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Next Mars Rover Likely Won’t Launch in 2022 Due to Russia Sanctions

Already delayed, the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover faces an uncertain future as ripples from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affect space programs.

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

There are two NASA rovers and one Chinese rover currently operating on Mars. The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover was set to launch later this year and join them on the red planet in 2023. On Monday, ESA said a launch in 2022 is now «very unlikely» after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The rover is a joint project between ESA and Russian space agency Roscosmos. It was scheduled to launch in September on a Russian-made Proton-M rocket from Kazakhstan. «Regarding the ExoMars program continuation, the sanctions and the wider context make a launch in 2022 very unlikely,» ESA said in a statement.

The ESA update came out after a meeting of its member states to address the space agency’s response to Russia. ESA said it will fully implement sanctions imposed on Russia by its members.

The ExoMars rover was originally set to launch in 2020, but technical challenges and pandemic-related issues pushed it back to 2022. The future of the ExoMars program — which already has a Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft in residence at Mars — is now uncertain. The Russian invasion is also creating tensions with NASA and the operation of the International Space Station.

Josef Aschbacher, ESA director general, tweeted on Monday, «We deplore the tragic events taking place in Ukraine, a crisis which escalated dramatically into war in recent days. Many difficult decisions are now being taken at ESA in consideration of the sanctions implemented by the governments of our Member States.»

Technologies

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

In a world where information defines influence, Verum Messenger is building a new architecture of digital communication — intelligent, secure, and ready for tomorrow. Here, technology serves not limitations, but possibilities.

Not being part of change. Leading it. Verum Messenger — the future that speaks first.

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Technologies

Verum Finance: Stop Spending Months Opening a Bank Account

Verum Finance: Stop Spending Months Opening a Bank Account

Stop spending months trying to open a bank account.

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Open it — and use it.

The future of finance and communication is already here.
Verum — when freedom matters more than banking rules.

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Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

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