Nasa is shooting for a 2018 launch of the Mars Insight spacecraft which will examine the interior of the red planet. The robotic lander was supposed to lift off this month, but was grounded in December by a leak in a French instrument. It will now be completely redesigned in time for May 2018, the next available launch window. A French-made seismographic instrument destined for Nasa's InSight Mars mission lander (artist's impression pictured) was found to have leaks in its vacuum container. The mission, aimed at studying Mars' interior structure by monitoring its'marsquakes', has now been scrapped The lander, which is about the size of a car, was supposed to be the first mission devoted to understanding the interior structure of the red planet.

A new Terminator-style robot could be set to kill weeds choking the countryside. The futuristic Ibex uses tech similar to the Mars Rover and self-driving cars and can identify individual weeds before zapping them accurately. Makers believe the robot can battle weeds clogging up pastures in hilly regions where rough terrain makes it hard to manage fields. The futuristic British-made Ibex (pictured) uses tech similar to the Mars Rover and self-driving cars and can identify individual weeds before zapping them accurately. Ramblers and walkers blighted by bracken could also be helped by Ibex which could track down the invasive fern which is toxic to cattle, dogs, sheep, pigs and horses.

Getting to grips with a new computer game usually involves some trial and error. Now researchers are using Minecraft as a tool to test the abilities of artificially intelligent avatars – but the game, loved by youngsters around the world, is proving to be rather a challenge for the machines. Currently, five computer scientists have been trying to get their AI Minecraft character to climb a hill. While on the face of it, this might not seem like a Herculean task, the character has to learn how to perform tasks - such as climbing to a highpoint in the pixelated virtual world, itself - using the same types of resources a human has when we learn a new task. 'That means that the agent [character] starts out knowing nothing at all about its environment or even what it is supposed to accomplish,' wrote Microsoft's Allison Linn in a blog post.

Fictional animal-whisperer Dr Dolittle may have been able to talk to all animals, but a British farmer is able to at least decipher the squawks of his chickens. David Speller claims he can identify 11 different types of'chicken chatter' to know if his birds are too hot, too cold, hungry or even sick....so they don't'cry fowl' of their conditions. The skill could save him thousands of pounds by ensuring his animals are healthy. David Speller can identify 11 different types of'chicken chatter' to know if his birds are too hot, too cold, hungry or even sick. Mr Speller, 42, owns the only British farm to take part in a unique project run by Leuven University, in Belgium, which aims to understand the'language' of chickens.

First it was our computers, then it was our phones, and now experts have warned hackers will soon be targeting our cars. Self-driving car technology is improving so quickly that some experts believe it will be mainstream within the next five years, meaning hacking will be probably become a problem. A security expert has told MailOnline that cyber criminals may take control of a car and hold it ransom to extort money from owners. 'There's no question whether autonomous cars can be hacked or not,' Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer of cyber security firm F-secure told MailOnline. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that by 2030, 25 per cent of all cars sold will be autonomous. At the end of last year, Elon Musk told Fortune that Tesla Motors is two years away from achieving a fully autonomous self-driving car.

From our every day perspective, the insects and spiders that surround us usually appear to encased inside smooth and shiny exoskeletons. But a new selection of macro-images reveal that if we were to meet these miniature beasts at their own level, we would discover their bodies are actually covered in thick fur, fur like bristles and scales that look almost like feathers. The world of the small has been brought into focus in stunning detail thanks to a series of macro photographs from an amateur wildlife photographer, which reveals the creatures as very different from how we normally see them. The incredible series of images show insects and arachnids in stunning detail. Captured by Russian software architect Vasily Menshov, the series reveals the hairy antennae of mosquitoes, the feather like scales of butterflies and the alien-like appearance of hoverflies.

Artificially intelligent robots are tipped to our steal office jobs in just five years' time and even inventors' jobs are at risk, an entrepreneur has warned. The creator of Apple's digital assistant, Siri, made the claim as well as predicting we will get information from a'giant brain in the sky.' Dag Kittlaus is working on one such brain, known as'Viv', and believes it's one step up from the assistants in our phones, as it will be able to make'mental leaps'. Artificially intelligent robots are tipped to our steal office jobs in just five years' time and even inventors' jobs are at risk, an entrepreneur has warned. The creator of Apple's Siri, Dag Kittlaus, made the claim as well as predicting we will get information from a'giant brain in the sky' called'Viv' (promotional shot pictured) Speaking at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas, he said it is a good idea for scientists to monitor the development of AI machines, echoing the fears of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, who have both warned AI has the potential to destroy humanity. When asked by author Steve Levy whether super computers will replace entrepreneurs, Kittlaus said: 'Yes, it will happen.

Most commuters who travel by road will know the frustration of being caught in traffic jams that can double and even triple the journey to work. But a group of scientists claims to have found a way to ease congestion during the busiest periods, and cut commuting times by a third. However, not everyone will be happy with their solution as it involves some drivers agreeing to endure longer journeys. Scientists analysed billions of journeys made in five cities around the world during morning rush hours record on mobile phones. They found when drivers made selfish, uncoordinated choices, they made congestion worse (stock picture).

Military forces around the world have been looking into'invisibility' techniques to keep personnel and equipment discrete. Stealth bombers can go almost entirely undetected by enemy radar, and'metamaterials' aim to make uniforms near invisible. But now, leading military lawyer Bill Boothby has cautioned that some of these tactics may be in violation of international humanitarian laws revised after World War II. Stealth bombers like the B-2 pictured above can go almost entirely undetected by enemy radar, and'metamaterials' aim to make uniforms near invisible. Deceptive camouflage techniques may be prohibited under a clause called'prohibition of perfidy,' if they are used to trick an enemy as a means to cause death.

It is one of the biggest sites in the world with over a billion users, but YouTube began life as a dating site, one its co-founders has revealed. Steve Chen, speaking at the South by Southwest in Austin to launch his news food video site Nom, said it was conceived on Valentine's day - but five days later, had not attracted a single user. 'We always thought there was something with video there, but what would be the actual practical application?' he said. 'We thought dating would be the obvious choice.' YouTube founders Steve Chen (left) and Chad Hurley: Speaking at the South by Southwest in Austin to launch his news food video site Nom, Chen said it was conceived on Valentine's day - but five days later, had not attracted a single user.