Nasa to send new rover to Mars in 2020

By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, San Francisco

Curiosity spent six weeks at a dune called Rocknest studying the soil blown about inside Gale Crater

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The US space agency (Nasa) says it will launch a new rover to Mars in 2020.

The vehicle will be based on its Curiosity robot, which landed on the Red Planet in August.
Nasa expects to re-use many of the technologies that worked so successfully in getting the one-tonne spacecraft down into the huge equatorial bowl known as Gale Crater.
This included a rocket-powered crane that lowered Curiosity to the surface on nylon cords.
The announcement of a follow-up robot was made at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco, the world's largest annual gathering for Earth and planetary scientists, and a major showcase for Nasa-led research.
It was communicated by the agency's science administrator, John Grunsfeld.
Hovering 'skycrane' Nasa's budget for planetary science, and Mars research in particular, has been squeezed of late, forcing the Americans to pull back on their commitments to two European Red Planet ventures in 2016 and 2018.
But Mr Grunsfeld said there was scope in the financial outlook for a major mission at the end of the decade.
Critical to its affordability was the desire to re-use the Curiosity template.

Continue reading the main story

Curiosity - Mars Science Laboratory

• Mission goal is to determine whether Mars has ever had the conditions to support life
• Project costed at $2.5bn; will see initial surface operations lasting two Earth years
• Onboard plutonium generators will deliver heat and electricity for at least 14 years
• 75kg science payload more than 10 times as massive as those of earlier US Mars rovers
• Equipped with tools to brush and drill into rocks, to scoop up, sort and sieve samples
• Variety of analytical techniques to discern chemistry in rocks, soil and atmosphere
• Will try to make first definitive identification of organic (carbon rich) compounds
• Even carries a laser to zap rocks; beam will identify atomic elements in rocks

• Discover more about the planets

The 2020 rover would share many aspects of its design with the current robot, most notably its novel entry, descent and landing (EDL) mechanism.

This included a hovering "skycrane" that was able to put Curiosity down with pin-point accuracy in Gale Crater.
However, although the engineering will look very similar, the instruments carried by the future vehicle will likely look quite different.
Mr Grunsfeld said an announcement of opportunity would go out to the scientific community very soon to request ideas.
Curiosity landed on Mars on 6 August. It is investigating Gale for signs that past environments could have supported microbial life in the distant past.
Its major discovery so far is the realisation that it touched down in an ancient river-bed system where water once flowed perhaps waist deep.
The vehicle is equipped with a plutonium battery giving it ample energy supplies.
The expectation is that it will still be operating when its near-copy arrives in eight years' time.
Mr Grunsfeld said he would also be extending Curiosity's budget beyond the current initial two-year period to five years.

• (A) Curiosity will trundle around its landing site looking for interesting rock features to study. Its top speed is about 4cm/s
• (B) This mission has 17 cameras. They will identify particular targets, and a laser will zap those rocks to probe their chemistry
• (C) If the signal is significant, Curiosity will swing over instruments on its arm for close-up investigation. These include a microscope
• (D) Samples drilled from rock, or scooped from the soil, can be delivered to two hi-tech analysis labs inside the rover body
• (E) The results are sent to Earth through antennas on the rover deck. Return commands tell the rover where it should drive next

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

Syria crisis: Nato approves Patriots for Turkey

4 December 2012 Last updated at 18:31 GMT

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Nato was determined to protect Turkey

Syria conflict

• Rebels' tactical shift
• Insurgency mapped
• Refugees hopeless
• Chemical fears

Nato has approved the deployment of Patriot anti-missile batteries along Turkey's border with Syria.

The long-expected move emerged from a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels, and amid growing fears that Syria could use chemical weapons.
Nato's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the ministers had "unanimously expressed grave concerns" about the use of chemical weapons.
Syria has said it would never use such weapons against its own people.
The meeting of the 28-member Western military alliance's foreign ministers in Brussels follows a request from Turkey to boost its defences along the border.
In a statement, Nato said it had "agreed to augment Turkey's air defence capabilities in order to defend the population and territory of Turkey and to contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the alliance's border".

