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World

China’s scorching southwest extends power curbs as drought, heatwave continue

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  • China announces 11th consecutive heat ‘red alert’
  • Sichuan extends industrial power use curbs until Aug. 25
  • Chongqing cuts working hours of commercial venues
  • Shortages could affect Tesla

SHANGHAI, Aug 22 (Reuters) – China’s scorched southwestern regions extended curbs on power consumption on Monday as they deal with dwindling hydropower output and surging household electricity demand during a long drought and heatwave.

State weather forecasters issued a heat “red alert” for the 11th consecutive day on Monday, as extreme weather continues to play havoc with power supplies and damage crops. They also raised the national drought alert to “orange” – the second-highest level.

The drought has already “severely affected” mid-season rice and summer corn in some southern regions, the ministry of agriculture said on Sunday.

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The National Meteorological Center said as many as 62 weather stations, from Sichuan in the southwest to Fujian on the southeastern coast, saw record temperatures on Sunday. The situation could improve starting Wednesday as a cold front moves into China via Xinjiang.

The region of Chongqing, which hit temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) late last week, announced that opening hours at more than 500 malls and other commercial venues would be shortened starting Monday to ease power demand.

Malls on the list contacted by Reuters on Monday confirmed they had received the government notice and would abide by the rules. Two hotels on the list said they were still operating normally but would restrict air conditioner use.

In neighbouring Sichuan province, a major hydropower generator, authorities also extended existing curbs on industrial power consumers until Thursday, financial news service Caixin said on Sunday. Power generation in Sichuan is at just half the normal level after a massive decline in water levels.

Caixin cited battery industry firms as saying that industrial power users in the cities of Yibin and Suining had been told to remain closed until Thursday.

Sichuan – a major power supplier to the rest of the country – has recently put a new coal storage base into operation to make sure its thermal plants can operate without disruption.

However, around 80% of its installed capacity is hydropower, making it especially vulnerable to fluctuations in water supplies.

People walk on a dried-up bed of a reservoir, amid hot temperatures, while many regions from southwest to east of the country along the Yangtze river have been experiencing weeks of record-breaking heatwave in Changxing, Zhejiang province, China, August 20, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song

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Several companies confirmed on Monday that they were restricting output because of extended power supply curbs. Pesticide producer Lier Chemical Co Ltd (002258.SZ) confirmed in on Monday that restrictions would continue until Thursday.

JinkoSolar (JKS.N), a major solar power equipment manufacturer, said its Sichuan manufacturing facilities have been halted as a result of power shortages, adding that it was “uncertain” how long the measures would last.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) gradually resumed operations at its Sichuan plant in China on Monday using a power generator after suspending operations last week, the company’s spokesperson said.

Several plants in Sichuan and Chongqing, including those of top battery maker CATL (300750.SZ) and the electric vehicle giant BYD (002594.SZ), have only been able to partially operate in recent weeks because of power shortages.

Sources familiar with the matter said CATL’s Yibin plant makes battery cells for Tesla (TSLA.O), and there were concerns that disruptions could eventually affect the U.S. automaker, though production at its Shanghai plant remains unchanged.

Shanghai, criticised on China’s Twitter-like Weibo for its use of electricity generated in Sichuan, imposed its own consumption restrictions on Monday, turning off decorative lighting on the riverside Bund area and parts of the financial centre of Lujiazui for two days.

Firms will be encouraged to “stagger” power consumption to reduce peak loads, and some construction projects will be suspended, the official Shanghai Daily said.

Important agricultural regions have been warning of the impact on crops, with Henan province saying more than a million hectares of land have been affected by drought so far.

About 2.2 million hectares across the Yangtze basin have been affected, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

Poyang Lake, located in one of the Yangtze river’s flood plains and described as China’s “kidney” because of the role it plays in regulating water supplies, is now 67% smaller than the average over the last 10 years, state broadcaster CCTV said.

