Technologies

‘A historic moment’: NASA Perseverance rover collects first ever Mars rock sample

The rock core could be destined for Earth, eventually, but mailing it home will be a whole other ordeal.

NASA’s Perseverance rover, currently rolling around a dried out lakebed on the surface of Mars, has completed the first, critical step in a decade-long mission to return pieces of Mars to Earth. On the 190th day of its mission «Percy,» as the rover is affectionately known, overcame earlier sampling problems and snatched a core of rock, slightly thicker than a pencil, from Mars’ surface.

On Sept. 1, the space agency announced data had arrived from the Mars rover indicating it had successfully obtained a core from a briefcase-sized rock known as «Rochette.» But the team wanted to be «extra certain» that was the case. To be sure, the rover would need to take a few photographs of the drill device with one of its cameras.

The first images beamed back to Earth appeared to show rock had been successfully snatched. However, after an operation to vibrate the drill bit, a second round of images were taken. The sun, however, was not playing nicely with Percy. The lighting conditions were too poor to confirm exactly what was in the tube — and the team wanted to be doubly sure.

On Saturday, they got their wish.

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Adam Steltzner, NASA chief engineer on the mission, tweeted his congratulations on Sep. 4. «We got it,» he wrote.

«For all of NASA science, this is truly a historic moment,» said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science.

The early images show a rust-red sediment that could be iron-rich minerals, according to Steven Ruff, a planetary geologist at Arizona State University and creator of YouTube channel Mars Guy. Percy’s landing site in Jezero Crater was once home to a great body of water and its two sampling attempts are already revealing some of the geologic history of Mars. «Both of those rock targets that they’ve interrogated look different than really anything that we’ve seen anywhere else on Mars,» Ruff says.

The successful collection is part 1 of the most elaborate and complex mail run of all time.

Getting the Martian rock core in the sampling tube is like placing a letter in an envelope. The next step is for Perseverance to process, seal and stamp that envelope and get it ready to send. Perseverance has 43 of these envelopes and can collect dozens of diverse rock samples. On Monday, NASA announced the rover had stored the sample in its interior, locked away in an airtight titanium tube. (I’m sure this will become a trivia question in the future so, for reference, the very first sample was stored in tube number 266)

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Percy intends to leave these titanium tube-letters scattered across the surface of Mars for a mail carrier to collect at a later date. The key issue here is: The mail carrier hasn’t even been built yet.

NASA and the European Space Agency plan to send a Martian lander and sample collection rover to the surface of Mars in 2026. The rover (our mail carrier in this extended metaphor) will roll out, gather up Percy’s tubes and place them in its mailvan — a rocket bound for Earth. Sometime in early 2030, Percy’s mail will finally reach its intended recipient, provided everything goes according to plan.

Should the mail make it home, it would be the first time humans have returned materials from another planet.

Technologies

Finally, I’ve Found a Worthy Successor to the Iconic ’90s Tamagotchi

This virtual pet grows physically bigger the more you play with it.

Back in 1996, when Tamagotchis became the must-have toy, I was 8 years old — the perfect target audience. I remember handing over my crisp British £10 note to the good people at Toys R Us, shaking with anticipation. It was the most money I’d ever spent in one go, but I knew it would be worth it to own one of the magenta virtual pets just like all of my classmates.

Thirty years later at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, I finally found a worthy successor to my treasured pixelated companion. Sweekar is a Tamagotchi-inspired pocket pet, an AI companion that grows physically bigger as it matures.

Sweekar begins life as an egg with ears. In a demo, it lays in my hand, and I tap it gently three times on the head, making its yellow ears glow. The egg opens to reveal a screen displaying a cracking shell. A pair of sleepy eyes pops into view.

On the Las Vegas show floor, Sweekar was ready to go for my demo, but usually, the incubation stage can take up to two days. The egg perches on its base until the shell cracks open, from which point little Sweekar will spend between five and seven days in baby stage. Next up is the teen stage (21 to 45 days), followed by Sweekar adulthood.

With each life stage, Sweekar grows a little bigger. Just like the original Tamagotchi, each stage brings a series of new challenges for you as its owner. The early days mean high-frequency care with basic language learning. The teen years bring greater intelligence and a more distinct personality. Eventually, you can progress to owning a pet that’s autonomous, requiring less care, but which has more fun gameplay options. And… Sweekar can also die if you neglect it.

In all of these senses, it feels remarkably true to the spirit of the original Tamagotchi, but with AI technology that could ultimately provide a more rewarding experience in the long term. Hopefully, it will inspire owners to keep it alive longer than the many little Tamagotchi chicks that perished due to lack of care.

If you want to get your hands on a Sweekar to bring some ’90s-inspired magic to a kid’s childhood (or if you’re just feeling nostalgic — I won’t judge), it will be available via Kickstarter later this year. You’ll need more than a £10 note to secure one, however. Sweekar will be priced at a far more substantial $150.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Jan. 5

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 5.

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.

Fans of the Knives Out film series, today’s Mini Crossword has a clue just for you. 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: «Now I get it!»
Answer: AHA

4A clue: Benoit ___, detective in the «Knives Out» films
Answer: BLANC

6A clue: Give one’s two cents
Answer: OPINE

7A clue: Time difference between the East and West Coast, in hours
Answer: THREE

8A clue: Pirate’s assent
Answer: AYE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Generation after Gen Z
Answer: ALPHA

2D clue: In need of a shave
Answer: HAIRY

3D clue: «Bonne ___!» («Happy New Year!,» in French)
Answer: ANNEE

4D clue: Many a social media antagonist, sadly
Answer: BOT

5D clue: First in «class»?
Answer: CEE

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 5, #469

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 469 for Monday, Jan. 5.

Looking for the most recent regular 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 and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features a diverse mix of categories, so it might be tricky. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

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

Yellow group hint: Fore!

Green group hint: Hoops info.

Blue group hint: Big Apple legends.

Purple group hint: Toddlers play with this toy.