Technologies

NASA Sent 3 Drones to Death Valley to Prepare for Travel to Mars

Teams were subject to Death Valley’s extreme heat, with temperatures reaching to over 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

NASA hit a snag last year when the Ingenuity Mars helicopter crashed on the Red Planet. The space agency concluded that the crash was caused by the vehicle’s inability to discern flat ground from featureless sand dunes. To avoid such a hiccup in the future, a team of NASA scientists recently descended upon Death Valley, California, to brave the heat and test a team of research drones over similar featureless areas.

«Ingenuity was designed to fly over well-textured terrain, estimating its motion by looking at visual features on the ground,» said Roland Brockers, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory drone pilot and researcher. «But eventually it had to cross over blander areas where this became hard. We want future vehicles to be more versatile and not have to worry about flying over challenging areas like these sand dunes.»

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It’s not the first time NASA has taken a field trip to the hottest place on Earth. The agency has used Death Valley since the 1970s to test various technologies in preparation for journeys to Mars. This time around, the team was testing Extended Robust Aerial Autonomy software, an autonomous flight system designed to handle a greater range of terrains on Mars. This would prevent another Ingenuity-style incident involving future explorers.

The team had to endure temperatures that reached a maximum of around 113 degrees Fahrenheit, with only a small pop-up tent to shield them from the intense sun and heat. While NASA has used Death Valley for testing for decades, the JPL team that went in 2025 was only the third team ever to obtain a license to fly research drones at Death Valley.

Death Valley officials were only too happy to accommodate the researchers.

«It’s a powerful reminder that the park is protected not just for its scenic beauty, but as a living laboratory that actively helps us understand desert environments,» said Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds.

Useful findings

All of this testing took place in April and September, so NASA has had some time to review the data and determine what worked. According to the agency, the findings showed that different camera filters were effective for various types of terrain, and the improved algorithms enabled drones to descend and land more safely.

In addition to Death Valley, the team also took their drones to the Dumont Dunes area of the Mojave Desert, renowned for its massive sand dunes, which are a popular spot for off-road recreational vehicles, sandboarding and sand sledding. It’s also noted for its variety of dune formations, providing NASA’s JPL team with more data to test against.

There are currently no named missions that are set to send a helicopter back to Mars, but NASA and the European Space Agency are developing two mini-Ingenuity helicopters that may one day help return all the samples dutifully collected by the Perseverance Mars rover on its journeys across Mars. Those helicopters will undoubtedly utilize the technology that was tested and improved during NASA’s field trip to Death Valley.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Jan. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 14.

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? It’s not too tough, but 8-Across stumped me, so I had to pass on that and fill in the Down answers to solve it. 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: Abruptly stop texting
Answer: GHOST

6A clue: Shaving kit item
Answer: RAZOR

7A clue: 2024 film role for which Mikey Madison won Best Actress
Answer: ANORA

8A clue: The ancient Chinese used compressed blocks of tea leaves as this
Answer: MONEY

9A clue: Shape of a round chart
Answer: PIE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Dad’s dad, informally
Answer: GRAMP

2D clue: Capital of Vietnam
Answer: HANOI

3D clue: ___ layer, part of Earth’s atmosphere
Answer: OZONE

4D clue: How you might wake up after sleeping funny
Answer: SORE

5D clue: Cafeteria food carrier
Answer: TRAY

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Technologies

Google Could Revive Last Year’s Bright Pink Color for the Pixel 10a

Google’s upcoming Pixel 10a is expected to launch in February with some new colors, including one popular ask.

The Google Pixel 9a is one of Google’s most affordable Pixel phones, and it includes one of the most frequently requested colors — bright pink. With the Google Pixel 10a rumored to launch in February, we’re already getting a hint at the colors the new model will come in.

According to Roland Quandt, a regular mobile leaker on Bluesky, the Google Pixel is expected to be offered in obsidian (black), berry (pink), fog (light gray), and lavender colors. However, it’s the berry hue that is intriguing customers.

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

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«I always love to see phones come in vibrant colors, and it’s especially welcome in more budget-friendly options,» said Abrar Al-Heeti, senior technology reporter at CNET. «Yes, we tend to slap a case on our phones anyway, but just knowing your phone touts a bold color can make it feel like more of a statement piece, rather than a bland piece of tech.»

Pink is one of the most requested color options for the Pixel phones. CNET sister site Mashable loved the color when it debuted on the Pixel 9. Phone rivals like Apple and Samsung are usually expected to offer a pink color option in their flagship and midrange phone lineups, so it’s not surprising to see the berry color on the Pixel 10a.

«I’ll say that Google loves having Pixel phones in pink,» said Patrick Holland, CNET managing editor. «The Pixel 9 and 9a come in peony (a bright, bold pink) and the 9 Pro in rose quartz (a more muted pink). The Pixel 10 series lacks any pinkish hues.»

Quandt also says that the Pixel 10a will have 128GB and 256GB storage models, and will launch in mid-February. That’s earlier than expected compared with the Pixel 9a, which was revealed in mid-March 2025 for a launch on April 10. In terms of specifications, we expect the Pixel 10a to be a modest upgrade compared with previous generations. According to leaks, the Pixel 10 is unlikely to feature a newer Tensor G5 chip, and it’s likely to retain the same overall design as the Pixel 9a.

One leaker, Mystic Leaks on Telegram, expressed disappointment and revealed additional specs, including the absence of a telephoto lens, UFS 3.1 storage, a Tensor G4 chip, a 2,000-nit display and no Magic Cue, which is Google’s AI feature for the Pixel 10.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 14, #948

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 14 #948.

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The blue category, not the purple one today, expects you to find hidden words in four of the words given in the grid. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: That’s not going anywhere.

Green group hint: End user or customer.

Blue group hint: Ask a meteorologist.

Purple group hint: Not noisy.