Daily Archives: October 2, 2022

The Mars that was and the Mars that is are two very different things. Three or so billion years ago, the Red Planet was awash with water, as now-dry riverbeds, deltas, and ocean basins reveal. But when the planet lost its magnetic field, it lost its protection from the solar wind, which stripped away much of the planets atmosphere and allowed most of its water to escape to space.

But the key here is most. There is plenty of water, in the form of ice, locked up in Marss polar capsabout the same amount as exists in Earths Greenland ice sheet. For exobiologists looking for possible life on Mars, water is essentialbut only in its liquid state, so ice is kind of a dealbreaker. Now, however, a new study In Nature Astronomy suggests that in the south Martian pole at least, there may be a lake buried beneath the ice. It could measure as much as 30 km (18 mi.) across and is kept warm by geothermal heating, similar to the kind generated on Earth by radioactive isotopes or subsurface magma.

One clue to the possible presence of water beneath Marss south pole came from the European Space Agencys (ESA) Mars Express orbiter, which conducted radar soundings in 2018 of a region in the ice cap known as Ultimi Scopuli. The scans revealed an area that was highly reflective in a frequency consistent with a large deposit of liquid water. On Earth, such a finding beneath an ice cap would not be at all uncommon. The overlying weight of thick ice sheets often creates enough pressure to generate heat, leading to ice liquefying deep below the surface.

But there were two problems with the Mars Express findings. For one thing, the frigid temperatures at the Martian poles ought to be enough to overcome the heating caused by pressure, keeping the ice solid all the way through. Additionally, there are other materials that reflect in a frequency similar to watersincluding metal bearing minerals and hydrated clayssuggesting that the Mars Express findings might simply be an illusion.

But Mars Express wasnt the only Martian satellite surveying Ultimi Scopuli. So too was NASAs Mars Global Surveyor. During the course of its mission, which lasted from 1997 through 2006, that satellite took the measure of the region using not ground-penetrating radar, but a laser altimeterand that scan revealed something intriguing. Stretching across a 10 to 15 km (6.2 to 9.3 mi) expanse of Ultimi Scopuli was a distinct surface undulationwith the ice dipping as low as 4 m (13 ft.) below the surrounding terrain and at the other end rising 7 m (22 ft.) above it.

That up and down pattern has analogs on Earth, where buried bodies of waterlike Antarcticas subsurface Lake Vostokdisplay precisely the same undulating pattern in the overlying ice, caused by upstream and downstream water flow. The question of just what is going on beneath the ice in Ultimi Scopuli has lingered since the twin spacecraft took their twin sightings, but now, an international team of researchers led by physical geographer Neil Arnold of the University of Cambridge has taken on the mystery and come to the conclusion that the south pole of Mars is indeed home to a liquid lake.

The investigators based their findings not on any new sightings taken at Mars, but on computer modeling. Beginning with the data returned by the two satellites, they plugged in multiple variablesincluding simulations of subsurface friction that would be caused by either solid ice or a body of water; varying depths of the theoretical subsurface lake; and the amount of geothermal heat beneath the surface of Mars in recent geological history. No matter how they ran their variables, the likeliest scenario the model spit out was that there is indeed a lake beneath Ultimi Scopulis ice, one that has been kept warm by geothermal heating.

The combination of the new topographic evidence, our computer model results, and the radar data make it much more likely that at least one area of subglacial liquid water exists on Mars today, and that Mars must still be geothermally active in order to keep the water beneath the ice cap liquid, said Arnold in a statement that accompanied the studys release.

What implications this could have for life on Mars are unknown. But multiple worlds in the solar systemespecially Jupiters Moon Europa and Saturns moon Enceladusharbor comparatively warm liquid oceans, where exobiologists believe the simple recipe of chemistry plus thermal energy plus time might have been sufficient for the basic mechanics of biology to have gotten started. In October 2024, NASA will launch the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will make multiple flybys of the Jovian moon to gather new data on Europan geology, chemistry, and more.

No such close-up missions of the Martian poles are planned for now, but Arnold, for one, does see studies like his offering the next best thing. The quality of data coming back from Mars, from orbital satellites as well as from the landers, is such that we can use it to answer really difficult questions about conditions on, and even under the planets surface, he says. Its exciting to use these techniques to find out things about planets other than our own.

More Must-Read Stories From TIME

Write to Jeffrey Kluger at jeffrey.kluger@time.com.

