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NASA orbiter captures beauty of Mars as global storm forces rover hibernation
Although NASA’s 14-year old Opportunity rover is currently trapped in a state of low-power hibernation in an effort to weather a record-breaking global dust storm encompassing Mars, the agency’s equally venerable Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) – now in its 12th year of operations – remains a stoic overwatch and witness to the struggles of its land-locked companions.
Although MRO may be nearing its teenage years in orbit around the Red Planet, the Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft is currently the backbone of Mars-Earth communications, acting as a critical relay between the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers on the planet’s surface and its Earthly operators that are several tens of millions of miles distant. Thankfully, the European ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and NASA’s new MAVEN orbiter are able to augment MRO’s communications capabilities in the event that problems arise with the old spacecraft, as well as the even older 2001 Mars Odyssey, an orbiter launched in 2001, a name inspired by fantasy/science-fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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- A rendering of MRO, antenna and camera at the ready. MRO is a vital communications relay for rovers like Opportunity and Curiosity. (NASA/HiRISE)
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- Extraordinary patterns are par for the course when dealing with Martian terrain. A polar ice cap’s many layers are pictured here. (NASA/HiRISE)
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- The Mars Exploration Rover (also known as Opportunity) prepares for launch in 2003. Oppy may be small, but the rover has remained functional and still roves Mars more than 14 years after it landed on the Red Planet. (NASA)
Aside from its currently unmatched communications relay capabilities, MRO’s second science mission is mentioned in its name – reconnaissance. Enter HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment), by far the most capable imaging system to ever orbit another planet, and funnily enough even more capable than Earth-bound imaging satellites as a result of its ability to stably remain in extremely low Martian orbits, thanks to the planet’s low gravity and minimal atmosphere. MRO and its HiRISE imaging hardware currently orbit Mars at an average altitude of roughly 175 miles (280 km) and are able to take photos with a resolving power upwards of 30 centimeters per pixel (0.3m/px), whereas the absolutely best and fully-dedicated Earth imaging satellites are currently limited by a combination of physics and technological complexity to roughly 50 centimeters per pixel (0.5m/px).
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- An overview of the terrain surrounding the blue dune. (NASA/HiRISE)
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- And the blue dune itself, captured a few months prior in 2017. (NASA/HiRISE)
As a result, HiRISE has produced some of the highest-resolution (if not the outright best) photos of an extraterrestrial body of any spacecraft to leave Earth orbit. Although an inherent delay in data collection and image processing means that no images have been published by HiRISE since Mars was enveloped in a global dust storm in June 2018, images from late 2017 and early 2018 serve to emphasize the staggering beauty and variety of the many landscapes Mars has to offer. Perched miles above, MRO may once again hear from the beleaguered rover Opportunity (as the dust storm subsides over the coming weeks and months, allowing appreciable quantities of sunlight to grace the rover’s solar panels and bring it back to life from its state of indefinite slumber.
In the meantime, we can try to appreciate the awe-inspiring, austere beauty of Mars, from its vast poles of water and carbon dioxide ice and bright blue sand dunes to its sprawling mazes of chaos terrain.
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- After being struck by a small meteor, a Martian hill experiences a dramatic landslide, known as slope lineae.And the blue dune itself, captured a few months prior in 2017. (NASA/HiRISE)
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- Some of many thousands of wild, massive dunes spread across the surface of Mars. (NASA/HiRISE)
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- Intense lave flows make for an alien Martian landscape, August 2017. (NASA/HiRISE)
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- Another extraordinary Martian dunescape, captured by HiRISE in November 2017.And the blue dune itself, captured a few months prior in 2017. (NASA/HiRISE)
Tesla is about to make parking in busy parking lots at businesses and other points of interest less stressful than ever by allowing drivers more control over where they park and how, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.
Tesla has been working to improve the parking performance of vehicles utilizing the Full Self-Driving suite, but now it is looking to add more customization, allowing drivers to choose the specific space they park in, but also potentially the orientation the car pulls into the spot:
It’s coming soon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2026
Musk has reiterated on X twice over the past several weeks that Tesla is working to make things with the FSD suite based more on the driver’s specific preferences and behaviors that were seen in past drives.
Essentially, it sounds like if you tend to park away from a business to avoid other vehicles, Tesla FSD will soon recognize that preference of yours and start parking further away as well. Additionally, the prospect of assigned parking spaces has been something many owners have voiced concerns about.
Living in a community with assigned parking spaces makes using FSD incredibly difficult as it will rarely park in the correct spot when there are so many to choose from. This is also pertinent in work settings where there are sometimes assigned parking spaces.
