Science
Mars 2020 Takes a Test Drive – Universe Today
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover has passed its driving test. The test was mostly a forward and backward maneuver, with a six-wheeled pirouette thrown in. It’s autonomous navigation system was also part of the test. Like a toddler’s first tentative steps, this is an important milestone.
This was a significant test for the rover. According to NASA, the rover passed the test and has earned its driver’s license. The next time it drives will be on the surface of Mars.
“Mars 2020 has earned its driver’s license.”
Rich Rieber, Lead Mobility Systems Engineer, Mars 2020 Rover
“Mars 2020 has earned its driver’s license,” said Rich Rieber, the lead mobility systems engineer for Mars 2020. “The test unambiguously proved that the rover can operate under its own weight and demonstrated many of the autonomous-navigation functions for the first time. This is a major milestone for Mars 2020.”
Though not exactly autonomous, the 2020 rover is designed to make more of its own driving decisions than previous rovers. It has high-resolution, wide field-of-view navigation cameras, part of the group of 23 cameras it’s equipped with. That’s more than any previous rover. The rover has extra computer power that it’ll use to process images and make maps. It also has more sophisticated auto-navigation software.
The 2020 rover will cover a lot of ground during its projected 668 sol (one Martian year) mission to find evidence of past microbial life on Mars. It’ll land at Jezero Crater in February 2021, and to get around on the surface of Mars, it’ll rely on redesigned aluminum wheels, each one with its own motor.
“To fulfill the mission’s ambitious science goals, we need the Mars 2020 rover to cover a lot of ground,” said Katie Stack Morgan, Mars 2020 deputy project scientist.
The 2020 rover is designed to travel about 200 meters (650 ft) every Martian day. To put that into perspective, the record for the longest distance travelled by a rover in one day belongs to NASA’s Opportunity rover. It covered 214 meters (702 ft) in a single day. So 2020’s average day will be about equal to the longest distance ever travelled by a rover in one day.
“We can’t wait to put some red Martian dirt under its wheels.”
John McNamee, Mars 2020 Project Manager.
This latest test took place on Dec. 17th. It was a marathon 10 hour testing session that saw all of the rover’s systems working together. Not only did it drive and steer and turn in place, but it maneuvered over small ramps, to replicate some of the terrain it’ll face on Mars. Since Martian gravity is weaker than Earth’s—only about 3/8ths as strong—NASA expects the rover to perform well once it reaches its destination.
“A rover needs to rove, and Mars 2020 did that yesterday,” said John McNamee, Mars 2020 project manager. “We can’t wait to put some red Martian dirt under its wheels.”
The rover’s wheels are arranged on a pair of legs on each side of the rover, with three wheels per leg. The leg is made out of titanium, one of the lightest and strongest materials available. Each of the aluminum wheels has 48 grousers or cleats on them, which should provide superior traction on Mars’ surface. Each wheel also has its own drive engine, and each of the front and rear wheels also have steering engines, allowing the rover to turn in place.
The wheels also have titanium spokes, which are curved and provide springy support for the 2020 rover. Together, the wheels, legs and engines are called the mobility suspension. The sophisticated system allows the rover to drive over rocks that are about thigh-high on a person, or 1.5 times the wheel diameter. (78 cm; 31 inches)
The 2020 rover will land in the Jezero Crater on Mars. It’s the sight of a long-gone paleo-lake. There’s an abundance of clay minerals there, as well as a fossilized river delta created by an ancient river that flowed into the crater.
The image below shows 2020’s landing spot, as well as the landing locations of other Mars rovers and landers.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is building the 2020 rover, and they’ll operate it as well. The 2020 rover is part of a larger program that aims to see humans on Mars. That program includes the Artemis Program, which intends to land humans on the Moon again by 2024, including the first woman on the Moon. NASA also plans to establish a sustained human presence there by 2028, as one of the stepping stones to a crewed mission to Mars.