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Scientists May Have Just Discovered A Lake On Mars - TIME

By NASA/JPLOctober 2, 2022

NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image using its navigation camera. This camera is mounted in the helicopters fuselage and pointed directly downward to track the ground during flight. This image was acquired on November 6, 2021 (Sol 254 of the Perseverance rover mission) at the local mean solar time of 12:06:00. This was the date of Ingenuitys 15th flight. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Footage from the Mars helicopters navigation camera reveals a small piece of foreign object debris (FOD).

During a portion of the Ingenuity Mars helicopters 33rd flight, a small piece of foreign object debris (FOD) was seen in footage (see video below) from the Mars helicopters navigation camera (Navcam).

This foreign object debris was not visible in Navcam footage from the previous flight (32). The FOD is seen in Flight 33 Navcam imagery from the earliest frames to around halfway through the video, when it fell from the leg and drifted back to the Mars surface. All telemetry from the flight and a post-flight search and transfer are nominal and show no indication of vehicle damage. The Ingenuity and Perseverance Mars 2020 teams are currently working to determine the source of the debris.

Navigation Camera Imagery of Ingenuitys Flight 33: A small piece of foreign object debris (FOD) is seen in this footage from the navigation camera of NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 33rd flight on Mars on September 24, 2022. The FOD is seen attached to one of the rotorcrafts landing legs (upper right part of image), then drifting away. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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NASAs Ingenuity Helicopter Spots Foreign Object Debris on Mars - SciTechDaily

Perseverances parachute and backshell on the surface of Jezero Crater as photographed by NASAs ... [+] Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on April 19, 2022.

Remember the nail-biting seven minutes of terror video in 2021 of NASAs Perseverance rover parachuting onto Mars on a tether from its descent or jetpack stage after a 314 million miles journey?

What NASA didnt tell the watching world was that while its astrobiology rover was landing safely on the red planet it was depositing heat shields, parachutes, metal springs, foam, netting and other space litter all over the ancient river bed the robot was sent to explore.

Now Perseverance and its Ingenuity helicopter keep finding lasting mementos of its dramatic entry, descent and landing on Mars. Its not the first rover to do so, with NASAs Curiosity identifying bits of its own trash on the floor of Gale Crater.

Should we be littering Mars?

Yes. Yes we shouldand future humans will cherish our space litter from these, the first steps of exploration, according to scientists.

More images of "space litter" from its own landing was captured by NASA's Mars Perseverance on June ... [+] 23, 2022.

When we study ancient civilizations on Earth we look through their trash piles, said Dr. Bethany Ehlmann, a Professor of Planetary Science at California Institute of Technology and a Mars rover scientist. But these are not just trash pilestheyre artifacts of our first footsteps on Mars.

In short, our interplanetary trash will be treasure for space archaeologists of the near future.

The landing zones for these rovers will one day be national parks when humans eventually land on Mars, said Ehlmann. And the portions of landing systems and foam that may have come off as the rover landed will become historical markers.

Of course, it wont just be bits of foam and metal that get wedged in between rocks that will be the extent of the space litter of space agencies. Perseverance itself will, in due course, stop workingprobably in about a decade and likely due to a dust storm. A similar fate is in store for the Ingenuity helicopter as well as Chinas Zhurong rover, which is now exploring Utopia Planitia. NASAs Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity rovers stopped working years ago.

NASA's Opportunity rover's 2005 image of the remains of the heat shield that protected it as it made ... [+] its way through the Martian atmosphere.

With the exception of bits of NASA and ESAs Mars helicopter-aided Mars Sample Return mission, everything that goes to Mars dies on Mars. Glance at a list of artificial objects on Mars and youll discover that the red planet is covered in remnant-strewn landing sites. Some have been pinpointed and examined from orbit while otherssuch as several Soviet landers from the 1970s that didnt return any radio signalsare merely estimated. 1971s Mars 2 mission, which crashed, contains a vacuum cleaner-sized robot on skis and tethered by an umbilical cord.

A future exhibit in a future museum on Mars?

Most of this precious Martian history is covered in dust, as recreated in the 2015 Hollywood movie The Martian when stranded astronaut Mark Watney travels for a month across the red planet to dig out the remains of NASAs Pathfinder lander from 1987 to use its cameras to communicate with Earth.

All their tracks will be blown away but the hardware will be covered in dust and preserved, said Alice Gorman, a space archaeologist at the Flinders University of South Australias Department of Archaeology. She thinks that people have an emotional attachment to many of the rovers on Mars. Imagine if the Ingenuity helicopter was able to go photograph Curiosity or one of the older rovers covered in dustit would be such an amazing picture, said Gorman.

