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Science

NASA’s InSight Enters Safe Mode During Regional Mars Dust Storm – NASA’s InSight Mars Lander

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The lander has taken measures to conserve energy; engineers aim to return to normal operations next week.

NASA’s InSight lander is stable and sending health data from Mars to Earth after going into safe mode Friday, Jan. 7, following a large, regional dust storm that reduced the sunlight reaching its solar panels. In safe mode, a spacecraft suspends all but its essential functions.

The mission’s team reestablished contact with InSight Jan. 10, finding that its power was holding steady and, while low, was unlikely to be draining the lander’s batteries. Drained batteries are believed to have caused the end of NASA’s Opportunity rover during an epic series of dust storms that blanketed the Red Planet in 2018.

Even before this recent dust storm, dust had been accumulating on InSight’s solar panels, reducing the lander’s power supply. Using a scoop on the lander’s robotic arm, InSight’s team came up with an innovative way to reduce the dust on one panel, and gained several boosts of energy during 2021, but these activities become increasingly difficult as available energy decreases.

Dust storms can affect solar panels in two ways: Dust reduces sunlight filtering through the atmosphere, and it can also accumulate on the panels. Whether this storm will leave an additional layer of dust on the solar panels remains to be determined.

The current dust storm was first detected by the Mars Color Imager (MARCI) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which creates daily color maps of the entire planet. Those maps allow scientists to monitor dust storms and can serve as an early warning system for spacecraft on the Martian surface. InSight’s team received data indicating the regional storm is waning.

The whirlwinds and gusts of dust storms have helped to clear solar panels over time, as with the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rover missions. While InSight’s weather sensors have detected many passing whirlwinds, none have cleared any dust.

InSight’s engineers are hopeful they will be able to command the lander to exit safe mode next week. This will allow more flexibility in operating the lander, as communication, which requires a relatively large amount of energy, is limited in safe mode to conserve battery charge.

InSight landed on Mars on Nov. 26, 2018, to study the inner structure of the planet, including its crust, mantle and core. The spacecraft achieved its science objectives before its prime mission ended a year ago. NASA then extended the mission for up to two years, to December 2022, based on the recommendation of an independent review panel composed of experts with backgrounds in science, operations and mission management.

More About the Mission

JPL manages InSight for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA’s Discovery Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission.

A number of European partners, including France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to NASA, with the principal investigator at IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris). Significant contributions for SEIS came from IPGP; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland; Imperial College London and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spain’s Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) supplied the temperature and wind sensors.

News Media Contacts

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

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World

As regional tensions rise, Japan’s ground troops hold their first military drills in decades

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Since mid-September, about 100,000 personnel, 20,000 vehicles and 120 aircraft have been participating in various exercises across the country focused on operational readiness.

In recent years, the Indo-Pacific regional has become a focal point of tension, with GSDF officials saying the security environment surrounding Japan is the worst it’s been since the end of World War II.

“This Ground Self-Defense Force exercise is truly focused on improving operational effectiveness, deterrence and response capabilities,” said Col. Noriko Yokota, GSDF spokesperson.

“Each unit is conducting the exercise with an eye to what is necessary to achieve this goal. They are preparing themselves so that they can respond with confidence when they are forced to take further action.”

Earlier this week, North Korea said it had successfully test-fired a new ballistic missile from a submarine that landed in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. Meanwhile, further south, China has been ramping up pressure on Taiwan by sending military jets into its Air Defense Identification Zone.

Without identifying any country by name, GSDF officials say regional powers are willing to change the status quo by force — and one country in particular continues to develop nuclear weapons, missiles and challenge the non-proliferation system.

“The current security environment surrounding Japan is extremely severe,” said Lt. Gen. Yuichi Togashi, Commanding General of the 2nd Division GSDF. “We, the Self-Defense Forces, are required to enhance the effectiveness of operations.”

Building a defensive force

Troops from the GSDF 2nd Division in Asahikawa, Hokkaido traveled about 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) to the Hijudai Manuvering Area in Japan’s Oita prefecture to perform defensive combat drills.

Since arriving in September, they’ve spent weeks building out logistic areas, command posts, battlefield positions and underground triage units. Some are built underground and all are covered in camouflage, making them difficult to identify.

GSDF officials say the drill isn’t taking place to prepare for potential conflict against in any specific region or against any particular country.

But the training environment at Hijudai Manuvering Area has similar terrain to what troops would experience if war broke out in Japan’s southern islands. That includes the Senkaku islands — an uninhabited rocky island chain in the East China Sea — administered by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, where the islands are known as Diayou.
Tensions over the uninhabited rocky chain — 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) southwest of Tokyo but only a third of that distance from Shanghai — have simmered for years, and claims over them date back centuries.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi recently told CNN the islands are unquestionably Japanese territory and would be defended as such.

