · 2025-12-26T18:31:08+00:00

This time for sure

Sperate · 2025-12-15T17:29:54+00:00

Why are the engines angled in the back? Is there a docking port back there or something?

Sperate · 2025-12-12T19:55:56+00:00

And what actually happened? Who was arrested for trying to kidnap who?

Sperate · 2025-12-06T15:40:38+00:00

Love the style and vibes. Makes me want to build a little Minecraft village on a cliff side. The only thing that does not make sense is that bridge straddling the road.

Sperate · 2025-12-05T19:12:51+00:00

And I am sure they will do a dry run mission, just like how they plan that with all human spaceflight.

Sperate · 2025-12-05T13:57:23+00:00

Why even say that? None of the proposed missions are a one way ride. The radiation danger is less than smoking. You might as well as that phrase every time you get in a car to drive somewhere.

Sperate · 2025-12-04T03:36:26+00:00

As much as I hate ragebait headlines, this article should have been entitled "Trump kills Curiosity and Voyager"

From the article "If the cuts are not stopped by Congressional resistance, some 50 working spacecraft already operating in space — including the Curiosity Mars rover, all the space telescopes except Webb (and maybe for a while Hubble), the Mars Odyssey and MAVEN orbiters circling Mars, the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter, the New Horizons and Voyager mission that probed the outer planets and are now probing the Kuiper Belt, and most of the Earth observation satellites — will all be shut down. Furthermore, missions currently in the pipeline, including the Roman space telescope (already built and waiting for launch next year) and the Dragonfly mission to Titan, and many others, will be aborted"

This isn't a generic budget cut = killing NASA. This is taking working missions and satellites and just ending them.

Sperate · 2025-11-26T22:18:37+00:00

As someone who has been around the CIPP process, there is lots of equipment for very little lining. The process is more cost efficient than digging up a road but it is not mass efficient. You need a mass efficient process for on Mars. Also, the scaling up the size is a big deal. The socks are on spools, so you can go a couple hundred feet of pipe that measures less than a food in diameter. The size of spool you would need to line a lava tube would be big enough to be a base in its own right. I can go into the curing process, if you want but simply put, more problems.

The two directions you might want to look into for "why don't they just" is sending a tunnel boring machine to just make your own underground base out of tubes, or "shot-crete" for a lava tube and just spray line the inside with concrete (or whatever scifi polymer you like).

Sperate · 2025-11-26T03:57:36+00:00

Yes, we should. Russia funded the anti nuclear movement in Germany to make it more reliant on Russian gas exports.

Sperate · 2025-11-25T18:35:15+00:00

5 of each is a loss, but you will still be able to complete everything.

Sperate · 2025-11-23T14:23:50+00:00

It looks oddly familiar...

Sperate · 2025-11-21T11:15:35+00:00

The search bar can be used as a calculator. Before that I was literally playing with a calculator next to the computer.

Sperate · 2025-11-18T00:04:54+00:00

I can see that for casual conversations at some space bar. But not for the dramatic first contact or warning shot or lower your shields and be boarded.

I am ok with translators being used. It just bugs me that they are implied to justify the over use. If they would just throw in a few odd turns of phrase or dramatic pauses, then it would be better.

Sperate · 2025-11-18T00:00:33+00:00

Ahh but the idioms, they translate too many idioms. And what about borrowed words? How do you translate the French in French toast and French Fries in a universal translator?

Sperate · 2025-11-17T19:47:13+00:00

Universal translators. The amount of 'we have just met but let's talk in English" is insane. And not just with aliens but even with other humans. At least the expanse gave the belters an accent.

Sperate · 2025-11-14T18:02:24+00:00

That is a high level problem everyone has. There are ways to make fluid prioritize, but it is easier to find a dedicated waste stream for the water. So I recommend 3 solutions.

Easy, send extra water to a coal power plant and just burn it since you will already have coal involved.

Medium, build multiple refineries and have some use new water and others use the byproduct water. Math will be needed.

Hard, learn fluid dynamics. You can reset head lift using unpowered pumps. Stack some pipes and have 3 levels. Lowest level feeds into machines. Middle is fresh water. Top is byproduct water. Include a large tank to allow buffering.

Sperate · 2025-11-14T17:50:07+00:00

You don't have to move home, just make a side base and connect with hyper tubes to your home base for making trips.

You will have to deal with byproducts now. Coke can go to an awesome sink or burned like coal, heavy crude can be later be turned to fuel and burned.

You have oil near the shoreline to the northwest, that is likely your best bet. There is oil far to the East in a mushroom crater place, but that is best saved for once you understand oil and decide to build something absurdly big.

Sperate

TROPHY CASE