CANADA: While much attention has been given to the ability of the Mars rover Curiosity’s ability to gather and analyze soil samples on the red planet, one team is focused on the rover’s ability to analyze the air.
But the team isn’t interested in understanding the current atmosphere on Mars, instead they are using current samples to better understand the history of the atmosphere on Mars over time.
To do this, the team is analyzing xenon, a heavy noble or inert gas. This analysis is being conducted using Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) experiment.
Noble gases, found in the far right column of the periodic table, are chemically inert. With a full outer shell of electrons, these gases do not react with other substances in the air or on the ground, and as a result, are excellent tracers of the history of the atmosphere.
Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology
WASHINGTON: Electric carmaker Tesla announced Sunday it was upgrading its Autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. In a...