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Reporting by David Stanway and Zhang Yan in Shanghai, Martin Quin Pollard in Beijing; Additional reporting by the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill, Gerry Doyle and Susan Fenton

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Heathrow airport extends passenger cap to October amid travel chaos

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LONDON — One of Europe’s busiest airports has extended its cap on passengers into late October, as a summer of travel disruptions and staff shortages drags on.

London’s Heathrow Airport said it would allow no more than 100,000 people to fly out each day, extending for longer than initially planned a restriction that it said eased the chaos plaguing summer travel in Europe.

The travel hub imposed the daily limit in July during peak travel season, as photos circulated of lost luggage piling up on terminal floors and lines snaking around security barriers for hours. Heathrow cited shortages in staff struggling with surging traffic after countries emerged from coronavirus lockdowns that hit the aviation industry.

The London airport said Monday that its temporary cap led to fewer last-minute cancellations and “shorter wait times for bags.”

Just as summer started and the United States lifted a coronavirus testing requirement, pent-up demand for travel collided with pandemic layoffs that had battered workers. The result was thousands of flight cancellations and labor strikes across Europe.

Chaos at European airports strands travelers. Here’s why.

German pilots, French airport workers and Italian air traffic controllers have all walked out in recent weeks, squeezed by labor shortages and soaring inflation. Union activists in Paris called for better wages and emergency hiring to restore pre-pandemic staffing levels.

Travelers in Europe added a record heat wave — which threatened to melt airport runways in Britain — to their list of 2022 hurdles.

The chaos has filled terminals with stranded passengers, including at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport when Dutch carrier KLM briefly canceled incoming European flights in June. The airport introduced a cap on departures then, which it has now also been extended until October.

“Worldwide aviation traffic continues to inch closer to 2019 levels,” according to FlightAware, which tracks airport traffic and reported “large growth” this week over last year’s flights in Europe and China.

New airline refund rules may be coming. Here’s what it would mean for you.

Some consumer rights groups have faulted the aviation sector for failing to plan for the travel surge.

Heathrow said this week that it has hired 1,300 people in the past six months in an effort to build back to pre-pandemic staffing. In Monday’s announcement, it said passenger limits would remain under review and “could be lifted earlier” if conditions improve, including “a material increase” in resources.

“We want to remove the cap as soon as possible,” said Heathrow Chief Commercial Officer Ross Baker, “but we can only do so when we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has the resources to deliver the service our passengers deserve.”

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Sports

Pressure mounts on Daniel Ricciardo as McLaren extends Pato O’Ward deal

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Daniel Ricciardo has not delivered the results hoped for in Formula One, McLaren boss Zak Brown said on Friday after announcing that their IndyCar team had extended their agreement with Pato O’Ward, who is eyeing a Formula One seat.

McLaren took care of a bit of business ahead of Sunday’s Indy 500 by extending O’Ward’s contract through the end of 2025 in a deal that will include some F1 testing for the 23-year-old from Mexico and a new McLaren sports car as a signing on bonus.

McLaren’s commitment to O’Ward will come as a warning to an underperforming Ricciardo, who has managed one points finish in six F1 races this season and had a nightmare start to Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix by crashing in Friday’s practice.

The Australian is under contract through 2023 but Brown said there are “mechanisms” in place that could impact negotiations.

“We’ve got both our drivers under contract so nothing imminent but we’re starting a testing program bringing a couple of drivers in and Pato is definitely going to be one of those,” said Brown, who is in Indianapolis where Arrow McLaren will have three cars in Sunday’s race.

“I don’t want to get into the contract but there are mechanisms which we’re committed to each other and then there are mechanisms which we’re not.

“I spoke to Daniel about it. We’re not getting the results we hoped for but we’re both going to continue to push.

“I think he showed at Monza he can win races. We also need to continue to develop our race car. It is not capable of winning races but we’d like to see him further up the grid.”

O’Ward has also shown a winner’s touch by collecting three victories, four poles and nine podiums since signing on with Arrow McLaren in 2020.

O’Ward, who will start Sunday’s race from seventh on the grid, has set himself a deadline of two years to realise his F1 dream which matches up nicely with his McLaren deal.

