#technology is awesome

[mangaka-neko-chan]

Tumblr is gaslighting me or my ask box is friggin broken. If anyone sent me an ask and I couldn't see it, it's not in my power apparently.

[feathery-dreamer]

given their track record of rovers and probes performing much longer than expected, I'm starting to think all of NASA's engineers are just carbon copies of Montgomery Scott

What We Learned from Flying a Helicopter on Mars

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history – not only as the first aircraft to perform powered, controlled flight on another world – but also for exceeding expectations, pushing the limits, and setting the stage for future NASA aerial exploration of other worlds.

Built as a technology demonstration designed to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, Ingenuity performed flight operations from the Martian surface for almost three years. The helicopter ended its mission on Jan. 25, 2024, after sustaining damage to its rotor blades during its 72nd flight.

So, what did we learn from this small but mighty helicopter?

We can fly rotorcraft in the thin atmosphere of other planets.

Ingenuity proved that powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds when it took to the Martian skies for the first time on April 19, 2021.

Flying on planets like Mars is no easy feat: The Red Planet has a significantly lower gravity – one-third that of Earth’s – and an extremely thin atmosphere, with only 1% the pressure at the surface compared to our planet. This means there are relatively few air molecules with which Ingenuity’s two 4-foot-wide (1.2-meter-wide) rotor blades can interact to achieve flight.

Ingenuity performed several flights dedicated to understanding key aerodynamic effects and how they interact with the structure and control system of the helicopter, providing us with a treasure-trove of data on how aircraft fly in the Martian atmosphere.

Now, we can use this knowledge to directly improve performance and reduce risk on future planetary aerial vehicles.

Creative solutions and “ingenuity” kept the helicopter flying longer than expected.

Over an extended mission that lasted for almost 1,000 Martian days (more than 33 times longer than originally planned), Ingenuity was upgraded with the ability to autonomously choose landing sites in treacherous terrain, dealt with a dead sensor, dusted itself off after dust storms, operated from 48 different airfields, performed three emergency landings, and survived a frigid Martian winter.

Fun fact: To keep costs low, the helicopter contained many off-the-shelf-commercial parts from the smartphone industry - parts that had never been tested in deep space. Those parts also surpassed expectations, proving durable throughout Ingenuity’s extended mission, and can inform future budget-conscious hardware solutions.

There is value in adding an aerial dimension to interplanetary surface missions.

Ingenuity traveled to Mars on the belly of the Perseverance rover, which served as the communications relay for Ingenuity and, therefore, was its constant companion. The helicopter also proved itself a helpful scout to the rover.

After its initial five flights in 2021, Ingenuity transitioned to an “operations demonstration,” serving as Perseverance’s eyes in the sky as it scouted science targets, potential rover routes, and inaccessible features, while also capturing stereo images for digital elevation maps.

Airborne assets like Ingenuity unlock a new dimension of exploration on Mars that we did not yet have – providing more pixels per meter of resolution for imaging than an orbiter and exploring locations a rover cannot reach.

Tech demos can pay off big time.

Ingenuity was flown as a technology demonstration payload on the Mars 2020 mission, and was a high risk, high reward, low-cost endeavor that paid off big. The data collected by the helicopter will be analyzed for years to come and will benefit future Mars and other planetary missions.

Just as the Sojourner rover led to the MER-class (Spirit and Opportunity) rovers, and the MSL-class (Curiosity and Perseverance) rovers, the team believes Ingenuity’s success will lead to future fleets of aircraft at Mars.

In general, NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions test and advance new technologies, and then transition those capabilities to NASA missions, industry, and other government agencies. Chosen technologies are thoroughly ground- and flight-tested in relevant operating environments — reducing risks to future flight missions, gaining operational heritage and continuing NASA’s long history as a technological leader.

You can fall in love with robots on another planet.

Following in the tracks of beloved Martian rovers, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter built up a worldwide fanbase. The Ingenuity team and public awaited every single flight with anticipation, awe, humor, and hope.

Check out #ThanksIngenuity on social media to see what’s been said about the helicopter’s accomplishments.