“(The) Senkaku islands are an inherent part of Japanese territory, both according to international law and looking historically,” Kishi said.

“There is no territorial dispute relating to the Senkaku islands between Japan and other countries. Against Chinese action to Senkaku islands and other parts of the East China Sea, we have to keep sending strong message.

“As Japan’s Defense Ministry and self-defense forces, we have to build up our own military capabilities as well as to respond to this situation.”

Troops training on southern islands

In a marked departure from Japan’s post-World War II pacifism, the combat training portion of the drill at the Hijudai Manuvering Area includes unscripted simulated war games.

The GSDF 2nd Division was broken up into two teams to simulate invaders and defenders with the aim of taking out rival combatants and practicing first aid.

Instead of live ammunition, troops on the ground are armed with simulation weapons that fire lasers. The troops’ uniforms, tanks and other vehicles are all lined with sensors that notify them if they’ve been killed or injured by the enemy.

In the simulated combat drill, if someone is hit, troops on the battlefield apply first aid in the field before taking the individual to a triage unit. Depending on the severity of the simulated injury, injured troops are treated and return to the battlefield or are medevacked to hospital to receive more specialized care.

Other troops are being deployed for drills on Japan’s southern islands — Miyako Island, Amami Oshima, and Yonaguni Island, with the latter just 234 kilometers (145 miles) from Taiwan.

“The deployment of troops in the southwest region is a major concept of the Ground Self-Defense Force,” Yokota said. “We believe that it is important for the SDF to deploy troops wherever they are needed.”

For Japan, these war games have never been more important.

“We are now aware that the security environment surrounding Japan is unprecedentedly severe,” Yakota said.

“In this context, we, the Self-Defense Forces, are preparing for all kinds of contingencies, considering that we have to respond to all kinds of situations.”

Since Japan’s GSDF was established in 1954, the force has never been involved in actual conflict — meaning drills like this are the closest members have ever come to fighting a war. The drills end in mid-November.

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Health

Bay Area health officials to announce criteria for lifting regional mask mandates Thursday

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NOVATO, Calif. (KGO) — With COVID case rates on the decline, many wonder how long we’ll have to keep our facemasks on. Thursday, Bay Area health officers are expected to announce plans for a possible end to the region’s indoor masking mandate but the order may not end overnight.

“It’s time, it’s been 18 months,” said Adam Kovacks.

Kovacks says you’re working out at his Novato gym Sonoma Fit, you must still wear a mask, that’s not always easy, he hopes that mandate ends soon.

RELATED: UCSF doctors eyeing Santa Cruz after county drops indoor mask mandate

“If you’re still worried, wear your mask but it’s time we put the responsibility on the people, not small business,” said Kovacks.

Bay Area health officials could announce new criteria on Thursday, for easing COVID restrictions like indoor masking. That criteria may include vaccination rates, case rates and hospitalizations. Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody told supervisors, the numbers are improving.

“The plan is to develop a set of metrics we can share across the region in order to lift indoor masking, we’re getting very close,” said Cody.

Many in the Bay Area are hoping for a target date, when wearing a mask isn’t required.

RELATED: Los Angeles passes one of the strictest COVID vaccine mandates in the US

It’s hard to breathe with the masks on,” said Jesse Tassey from Novato.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf told ABC7 News on Midday, she trusts health officers but will keep wearing her mask.

“Rule or no rule, I’ll keep wearing my mask inside restaurants, better safe than sorry,” said Schaaf.

San Mateo County officials say although vaccination rates are high it’s too early to lift masking rules.

“We know one thing is certain, COVID-19 is uncertain. I wouldn’t be surprised if two months from now, if mask orders are lifted we may be back to another mandate,” said San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa.

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World

West African regional bloc suspends Guinea after coup

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CONAKRY, Sept 8 (Reuters) – West Africa’s main political and economic bloc suspended Guinea’s membership on Wednesday following a weekend military coup that ousted President Alpha Conde and dealt the latest in a flurry of setbacks to democracy in the region.

During a virtual summit, leaders from the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded a return to the constitutional order and Conde’s immediate release, and also agreed to send a high-level mission to Guinea as soon as Thursday, said Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Alpha Barry.

“At the end of that mission, ECOWAS should be able to re-examine its position,” Barry told reporters.

He did not announce any immediate economic sanctions against Guinea, as ECOWAS imposed against Mali following a coup there in August 2020.

Some experts say ECOWAS’s leverage with Guinea could be limited, in part because the country is not a member of the West African currency union and not landlocked like Mali.

The economic bloc’s response is being closely watched amid criticism from pro-democracy advocates that it has not stood up robustly enough in recent months against democratic backsliding in West Africa.

ECOWAS remained silent last year as Conde and Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara sought third terms after changing constitutions that would have forced them to step down, moves denounced as illegal by their opponents.