“I think the deadline is there just because of age. Once you are 25, 26 that window closes quite a bit,” said O’Ward, who will take home Brown’s Richard Mille watch as a bonus if he wins the 500.

“Obviously, if the opportunity comes about you have to take it. The dream of becoming a racing driver came about from Formula One so that is nothing that is ever going to leave. It is part of me.

“When you want something so much it is hard to block it out of your mind. At the end of the day what is going to make this guy [Brown] want me more is win more.”

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Business

Stocks suffer renewed slide on growth fears, dollar extends rally

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LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) – Stocks fell heavily again on Monday and the dollar rocketed to a new two-decade high as worries about higher interest rates and a tightened lockdown in Shanghai deepened investors’ fears that the global economy is rapidly heading for a slowdown.

After a bruising session on Friday in which U.S. stocks sold off sharply as another rise in long-dated U.S. Treasury yields unnerved investors, markets were set for a rocky start to the week, with most indexes in the red.

Central banks in the United States, Britain and Australia all raised interest rates last week, and investors are bracing for more tightening as policymakers try to get on top of soaring inflation.

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“We see recession risk over the next 12 to 18 months to be as high as about 30%,” said Dan Ivascyn, group chief investment officer at bond giant PIMCO.

“One of the key reasons for that is the Fed and other central banks appear dead set on getting inflation under control.”

There was plenty more for investors to worry about on Monday aside from tightening financial conditions.

There appeared to be no let-up in China’s zero-COVID policy, with Shanghai tightening the city-wide lockdown for 25 million residents. read more

Speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin might declare war on Ukraine in order to call up reserves during his speech at “Victory Day” celebrations also hurt market sentiment. Putin has so far characterised Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation”, not a war. read more

Wall Street futures headed sharply lower with the S&P 500 futures down 2% and Nasdaq futures 2.5%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Friday posted their fifth straight week of declines — their longest losing streak in a decade.

The Euro STOXX weakened 2% (.STOXX). Germany’s DAX (.GDAXI) lost 1.6% and Britain’s FTSE 100 (.FTSE) 1.78%.

MSCI’s main emerging market stocks index (.MSCIEF)fell 1.2% to its lowest level since July 2020.

The MSCI World Index (.MIWD00000PUS) dropped 0.7%, leaving it not far from the 17-month intraday low reached on Friday.

world equities

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 1.4% and Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) 2.53%. Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) eased 0.8%, while in offshore markets the yuan fell to as low as 6.7759 per dollar , its weakest since October 2020.

The big data event of the week is the U.S. consumer price report due on Wednesday, when only a slight easing in inflation is forecast, and certainly nothing to prevent the Federal Reserve from hiking by at least 50 basis points in June.

U.S. 10-year bond yields on Monday reached a new 3-1/2 year high of 3.203%.

With investors juggling so many worries, one place they are looking for safety is in the dollar.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose as much as 0.4% to 104.19 , the latest in a string of 20-year highs.

“Risk appetite is fragile and yield spreads continue to suggest further upside on the Dollar Index,” said Sean Callow, a senior FX strategist at Westpac.

“We look for ongoing demand for DXY (the dollar index) on dips, with 104 already being probed and still potential for a run towards 107 multi-week.”

The soaring dollar is hammering other currencies. The euro briefly dropped back below $1.05 while the Japanese yen fell to its weakest since 2002 .

Expectations that the Fed will move more aggressively in raising interest rates are supporting the dollar, as is a sense among investors that the U.S. economy will hold up better than a euro zone hit by the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

But rates are also rising in the euro zone. On Monday, Germany’s 10-year bond yield hit a new highest level since 2014, buoyed by hawkish policymaker Robert Holzmann saying on Saturday that the European Central Bank should raise rates three times this year to combat inflation.

The diary is full of Fed speakers this week, giving them plenty of opportunity to keep up the hawkish chorus.

Oil prices initially see-sawed after the Group of Seven nations committed to banning or phasing out imports of Russian oil over time, before falling. read more

Brent dropped 2.15% at $109.97 by 1115 GMT, while U.S. crude dropped 2.39% to $107.15.

