Technologies

NASA Mars Rover Carves Screaming Face Into the Planet’s Surface

Like an otherworldly Edvard Munch, Perseverance creates a work of art in the Martian soil. Move over, The Scream.

This story is part of Welcome to Mars, our series exploring the red planet.

Usually when I spot faces on Mars, it’s because the local rock formations resemble them. A new face on Mars, however, is the work of NASA’s Perseverance rover. The accidental artistic masterpiece is the result of two sample collection holes combined with a wheel scuff mark. Move over, Mona Lisa.

There’s a scientific explanation for what turned out to be a serendipitously goofy portrait. The two holes are where the rover picked up samples of sandy regolith — crushed up rock and dust — as part of its growing rock collection. Percy used a special drill bit to gather and stash the samples in hopes of sending them back to Earth for future study.

The wheel scuff came from a little earlier in the mission. The rover team commanded Percy to make the mark to get a look at the regolith below the surface. They liked what they saw and returned to the spot to collect the samples.

I’m not the only person who saw a face in the Martian ground after Percy got done with the sampling site. Rover engineer Daniel Zayas had a delightful interpretation, likening the shape to a Yip Yip from Sesame Street. If you need a refresher, Yip Yips are big-mouthed, googly-eyed aliens from Mars, so it couldn’t be more perfect.

Most of Percy’s samples up to this point have been drilled out of rock, so the regolith is special. Scientists would love to get a closer look at the material in a lab. «If we have a more permanent presence on Mars, we need to know how the dust and regolith will interact with our spacecraft and habitats,» Perseverance team member Erin Gibbons said in a NASA statement this week.

Gibbons had also noted the resemblance to a face, sharing another rover shot with a close-up of the «eyes» on Twitter.

The face is an excellent example of pareidolia, the human tendency to see familiar objects in random shapes. It happens all the time on Mars, with recent examples of a duck rock and a loaf-shaped cat. It’s all in good fun. We have no evidence of aliens hanging out carving Earth-shaped things into the local rocks on Mars.

While Percy’s artwork is sublime, the rover probably shouldn’t quit its day job as a mobile robotic laboratory.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 3, #876

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 876 for Monday, Nov. 3.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has some exceptionally long clues. All of them have at least two words. If you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Primary color.

Green group hint: Your lungs also qualify.

Blue group hint: Parents’ nightmare toys.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection in the second word of each phrase.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Things that are red.

Green group: Things filled with air.

Blue group: Things with a lot of pieces.

Purple group: Ending with animals.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is things that are red. The four answers are clown nose, fire engine, maraschino cherry and stop sign.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is things filled with air. The four answers are balloon animal, bouncy castle, water wings and whoopee cushion.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is things with a lot of pieces. The four answers are jigsaw puzzle, Lego set, Lite-Brite and pick-up sticks.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ending with animals. The four answers are dark horse, funky chicken, jumbo shrimp and sea monkey.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 3 #610

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 610 for Monday, Nov. 3.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a really fun one that may take you back to your childhood. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Wee wee wee!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Nursery rhyme counted out on a child’s toes.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

RANT, TAME, TAMES, NAME, NAMES, RATE, RATED, GORE, SAME, SPRIG, MARK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight, but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

WENT, MARKET, STAYED, HOME, ROAST, BEEF, NONE

(Confused? Read this classic nursery rhyme.)

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THISLITTLEPIGGY. To find it, start with a T that’s a bit hard to find. You’ll need to go over three rows from the far left, then count down six letters to find the correct T. Then you wind around and back up (see image above).