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The Canadian Press
The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada for Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021
The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Sunday Jan. 24, 2021. There are 737,407 confirmed cases in Canada. _ Canada: 737,407 confirmed cases (65,750 active, 652,829 resolved, 18,828 deaths).*The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers. There were 5,957 new cases Saturday from 101,130 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 5.9 per cent. The rate of active cases is 174.92 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 41,703 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 5,958. There were 206 new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 1,100 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 157. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.42 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 50.09 per 100,000 people. There have been 16,996,450 tests completed. _ Newfoundland and Labrador: 398 confirmed cases (10 active, 384 resolved, four deaths). There was one new case Saturday from 146 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.68 per cent. The rate of active cases is 1.92 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there has been three new case. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 0.77 per 100,000 people. There have been 77,472 tests completed. _ Prince Edward Island: 110 confirmed cases (seven active, 103 resolved, zero deaths). There were zero new cases Saturday from 418 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. The rate of active cases is 4.46 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of six new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people. There have been 88,407 tests completed. _ Nova Scotia: 1,570 confirmed cases (22 active, 1,483 resolved, 65 deaths). There were five new cases Saturday from 721 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.69 per cent. The rate of active cases is 2.26 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 20 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is three. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 6.69 per 100,000 people. There have been 200,424 tests completed. _ New Brunswick: 1,087 confirmed cases (332 active, 742 resolved, 13 deaths). There were 30 new cases Saturday from 1,031 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 2.9 per cent. The rate of active cases is 42.74 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 203 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 29. There were zero new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there has been one new reported death. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is zero. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.02 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 1.67 per 100,000 people. There have been 133,199 tests completed. _ Quebec: 250,491 confirmed cases (17,763 active, 223,367 resolved, 9,361 deaths). There were 1,631 new cases Saturday from 8,857 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 18 per cent. The rate of active cases is 209.35 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 11,746 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,678. There were 88 new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 423 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 60. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.71 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 110.32 per 100,000 people. There have been 2,695,925 tests completed. _ Ontario: 250,226 confirmed cases (25,263 active, 219,262 resolved, 5,701 deaths). There were 2,662 new cases Saturday from 69,403 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 3.8 per cent. The rate of active cases is 173.43 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 18,918 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 2,703. There were 87 new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 412 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 59. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.4 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 39.14 per 100,000 people. There have been 8,895,862 tests completed. _ Manitoba: 28,260 confirmed cases (3,261 active, 24,204 resolved, 795 deaths). There were 171 new cases Saturday from 1,998 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 8.6 per cent. The rate of active cases is 238.12 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 1,118 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 160. There were two new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 36 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is five. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.38 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 58.05 per 100,000 people. There have been 448,638 tests completed. _ Saskatchewan: 21,643 confirmed cases (3,196 active, 18,200 resolved, 247 deaths). There were 305 new cases Saturday from 1,326 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 23 per cent. The rate of active cases is 272.12 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 1,928 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 275. There were eight new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 37 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is five. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.45 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 21.03 per 100,000 people. There have been 327,151 tests completed. _ Alberta: 119,757 confirmed cases (9,987 active, 108,258 resolved, 1,512 deaths). There were 643 new cases Saturday from 12,969 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 5.0 per cent. The rate of active cases is 228.47 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 4,387 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 627. There were 12 new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 110 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 16. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.36 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 34.59 per 100,000 people. There have been 3,061,844 tests completed. _ British Columbia: 63,484 confirmed cases (5,901 active, 56,455 resolved, 1,128 deaths). There were 508 new cases Saturday from 4,088 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 12 per cent. The rate of active cases is 116.36 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 3,367 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 481. There were nine new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 81 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 12. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.23 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 22.24 per 100,000 people. There have been 1,044,931 tests completed. _ Yukon: 70 confirmed cases (zero active, 69 resolved, one deaths). There were zero new cases Saturday from six completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of zero new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 2.45 per 100,000 people. There have been 6,216 tests completed. _ Northwest Territories: 31 confirmed cases (seven active, 24 resolved, zero deaths). There were zero new cases Saturday from 105 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. The rate of active cases is 15.62 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of six new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people. There have been 9,064 tests completed. _ Nunavut: 267 confirmed cases (one active, 265 resolved, one deaths). There was one new case Saturday from 62 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 1.6 per cent. The rate of active cases is 2.58 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there has been one new case. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 2.58 per 100,000 people. There have been 7,241 tests completed. This report was automatically generated by The Canadian Press Digital Data Desk and was first published Jan. 24, 2021. The Canadian Press
Another day with COVID-19 cases in the double digits.
Public Health reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 for Sunday.
Ten cases in Zone 1 (Moncton region) are as follows:
- four people 19 and under;
- an individual 20-29;
- an individual 30-39;
- an individual 50-59;
- two people 60-69; and
- an individual 70-79.
The nine cases in Zone 4 (Edmundston region) are:
- two people 19 and under;
- an individual 20-29;
- an individual 40-49;
- three people 50-59;
- an individual 60-69: and
- an individual 80-89.
The one case in Zone 7 (Miramichi region) is as follows:
- an individual 50-59.
All of the individuals are self isolating and the cases are under investigation.
“We are seeing encouraging trends, but the reliability of this information depends on those who have symptoms getting tested immediately, said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “We will be more confident in our decision making – and zone restrictions are more likely to be eased – if more New Brunswickers, in all health zones, who have symptoms get tested.”
