rover

PARIS--These may be trying times for the European economy, but that automakers rallied at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, bringing out a variety of new concepts and some model updates relevant to the U.S. buyer. As has become a theme given European interest in CO2 reduction, many of the cars we saw featured hybrid or electric drive trains. And many new models and updates were what we in the U.S. consider premium cars boasting fine coachwork.

Here is our last day roundup from the 2012 Paris Motor Show.… Read more

Seeing as Mars is much further away from the sun than Earth is, a solar eclipse would look different than it does here. Curiosity -- NASA's Mars rover -- caught an image of what this phenomenon looks like from the Red Planet.

While somewhat less impressive than what a solar eclipse looks like from Earth, appearing as a tiny black blip on a small white blip, this photo is still fascinating. Mars has two moons that orbit it, so the moon seen in this image is called Phobos.

To get this photo, Curiosity -- ever the clever rover -- … Read more

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has driven some 357 feet from its landing site on the floor of Gale Crater -- 269 feet as a martian crow might fly -- on its way to an intriguing area about five times farther away where three different types of rock come together. The rover continues to chalk up near perfect scores during extended checkout operations, with detailed robot arm tests on tap over the next week or so.

"We've been on the surface of Mars for about a month and Curiosity continues to be very healthy and continues to surprise … Read more

I have a space dream. I've been invited to the NASA prom by Mohawk Guy. He's going to pick me up in the Mars Curiosity rover. What on earth am I going to wear? I'd better head over to Etsy and order a Mars panoramic skirt.

Etsy seller Go Chase Rabbits has a huge line of geek chic skirts, but the Mars rover panoramic is especially impressive. … Read more

Land Rover released details today of its 2013 Range Rover and confirmed a diesel-electric hybrid version to come later. The redesigned model will become available on dealer lots later in 2012, while keys for the spiffy new hybrid-powered vehicles can be had in 2013.

Though the British company offered specifications for Range Rover's conventional drivetrain, as of right now details on the diesel-electric hybrid are slim. It has yet to be confirmed for U.S. markets, although we'll keep our fingers crossed for now. For those of you interested in getting your hands on either of the V-8-powered … Read more

When Curiosity touched down on Mars earlier this month, we Earthlings experienced an out of this world multimedia experience showing off amazing angles of the Red Planet. A few days ago, NASA released perhaps the best Mars panorama yet, which simply blows away the rest, at least in terms of size. … Read more

Time to learn German for Wednesday's tech news roundup:

You thought you knew all about the Curiosity rover's Mars landing. You looked at the photos. You watched the NASA folks explode with delight on video. You proposed to Mohawk Guy on Twitter.

Then along comes a new look at the landing. The Curiosity Rover Twitter feed just unleashed an HD video mashup of the landing with play-by-play audio from our favorite space nerds at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission control.… Read more

If you happen to see a family in Southern California with kids ages 8, 10, and 13 at the beach just before midnight or perhaps bowling at 4 a.m., they're not related to Edward Cullen or any other vampires. They're just living on Martian time.

It's all part of NASA engineer David Oh's grand experiment to allow his family to share in an adventure of planetary proportions he's been involved in at work lately. Oh is the flight director for the Curiosity rover, currently wheeling its way along the surface of the Red Planet and occasionally blasting a Martian rock with a laser every now and then.… Read more