NASA’s Mission 1 crew — all volunteers — have left their 1,700-square-foot habitat at the Johnson Space Center. Since June 25 of last year, they’ve conducted a fair number of simulated Mars walks, growing vegetables and performing other tasks designed to support life and work in that environment. They’ve also faced (a simulation of) the stressors real space travelers to Mars might experience, such as 22-minute communication delays with Earth.
After 378 days in a simulated Martian habitat, the four volunteers for NASA’s year-long simulation of a stay on the Red Planet are coming home. The crew — Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell and Nathan Jones — left the 3D-printed habitat in Houston on Saturday night.
Feel like living in a fake space? There are plans for two more year-long missions. Applications for one have already closed, but the third is scheduled for 2026.
— Mat Smith
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You have to manually operate the $350 shoes.
Nike is discontinuing production of its self-lacing Adapt BB sneakers. The sneakers were first announced in 2019 and used a Back to the Future II style power-lacing system called FitAdapt, adjustable both manually and with an app. Now, the company is stopping making Adapt shoes and discontinuing the Nike Adapt app. When the app goes away, the shoes will retain the last selected light color. Functions still available without the app include powering on, checking battery life, adjusting your fit, saving your fit, unlacing shoes and, wait for it, powering off.
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Other audio, such as conversations, remains intact.
YouTube has released an improved song removal tool to remove music from video segments without removing other audio, such as conversations. When creators receive a copyright claim for music, YouTube allows them to either cut the segment in question or replace the song with an approved track from its Audio Library. YouTube admits the tool doesn’t always work. If a song is particularly difficult to remove, it’s likely due to its audio quality or the presence of other sounds.
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NASCAR announced a number of new sustainability goals during the Chicago Street Race.
NASCAR unveiled its first electric race car prototype this weekend at the Chicago Street Race. It developed the $1.5 million electric crossover in partnership with ABB, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota to draw attention to… NASCAR’s sustainability efforts. Apparently, it’s trying.
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