Zermatt, Switzerland (by Ignacio)

Mars rover trials

Rover trials in a quarry in the U.K. showing a four-wheeled rover, known as Codi, using its robotic arm and a powerful computer vision system to pick up sample tubes.

The rover drives to the samples with an accuracy of 10 cm, constantly mapping the terrain. Codi uses its arm and four cameras to locate the sample tube, retrieve it and safely store it on the rover—all of it without human intervention.

At every stop, the rover uses stereo cameras to build up a 180-degree map of the surroundings and plan its next maneuvers. Once parked, the camera on top of the mast detects the tube and estimates its position with respect to the rover. The robotic arm initiates a complex choreography to move closer to the sample, fetch it and store it.

The sample tubes are a replica of the hermetically sealed samples inside which NASA's Perseverance rover is collecting precious Martian soil inside. To most people on Earth, they resemble lightsabers.

The reddish terrain, although not fully representative of Mars in terms of soil composition, has plenty of slopes and rocks of different sizes, similar to what a rover might encounter on the martian surface. Quarry testing is an essential next step in the development process, providing a unique and dynamic landscape that cannot be replicated indoors.

ESA continues to run further research using the rover to maintain and develop rover capabilities in Europe.

Lake Gosau, Austria *by eberhard

Sørvágsvatn

Alpstein, Switzerland.

Sheep Population Density of Each Country in Europe

by Autistic-Inquisitive

We realised there were plenty of maps on Spain, Portugal and more specific places in those states, but we realised there was one big absentee: a map covering the entire Iberian peninsula, so here it is.

This map was prepared by J. Bartholomew and published in The Times Atlas of the World. Mid-Century Edition by Houghton Mifflin Co. in 1956.

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The words for “beer” in languages and dialects.

by jkvatterholm

Broad-nosed Weevil (Phyllobius arborator), family Curculionidae, Slovenia

photograph by Jaka Robnik

Sirex Woodwasp (Sirex noctilio)

Distribution: Native to temperate parts of the Palearctic realm, from northwestern Africa to the Russian far-east. Introduced to North and South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, where it is invasive.

Habitat: Typically inhabits wooded areas, especially where there are many pine trees.

Diet: Larvae feed off fungal tissue up to the second instar, then feed on wood interspersed with fungal mycelium; they only feed on the species Amylostereum areolatum. Adults feed on the xylem of pine trees.

Description: The sirex woodwasp has a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with A. areolatum, a pathogenic crust fungus. When the female is ready to lay her eggs, she drills holes through the wood of pine trees, all the way to the xylem, and deposits eggs, A. areolatum spores and a phytotoxin. The mycelium of the fungus creates an ideal environment for the egg to hatch, and inversely, the phytotoxins secreted by the female, along with the holes she creates, weakens the tree and allows the fungus to more easily infect it.

While the sirex woodwasp is considered a pest because of its adverse effects on pine tree plantations, its presence has also brought positive contributions to the medical field. A probe imitating the structure of a female woodwasp's ovipositor is in development, that would facilitate certain medical treatments such as surgeries, biopsies and medicine injections, as well as making it easier to access tumours or place devices inside the body.

Images by Brett Hurley (female) and Andrew Green (male).