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of its own "space litter" on June 13, 2022.

Since humans are yet to land on Mars its hard to imagine the red planet having protected national parks and monuments recognising humans first steps on the planet. Having similar constructs on the Moon, however, doesnt seem so far-fetched.

The Moon is just as covered in trash. Its estimated that there is about 500,000 pounds of garbage on the Moon from canisters, cables and cameras to and hammers, tongs and, yes, bags of human waste. Most of it, of course, is from the Apollo missions.

NASAs history office has a complete list of artifacts left on the Moon, and for good reason. As the Moon becomes more accessible to both national space programs and private enterprise, it is important that we protect lunar artifacts for both their historic and scientific value, reads the lists introduction.

Since theres no atmosphere on the Moon, the tracks of the first lunar roversand, more importantly, the footsteps of the first human moonwalkers in the late 1960s and 1970swill be preserved for many thousands of years.

Or will they? Once humans go to the Moon in greater numbers, and on private missions, those early Apollo landing sites are going to become targets for souvenir-hunters.

Apollo 11 - NASA, 1969. Astronaut Edwin E."Buzz" Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module pilot, surveys the Apollo ... [+] 11 landing site on July 20, 1969. He has just deployed the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package, with the Passive Seismic Experiment Package next to him. The Lunar Module "Eagle" is in the far right background. Artist NASA. (Photo by Heritage Space/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Theres an antiquities trade in artifacts looted from archaeological sites and there's also a very big collecting market for space stuff, said Gorman. You can imagine that collectors would pay huge sums of money for a piece of Apollo 11 and its something were really gonna have to watch out for.

Gorman thinks that were going to have to protect the Apollo sites, but prior to that re-visit them to get an idea of their current condition and thereafter to assess them as they change over time. Only then can we catch thieves in the act. Future lunar orbiters will have to monitor these places, keep track of their condition and also gather evidence of people looting themsuch as fresh rover tracks, said Gorman, whos now working on heritage management guidelines for the Moon. This stuff will be some of the most collectible everwe really need to start thinking about this very seriously.

Its a double-edged sword, of course, because if you produce a list of valuable, collectible items on the Moon then you instantly inflate their value. Were working towards an international consensus so if someone goes to the Apollo 11 landing site theyre breaking an international treaty, said Gorman.

The Apollo 11 site is the post-child for historical sites on the Moon, but theres another thats potentially even more significant to future archaeologists. In 1959 the USSRs Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon. In 1957 there was the first satellite and just two years later a spacecraft hits the moon, said Gorman. Thats mind blowingthe first human site on the moon that's worthy of protection as well.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.

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NASA Rovers Are Finding Human-Made Debris On Mars. This Is Why Its Treasure, Not Trash - Forbes

PTI

Bengaluru, October 2

Indias Mars Orbiter craft has run out of propellant and its battery drained beyond the safe limit, fuelling speculation that the countrys maiden interplanetary mission Mangalyaan may have finally completed its long innings.

The Rs 450-crore Mars Orbiter Mission was launched onboard PSLV-C25 on November 5, 2013, and the MOM spacecraft was successfully inserted into Martian orbit on September 24, 2014 in its first attempt.

Right now, there is no fuel left. The satellite battery has drained, sources in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told PTI. The link has been lost.

There was, however, no official word from the countrys national space agency, headquartered here.

With fuel on board, ISRO had been performing orbital manoeuvres on MOM spacecraft to take it to a new orbit to avoid an impending eclipse in the past.

But recently there were back-to-back eclipses, including one that lasted seven-and-half hours, officials said on condition of anonymity, noting that all the propellant on board the ageing satellite had been consumed.

As the satellite battery is designed to handle eclipse duration of only about one hour and 40 minutes, a longer eclipse would drain the battery beyond the safe limit, another official said.

ISRO officials noted that the Mars orbiter craft functioned for almost eight years, well beyond its designed mission life of six months.

It has done its job and yielded significant scientific results, they said.

The objectives of the mission were primarily technological and included design, realisation and launch of a Mars Orbiter spacecraft capable of operating with sufficient autonomy during the journey phase; Mars orbit insertion/ capture and in-orbit phase around Mars.

The MOMa technology demonstration venturecarried five scientific payloads (total 15 kg) collecting data on surface geology, morphology, atmospheric processes, surface temperature and atmospheric escape process.

