Technologies

NASA Mars lander picks up remarkable 1.5-hour-long marsquake

InSight has been feeling some good, good, good vibrations on the red planet.

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

NASA’s Mars InSight lander had two big reasons to celebrate on Sept. 18. It marked the lander’s 1,000th Martian day (called a «sol») on the red planet, and it’s also the day it detected a fantastic nearly 1.5-hour-long marsquake estimated to hit a magnitude of 4.2. Talk about shaking things up.

It’s been quite a run of marsquakes for InSight lately. It also picked up quakes of magnitudes 4.1 and 4.2 on Aug. 25. All three of these recent shakers beat out the lander’s previous record holder for magnitude, a 3.7 picked up in 2019. As NASA JPL pointed out in a statement on Wednesday, a 4.2 quake has five times the energy of a 3.7.

Marsquakes tell a story. «The waves change as they travel through a planet’s crust, mantle, and core, providing scientists a way to peer deep below the surface,» NASA said. «What they learn can shed light on how all rocky worlds form, including Earth and its moon.»

InSight landed on Mars in late 2018 and deployed its seismometer in December of that year. The lander’s stationary status might make it seem less compelling than its wheeled rover kin, but the mission has revealed lots of new information about mysterious Mars.

A group of studies released in early 2020 used InSight’s data to paint an intriguing picture of an active Mars underground. InSight established, without a doubt, that Mars is a seismically active planet. Another outpouring of studies from earlier this year showed how scientists could use InSight’s work to map the interior of another planet for the first time.

InSight’s recent marsquakes detections are a triumph for another reason. A thick layer of dust on the lander’s solar panels put the mission in a precarious position. NASA was expecting a whirlwind to come along and clean them off, but that hasn’t happen. To keep the lander operating at a high level, the InSight team came up with a clever way to clean some of the dust off by dribbling a bit of dirt onto the panels. It worked.

Scientists are still studying the most recent quake, but they’ve already figured out that the 4.2 quake from August came from 5,280 miles (8,500 kilometers) away, making it the most distant marsquake yet detected by InSight. The 4.1 originated from a mere 575 miles (925 kilometers) away.

The latest marsquakes data will help build our understanding of the interior of Mars. We know for sure the red planet is giving itself quite a few fair shakes.

Technologies

Live-Action ‘Call of Duty’ Movie Reportedly Being Co-Written by Taylor Sheridan

The Yellowstone co-creator will reportedly team up with Peter Berg on the Paramount film.

Yellowstone, Landman and, now, Call of Duty. Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of the aforementioned hit shows, will co-write Paramount and Activision’s upcoming live-action video game adaptation, according to a report from Variety on Thursday.

Peter Berg will also co-write and direct the movie, which was announced last month. Berg previously directed films including 2018’s Mile 22, 2012’s Battleship and 2013’s Lone Survivor, while Sheridan’s movie credits include 2016’s Hell or High Water and 2017’s Wind River. Berg, Sheridan and David Glasser will produce the Call of Duty film.

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Call of Duty is a first-person shooter military video game series that debuted in 2003. CNET senior writer David Lumb calls it «arguably the biggest shooter franchise in gaming, with millions of players picking up every year’s new entry to the series.»

Lumb said the franchise is known for its bombastic single-player campaigns, which feature globe-spanning plots that rival those of the Mission Impossible films. «A Call of Duty movie has a lot of material to draw from,» Lumb said.

He also noted that Berg’s direction of Lone Survivor would fit the grim military heroism of Call of Duty, while Taylor Sheridan’s spate of neo-Western films and shows could lend a frontier adventurism to the film.

«Their collective works seemingly harmonize with the jingoistic pro-military tune of Activision’s shooter franchise — which is probably a good thing for Call of Duty fans,» Lumb concluded.

A release announcing Paramount and Activision’s film deal teased that it’ll be «designed to thrill its massive global fan base by delivering on the hallmarks of what fans love about the iconic series, while boldly expanding the franchise to entirely new audiences.» It didn’t include cast or plot information.

The update follows recent news that Sheridan is leaving Paramount for NBCUniversal. Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

US Government Urges Total Ban of Our Most Popular Wi-Fi Router

Technologies

Animal Crossing Update Adds Lego Furniture, With a Switch 2 Version Arriving the Same Day

Fans of Animal Crossing will have a reason to go back to their island.

Animal Crossing fans just received a big surprise, and it’s not just a new content update. A Switch 2 version is on its way.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons will receive its first big update in three years, according to a post from Nintendo on Thursday. The update, labeled 3.0, will roll out on Jan. 15, the same day the Switch 2 version of the game will be available for purchase.

Released for the original Switch back in 2020, New Horizons was the first Animal Crossing game to come to a Nintendo console since 2008’s Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo regularly updated New Horizons for two years after its release, but stopped at update 2.0.6 released in November 2022. Two updates were added earlier in the year to prepare the game for playability on the Switch 2.

Animal Crossing 3.0 Update

In the 3.0 update coming on Jan. 15, a new hotel is opening. Players can help bring in guests to stay at the hotel by decorating guest rooms and dressing up mannequins to sell resort clothing.

For those who haven’t touched New Horizons in years, a Reset Service will be available. Players can have their island cleaned up, and items can be stored away or trashed for those who want a clean slate.

Players with a Nintendo Switch Online membership will have access to up to three islands, where they can explore and do as they please. These new areas are available on Slumber Island. It’s up to the player to decide how the island will look, what items or plants are on it and even which characters will be found on the island. Players can also invite friends to build it together.

New Horizons will feature special collaborations and Nintendo retro gear. Lego items will be available in the update for players to decorate their homes with or clothing to dress up their villagers with. Retro Nintendo consoles, such as the NES and Game Boy, can also be used as decorative items.

If the player has a Switch Online subscription, some classic titles such as Ice Climbers and Dr. Mario can be played via these in-game devices. There are also special items based on The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon series when players tap their amiibo from those games onto the Switch while playing.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch 2

Switch 2 owners can get in on the digital life game with Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Not only will this new version come with updated graphics, including 4K resolution in TV mode, but it will also add special features that can only be done on the newest console.

One of the features is mouse controls for the Joy-Con 2. Players will be able to use the controller as a mouse to decorate indoors, create custom designs and write handwritten messages for the bulletin board.

Residents in the game can now be found by saying their name into the Switch 2’s built-in microphone while using the megaphone in the game. Multiplayer has also improved dramatically, with 12-player sessions available for those playing on the new edition, and CameraPlay is supported to allow players to see one another.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch 2 will be available for purchase on Jan. 15 for $65. Owners of the original Switch version of New Horizons can upgrade to the Switch 2 version for $5.