Spot gold prices lost 1.24% to $1,859 an ounce , having struggled recently to gain traction as a safe haven.

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Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Chizu Nomiyama

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Stocks stumble on new growth fears, dollar extends rally By Reuters

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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective mask, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walks past an electronic board displaying Shanghai Composite index, Nikkei index and Dow Jones Industrial Average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, March 7,

By Tommy Wilkes

LONDON (Reuters) – Stocks fell again on Monday and the dollar rocketed to a new two-decade high as worries about higher interest rates and a tightened lockdown in Shanghai deepened investors’ fears that the global economy is headed for a slowdown.

After a bruising session on Friday in which U.S. stocks sold off sharply as another rise in long-dated U.S. Treasury yields unnerved investors, markets were set for a rocky start to the week, with most indexes in the red.

Central banks in the United States, Britain and Australia all raised interest rates last week, and investors are bracing for more tightening as policymakers try to get on top of soaring inflation.

There was plenty more for investors to worry about on Monday aside from tightening financial conditions.

No let-up appeared in China’s zero-COVID policy, with Shanghai tightening the city-wide lockdown for 25 million residents.

Speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin might declare war on Ukraine in order to call up reserves during his speech at “Victory Day” celebrations also hurt market sentiment. Putin has so far characterised Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation”, not a war.

Despite the sharp rise in rates, not all investors think a slowdown is imminent.

“We continue to believe investors should position for the reality of inflation now, rather than the chance of a recession soon,” said UBS Global Wealth Management strategists.

Wall Street headed for another weaker open with the stock futures down 1%, while Nasdaq futures shed 0.9%. U.S. 10-year bond yields reached a new 3-1/2 year high of 3.179%.

The Euro STOXX weakened 0.56%, while lost 0.21%.

MSCI’s main emerging market stocks index fell to its lowest level since July 2020.

The fell 0.5%, leaving it not far from the 17-month intraday low reached on Friday.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.27% and 2.53%. Chinese blue chips eased 0.8%, while in offshore markets the yuan fell to 6.765 per dollar, another 18-month low.

Investors are also tense ahead of the U.S. consumer price report due on Wednesday. Only a slight easing in inflation is forecast, and certainly nothing to prevent the Federal Reserve from hiking by at least 50 basis points in June.

Core prices are actually seen rising by 0.4% in April, the monthly rate accelerating from 0.3% in the previous month, even as the annual pace dips a bit due to base effects.

DOLLAR DOMINANCE

With investors juggling so many worries, one place they are looking for safety is in the dollar, which is soaring against most other currencies.

The , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose as much as 0.4% to 104.19, the latest in a string of 20-year highs.

“Risk appetite is fragile and yield spreads continue to suggest further upside on the Dollar Index,” said Sean Callow, a senior FX strategist at Westpac.

“We look for ongoing demand for DXY (the dollar index) on dips, with 104 already being probed and still potential for a run towards 107 multi-week.”

The soaring dollar is hammering other currencies. The euro dropped back below $1.05 while the Japanese yen fell to its weakest since 2002.

Expectations that the Fed will move more aggressively in raising interest rates are supporting the dollar, as is a sense among investors that the U.S. economy will hold up better than a euro zone hit hard by the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

But interest rates are also rising in the euro zone. On Monday, Germany’s 10-year bond yield hit a new highest level since 2014, buoyed by hawkish policymaker Robert Holzmann saying on Saturday that the European Central Bank should raise interest rates three times this year to combat inflation.

The diary is full of Fed speakers this week, giving them plenty of opportunity to keep up the hawkish chorus.

Oil prices see-sawed after the Group of Seven nations committed on Sunday to banning or phasing out imports of Russian oil over time.

was last quoted down 1.07% at $111.21, while dropped 1.16% to $108.51.

Gold was down 0.7% at $1,869 an ounce, having struggled recently to gain any traction as a safe haven.

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Technology

Elden Ring Update Extends Patches Storyline, Adds Squat Pose

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Screenshot: FromSoftware / Kotaku

Elden Ring’s latest update includes a proper ending to Patches’ quest that sees the fan favorite NPC reward players with his iconic pose.