The five instruments are: Mars Color Camera (MCC), Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS), Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) and Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP).

MOM is credited with many laurels like cost-effectiveness, short period of realisation, economical mass-budget, and miniaturisation of five heterogeneous science payloads, ISRO officials pointed out.

Highly elliptical orbit geometry of MOM enabled MCC to take snap shots of Full disc of Mars at its farthest point and finer details from closest point.

The MCC has produced more than 1000 images and published a Mars Atlas.

Meanwhile, plans on a follow-on Mangalyaan mission to the red planet, however, are yet to be firmed up.

ISRO came out with an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for future Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM-2) in 2016 but officials acknowledged that its still on the drawing board, with the coming Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya - L1 projects being in the space agencys current priority list.

The AO had said: It is now planned to have the next orbiter mission around Mars for a future launch opportunity. Proposals are solicited from interested scientists within India for experiments onboard an orbiter mission around Mars (MOM-2), to address relevant scientific problems and topics. Not in the approved list as of now, a senior ISRO official told PTI on being asked about an update on the MOM-2.

We need to formulate the project proposals and payloads based on the wider consultation with the research community, the official said. Its still on the drawing board. But needs some more details and international collaboration for finalising the mission.

Originally posted here:

Mangalyaan mission: With drained battery and no fuel, Indias Mars Orbiter craft quietly bids adieu - The Tribune India

Visitors to the village of Drumnadrochit, on the western shore of Scotlands murky Loch Ness, come to see the nearby ruins of Urquhart Castle or to chance a glimpse of the elusive Loch Ness Monster. But growing up in Drumnadrochit, planetary scientist Robin Wordsworth says it was the unobscured view of the cosmos that seized his attention. There are incredibly clear skies up there, he says.

Today, Wordsworth lives on the other side of the Atlantic. Hes a researcher and professor at Harvard University. But his gaze is still set on the solar system and beyond. From studying how rocky planets may occasionally become encased in glaciers to exploring the sizes of alien raindrops or the details of how humans might one day settle Mars, Wordsworths scientific explorations vary widely. His research group tends to do a lot of different things at once, he says. If I was to summarize it in a sentence, it would be to understand what drives habitability on planets through time.

Wordsworth defines a planets habitability as its ability to support life. The idea that life could survive elsewhere in the cosmos has always fascinated Wordsworth, a science fiction fan. Apart from Earth, astronomers have discovered roughly 20 potentially habitable worlds in the universe. With data collected by ground-based observatories, satellites and rovers, he uses supercomputers to construct simulations of planets and the evolution of their climates. Climate is a big focus because it determines whether a planets surface can harbor liquid water a necessity for all known forms of life.

Wordsworths most notable research reconstructs the climate of early Mars. Martian river valleys and other geologic clues suggest that abundant liquid water once flowed across the Red Planet, and the early Martian climate has thus become a hot topic for scientists seeking signs of alien life. But for decades, the best researchers could do was build one-dimensional models that struggled to replicate key atmospheric components, such as clouds.

In 2013 while at the Laboratory of Dynamic Meteorology in Paris, Wordsworth and colleagues presented a 3-D model of the early Martian climate, with clouds and an atmosphere containing large amounts of carbon dioxide. Those are key components for studying how the early Martian atmosphere may have reflected and trapped heat, says astrobiologist James Kasting of Penn State.

Wordsworth was the one who figured out how to incorporate clouds into the model, thanks to his strong programming skills, handle over mathematics and determination, Kasting says. Hes been publishing the best climate calculations for early Mars. Theres really nobody else who is in his lane.

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Wordsworths otherworldly reconstructions may help us better understand whether life might have emerged on Mars or elsewhere. Another strand of his research could help humans one day settle the Red Planet.

Today, most of Mars surface is too cold to sustain liquid water, and the planets thin atmosphere offers little protection from the suns intense ultraviolet radiation. These conditions make it inhospitable to would-be Martian settlers. But in a 2019 study, Wordsworth and colleagues proposed that sheets of insulating silica aerogel deployed over ice-covered areas might make survival possible.

In lab tests, layers of aerogel just centimeters thick filtered out 60 percent of UVA and UVB radiation and almost all of the more dangerous UVC rays, while permitting enough light through for photosynthesis. Whats more, the shields warmed the air underneath by more than 50 degrees Celsius, which could make liquid water and growing crops possible. Looking ahead, Wordsworth plans to investigate how settlers on Mars might use bioplastics or other renewable materials to become self-sustaining.

