Fly around Schiaparelli Crater with Mars Express
Video: 00:04:10 ESA’s Mars Express takes us on another mesmerising flight, this time around one of the biggest craters on Mars. Despite measuring a huge 460 km across, Schiaparelli Crater seems to be relatively shallow. Perhaps it has been filled in over the last few billion years by sediment blown by the wind or deposited by water, by lava – or by a combination of all three. Schiaparelli Crater is named after Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli (1835–1910). Although he studied Mercury and Venus, he is best known for his observations of the Red Planet. During the ‘Great Opposition’ of 1877, when Mars passed close to Earth, Schiaparelli mapped the planet, perceiving several straight dark lines across the red surface. He assumed that these were natural water-filled channels and used the equivalent Italian word, ‘canali’. However, other astronomers thought he meant canals, meaning artificial irrigation and transportation routes, which led to a few astronomers, and a large number of the general public, believing that they had been created by intelligent martians. Now we know that Schiaparelli’s ‘canali’ were illusions created by the comparatively poor telescopes of the time and there are no water-filled channels on Mars today. Nevertheless, we do believe that water was once present in this region of the planet, perhaps in the form of a lake. Schiaparelli Crater is also important in popular culture, being the final destination of astronaut Mark Watney in Andy Weir’s novel ‘The Martian’. Enjoy the flight, and be sure to turn up the volume for the full audio guide experience. Processing notes: This film was created using the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera Mars Chart (HMC-30) data, image mosaics made from multiple observations by the mission’s High Resolution Stereo Camera ( HRSC ). The mosaic image, centred at 8°S/17°E, is combined with topography information from the digital terrain model to generate a three-dimensional landscape. For every second of the movie, 50 separate frames are rendered following a predefined camera path in the scene. The vertical exaggeration used for the animation is three-fold. Atmospheric effects, like clouds and haze, have been added to conceal the limits of the terrain model. The haze starts building up at a distance of 250 km. The HRSC camera on Mars Express is operated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The systematic processing of the camera data took place at the DLR Institute for Space Research in Berlin-Adlershof. The working group of Planetary Science and Remote Sensing at Freie Universität Berlin used the data to create the film.
Analysis
This update adds to the picture of space missions and activities described by the official source. The feed provides limited detail, so schedules, responsibilities and operational information should be verified in the original article.
Source: European Space Agency — Space Science
NASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission
Due to an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude control issue, NASA and Katalyst Space announced Wednesday the LINK spacecraft will not capture or boost an agency satellite to a higher altitude to extend its science mission as planned.
Analysis
This update adds to the picture of space missions and activities described by the official source. The feed provides limited detail, so schedules, responsibilities and operational information should be verified in the original article.
Source: NASA News Releases
CodeQL 2.26.3 improves GitHub Actions queries and JavaScript modeling
CodeQL 2.26.3 adds JavaScript, TypeScript, and Vue source modeling and improves the accuracy of several GitHub Actions queries.
Analysis
The update is relevant to people who build or operate software. Before applying it, readers should verify availability, requirements, limitations and possible workflow effects in the original source.
Source: GitHub Changelog
A blinded, prospective benchmark of in silico antibody discovery anchored to experimental affinity and developability
Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03238-6 A prospective, blinded competition is conducted for artificial-intelligence-generated and optimized antibody discovery.
Analysis
The item reports a method or development in biotechnology. The short feed text is not sufficient to assess validation, limitations or reproducibility; those require reading the original work.
Source: Nature Biotechnology
Offering Zero Data Retention for frontier models
OpenAI reaffirms Zero Data Retention for eligible API customers and previews Private Safety Processing for advanced AI safety without compromising data privacy.
Analysis
The item concerns the adoption or development of artificial intelligence from the source’s perspective. This summary alone does not support independent comparisons of effectiveness, cost or impact.
Source: OpenAI News
Daily trend
Today’s selection is multidisciplinary, with items spanning Astronomy and Space (2), Artificial Intelligence (1), Technology and Computing (1), Biotechnology (1). No single topic dominates: the review brings together scientific research, technology development and institutional updates. The sources are European Space Agency — Space Science, GitHub Changelog, NASA News Releases, Nature Biotechnology, OpenAI News. This range highlights different fields without implying undocumented causal links. Readers should consult the original articles for complete results, limitations and context.