Technologies

NASA isn’t sure if the Perseverance Mars rover got its first rock sample

NASA is still checking to see if the rock core is where it’s supposed to be, or if another sample has disappeared.

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

Success at last? NASA’s Perseverance rover may have accomplished a big first for its Mars mission by drilling and capturing a rock sample that could one day be brought back to Earth, but there’s still some doubt.

The rover had previously attempted to collect a first sample, but ended up with an empty tube when the rock crumbled. The second attempt from a different rock looks promising. Raw images sent back from Mars appear to show a rock core tucked into place as expected, though we’re waiting on official confirmation from NASA.

NASA shared a look at the sample on Thursday, but wasn’t ready to declare success just yet, saying that pictures taken after an arm move «are inconclusive due to poor lighting.» The rover will snap some more close-ups to figure out what’s going on.

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«Sampling Mars is underway. I’ve drilled into my rock target, and my team will be looking at more data and images to confirm if we were able to get and retain an intact core,» the rover team tweeted earlier on Thursday along with a picture of the rock target.

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Perseverance is equipped with 43 sample tubes, one of which is full of Martian atmosphere after the first attempt. NASA is planning a future mission to retrieve the tubes from Mars and bring them back to Earth for study. It’s the rover’s job to fill them up with interesting geologic finds.

Successfully filling and stashing a tube with Martian rock is a critical step that will show the sampling system is working properly. The target rock is named «Rochette» and the rover team spent time inspecting it by grinding away a bit of the outer surface to get a better look prior to drilling.

Some omages of the rock and the drill hole show what looks like a clean operation, so there’s hope it went as planned. Perseverance landed in February, but it’s still early into its mission to seek out signs of ancient microbial life in the Jezero Crater, an area once covered by a lake.

The crater is dry and dusty now, but it has lots of stories to tell. Perseverance’s first rock sample will be one chapter in that intriguing tale.

Follow CNET’s 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, March 11

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 11.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I thought it was a bit tricky. 1-Down is one of those old-fashioned comic-book sounds that I had to remember how to spell correctly. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Study of the human mind, informally
Answer: PSYCH

6A clue: Common fixture in a gym bathroom
Answer: SCALE

7A clue: Kinda boring
Answer: HOHUM

8A clue: Like a commenter without a username, for short
Answer: ANON

9A clue: «All good between us?»
Answer: WEOK

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Old-fashioned «Yeah, right!»
Answer: PSHAW

2D clue: Coffeehouse pastry
Answer: SCONE

3D clue: Google alternative
Answer: YAHOO

4D clue: Sound of a dull thump
Answer: CLUNK

5D clue: Line on the bottom of a pant leg
Answer: HEM

Technologies

OnePlus and Oppo to Raise Smartphone Prices as Memory Costs Climb

Oppo says rising costs for key phone components will trigger price adjustments on some devices starting March 16.

Chinese smartphone-makers OnePlus and Oppo plan to raise prices on some existing models starting next week, according to a 9to5Google report citing GizmoChina and a notice posted on Oppo’s China online store.

In its notice, Oppo said it would adjust pricing after evaluating rising costs for several key components used in its mobile phones. The changes are expected to take effect around March 16 and will affect some of the company’s more affordable smartphones, as well as some OnePlus models.

Flagship devices — like those in the Find and Reno series — are not expected to be affected for now. The reported adjustments currently appear to be limited to China.

The move highlights growing pressure across the smartphone supply chain as component costs climb. Analysts say prices for memory and storage chips used in phones have been rising in recent months as demand surges across the tech industry.

Much of the chip demand is coming from the rapid buildout of AI data centers, which rely on large amounts of high-performance memory.

That pressure isn’t limited to Oppo and OnePlus. Analysts say smartphone brands across the industry are facing rising component costs amid increased demand for memory chips.

As manufacturers shift production toward higher-margin memory used in AI servers, supply for consumer electronics such as smartphones and laptops can tighten.

If component costs continue to rise, manufacturers may face difficult choices later this year, including raising retail prices or adjusting device specifications to offset higher manufacturing costs.

OnePlus and Oppo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Harvard Business Review Study Finds ‘AI Brain Fry’ Is Leaving Workers Mentally Fatigued

Study participants reported increased mental fatigue while using AI tools, but less burnout overall.

Workers who excessively use AI agents and tools at work are at increased risk of mental fatigue, according to a recent Harvard Business Review study. In certain industries, more than 25% of hired professionals report increased mental strain due to their role in AI oversight — though these professionals also generally experienced less burnout than peers who aren’t using AI.

This phenomenon — which the researchers refer to as «AI brain fry» — is described as a «‘buzzing’ feeling or a mental fog» that caused study participants to develop headaches and difficulty focusing and making decisions. Individuals pointed to being overwhelmed by large amounts of information and to frequent task switching as the reasons for these feelings.

Studied individuals experienced more brain fry when they utilized AI agents to manage a workload beyond their own cognitive capacity. When participants used AI to replace mundane, repetitive tasks, managing the growing number of tools led to increased mental fatigue.

Crucially, the study found that fewer individuals who used these AI agents reported workplace burnout.

The researchers predict that this is because burnout testing assesses emotional and physical distress. In contrast, they report, acute mental fatigue «is caused by marshalling attention, working memory and executive control beyond the limited capacity of these systems.»

These are the processes that are taxed when study participants use multiple AI tools in their workflow, according to the researchers.

The Harvard study identifies several business costs incurred by workers suffering from AI brain fry. The foremost consequence is that these individuals may end up making lower-quality decisions. «Workers in [the] study who endorsed AI brain fry experience 33% more decision fatigue than those who did not,» the study reports. Workers who report AI brain fry were also more likely to self-report making both minor and major errors at their jobs.

Another recent Harvard Business Review study similarly found that employees who use AI tools «worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks and extended work into more hours of the day,» but warned that «workload creep can in turn lead to cognitive fatigue, burnout and weakened decision-making.»