And far beyond the Red Planet, the exoplanets await. The James Webb Space Telescope has just begun to collect new exoplanet data, Wordsworth says. Observations of their atmospheres will help researchers test ideas about how these distant planets and their climates evolve, he says. Its just an incredibly exciting time.

Want to nominate someone for the next SN 10 list? Send their name, affiliation and a few sentences about them and their work to sn10@sciencenews.org.

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Robin Wordsworth re-creates the atmosphere of ancient Mars - Science News Magazine

3D printing will be an absolutely critical technology as space exploration starts to take off. Initially, it will be impossible to individually manufacture every tool needed to create and sustain infrastructure in space. The only option will be to build some of those tools in space itself, in no small part, because it could potentially take months or even years to get to any area where the tools are manufactured. So any tool that can be created in situ is the best option available for early space explorers. Using materials like Martian regolith to 3D print those tools has long been an area of ongoing research. Now a team from Washington State University has successfully printed some tools using simulated Martian regolith, and they seem to work up to a point.

The team, led by Professor Amit Bandyopadhyay of WSUs Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department, used a powder-based 3D printing method to combine simulated Martian regolith. Martian regolith is a black, powdery substance designed to mimic materials found on the surface of the red planet with a powdered titanium alloy.

Combinations of materials ranging from only 5% regolith up to 100% regolith were tested. They were subjected to a sintering process that saw them heated to 2,000 degrees C and then allowed to cool while forming different shapes and sizes of solid material.

Testing the resultant ceramics was a mixed bag. Samples made of the 100% Martian regolith were brittle and developed cracks in their structure as part of the printing process. While those cracks would prove a deal-breaking for tool manufacturing, such cracks are relatively inconsequential for other use cases on the Martian surface, such as adding a layer of radiational protection to human habitats, which Dr. Bandyopadhyay and his team are quick to point out.

Lower concentrations of regolith (and consequently higher concentrations of titanium) performed better in terms of the material properties necessary for tool-making. In fact, the mixture of 5% regolith with 95% titanium actually resulted in superior physical properties to tools that were made with simply 100% titanium.

The press release from WSU doesnt explain why that might be the case, but it points to a potential use case for Martian regolith as a significant component of tools used by future Martian explorers. And as the press release does make clear, every saved kilogram of material that doesnt have to be launched is potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars saved.

Weve reported numerous times that printing using regolith isnt a novel idea. Weve also reported how in-situ resource utilization can get messy sometimes. This isnt even the first time Dr. Bandyopadhyays team has 3D printed something with regolith they were part of a NASA study ten years ago that looked at using crushed lunar regolith as a feed material for a 3D printing process.

Theres still lots of work to be done before any tool is used to fix anything on Mars, but proving it could be made even partially with materials native to the Red planet is a step towards making it a reality. And the team at WSU is undoubtedly not the last group that will look at making even better tools out of those materials.

Read More:WSU Martian rock-metal composite shows potential of 3Dprinting on MarsUT Swarms of Robots Could Dig Underground Cities on MarsUT Five Teams Compete to Design a 3D Printed Mars Habitat for NASA

Lead Image:Mars depictionCredit Wasan Prunglampoo via iStock, with credit to NASA

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Mars Rocks Have the Right raw Ingredients to 3D Print Everything From Tools to Rocket Parts - Universe Today

By: George GuidoFriday, September 30, 2022 | 10:29 PM

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Landan Signorella and Aiden Burford celebrate with Chandler Thimons after Thimons touchdown against Mars in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Aaran Randolph steps out of a tackle attempt by Mars Liam Hein on the way to a touchdown in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Aaran Randolph runs toward the end zone past Mars defenders in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Aaran Randolph runs for end zone past Mars Dayton Schuckert in the first quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Aaran Randolph leaps over Mars Mason Childress on the way to a touchdown in the first quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Chandler Thimons get into the end zone past Mars Liam Hein in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Aaran Randolph runs to the end zone past Mars defenders in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Chandler Thimons (12) and Tyler Bender celebrate with Aaran Randolph after one of Randolphs three second-quarter touchdown runs against Mars on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Chandler Thimons beats Mars Jacob Maple for a second-quarter touchdown pass thrown by Aaran Randolph on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

The sun sets behind the stands during the Highlands-Mars game in the first quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Mars Rafael Bartley makes a one-handed catch in front of Highlands Chandler Thimons in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Aaran Randolph stiff-arms Mars Cole Yoshioka and Yoshioka grabs his face mask in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Mars Noah Nesselroad grabs a intercetpion against Highlands in the first quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Highlands Aaran Randolph avoids Mars Luke Goodworth on the way to the end zone in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium.