Analysis

Jonathan Marcus BBC diplomatic correspondent

Nato's deployment of Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to south-eastern Turkey is essentially a gesture of reassurance to Ankara.
Turkey feels threatened by the growing crisis in Syria. Stray Syrian artillery shells have already come across the border on several occasions. Turkey fears that worse could follow.
Patriot is highly capable against both advanced aircraft and ballistic missiles. But Nato will underline that this is to be seen as a defensive deployment only. Patriot has no capacity to deal with stray shell fire.
While Patriot can reach into Syrian airspace, Nato is at pains to stress that this is in no sense a step towards establishing a no-fly zone over Syria. Nonetheless, Nato may also hope that there will be a deterrent effect that may dissuade Syria from operating its aircraft too close to the Turkish frontier.

• Fact file: Patriot missile defence

Recent intelligence assessments have indicated Damascus is contemplating using ballistic missiles, potentially armed with chemical warheads.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Rasmussen told reporters that the foreign ministers had "unanimously expressed grave concerns" about the reports, saying: "Any such action would be completely unacceptable and a clear breach of international law."
He would not give further details on the deployment, but said it would ensure effective protection of Turkey against any missile attack, whether carrying chemical weapons or not.
Nato officials have previously made clear such a move would be purely defensive.
Rebel gains The BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says Nato's move is an expression of solidarity with Turkey, and a signal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad he must not widen the war against his own people beyond Syria's borders.
Syria is believed to hold chemical weapons - including mustard gas and sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent - at dozens of sites around the country.
The CIA has said those weapons "can be delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile and artillery rockets".

Continue reading the main story

• In pictures: Refugees struggle as winter sets in

President Obama has previously warned President Assad he would face "consequences" if he used chemical weapons against his people.

A Nato team has already visited a number of sites in Turkey in preparation for the deployment of Patriot batteries, which could be used to shoot down any Syrian missiles or warplanes that stray over the border.
But analysts say any deployment - possibly supplied by the US, Germany or the Netherlands - could take weeks.
Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country and another 2.5 million are internally displaced.
Syrian opposition fighters have reportedly made dramatic gains recently, and several government mortar shells - aimed at rebel targets close to the border - have landed across its 900-km (560-mile) border with Turkey.

Syria's chemical weapons

• The CIA believes Syria has had a chemical weapons programme "for years and already has a stockpile of CW agents which can be delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets"
• Syria is believed to possess mustard gas and sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent
• The CIA also believes that Syria has attempted to develop more toxic and more persistent nerve agents, such as VX gas
• A report citing Turkish, Arab and Western intelligence agencies put Syria's stockpile at approximately 1,000 tonnes of chemical weapons, stored in 50 towns and cities
• Syria has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) or ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)

Sources: CSIS, RUSI

• Fears grow over chemical weapons
• Could US remove Syria chemical weapons?
• Nato's missile shield 'up and running'
• Syria: Mapping the insurgency

Although the head of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi told AFP on Monday that the Syrian government could fall "any time", it still holds the capital, parts of the second city Aleppo, and other centres.

In other developments:

• A teacher and at least 28 students were killed when shelling hit their school inside the Wafideen refugee camp outside Damascus on Tuesday - state media said it was a rebel mortar attack but rebels blamed government troops.
• A journalist working for a state-run newspaper was killed near his home in Damascus, said state media.
• The UN said on Monday it was pulling "all non-essential international staff" out of Syria, with as many as 25 out of 100 international staff expected to leave this week.
• The EU has withdrawn its mission altogether - the ambassador and head of delegation Vassilis Bontosoglou left Damascus with his six remaining international staff members on Tuesday morning.
• Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi is said to have fled the country, amid reports he has been dismissed, ostensibly for making statements out of line with government policy.

Nobel Prize: Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley win economics award

15 October 2012 Last updated at 12:03 GMT

Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley have won the 2012 Nobel Prize in economics.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the US academics for their work on the "theory of stable allocations and practice of market design".
The work is concerned with the best possible way to allocate resources, such as in school admissions or organs to patients who need transplants.
Mr Roth is a professor at Harvard and Mr Shapley teaches at the University of California in Los Angeles.
"Even though these two researchers worked independently of one another, the combination of Shapley's basic theory and Roth's empirical investigations, experiments and practical design has generated a flourishing field of research and improved the performance of many markets," the Academy said.
Stable matching Mr Shapley and his colleague David Gale in 1962 laid down a theory for how best to match demand and supply in markets with ethical and legal complications, such as admitting students to public schools in the US.
If these particular markets were just left according to price, then you would get what economists refer to as market failure.
This original work developed into the Gale-Shapley algorithm, which aims to ensure "stable matching" or the best possible outcome for both sides. "An allocation where no individuals perceive any gains from further trade is called stable," the Academy explained.