The total number of active COVID-19 cases currently is 334, with 14 more recovered cases reported since Saturday. Five patients are hospitalized with two in intensive care.
Below is a breakdown of the number of cases considered active in each zone:
- Zone 1 (Moncton health region): 90
- Zone 2 (Saint John health region): 36
- Zone 3 (Fredericton health region): 36
- Zone 4 (Edmundston health region): 144
- Zone 5 (Campbellton health region): 19
- Zone 6 (Bathurst health region): 7
- Zone 7 (Miramichi health region): 2
Since cases began being reported in the province, New Brunswick has had 1,124 and 776 people have recovered. Thirteen people have died.
Zone 4 went into lockdown over the weekend. Zones 1, 2 and 3 remain at the red level, and zones 5, 6 and 7 are at the orange level.
After streamer AverageHarry was permanently banned because his account was created when he was under 13, Twitch viewers have pointed out that other streamers in a similar position have not faced the same consequences.
Twitch regularly faces scrutiny over their moderation decisions and bans for streamers, which often spark confusion over what exactly the rules allow.
The DMCA drama from October left many big streamers stripping their channels of content in fear of a takedown, and Twitch’s TOS policy change that restricted the use of words like ‘simp’ left streamers in fear of breaking the rules unintentionally.
15-year-old streamer AverageHarry was denied Twitch partnership earlier in January due to the fact that he made his account before the age of 13, after waiting 72 days for a response to his application.
for anyone wondering this is why, ill have a video out tomorrow talking about it all. I am allowed to make another account but I have just lost nearly 90k followers https://t.co/B68SpBjZGF
— AverageHarry (READ PINNED) (@HarryButAverage) January 23, 2021
While that was already a pretty tough blow, things were made worse when, on January 23, he was perma-banned. He clarified on Twitter that: “I am allowed to make another account, but I have just lost nearly 90k followers.”
But now Twitch users are noticing some inconsistencies in Twitch’s decision to ban Harry, as popular streamers, with millions of followers, also made their account when under 13 – but have not faced bans.
One user pointed out that hugely popular 16-year-old streamer TommyInnit had his account when he was only 11, but has not faced the same issues in terms of partner status and bans. The user called it “gross hypocrisy” from Twitch.
Tommyinnit’s Twitch account was made when he was 11 years old. Gross hypocrisy from Twitch or what? from r/LivestreamFail
Another commenter pointed out that several Fortnite streamers are all in a similar position, with some of them having likely started their accounts when they were under the age of 13. Streamer ONSCREEN highlighted a list of streamers with millions of followers, all of whom made accounts when younger than 13 – some as young as 10.
No way Twitch will actually do this.
– Age when account created
Bugha (3.8M followers) – 12 years old
Benjyfishy (2.8M followers) – 10 years old
Mongraal (3.8M followers) – 12 years old
Fresh (3.9M followers) – 10 years old
TommyInnit (3.3M followers) – 11 years old— ONSCREEN (@onscreenlol) January 23, 2021
If Twitch followed through on bans for all of the streamers who made their account when they were below 13, even if they have since surpassed that age, it would certainly spell bad news for a lot of large communities on the site.
However, it is also possible that there are conditions within the Twitch TOS that are accounting for these discrepancies, meaning some streamers are still permitted to keep their account according to the rules, even if they made their account before the age of 13.
The reason for the 13-year-old age limit is linked to COPPA laws, which aim to protect young people online. In 2019, Google and YouTube had to pay a record $170 million to settle allegations of COPPA laws.
Harry revealed that he only signed up for Twitch two months before he turned 13, saying: “I spent 2 years and nearly 2000 hours streamed just for it to be taken away because I signed up 2 months early.”
actually heartbroken man, i spent 2 years and nearly 2000 hours streamed just for it to be taken away because i signed up 2 months early.
I’ll post a video tomorrow with my new account, id appreciate if you could all share
— AverageHarry (READ PINNED) (@HarryButAverage) January 23, 2021
Fans of Harry are now looking to Twitch for answers regarding the confusing situation.
AverageHarry makes new Twitch account
As he was allowed to do, AverageHarry has now made a new Twitch account, and asked for his fans to follow him there.
Hey Twitter, my account with 90k followers got permanently suspended last night for a mistake I made 3 years ago
and i need YOUR help (RT’s appreciated)https://t.co/XpECAgGo0X pic.twitter.com/hnKp06dGqC
— AverageHarry (READ PINNED) (@HarryButAverage) January 23, 2021
Within 24 hours of opening the account, he has already accrued 3,700 followers, and will be gunning to hit five figures soon. But, getting back to his original 90,000 will prove a challenge.
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