Learn more about Ingenuity’s accomplishments here. And make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[karlrincon]

Happy New Year 2024 from Korea.

Year of the 🐲🐉!

[jaubaius]

1830’s Virtual Reality

This is a tunnel book from the eighteenth century. It's called "Les Tuileries'' and it shows a magnificent spectacle of people in the most emblematic places of Paris.

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[catchymemes]

[feathery-dreamer]

i remember these and being so pleasing to watch should be against the law

[thisisrealy2kok]

Nintendo Gameboy Advance Clear Blue/Sky Blue Opal by 8bitAesthetics

[gutsandeverything]

people saying that you have to stop using ai chatbots and instead roleplay with real people are cruel and probably never ventured into the darkest places of roleplay search forums.... that guy who kept posting because no one would roleplay as a giant dragon woman who uses him as a human toilet? cai saved his life. and you're killing him.

[ohnoitsz1m]

Postcanon alyx yayyy

She doesn't like the civilian clothes or what's left of the CP uniforms. Her hoodie and jacket are way better. And she's probably the last person on earth to own low rise jeans like this. Not that she doesn't have other clothes this is just objectively superior

[biologist4ever]

Illuminating the brain through art and science

[15tarlit5kyline]

[redo-rewind-if]

o(*^▽^*)┛Hello friends! Here's this week's report for you!

Next Update (Chapter 4):

Opening: 100%

Avoid August/Confront Him: 95%

A Normal Day at Work: 0%

You Can Fix This, Right? 🤡: 0%

Keep Your Friends Close...: 0%

Avoidant Route: 0%

The Avoid/Confront path is nearly done! I have a few sections to finish up but otherwise it's all good to go. Ended up with more variant paths than I originally planned for, as per usual lol.

I'm very excited to start on the next part, but I do foresee it taking me some time to finish since there's going to be a (potential) time loop MC can get stuck in. Oh well, guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[evelynpr]

Why the fuck are there roller skates, dubstep, stage lighting, an LED screen, and all kinds of modern technology in Xilonen's trailer??? I thought Fontaine had the most advanced technology next to Schneznaya and arguably Sumeru, and every instance of high-end technology we have seen leaned more towards machinations with gears, magic, alchemy, essentially fantasy styled sci-fi???

The disrespect towards Native American and African cultures is enough to piss me off already, but it even goes against Genshin's own consistency with its fantastical world design..and for what? Just so you can have this...pop and gamer aesthetic???

Just look at these two bubbly and optimistic characters for me okay

Yoimiya's design isn't the most respectful and accurate representation of a Japanese firework craftsman, but at least you can damn tell she is Japanese. The large ribbons, hair accessories, tassels, leg covering, tattoo design, shoe style, and fabric patterns all allude to this (I apologize for not knowing the exact terminologies for these, this needs further research).

Then there's Mualani who has...what? Please do correct me if I am wrong here, but her character must be inspired by the real Mualani, a Hawaiian Chiefess. Additionally, her tribe's specialty is in tourism and vacationing, which further leads into the idea that she and her tribe are based off of Hawaii despite the known issues regarding Hawaii and tourism (if there are any good sources that summarize the issue, please do lmk).

I am not too familiar with Hawaiian culture, but there really is nothing about her design that reads as Hawaiian, or even just traditional, to me. What about a 2 piece swimsuit with bows and tails, a bow + braids + ponytail hair style, combat gloves (?), and an entire neon shark, is Hawaiian???

The characters, their designs, and their trailers, are just so culturally disconnected from their real life counterpart that it's even disconnected to Genshin's own world building and design. How the fuck is the fashion trend in Natlan denim pants. I feel like the only parts of Natlan that feel like Genshin Impact and culturally inspired are the in-game music and landscapes (God bless Hoyo-mix and the world designers).

[jaubaius]

Designed by The Archimedes, LIAM F1 UWT is a new generation of wind turbine for domestic use capable of generating an average of 1,500 kilowatt-hours of energy with a wind speed of 5 m/s.

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[morpel426975777277767777]

I found out how to post from a calctulator! A little comressed but that is ok.

[thisisrealy2kok]

Kodak DC240i Zoom (1999)