The Unexpected Force Keeping NASA’s Mars Rover Alive

12 years go, NASA landed the rover Opportunity on the surface of Mars, with the intent of exploring the Red Planet for 90 days before the vehicle’s solar panels became covered with dust. Fast forward to today, and Opportunity is still going strong, thanks to the unforeseen “dirt devils” present on Mars. These swirling gusts of wind periodically blow dust off the rover’s panels, which—combined …

Y-3 Space Apparel for Virgin Galactic

The adidas + Yohji Yamamoto collaborative brand will suit up the commercial spaceline's pilots and passengers

Within their respective industries, Sir Richard Branson and Yohji Yamamoto share a vision for chasing the future. Both have been progressive-thinking rule-breakers for decades—so it comes as not too much of a surprise that Branson’s Virgin Galactic worked with Y-3 (Yamamoto’s sportswear line with adidas) to develop space-appropriate uniforms. Functional, fashionable and—rather than futuristic—grounded in the “now,” the prototype designs for the pilot flight-suit and …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

The Paris Agreement, NASA's call for astronauts, James Turrell on "Hotline Bling" and more in our look at the web

1. Banksy’s New Steve Jobs Artwork Confronts Refugee Stigmas Located on a wall inside the Calais refugee camp, Bansky’s latest piece features the image of late Apple founder Steve Jobs and aims to confront the stigma that refugees drain countries’ resources. It references the history of Jobs and his Syrian migrant father, who moved to America after World War II. Jobs later went on to …