Technologies

NASA spacecraft has scientists rethinking the timeline for water on Mars

Just how ancient were those Mars ponds and streams?

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

Scientists have been working hard to untangle the mysteries of water on Mars, from current-day concerns (what’s under the southern ice cap) to the planet’s ancient past. A study using data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft suggests we may need to revise the known timeline for flowing water on the red planet.

Mars today is a dry, dusty place. Scientists have said it was once much wetter, but that the water evaporated from the surface about 3 billion years ago. The new study, published in the journal AGU Advances late last year, found evidence of flowing water as recently as 2 billion to 2.5 billion years ago.

The timeline for Mars water is important for understanding the potential habitability of the planet. «The discovery raises new questions about how long microbial life could have survived on Mars, if it ever formed at all,» NASA said in a statement on Wednesday. «On Earth, at least, where there is water, there is life.» NASA’s Perseverance rover, for example, is looking for signs of ancient microbial life inside an ancient lakebed.

Evaporating water often leaves behind telltale signs it was there. In the case of Mars, those come in the form of chloride salt deposits. MRO data allowed the researchers to map the presence of these deposits in a region of Mars marked by impact craters. «These craters were one key to dating the salts: The fewer craters a terrain has, the younger it is. By counting the number of craters on an area of the surface, scientists can estimate its age,» NASA said.

MRO collects data in multiple ways. For this study, the spacecraft’s cameras and its Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (Crism) instrument provided key information. Crism is able to spot mineral residue that forms from water. The researchers examined former ponds and streams and dated the deposits. That’s how they arrived at the updated timeline for flowing water on the red planet.

Our understanding of Mars is constantly evolving as robotic explorers investigate the planet from the surface and from above. Said study co-author Bethany Ehlmann, a planetary scientist at Caltech, «What is amazing is that after more than a decade of providing high-resolution image, stereo, and infrared data, MRO has driven new discoveries about the nature and timing of these river-connected ancient salt ponds.»

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Technologies

Apple’s New Smart Home Display Delayed Until Fall Over Siri Issues

It has been nearly a year and a half since the company announced the AI-powered product.

Your home could get smarter with Apple’s Siri, but it will have to wait a few more months. Bloomberg reported the iPad-shaped AI home hub won’t be ready until September, several months after the company was hoping to launch it this spring. Apple engineers first need to complete work on a new and improved Siri assistant for the home device, code-named J490, according to Bloomberg.

Apple was hoping to release J490 this month, along with a slew of other new devices, including the iPhone 17e, MacBook Neo, MacBook Air M5, new Pro models, and iPad Air M4. Apple first teased the smart home display in November 2024.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Siri is Apple’s virtual assistant that uses voice recognition and AI to fulfill a variety of tasks and commands, along with intriguing uses. You might use Siri to find your iPhone — «Hey Siri, where are you?» — or to hear the weather forecast — «Siri, what will the weather be today?» Siri is available on iPhones, MacBooks and iPads. It was launched in 2011 as a feature of the iPhone 4S.

As CNET reported last month, Apple engineers have struggled to push the upgraded Siri assistant out the door. It isn’t fast enough, gets confused by complex commands and doesn’t interact well with other Apple AI models. The company is also wrestling with how much personal data to access to inform the AI, and the new Siri is not yet able to complete in-app tasks, such as finding a photo and posting it to socials, all with one command.

It has been nearly two years since Apple announced that it would give Siri a major upgrade. In the meantime, competitors like Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home have entered the marketplace.

Tech tester Jon Rettinger, whose YouTube channel has 1.66 million subscribers, says the repeated delays in upgrading Siri can «erode» confidence in Apple’s ability to keep up in the AI race.

«Apple as a whole is still one of the strongest companies on the planet. But their AI play is clearly the weakest link in an otherwise very strong chain,» Rettinger told CNET.

Rettinger said he has had issues getting Siri to complete basic commands, such as setting two alarms at the same time, and that it’s a bit of «a mess» right now.

«Having said that, the iPhone has such massive market penetration that I’m not sure it will actually matter in the end. Which is kind of wild when you think about it,» Rettinger said.

Facial recognition for residents

The hardware for the forthcoming smart home display has already been finished. It resembles an iPad and can be either attached to a wall or rest on a half-domed-shaped base, the Bloomberg report said.

The device will be equipped with facial recognition, so when residents walk up to it, they will be shown personalized data such as music preferences, news headlines, appointments, reminders, tasks and so on.

The screen interface will include a bunch of circular app icons, similar to the display on an Apple Watch. The Bloomberg report said the smart home display will be the first of several home devices by Apple. Future products include a tabletop robotic limb with a 9-inch screen, a smart security camera and a Face ID-enabled smart doorbell.