NASA Unveils Major Plans for 2020 Mars Rover

In what may be NASA's biggest mission of the decade, the agency's next rover will head to Mars in 2020 to collect samples that may one day travel back to Earth.

After five months of research and more than 6,000 emails among a team of 19 scientists, NASA released a 154-page report Wednesday outlining its plans for the 2020 rover. The robot will search for signs of past life on Mars and obtain material that will be used in planning future human exploration missions.

"[NASA] should only be seeking to answer the biggest questions, and the biggest question of humankind is 'are we alone?'" said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, director of the Carnegie Institution for Science's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, in a press conference.

For the most part, NASA will work off the framework of Curiosity, a highly successful rover that determined Mars was once suitable for life. Like Curiosity, the 2020 rover will be about the size of a car — 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall.

Unlike Curiosity rover, however, the 2020 rover will be able to identify a rock's mineralogy and chemistry on a finer scale using high-resolution imaging instruments. Instead of planning shot-in-the-dark drills on rocks that may seem interesting on the surface, scientists will be able to determine the best rocks for experimentation based on their chemical makeup.

"The context is everything. Making sure you have the right sample is everything," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science.

The 2020 rover will extract samples from the rocks' cores, transfer them into sealed sample tubes and store them in a cache that NASA will retrieve at a later date. That storage unit will have room for 31 samples. (See image below.)

At this stage, the agency's most important objective is constructing a system that can obtain the best sample without contamination.

"Putting the samples into a returnable cache is a small step forward, but it doesn't address the sample return," Grunsfeld said.

The team doesn't yet know how they will transport the samples back to Earth, which would open doors for more in-depth experiments. The most obvious mode of transport is via humans. While NASA has studied manned trips to Mars for years, the agency doesn't have an official roadmap for that type of mission. That said, don't count out human retrieval.

"I wouldn't rule out that human explorers will go and retrieve the cache 20 years from now," said Grunsfeld, a former astronaut. "I would like to see it be some kind of race because I would like to see scientists on Mars."

Planning for NASA's 2020 Mars rover envisions a basic structure that capitalizes on re-using the design and engineering work done for the NASA rover Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, but with new science instruments selected through competition for accomplishing different science objectives with the 2020 mission.

Images courtesy of NASA

92% of E-Book Downloads in Russia Are Pirated

E-reading is on the rise in Russia, but piracy remains a big problem for the burgeoning market.

According to figures published by Russia: Beyond the Headlines, 70% of Russians read e-books, nearly a quarter more than the number who did a year ago. Yet 92% of those readers download their books from the Internet for free, compared to around 12% [PDF] in the U.S. (Other estimates place the number even higher, around 95%.) That's all the more surprising given that the average price of an e-book in Russia is relatively cheap, around $3 to $4. That's about half the cost of a hard copy, and just a fraction of the cost of the average e-book in the U.S.

According to the same data, 36% of e-reading Russians borrow e-books from friends, and a mere 15% buy digital copies on "specialized web sites." Those digital copies generated 250 million rubles (about $7.5 million) in sales last year, nearly twice as much as 2011, according to the Russian Association of Online Publishers. E-books now account for around 1% of Russia's total book market.

Time, money and convenience are the three most-cited reasons for turning to e-books. Education is another problem. Vladimir Grigoryev, deputy head of the Russian's mass media agency Rospechat, told RBTH that many people don't know whether they are reading licensed or pirated books.

Distribution is also an issue. Three in 10 e-book readers say they turn to the format because they can't find the titles they want in stores. Only 60,000 e-books are offered through licensed retailers, while pirates offer around twice as many titles, according to one analyst's estimates.

Publishers and retailers are working to boost the number of licensed titles, and Ropeschat has launched an online campaign, dubbed "Read Legally," to educate digital readers about the need to purchase licensed works to support their favorite authors. The agency is also monitoring pirating websites, removing more than 25,000 links to unlicensed works over the last two years, according to Publishing Perspectives.

[via Quartz]

DANIEL ROLAND/Stringer/Getty Images

Russia's Floating Nuclear Power Plants Will Power Remote Areas

From cruise ships to oil tankers to houseboats, there's always a way to design a boat to fit our needs. Now, Russia has another iteration to add to the list: a nuclear power plant.

That's right. The next nuclear power plant from Russia will float.

The ships, which are expected to be fully functional by 2016, are really more like barges that can be towed to and from different destinations. The first ship in the fleet will be called Akademik Lomonosov, weighing in at 21,500 tons with a crew of 69 people.

Each plant contains two naval propulsion reactors and provides up to 70 megawatts of electricity — enough to power a city of 200,000 people. The video above takes you through some of the details.

The plants were initially designed for remote locations like offshore oil platforms and port cities. But more than 15 countries expressed interest in the floating power plants including Japan, where the Fukushima disaster occurred in 2012.

The plant manufacturer, mechanical engineering company OKBM Afrikantov, claims that the mobile floating station would ride out the disaster better than land-based plants.

This isn't the first time Russia has experimented with floating nuclear power. The country has a 50-year track record of nuclear operations in ships and submarines in extreme Arctic conditions. The floating plant can also be modified as a desalination plant capable of producing 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water each day for remote locations.

Under normal operation, the plant does not release any hazardous material into the surrounding water.