Highlands junior Aaran Randolph had a night to remember.

Playing a variety of positions, particularly wildcat quarterback, Randolph was in on the first six Highlands touchdowns of the night, including scores on three consecutive plays.

It all added up to a resounding 54-22 home victory Friday night against Mars in Greater Allegheny Conference play.

Randolph caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Chandler Thimons to get the scoring underway less than four minutes into the contest.

After the Planets answered with 97-yard, nine-play drive to tie the score on a 17-yard pass from Eric Kasperowicz to Jacob Maple, it was Randolphs show. He scored four touchdowns in 5 minutes, 18 seconds on runs of 13, 24, 19 and a scintillating 65-yard run during which he broke at least seven tackles.

Thimons, the four-year starter at quarterback, was content to throw blocks on the final two Randolph runs.

Highlands, fourth this week in the TribHSSN rankings, is 6-0 for the first time in eight seasons, 3-0 in the conference. Mars dropped to 4-2, 1-1.

My men were doing their job blocking, and I got open, Randolph said. If I can get into the open space, theyre not catching me. It was crazy. We had a good gameplan, and we worked together.

As if his running exploits werent enough, Randolph put the icing on the first-half cake with a 56-yard scoring toss to, of all people, Thimons to give the Golden Rams a 40-7 halftime lead.

Aarans a ballplayer, Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski said. We know what he brings to the table. We really havent really brought him out yet too much. I think its just a matter of him getting comfortable.

The Highlands second-quarter barrage was fueled by an interception by Montrell Johnson and a sack by Daniel Long that set up a 5-yard Mars punt to the Planets 19.

To make things worse, Mars sophomore running back Evan Wright, who came into the game as Class 4As second-leading rusher with 773 yards, was injured early in the game and did not return.

We made that kid look like Deion Sanders, Planets coach Eric Kasperowicz said. It was pretty bad. They outphysicaled us tonight. They were the better football team. We had seven missed tackles on one of his runs, six on another, eight on the other one. They had three one-play drives. They found a weakness on us. They were the tougher team.

Mars had minus-26 net yards in the second quarter but got its offense going after receiving the third-quarter kickoff and driving 61 yards in 11 plays to make it 40-14. But the Golden Rams played ball control after that, with Luke Bombalski carrying all 10 plays during a touchdown drive to put the mercy rule clock in action.

Thimons had just the one 19-yard pass.

Chandlers the ultimate teammate, Bonislawski said. Hes having fun out there. He wants to make plays. Hes the quarterback, but hes out there pancaking guys, catching deep balls. The smile on his face said it all.

Reserve running back Austin Hatajik concluded the Golden Rams scoring with a 6-yard run, and Mars tallied on a 67-yard pass from quarterback Kasperowicz to Gabe Hein.

The younger Kasperowicz finished with 174 passing yards.

Bombalski had 141 yards rushing to go over the 2,000-yard mark for his Highlands career.

Mars still leads the all-time series 7-4.

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Randolph scores 5 TDs to lead win over Mars, keep Highlands undefeated | Trib HSSN - TribLIVE.com

New profession-wide initiative in partnership with AVMA and leading industry groups to help foster positive, productive veterinary team-pet owner interactions announced at 21st annual Banfield Pet Healthcare Industry Summit

VANCOUVER, Wash., Sept. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Banfield Pet Hospital thenation's leading provider of preventive veterinary care and part of the Mars Veterinary Health family of practices today hosted its 21st annual Pet Healthcare Industry Summit, where Mars Veterinary Health announced the formation of an industry-wide working group aimed at strengthening the relationship between veterinary teams and pet owners through resources, education, and collaboration. Banfield has also teamed up with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)to expand access to the association's online reputation management resources to the entire profession, free of charge. Both initiatives demonstrate the commitment of Mars Veterinary Health and its family of practices to leveraging their size and scale to help create a more sustainable and thriving veterinary profession.

With an industry experiencing multi-faceted workforce issues and a strong demand for veterinary services, veterinary teams are facing unique challenges and pressures and increasingly finding themselves on the receiving end of client frustration, both in-person and online. These new initiatives aim to foster healthy lines of communication between staff and pet owners to help create the best possible workplace, client experience, and patient care.

