Technologies

NASA spacecraft spots Perseverance Mars rover looking like a shiny speck

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to snap Percy from on high.

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

The Perseverance rover is roughly the size of a small car, but its relatively dainty size didn’t stop NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter from capturing a view of it from orbit. The MRO HiRise camera team shared a fantastic image this week showing the rover looking like a bright rectangle on the rippled Martian landscape.

If you look closely, you can make out some of the rover’s wheel tracks. «HiRise images like this one allow the rover team to choose the best route to get to their primary target and help put the rover’s observations in context within Jezero Crater,» said HiRise deputy principal investigator Shane Byrne in a statement this week.

The rover as seen in the image is 2,300 feet (700 meters) from its February landing site. Perseverance’s meandering route has carried it across 1.62 miles (2.61 kilometers) of the Jezero Crater, an ancient lakebed. NASA lets you track the rover’s location with an interactive online map.

The new MRO view of Percy comes at a good time to help tide us over during Mars solar conjunction. Every two years, Earth and Mars end up on either side of the sun from each other and NASA takes a break from sending commands to its Martian missions.

Perseverance will be sitting tight through mid-October, though it will continue to monitor its surroundings during its vacation.

The rover will soon be getting back to its geology studies and its goal of seeking out signs of ancient microbial life in a region with a fascinating history of water. Perseverance may look small in the MRO image, but the mission is huge.

Technologies

Waymo Expands Its Robotaxi Fleet to Las Vegas, San Diego and Detroit. Everything to Know

Here’s everywhere the self-driving company operates now and where it’s heading soon.

Technologies

Apple Plans to Use a Custom Model of Google’s Gemini AI to Power Siri, Report Says

Apple reportedly chose Google over Anthropic for financial reasons.

Apple is turning to Google to make a custom Gemini AI model to power the next version of its virtual assistant Siri for spring 2026, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman on Sunday.

According to the report, Apple was evaluating whether to use Google or AI competitor Anthropic for the next version of Siri. Gurman says Google offered a better financial deal. In an earlier Bloomberg report, he says Anthropic would have cost Apple $1.5 billion per year. The report doesn’t reveal Apple’s own financial offer.

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This custom Gemini model will run on Apple’s private cloud compute servers. Apple’s own models will continue to run on devices for personal data, while Gemini would operate on servers for more complex tasks. Gurman also says that Apple won’t highlight Google’s involvement in the company’s marketing.

Representatives for Google, Apple and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

With major tech companies pivoting toward AI, Apple has largely been left behind. The tech company was slow to adopt AI and hasn’t developed AI models that are competitive. It instead turned to companies like OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, to help add generative capabilities on top of existing Apple systems.

Even then, the promise of a truly agentic Apple Intelligence has failed to materialize, although it has improved. Apple CEO Tim Cook also hasn’t ruled out the possibility of acquiring an AI company.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Apple also has a close relationship with Google. The search giant pays Apple $20 billion annually to remain the default search engine on Apple devices. It’s a relationship that nets Apple money and prevents it from building a competitor to Google Search, a claim Apple denies. This arrangement was an important factor in the Department of Justice’s case against Google, where a judge ruled that the company was operating an illegal monopoly.

Despite falling behind on AI, Apple is doing well financially. Last month, it surpassed a $4 trillion market cap.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 4, #877

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 4, #877.

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 a diverse mix of topics. They’re not too tough, but let’s hope you recognize your computer-related phrases. 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: Point in the right direction.

Green group hint: Like a veneer, or veil.

Blue group hint: Like JPG.

Purple group hint: Musical instrument.