While trying out today’s bug fixes and balance adjustments, be sure to head back to the Limgrave cavern where you likely first encountered Patches. If you already progressed far enough into his quest before the patch, his little grotto in Murkwater Cave should be closed off by the game’s boss-teasing golden fog.

Opening the arena’s conspicuously placed chest will prompt Patches to ambush you again, but this time around, he quickly recognizes you and surrenders to avoid another ass-beating. Once he’s pacified, he teaches you how to squat low to the ground and, after you sit at a checkpoint, reopens his shop.

Don’t say Patches never gave you anything!

Patches’ storyline previously ended at the Shaded Castle, a swampy, poison-drenched fortress situated between Mt. Gelmir and Altus Plateau. It seemed pretty final, too: The dude gave you one last quest item and appeared to succumb to his mysterious injuries. I guess the dimension-hopping jerk still had some fight left in him after all.

Despite his constant treachery, the Souls community can’t help but love everything about Patches. The news that his unique pose was added to Elden Ring with today’s patch was met with overwhelming positivity from fans, many of whom liken the gesture to a real-world posture known colloquially as the “Slav squat.”

“Finally, I can leave ‘Time for dung’ messages with an appropriate emote,” wrote one Reddit user, a Tarnished after my own heart.

Just like his enduring legacy as FromSoftware’s pseudo-mascot, it appears Elden Ring players will be stuck with Patches for the foreseeable future. Pay him a visit and see what he has to offer.

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US

The C.D.C. extends the mask mandate on planes and public transit another two weeks.

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Dr. Lucky Tran, a scientist and activist who was one of the organizers of the March for Science in 2017, took an opposite stance on the same platform.

“The C.D.C. is extending the mask mandate for public transport for two weeks,” he wrote. “That’s not enough. Millions rely on public transportation every day to get to work or access essential services.”

In recent months, airlines and the hospitality industry have been lobbying the White House to overturn both the mask rule and the requirement to test before returning to the United States from abroad. In one of the most recent letters, dated April 8, Airlines for America, an industry group representing eight airlines; the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group representing more than 1,000 public and private organizations catering to business and leisure travelers; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business lobbying group; and the American Hotel and Lodging Association, which represents thousands of hotels, sent a letter to Dr. Jha, arguing that what they see as unnecessary measures were hurting the country economically.

“While the public health benefits of these policies have greatly diminished, the economic costs associated with maintaining these measures are significant,” they wrote.

On Wednesday, shortly before the C.D.C. announcement, Airlines for America sent yet another letter to Dr. Walensky, the C.D.C. director, pushing for a detailed explanation of why masks are still necessary on planes.

“If the federal mask mandate is extended, the administration should publish the data and science used to reach that,” Nicholas E. Calio, the president of the group, wrote.

By many accounts, enforcement has been one of the most challenging aspects of the mask mandate, with many passengers verbally and even physically assaulting flight attendants who reminded them to cover their nose and mouth. Ahead of the decision, major unions representing flight attendants and Transportation Security Administration employees, the two groups that have to deal with enforcing the rule, declined to take a stance.



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US

White House extends student loan repayment pause through August 31

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The Biden administration announced an extension of the federal student loan payment pause Wednesday, delaying the repayment of student loans until August 31. The payment pause was previously slated to end May 1.

Roughly 37 million student loan borrowers have been in limbo for several months over whether the payment pause would be extended. For many of them, it would have been the first time they would have had to start making student loan payments since the pause began at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. 

“If loan payments were to resume on schedule in May, analysis of recent data from the Federal Reserve suggests that millions of student loan borrowers would face significant economic hardship, and delinquencies and defaults could threaten Americans’ financial stability,” President Biden said in a statement.

The Biden administration has already extended the federal student loan payment pause several times. Most recently, in December, it pushed the deadline back 90 days from the end of January to May despite claiming earlier when they extended over the summer that it would be the “final” extension.

In Wednesday’s statement, the president said the extension would help “enable Americans to continue to get back on their feet after two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced” as well as give the Department of Education time to continue improving student loan programs.