How do you feel about a floating nuclear power plant? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of OKBM

5 Marketing Gigs You Can Do From Home

The Daily Muse 23 hours ago

For marketing professionals, sitting in a cubicle is something like a paradox. They're creative, resourceful and observant of our surroundings — and being confined to a literal box can really cramp their capabilities.

Luckily for those who work in marketing, companies are now considering remote employees more than ever, giving marketers an opportunity to work from a coffee shop, at home or anywhere that's going to allow them to be more productive.

In fact, there are a number of opportunities out there for work-from-homers — specifically in the digital marketing world and with tech companies that are increasingly advocating for virtual work environments. So, if you’ve ever thought about taking your marketing career out of the office, take a look at these types of positions.

1. Product Marketing Manager

If you love both tech and marketing, check out Product Marketing Manager roles, where you’ll manage new product releases and the internal communications, messaging and positioning that surround them.

While many companies want their Product Marketing Managers based on-site to interact with other team members, you can have success working for start-ups that are tight on space or companies that value virtual work. For example, Santa Barbara-based cloud computing startup RightScale offers many work-from-home positions — and is currently hiring a remote Product Marketing Manager who can be based in California, Seattle or Denver.

You Should Have: Tech savvy. Product Marketing Managers typically work with software and web-based products, so a passion for and experience in this world is ideal.

2. Marketing Copywriter

Recently rated one of the best jobs in the marketing and advertising industry, copywriting is an obvious choice for a work-from-home gig. After all, the work you produce — including web copy, ebooks, sales materials, blogs and articles — says far more than the hours you clock in at an office.

It isn’t difficult to find full-time work-from-home copywriting positions for companies or marketing agencies on sites like FlexJobs; or, if you’d like to freelance, check out Freelance Writing Jobsand ProBlogger’s Job Board.

You Should Have: Awesome writing skills is a given, but you should also have a handle on SEO. Companies want writing that they know will get seen on the web.

3. Marketing Analyst

If you’re extremely detail-oriented and love crunching numbers, this is a cool opportunity to do from home. In a position that requires you to analyze data and turn it into brand or marketing strategy, a quiet, uninterrupted work environment allows you to be more productive.

These types of roles vary in both scope and experience — for example, United Health Group is hiring a Senior Marketing Research Analyst to perform high-level research and make recommendations on that data, and an e-commerce company is seeking a telecommuting SEO Analyst Assistant to perform SEO research and data entry.

You Should Have: Depends on the role, but most likely a combination of analytical skills and strategic thinking. And an understanding of SEO is a big bonus.

4. Content Strategist

If you’re currently blogging, chances are you already understand how content marketing works. So, why not use your expertise to show companies how to be successful with the same methods? As a Content Strategist, you’ll work with brands to determine what type of content they need based on their goals — then, you’ll work to develop that strategy through campaigns, projects and editorial calendars.

There are plenty of opportunities available for full-time and contract roles, but I’ve also seen people have success pitching their skills to businesses they want to work with. If you’re hired on a project basis and deliver great results, that’s a great case for hiring you full-time. Make a list of places you want to work, pitch them your idea and learn from the process.

You Should Have: Proven success with blogging or content strategy.

5. Digital Marketing Consultant

This is probably the most flexible role of all, and if you have several years of experience and proven success in digital marketing, it could be the ideal gig for you. As a bonus, consultants are generally paid well, as companies rely on their expertise to take their company to the next level.

One option is working for a digital marketing firm, which are often hired to analyze current digital marketing processes and policies, provide thought leadership, and strategize with teams on improved performance.

Or, you can strike out on your own as a freelance consultant, where you can choose exactly what types of work and clients you take on. This can be a great fit if you’re looking to carve out an industry niche for yourself. Think social media for fashion and beauty clients or brand strategy work for healthcare organizations.

You Should Have: Several years of experience, ideally deep expertise in one or two specific sets of skills.

Image courtesy of Flickr, ishane

This article originally published at The Daily Muse here

iOS 7 is Already Changing: The Differences You Need to Know

On Monday, Apple released the third beta for iOS 7 to developers, which packed a subtle yet important change to the company's mobile operating system: An updated default font.

The first two iOS 7 beta releases featured a brand new default typeface, Helvetica Neue Light for all on-screen text. This is a change from the Helvetica Neue (regular) typeface used in all previous versions of iOS. At larger sizes and in screenshots, Helvetica Neue Light is a great choice. It looks clean and modern. But at small sizes, the font becomes difficult to read.

Famed typographer Erik Spiekermann described the decision as a "youthful folly" and explained why it's not a good choice for Apple.

Clearly, Apple is listening. This isn't the first time Apple has responded to criticism from the community — contrary to popular belief, Apple is very plugged in to the conversation revolving around its products and by its developers. The company just doesn't always publicly engage or respond to those conversations.

The decision to return to Helvetica Neue regular for standard text is indicative of Apple's evolving process while refining its releases (Helvetica Neue Light is still used at larger sizes and for headings). Beyond the font change, iOS 7 has several other updates, mostly in the form of new icons and subtle menu redesigns.

As I wrote last month, iOS 7 is a big change for developers and users, as well as for Apple. This much is clear from the changes to the OS within just one month.

Let us know your thoughts on the evolution of iOS 7 in the comments.

Mashable composite; images courtesy of Apple