The updates to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite in terms of listening to driver preferences with parking are also extending to routing. Tesla announced yesterday that with the release of its 2026 Summer Update, it was adding Automatic Navigation and Preferred Routes:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla has always maintained the idea that any human input is bad input, and that, ideally, Tesla Full Self-Driving will always make the right decision. Of course, this is all in theory, but the issue is that so many of Tesla’s interventions have come because it does something that is not necessarily wrong, but perhaps not what the driver would prefer.
Taking these preferences into account will help Tesla alleviate some of the potentially unnecessary interventions that drivers perform.
Tesla is starting to prepare for the launch of the Optimus robot in its smartphone app, new coding strings show. Elon Musk has referred to Optimus as what will be the greatest-selling product of any kind of all time, and now, Tesla is getting ready for its launch.
Tesla’s smartphone app had several first-time mentions of the Optimus program, according to Tesla App Updates, who intially reported on the appearance. Here’s what they found:
A Dedicated “Robot” Phone Key Authentication
Tesla is working on a Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE, authentication that is specifically for robots. This does not only apply to Optimus, though, as Robotaxi, which is Tesla’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, might also identify vehicles within the fleet as robots as well.
Tesla shows rapid teardown of Model S and X lines, paving the way for Optimus at Fremont
Essentially, pairing your phone as a key to anything Tesla identifies as a robot to a “whitelist” of authorized devices. Optimus, Robotaxi, or other products that fall into this category will only respond if the device trying to communicate with it is authorized.
This is a great security feature that will eliminate at least face-value and low-level threats.
Home Data Collection and System Alerts
This appears to be somewhat of a neural network for Optimus within your house. There will be a dedicated screen that asks for consent to collect both video and spatial data while Optimus performs in-home tasks. Everything from vacuuming, washing dishes, dusting, and other activities will be tracked.
There will also be a comprehensive alert system that will track everything from low battery to mechanical issues.
Other Changes
Most of the changes tracked in this particular app update are related to Tesla’s 2026 Summer Update, and include things such as image assets for new features, a preview of the new custom wraps feature, and other unique features.
You can check out our coverage on what is included with the 2026 Summer Update here:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will report its earnings for the second quarter of 2026 this evening after market close, and investors and analysts are waiting anxiously to see what the company will report for the second three-month span of the year.
Analysts have already put out their expectations from a financial standpoint for the company’s second quarter, but what’s unknown is what Tesla plans to discuss during the call.
Financial Expectations
Wall Street consensus expectations put Tesla’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) at $0.53, while revenues are expected to come in around $26.4 billion.
This would compare to an EPS of $0.39 and $22.19 billion compared to Tesla’s Q2 2025. Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.41 on $22.387 billion of revenue. Additionally in Q1, Tesla beat analyst expectations, but shares dropped over 3 percent the following trading day.
What We Expect
In terms of discussions, Tesla earnings are pretty sporadic and depend on a handful of things, including current events, investor questions, and more.
Tesla uses a platform called Say to field questions from investors and analysts. These questions are what will be used during the call. Here are the top 5 from the Retail side and top 3 from the Institutional side:
Retail:
“Tesla has missed short-term guidance on robotaxi 3 earnings reports in a row, from 50% coverage of USA by end of 2025 to most recently 7 new cities in 1H26. What is keeping Tesla back from accomplishing these short term goals that they’ve set for themselves?”
“What are the main constraints to expanding robotaxi operations faster, and how do you see that lining up with Cybercab production?”
“What’s the current status of Optimus Gen 3 production ramp, initial deployment in factories, and external sales timeline/volume for 2027? What tasks can we expect the Optimus to perform by end of 2027?”
“To reward long-term Tesla retail shareholders for their loyalty, can you commit to achieving at least half of the goals outlined in your 2025 compensation plan before considering any offers to acquire or merge Tesla?”
“Why has growth of robotaxi vehicles stalled? When will we see cybercab start customer rides?”
Institutional
“Previously, you’ve said Tesla would lead the R&D while SpaceX would lead production for Terafab. Can you provide an update on how that division of responsibilities is evolving, and any additional clarity on the expected capital contributions from Tesla and SpaceX?”
“For autonomous driving, Tesla’s fleet created a huge data advantage by collecting billions of real-world miles. That advantage doesn’t yet exist for Optimus. How should we think about data availability and its impact on Optimus development?”
“Why is it necessary to limit robotaxi operations within specific zones within cities to start? Will every city have to be rolled out this way?”
Tesla will report earnings for Q2 this evening with the Shareholder Deck at 4 p.m. ET, with the call starting around 5:30 p.m. ET.
Tesla is about to make parking in busy lots less stressful than ever
Tesla starts preparing for Optimus in its smartphone app