A group of Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn sent a letter to the president at the end of March calling on him to delay payments resuming until at least the end of the year, noting it saved borrowers an average $393 a month during the pandemic. That same group of Democratic lawmakers have also called on the president to cancel student loan debt.

Earlier this month, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said the decision on whether there could be student debt forgiveness through executive action was going to be made before the payments resume or the president would extend the pause.

“We recognize that extending the payment pause is important to borrowers struggling to shoulder the harm caused by the pandemic, economic shocks and inflation. However, President Biden’s piecemeal, short term approach is not enough to meet these challenging times,” said Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center. “The president has an opportunity to pass bold, meaningful relief instead of Band-Aid measures. We urge the president to consider the transformative effect permanent student debt cancellation would have for individuals, their families, and the economy.”

The federal student loan payment pause has already resulted in $195 billion worth of waived payments through this April, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently found. 

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which had called for the student loan payments to resume, estimated extending the pause would cost an additional $50 billion per year. 

While the Biden administration plans to extend the federal student loan payment pause, first reported by Politico, no decision has been announced on canceling student loan debt. The president has previously said he would like Congress to get involved and suggested canceling $10,000 in student loan debt. But tackling student loan forgiveness in Congress would face an uphill battle with Republicans opposing the move. 

Where the deeply divided Congress may not have the necessary support to pass student loan legislation and an executive order could face legal challenges, student financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz has suggested the Biden administration may be able to go through the regulatory process. 

“Income-driven repayment plans are effectively loan forgiveness plans,” Kantrowitz said. “They forgive the remaining debt after a number of years in repayment.”

Kantrowitz argued one of those repayment plans has very broad regulatory authority, so the administration could create a new loan forgiveness plan and reduce the eligibility thresholds. 

While there has not been broad student debt cancellation, since taking office, the Biden administration has canceled $17 billion in student loan debt, including debt forgiven for borrowers who were found to have been defrauded by schools as well as public service loan forgiveness, and canceling debt for borrowers who are permanently disabled. 

More than 43 million borrowers hold more than $1.6 trillion in student loans debt, according to Education Department data. Student loan debt is the second largest amount of debt for U.S. consumers behind mortgages. 

Sarah Ewall-Wice

CBS News reporter covering economic policy.

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Science

NASA Extends Ingenuity Helicopter Mission on Mars

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The American space agency NASA has extended flight operations on Mars for its Ingenuity helicopter.

Ingenuity landed on Mars a little over a year ago along with NASA’s Perseverance explorer, or rover.

At first, NASA officials described Ingenuity as a demonstration mission. It was designed to see whether the small aircraft could take off, fly a short distance, and then land on the Red Planet.

The helicopter quickly succeeded in those areas during a series of tests. NASA said the flights marked the first time any aircraft had performed a powered, controlled flight on another planet.

Last May, NASA announced it was expanding Ingenuity’s experimental mission. Since then, Ingenuity has kept flying on Mars. So far, the helicopter has completed 21 flights. On March 15, the space agency announced it was extending Ingenuity’s mission through September.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this image in the northwest portion of a Mars region known as “Séítah” using its high-resolution color camera during its 20th flight on Feb. 25, 2022. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Thomas Zurbuchen is associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. He praised Ingenuity’s progress. “Less than a year ago, we didn’t even know if powered, controlled flight of an aircraft at Mars was possible,” he said. “Now, we are looking forward to Ingenuity’s involvement in Perseverance’s second science campaign.”

During that next science campaign, NASA says, Ingenuity will center on exploring an ancient river system on Mars’ Jezero Crater. Ingenuity has been working together with Perseverance in an area of Jezero known as Séítah.

NASA says the river system Ingenuity will help explore is very different from the areas it has been flying over since its first flight in April. The past flights have been carried out over mostly flat surfaces. The river system, called a delta, rises more than 40 meters above the crater floor. It contains sharp cliffs, large rocks and sand-filled areas.

