News at a glance: Mars helicopter ’s final flight, grants for U.K. diversity, and a nonopioid pain drug

PLANETARY SCIENCE Breakdown finally grounds Mars helicopter After 72 flights on Mars—67 more than originally planned—NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter flew its final sortie last month. The tiny helicopter (above), a technology demonstration deployed from the Perseverance rover, lasted for 3 years, covering 17 kilometers during more than 2 hours of flight, until at least one of its carbon-fiber blades fractured during a crash landing. Ingenuity served as a scout for Perseverance as it climbed toward the rim of Jezero crater, helping it avoid hazardous terrain and collect rock samples. The mission could pave the way for future martian helicopters, starting with the expensive, troubled campaign to collect Perseverance’s samples, rocket them off the planet, and return them to Earth. Should the rover fail, NASA is considering relying on a larger helicopter to ferry the samples to the return rocket. Birth is an unpredictable process. Migration researcher Lea Müller-Funk in Times Higher Education , about criticism by her and other pregnant scientists that funders have shown inflexibility by scheduling their interview for a grant application close to their due date or recent delivery. FUNDING Wellcome aims to boost diversity The Wellcome Trust last week announced a £20 million fund for Black, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani researchers based in the United...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research