NASA has pushed back the launch of the Ingenuity helicopter's first flight on the Martian surface. Takeoff of the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) robotic helicopter, currently attached to NASA's Perseverance rover, is now slated for no earlier than April 11. Deployment of Ingenuity, which has become affectionately known as'Ginny', had been originally planned for April 8. If successful, Ingenuity will be the first powered and controlled flight of an aircraft on any planet other than Earth. Ingenuity carries a small amount of fabric that covered one of the wings of the Wright brothers' aircraft, known as the Flyer, during the first powered, controlled flight on Earth in 1903.

NASA is asking people to explore Mars using images taken of the Red Planet by its Curiosity Rover and help to label rocks and other surface features. The project, known as AI4Mars, is designed to improve an artificial intelligence algorithm that will help future Martian rovers move across the planet's surface. The simulation was designed by a team from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a way to help future rovers spot potential obstacles and avoid getting stuck. The projected is hosted on the citizen science site Zooniverse and involves volunteers labelling terrain features in thousands of pictures of the Red Planet. NASA hopes that having a more effective algorithm - similar to the ones used in self driving cars - will prevent future rovers suffering the same fate as Spirit which got stuck in a sand pit that ended its mission after seven years.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Mars 2020 rover is heading to the Red Planet armed with a high-powered laser to assist in its search for fossils. The technology, called SuperCam, is fitted at the robot's mast and shoots pulses capable of vaporizing rocks from up to 20 feet away. The laser beam heats the target to 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to transform the solid rock into plasma that can be imaged by a camera for further analysis. Using this instrument will help researchers identify minerals that are beyond the reach of the rover's robotic arm or in areas too steep for the rover to go. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Mars 2020 rover is heading to the Red Planet armed with a high-powered laser to assist in its search for fossils. The technology, called SuperCam, is fitted at the robot's mast and shoots pulses capable of vaporizing rocks from up to 20 feet away NASA is set to launch the Mars 2020 rover in July with the goal of finding signs of ancient microbial life.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, will convene a hearing on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, at 2:30 p.m. on "The Dawn of Artificial Intelligence." The hearing will conduct a broad overview of the state of artificial intelligence, including policy implications and effects on commerce. On October 12, 2016, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a report entitled, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence. The report outlined opportunities for artificial intelligence, including recommendations on how the technology can be used to advance social good and improve government operations. The report also proposed 23 policy recommendations and a companion strategic plan that identified priorities for federally-funded research and development in artificial intelligence.