"Veterinary teams and clients are connected by a shared love of pets and passion for ensuring they receive the best possible care," said Doug Drew, president of Mars Veterinary Health. "Our goal is to continue to strengthen the relationship between veterinary teams and clients by addressing the pain points that exist for pet owners, while prioritizing the wellbeing of veterinary professionals. By coming together with leaders across the industry, these new resources will allow us to go upstream to address some of the most pressing issues impacting the profession so that we can continue to deliver on our purpose: A Better World for Pets."

INDUSTRY-WIDE WORKING GROUP TO CREATE SHARED EXPECTATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN VETERINARY CARE

The working group of leading veterinary industry organizations will convene over the next few months with one key objective: create a list of shared expectations and responsibilities that the profession and pet owners alike can leverage to further a mutual understanding and respect towards one another, all in service of partnering to provide the best possible care to pets. Core members include Mars Veterinary Health and its practices Banfield, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, and VCA Animal Hospitals, the AVMA, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), Not One More Vet (NOMV), Veterinary Hope Foundation (VHF), and Veterinary Medical Association Executives (VMAE). See member quotes below.

To ensure the shared expectations and responsibilities which will be released in early 2023 address the concerns and needs of both veterinary teams and clients, the working group will lean on direct input from industry leaders, veterinary professionals, and pet owners. The goal is to foster an environment where each veterinary interaction is rooted in culturally competent care and grounded in a supportive, safe, and inclusive environment for all.

EXPANDING REPUTATION MANAGEMENT RESOURCES FOR THE PROFESSION

While the shared expectations and responsibilitieswill provide a general framework to help foster positive and productive veterinary team-client interactions, hospital teams across the profession continue to see a need for additional resources to help address the difficulties of managing online reputation. Today, Banfield announced a new investment towards expanding the AVMA's Online Reputation Management Toolkit, which will become available in 2023 to all veterinary professionals at no cost. The toolkit will include resources to help veterinary professionals prevent reputationally and psychologically damaging events that typically first occur online but can have real, in-person consequences; respond effectively when they happen; support the physical safety of their practices; and recover reputation in the aftermath of an escalated event.

These resources will also offer support to veterinary professionals and teams as they navigate cyberbullying, which is defined by the Cyberbullying Research Center as: "Willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices." According to a recent survey from the AVMA, nearly 1 in 3 veterinary professionals have been victims or know colleagues who were victims of cyberbullying; further, 43% of survey respondents have considered changing jobs or careers because of cyberbullying; and 63% said these events had the biggest impact on their mental health. When asked how the profession can better provide support, 70% called for the expansion of existing resources to mitigate cyberbullying.

"Reputationally damaging events which can include cyberbullying have a critical and lasting impact on veterinary teams and their mental health. Addressing this industry-wide issue requires a dedicated, collaborative effort," said Dr. Lori Teller, AVMA President. "We are proud to embark on these new initiatives with leaders across the profession to help create and expand resources to ensure veterinary teams and practices have the tools they need to effectively address challenging situations."

GOING UPSTREAM AT BANFIELD'S PET HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY SUMMIT

These new initiatives are part of Banfield's larger efforts to take an upstream approach to some of the most pressing issues impacting the profession. At today's Pet Healthcare Industry Summit, Banfield convened leaders across the veterinary profession along with changemakers in industries like aviation that are facing similar challenges to discuss how we can continue to come together to proactively mitigate issues before they develop.

This includes continuing to help destigmatize the topic of mental health and providing free industry-wide resources like Banfield's "ASK Assess, Support, Know" suicide prevention training, and strengthening and diversifying the veterinary talent pipeline through programs like Banfield's NextVet paid internship program, which recently hosted its inaugural class of 15 high-school interns. Following this summer's program, more than half the students have continued to work with Banfield including being hired as a Petcare Assistant or joining Banfield's Youth Advisory Board and 100% said the program solidified their decision to pursue a career in the veterinary profession.

More information on and a livestream or recording of Banfield's Pet Healthcare Industry Summit can be found here.

QUOTES FROM WORKING GROUP MEMBERS

"A number of the veterinary medical colleges that are AAVMC members have outlined rights and responsibilities for clients who visit their on-campus medical centers. No matter how the profession evolves in regard to educational training or the delivery of care, the essential partnership between clients and veterinary professionals must always be grounded in transparency and mutual respect," said Dr. Makenzie Peterson, Director for Wellbeing at the AAVMC. "We look forward to working with industry leaders who share our commitment to enhance trust and positive communication throughout the entire veterinary profession, setting a clear standard for the experience both clients and veterinary professionals can expect industry-wide."