The two economists worked independently on the same work

This is a key pillar in co-operative game theory, an area of mathematical economics that seeks to determine how rational individuals choose to co-operate.
In the early 1980s, Alvin Roth set out to study the market for newly-qualified doctors and study stable matching in the real world.
This was a problem as a scarcity of medical students - such as that which existed in the US in the 1940s - forced hospitals to offer internships earlier and earlier, sometimes several years before graduation, meaning that a match was made before they could produce evidence of their skills and qualifications.
A clearing system was set up to try to better match medical students and hospitals. In a paper from 1984, Mr Roth studied the algorithm used by this clearing house and discovered that it was very close to the Gale-Shapley algorithm, showing that it applied in real-life situations.
The awards continue a strong US run of victories in the category of economic sciences.
Forty-three prizes in economics have been awarded every year since 1969.
The prize was not part of the prizes set out in Alfred Nobel's will and was set up in 1968 by Sweden's central bank.

Sitting for long periods 'is bad for your health'

Not the best thing to do after a day sitting at your desk

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Sitting for long periods increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and death, researchers suggest.

The scientists from Leicester and Loughborough Universities say harm is done even if people also exercise.
The study, published in Diabetologia, analysed 18 existing studies involving almost 800,000 people.
Diabetes UK said anyone who spent a lot of time sitting or lying down would "obviously benefit" from moving more.
The researchers say the opportunities for sedentary behaviour in modern society such as watching TV, sitting in a car or using a computer are "ubiquitous".
Of course, in modern society many people head to the gym for a burst of exercise to redress the balance.
But the research team, led by Dr Emma Wilmot from the Diabetes Group at the University of Leicester, says while going to the gym or pool after work is better than heading straight for the sofa, spending a long time sitting down remains bad for you.
Healthy lifestyle? Each of the studies they assessed used different measures - for example more or less than 14 hours a week watching TV, or self-reported sitting time of less than three hours a day to more than eight.
The researchers say this means it is not possible to give an absolute limit for how much sedentary time is bad for you.
But Dr Emma Wilmot, who led the study, said it was clear that those who sat the most had a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and death than those who sat the least.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

We can have standing meetings, we can walk during the lunch break, and we can look to reduce TV viewing in the evenings by seeking out less sedentary behaviours”

Prof Stuart Biddle, Loughborough University

She said: "If a worker sits at their desk all day then goes to the gym, while their colleague heads home to watch TV, then the gym-goer will have better health outcomes.

"But there is still a health risk because of the amount of sitting they do.
"Comparatively, the risk for a waiter who is on their feet all day is going to be a lot lower."
She added: "People convince themselves they are living a healthy lifestyle, doing their 30 minutes of exercise a day.
"But they need to think about the other 23.5 hours."
'Easy change' The strongest associations in the analysis were between prolonged sitting and diabetes.
There is evidence that being sedentary negatively affects glucose levels and increases insulin resistance - but scientists do not yet know how.
Dr Wilmot said the study's message could help those at high risk of diabetes, such as obese people or those of South Asian ethnic origin, because it was an easy lifestyle change to make.
Prof Stuart Biddle, of Loughborough University, who also worked on the study, said: "There are many ways we can reduce our sitting time, such as breaking up long periods at the computer at work by placing our laptop on a filing cabinet.
"We can have standing meetings, we can walk during the lunch break, and we can look to reduce TV viewing in the evenings by seeking out less sedentary behaviours."
Dr Matthew Hobbs, head of research at Diabetes UK, said people should not be discouraged from exercising.
He added: "What is clear is that anyone who spends lots of time sitting or lying down would benefit from replacing some of that time by standing or walking.
"Aside from any direct effect reducing the amount of time you spend sitting down may have, getting more physical activity is a great way of helping maintain a healthy weight, which is the best way of minimising your risk of Type 2 diabetes."

