Ingenuity Mars Helicopter down but definitely not out

Last January, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made its final flight with a landing that damaged at least one of its rotor blades and left it permanently grounded. But while it can no longer fly, it will continue to operate as a stationary Martian weather station. Ingenuity landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, under the belly of the … Read more

Eleanor Catton among 3 Canadian authors shortlisted for $204K Carol Shields Prize

Eleanor Catton is among the five North American authors shortlisted for the second iteration of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.  The $150,000 USD ($203,971.50 Cdn) prize recognizes the best fiction book by a woman or non-binary writer from the U.S. and Canada. It is presently the largest international literary prize for women writers. Each of the four remaining finalists will … Read more

Canadian contribution to private lunar lander could lead to a telescope on the moon

The first private spacecraft to softly land on the moon carries a Canadian instrument that will test the possibility of building an observatory at the Lunar south pole. The phone booth-sized lander by Intuitive Machines, named Odysseus, launched on Feb. 15 and touched down on Thursday near a small impact crater about 300 kilometers from the moon’s south … Read more

Odysseus lander ‘alive and well’ on the moon but uncertainties linger, company says

The moon’s newest arrival, a privately owned vessel not carrying people, was said to be “alive and well” a day after making the first U.S. landing in half a century, but flight controllers were still trying to get a better handle on its bearings. Intuitive Machines reported Friday that it’s communicating with its lander, Odysseus, … Read more

Getting to Devon Island in Canada’s Far North was so hard, it felt like traveling to the moon

I’ve been very fortunate as a documentary and adventure series filmmaker, having the opportunity to travel all over Canada and the world doing what I love. But my latest project sent me on a mission to a lunar landscape in Canada’s Far North — one of the most difficult places I’ve ever had to reach.  … Read more

Canadian-built underwater observatory transmitting data from around Antarctica

A cache of scientific equipment that could fit in the back of an SUV has been lowered into the sea north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and is already streaming open-source data for anyone wanting to monitor the Southern Ocean’s health. Scientists say the underwater observatory collects measurements, including temperature, oxygen concentration and chlorophyll levels, and … Read more

The key to capturing wildlife images? Patience, says Canadian Geographic’s Photographer of the Year

Windsor, Ont.-born photographer Brandon Broderick drives tens of thousands of kilometres each year, crisscrossing the backwoods of British Columbia and capturing photos of beautiful, but elusive, wild animals.   All of that hard work paid off this week when Broderick was named the Canadian Geographic’s Photographer of the Year for 2023.  “My knees buckled. I almost fell to … Read more

Artist redraws the world with 1,642 free-roaming animals — and no humans

The Current11:34A hand-drawn map with no people, but 1,642 free-roaming animals Artist Anton Thomas wanted to draw a “world map of nature” that would showcase the many different species across the globe — but at one point he was a little worried he’d run out of animals. “I thought before drawing, ‘Oh, surely I would … Read more