Scientists spot new craters on Mars with AI

Scientists have used artificial intelligence to spot small, newly formed craters on Mars for the first time.

Why it matters: This use of AI could cut down on the time scientists spend combing through images of the Red Planet’s surface taken by orbiters to find interesting features worthy of study.

The state of play: The AI tool, operating on a supercomputer cluster at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, analyzed about 112,000 images taken by one of the cameras aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

What’s next: NASA hopes to one day repurpose the tool for use on board spacecraft heading to deep space destinations like Mars in order to cut down on the time needed to analyze their findings.

Space — once the purview of only the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations — is now open to brands, private citizens and commercial companies, all at NASA’s urging.

The big picture: The commercialization of spaceflight has flung open the door to branding and marketing in space that will change everyone’s relationship with the cosmos.

Space cargo delivery startup Momentus has agreed to go public via a reverse merger that would value the company at just over $1.5 billion, Axios has learned from a source familiar with the situation.

Details: The company would become listed on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol MNTS, and would secure a simultaneous $175 million investment from Capital Group, D.E. Shaw, Lerner Enterprises, Tribe Capital, and Axon Capital.

White House senior adviser Stephen Miller has tested positive for the coronavirus, he confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Miller’s diagnosis adds to the long and growing list of Trump administration officials who have contracted the virus as the White House scrambles to respond to the outbreak.

Source: https://www.axios.com/scientists-spot-new-craters-on-mars-with-ai-5283bbe2-8817-4081-8bbd-f4177a36d95e.html

Mars, Scientist, NASA