Malala Yousafzai: Taliban shooting victim flown to UK

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool says Malala's treatment is likely to include some skull reconstruction

y

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The 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen is being flown to the UK for medical treatment.

Malala Yousafzai has until now been at a military hospital in Rawalpindi, with doctors saying her progress over the next few days would be "critical".
She remains in a serious condition after the attack, which the Taliban said they carried out because she was "promoting secularism".
Pakistan's interior minister has said the attack was planned abroad.
Those involved would soon be caught, said Rehman Malik, without giving further details.
Bone damage Malala left Pakistan on board an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates, accompanied by a full medical team.
It was not immediately clear whether any of her family were travelling with her.
She is being taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham - an NHS (National Health Service) hospital which has a specialist major trauma centre.
The cost of her care and rehabilitation is being funded by Pakistan.

“Start Quote

I felt hurt on opening my wardrobe and seeing my uniform, school bag and geometry box. Boys' schools are opening tomorrow. But the Taliban have banned girls' education. ”

Malala Yousafzai Diary entry, 8 February 2009

• Diary of a Pakistani schoolgirl
• Swat women on changing life

The Pakistani military said doctors in Rawalpindi had described Malala's condition as "optimal", after a bullet which hit her skull was removed last week.

"The panel of doctors recommended that Malala be shifted abroad to a UK centre which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury," it said.
Once she has recovered sufficiently, she is expected to need treatment to repair or replace damaged bones in her skull and to undergo neurological treatment.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says Malala has been kept sedated and on a ventilator since she was taken to hospital, with tight security around her.
The ventilator was removed briefly over the weekend to see how she coped and doctors have presumably determined she is well enough to travel, says our correspondent.
Pakistan had previously insisted Malala could be treated in her home country.
UN petition Malala gained attention aged 11, when she started writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban.
Using the pen-name Gul Makai, she wrote about suffering caused by militants who had taken control of the Swat Valley in 2007 and ordered girls' schools to close.
The Taliban were ousted from Swat in 2009, but Malala continued to receive death threats. Then last Tuesday, she was attacked as she returned home from school in Mingora, north-western Swat.

• Portrait of the girl blogger
• Viewpoint: Pandering to extremists

Two armed men on foot stopped a van packed with about a dozen schoolgirls in a congested area of the town.

One of them got into the van and asked which of the girls was Malala Yousafzai before he fired three shots, hitting Malala in the head and injuring two others.
The Taliban have said they will target her again.
Protests have been held in several Pakistani cities to condemn the Taliban's actions, including in Karachi, where tens of thousands of people turned out on Sunday.
Four people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. They were among about 100 people rounded up this week, most of whom were later released on bail.
The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the attack had "shocked Pakistan and the world" and that Malala's bravery was "an example to us all".
"The public revulsion and condemnation of this cowardly attack shows that the people of Pakistan will not be beaten by terrorists," he said. "The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism."
On Monday, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown - now the UN's Special Envoy for Global Education - said he was launching a petition in Malala's name "in support of what Malala fought for".
"The petition calls on Pakistan to ensure that every girl like Malala has the chance to go to school," he said, while also calling on the international community to ensure all children have access to education by the end of 2015.
Mr Brown said he would hand the petition to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari when he visits Islamabad in November.

Saudis Arabia 'insulted' by UK inquiry

By Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent

Saudi Arabia's Sunni monarchy suspects Iran of covertly supporting Shia activists in Bahrain

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Saudi Arabia says it is "insulted" by a parliamentary inquiry into how the UK deals with the country and Bahrain.

Saudi officials have told the BBC they are now "re-evaluating their country's historic relations with Britain" and that "all options will be looked at".
While they stopped short of cancelling ongoing trade deals, the move reflects growing Saudi resentment at the West's reaction to the Arab Spring.
The Foreign Office said Saudi Arabia remained a close friend and an ally.
The Sunni-majority kingdom suspects the hand of Iran behind much of the unrest in its own Shia population and that of Bahrain.
Bahrain's opposition movement has always denied any Iranian government role in its activities.
'Reform supported' In September, the British Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) announced it would be opening a wide-ranging review into the UK's relations with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain - two key Gulf Arab partners.