Activists say this has contributed to West Africans’ loss of faith in democracy and made military coups more likely.

Mali’s military staged a second coup in May this year. ECOWAS said on Tuesday it was concerned transitional authorities there had not made sufficient progress toward organising elections next February as promised. read more

Special forces members take position during an uprising that led to the toppling of president Alpha Conde in Kaloum neighbourhood of Conakry, Guinea September 5, 2021. REUTERS/Saliou Samb

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Guinea’s coup leader, Mamady Doumbouya, a former French legionnaire, has pledged to install a unified, transitional government but has not said when or how that will happen.

In an apparent gesture to Conde’s civilian opponents, at least 80 political prisoners detained by the president were released on Tuesday evening, many of whom had campaigned against his constitutional change.

Doumbouya also met the heads of Guinea’s various military branches for the first time on Tuesday, hoping to unify the country’s armed forces under the junta’s command.

Guinea’s main opposition leader, Cellou Dalein Diallo, who finished runner-up to Conde in three successive elections, told Reuters on Tuesday he would be open to participating in a transition back to constitutional governance.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, Conde’s party said it “noted the advent of new authorities at the head of the country” and called for the president’s swift and unconditional release.

Since the putsch, life in the streets of Conakry appears to have returned to normal, with some military checkpoints removed.

Fears that the power struggle could hinder Guinea’s production of bauxite, a mineral used to make aluminium, have begun to ease. The country’s largest foreign operators say they have continued to operate without interruption.

Aluminium hit a fresh 10-year high on Monday after news broke of unrest in Guinea, which holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves. Doumbouya has pledged that mining will continue unhindered.

Additional reporting by Christian Akorlie in Accra; Writing by Cooper Inveen and Aaron Ross, Editing by Hereward Holland, Timothy Heritage and Gareth Jones

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Sports

California basketball team stripped of regional title after racist tortilla incident

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A San Diego high school basketball team has lost its status as regional title holders after a racist incident.

Following the June 19 championship game, players from the predominately white Coronado High School hurled tortillas at players from Orange Glen High School, which is attended by mostly Hispanic and Latino students.

After a review of the incident, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) determined that the Coronado players displayed “discriminatory and racially insensitive behaviors toward an opponent,” according to a  Wednesday press release.

It continued, “In this instance, there is no doubt the act of throwing tortillas at a predominately Latino team is unacceptable and warrants sanctions.”

The CIF levied penalties against the Coronado team, including vacating its championship title and placing the team on probation through the end of the 2024 school year.

In addition to the sanctions, the CIF mandates that the team members participate in sportsmanship training, part of which will include racial and cultural sensitivity training.

“We must all be aware that behavior does not normally change with sanctions alone,” the release reads. “The path towards real change comes with the development of empathy for those who are on the receiving end of this type of degrading and demeaning behavior, no matter the proffered intent of that behavior.”

Coronado High School did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.



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US

Newsom expected to cancel regional stay-at-home orders

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Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected on Monday to lift regional coronavirus stay-at-home orders across California, a change that could allow restaurants and gyms in many counties to reopen outdoor dining and services.

All counties will return to the colored tier system that assigns local risk levels based on case numbers and rates of positive test results for COVID-19 infections, according to sources briefed on the plan by the governor’s office.

Most counties will go into the “widespread” risk tier, which permits hair salons to offer limited services indoors but restricts many other nonessential indoor business operations. The change is expected to take effect immediately after Newsom’s announcement on Monday.

It’s far from clear whether the decision will lead to easing of stay-at-home rules in Los Angeles County, which has become a national epicenter of the coronavirus with hospitals overwhelmed by patients. In less than one month, more than 5,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the county alone.

Still, the outdoor dining ban has been highly controversial, with some elected officials and the restaurant industry fighting in court and out to overturn it. Officials in some other Southern California counties have been even more critical of the state-imposed rules and had urged Newsom to give them more local control.

The governor announced the regional stay-at-home orders on Dec. 3 in an effort to reduce the strain on hospitals as case numbers surged. While state data show hospital systems in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley remain strained, the Newsom administration told officials Sunday that models project ICU capacity in those areas will exceed 15% — a threshold for lifting the regional shutdowns — over the next four weeks.

State officials never released the full details of how the four-week ICU calculations were being made. And while services were allowed to reopen in the Sacramento region on Dec. 13, daily reports of available intensive care beds never approached the 15% threshold deemed necessary to cancel the restrictions. ICU capacity in the Northern California region, which is not under the stay-at-home order, has continued to remain above the state’s shutdown benchmarks.

The Bay Area, which reported 23.4% capacity, had remained under the stay-at-home order due to a four-week projection of a decrease in hospital bed availability. Southern California showed no ICU capacity and the San Joaquin Valley region reported 1.3%, according to state data as of Saturday.

John Myers and Paloma Esquivel contributed to this report.

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