Short Takes – 1-22-24

NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “The mini rotorcraft, which weighs just four pounds (1.8 kilograms), has far exceeded its original goal of undertaking five flights over 30 days on the red planet. In all, it has covered just over 10 miles (17 kilometers) and reached altitudes of up to 79 feet (24 meters).”

Billions of cicadas will buzz this spring as two broods emerge at the same time. NPR.org article. Pull quote: “While the two broods this spring will mostly be separated by time and place, "they will overlap for several weeks," in Illinois, says Shockley. This overlap could result in some Illinois residents hearing all seven species of the two broods singing their cacophonous mating calls together, he says. Additionally, Shockley says the overlap could result in "an extremely rare opportunity for genetic crossing between 13-year cicadas and 17-year cicadas that could lead to the emergence of a new brood."”

Blue Origin and SpaceX start work on cargo versions of crewed lunar landers. SpaceNews.com article.  Pull quote: ““In the last few months, we’ve asked both of our Human Landing System providers, SpaceX and Blue Origin, to being applying the work they’re doing on the human-rated versions of the landing vehicles to develop a cargo variant that can land large cargo on the surface,” said Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program in NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Development, in a Jan. 9 media call. However, NASA provided no other details about that work at the time, with the briefing focused on the delays to the upcoming Artemis missions.”