“Start Quote

The Kingdom will not permit a group of so-called human rights activists, supported and funded by foreign entities, to implant a new foreign-linked political system in a fellow GCC country”

Senior Saudi official

That followed its report on the Arab Spring democracy movement which concluded that the government was right to "support peaceful reform efforts where possible in Bahrain" but that it "must also be clear in its public criticism of human rights violations there if it is to avoid charges of hypocrisy".

The FAC said its new inquiry would look closely at how the UK balances its various interests in these countries in defence, trade, security, counter-terrorism and human rights.
But Saudi Arabia, long sensitive to western criticisms of its human rights record, believes the inquiry has been prompted by Shia activists from Bahrain, including those striving to overthrow the Sunni monarchy there.
The Saudi ambassador in London, Prince Mohammed Bin Nawaf Al-Saud told the BBC his country would "not tolerate or accept any foreign interference in the workings" of the Gulf Co-operation Council, which comprises Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Oman.
"Saudi Arabia's relations with the GCC is an internal matter among the six countries and we will not tolerate or accept any foreign interference in the workings of the GCC".
A senior Saudi official added: "The Kingdom will not permit a group of so-called human rights activists, supported and funded by foreign entities, to implant a new foreign-linked political system in a fellow GCC country."
Specialised units Last year, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report into Bahrain's unrest found no evidence of Iranian government instigation behind the unrest.
However, it did find evidence of systemic abuse of prisoners in police custody. King Hamad of Bahrain promised reforms and an end to human rights abuses, a process which rights activists say is far from complete.

“Start Quote

Saudi forces have not engaged in any security operations against Bahraini citizens”

Saudi ambassador in London, Prince Mohammed Bin Nawaf Al-Saud

The Sunni monarchies in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain suspect Iran of covertly supporting Shia activists they say are working to turn Bahrain into a Shia-led Islamic republic.

At the height of Bahrain's unrest last year, around 1,000 troops from the Saudi Arabian National Guard arrived in Bahrain and it was reported by some outlets they helped put down the unrest.
But the Saudi ambassador to London denied this, saying the country "as a GCC member, sent a brigade of specialised units to secure and protect critical Bahraini installations and infrastructure".
"Saudi forces have not engaged in any security operations against Bahraini citizens," he added.
The news of Saudi displeasure will be an unwelcome development for the Foreign Office.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

We will be responding to the FAC in due course, setting out the detail of our deep, broad-based relationship with Saudi Arabia and the strength and importance of our partnership”

UK Foreign Office spokesman

As the world's largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia is a huge trading and defence partner for Britain with nearly £4bn of bilateral trade last year.

According to the UK Trade and Investment Office there are approximately 200 UK/Saudi joint ventures with total investment of more than £11bn.
Defence deals include the £7bn BAE Systems contract supplying the next tranche of Typhoon jets.
Thousands of British expatriates work in Saudi Arabia and British companies involved there include Shell, GlaxoSmithKline, BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and Marks & Spencer.
A Foreign Office spokesman said the government respected Parliament's "right to carry out inquiries".
"We will be responding to the FAC in due course, setting out the detail of our deep, broad-based relationship with Saudi Arabia and the strength and importance of our partnership," he added.
"Saudi Arabia is a key strategic partner in the region and one of the closest friends and allies."

Indonesia plane lands at Tabing not Padang

Indonesian officials have suspended a foreign pilot and launched an investigation after a passenger jet landed at the wrong airport.

The Sriwijaya Air jet had about 100 people on board when it took off on Saturday from Medan in northern Sumatra headed for the city of Padang.
However, it landed at the Tabing air force base, 12 km (seven miles) from its destination.
Indonesian officials said air safety practices would be investigated.
It is not known why the pilot chose to land at the wrong airport - only that he was in contact with the air traffic control at Minangkabau airport in Padang.
An investigation by the Indonesian aviation safety watchdog has been launched with air traffic control authorities.
Indonesia has a chequered history of aviation safety, although efforts have been made to improve standards over the last few years, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani reports from Jakarta.
Indonesia's transport ministry says the 96 passengers on board were never in any danger.
According to our correspondent, the ministry's spokesman said the landing was entirely normal - except for the fact that it was at the wrong airport.