Such areas could present transportation difficulties for the Perseverance rover. So, the helicopter’s main goal will be to help map a safe path for Perseverance to cross over into the delta, NASA said. In addition, data provided by the helicopter will help the Perseverance team assess possible science targets.

The river delta area is considered a good target for science experiments because it is believed to hold valuable geologic elements. NASA said the area may even contain “the proof necessary to determine (whether) microscopic life once existed on Mars billions of years ago.” Perseverance is on a mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars.

Teddy Tzanetos is the Ingenuity team lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. He said the Jezero river delta campaign “will be the biggest challenge the Ingenuity team faces since the first flight at Mars.” In preparation for the helicopter’s upcoming activities, Tzanetos said he had increased the size of the team and upgraded the aircraft’s flight software.

This annotated image depicts the multiple flights – and two different paths – NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter could take on its trip to Jezero Crater’s delta river system. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/USGS)

The upgrades are designed to permit Ingenuity to fly higher, make longer trips and improve safety in more difficult conditions.

So far, Ingenuity has flown more than 38 minutes and traveled 4.6 kilometers. NASA says the helicopter’s 22nd flight is set to happen no earlier than March 19. It is expected to include a “complex” move requiring the aircraft to take a sharp turn to avoid a large hill in its path.

Ingenuity’s chief pilot is Håvard Grip. He noted that the continuing flights are quickly filling up a book he uses to record each trip. He said when the mission started, he thought he would be lucky to record five flights. “Now, at the rate we’re going, I’m going to need a second book,” Grip said.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this report for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

mission – n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel

crater – n. a big hole in the ground created by the force of an object

cliff – n. an area containing high, steep rocks

assess – v. make a judgement about the quality, size, value, etc. of something

determine – v. to officially decide something because of evidence or facts

challenge – n. a difficult task or problem; something that is hard to do

upgrade – v. to improve something by making it newer or better quality

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Sports

Brittney Griner Said to Be ‘OK’ as Russian Court Extends Her Detention

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A Russian court extended the detention of the W.N.B.A. star Brittney Griner by two months on Thursday, and denied an appeal from her legal team, who had hoped to have her transferred to house arrest.

Griner, 31, has been held in Russia since mid-February on drug charges that could carry a sentence of up to 10 years if she is convicted. Griner is “OK” and has seen her Russian legal team multiple times a week while she has been in custody, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified publicly because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The Russian Federal Customs Service said on March 5 that its officials had detained an American basketball player, who was later identified as Griner. Customs officials accused Griner of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow.

On Thursday, the Russian news agency Tass reported that Griner’s detention had been extended to May 19 during a hearing. Griner’s legal team in Russia had hoped to have her transferred to house arrest at the hearing, but were not surprised that the appeal of her detention was denied, according to the person with knowledge of the situation.

The investigation into the charges is ongoing, and it is typical for a Russian court to add time to the detention until a trial date — if one is necessary — is set, according to the person. Thursday’s hearing did not deal with the merit of the charges, the person said.

The W.N.B.A. season begins May 6. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a seven-time All Star for the Phoenix Mercury, is one of the game’s most prominent stars.

She is being held at a time of increasingly tense relations between the United States and Russia after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month. U.S. officials have repeatedly accused Russia of detaining and sentencing American citizens for dubious reasons.

The continued detention of a high-profile American could even be an effort by Russia to gain leverage in the political and economic standoff with Washington over the invasion, experts say.

Tass reported that Griner had not been visited by U.S. consular officials, despite Russia’s willingness to facilitate a meeting. But last week, Representative Colin Allred, Democrat of Texas, told The New York Times that Griner had been denied consular access by Russian officials.

“It’s already a violation of international norms and the way these things are handled when they happen to Americans abroad,” Allred said last week.

Griner is among the many W.N.B.A. players who compete internationally to supplement their American salaries, and she has played for the Russian team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, for several years.

Those close to Griner have said little publicly about the detention since it became widely known on March 5, likely hoping to arrange for her return through quiet diplomacy.

On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, joined an increasing number of politicians and public figures who have shown support for Griner when she tweeted “Free Brittney” with a link to a BBC article about Griner.



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