"At Banfield, everything we do is in service of our Associates and the profession so that together we can meet the needs of the growing number of pets and the people who love them," said Mony Iyer, president of Banfield Pet Hospital. "It's an honor to join with other leading veterinary organizations to help build common ground between clients and hospital teams. Our aim is to increase occupational satisfaction and wellbeing as we continue to provide high-quality veterinary care to millions of pets each year."

"As one of the largest providers of specialty and emergency care in the world, BluePearl has a responsibility to help drive the profession forward in a way that builds a sustainable future," said Dr. Nick Nelson, president of BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital. "We are excited to work with the broader veterinary industry to create these shared expectations that the profession and pet owners alike can leverage, allowing us to provide the best possible care to pets when they need it most."

"NAVTA looks forward to participating in this critical project," said Ashli Selke, president of NAVTA, RVT, CVT. "Nearly one-third of our Veterinary Technician members have reported being the victim of bullying, cyber and in-person, so this is a very important issue for us."

"NOMV was founded to transform the status of mental wellness within the veterinary profession so professionals can thrive through education, resources, and support," said Dr. Brian Bourquin, NOMV Board Member and Chief Medical Officer, Managing Partner at Boston Veterinary Clinic. "We believe this cross-industry effort will help to further our mission, with a new educational resource that aims to foster safer, more positive workspaces for every member of the veterinary practice team."

"Client relationships make an enormous difference in quality of life for the entire veterinary team," says Elizabeth Chosa, vice president of Veterinary Hope Foundation. "The best relationships are consistently uplifting and serve as a source of strength on our hardest days, while strained relationships consume our thoughts and erode our wellbeing. Animal care is also impacted by relationships, as we must work alongside pet owners as a cohesive team to achieve the best possible patient outcomes. It is therefore imperative that leaders in our industry do everything we can to support both veterinarians and pet owners, working together to optimize animal health and foster a sustainable future for the veterinary community."

"Cyberbullying has become a heavy burden for the industry," says Tim Atkinson, president of VMAE. "VMAE is happy to partner with Mars Veterinary Health, the AVMA and other stakeholders in supporting veterinary professionals with practical and impactful resources in this area."

About Mars Veterinary Health

Mars Veterinary Health is a global division within Mars Petcare more than 70,000 Associates strong dedicated to delivering high-quality pet healthcare to further its collective Purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. Mars Veterinary Health's network operates more than 2,500 veterinary clinics around the world, putting pets, people, and the planet first. The Mars Veterinary Health network includes Associates at AniCura, Banfield, BluePearl, Linnaeus, Mount Pleasant, VCA, VES, and VSH who demonstrate compassion and expertise by enabling more than 25 million pet visits each year. Learn more at marsveterinary.com. Press seeking additional information are invited to contact [emailprotected]

About Banfield Pet Hospital Banfield Pet Hospital was founded in Portland, Ore. in 1955 and today is a pioneer in preventive veterinary care with more than 1,000 general veterinary hospitals in 42 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and Mexico. More than 3,600 Banfield veterinarians are committed to providing high-quality veterinary care to over three million pets annually. Banfield collects data from each of these visits in the U.S.'s largest electronic veterinary health records system. Our goal is to be here for pets, people, and society. As part of the Mars Veterinary Health family of practices, Banfield is committed to its purpose A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS because pets make a better world for us. Press seeking additional information are invited to call the Media Hotline: (888) 355-0595.

SOURCE Banfield Pet Hospital

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Mars Veterinary Health and Veterinary Leaders Team Up to Strengthen Hospital-Client Relationships - PR Newswire

As another hot summer makes way for autumn, the ever-reliable deciduous leaves make their annual journey from the highest reaches of their tree before floating down softly to the ground like an orange snowfall.

Nature lovers revel in the beauty and transformative nature of the passing seasons but high overhead, another journey is being completed: this time by dozens of species of migratory birds. Included in this epic journey are songbirds weighing no more than a dozen grams like, and hummingbirds the size of nickels, travelling from as far north as Alaska to wintering destinations stretching from Vancouver Island all the way down to South America.

Some local examples of migratory birds making this perilous journey include the Swainsons thrush, Wilsons warbler, and Rufous hummingbird. As most birds are diurnal (the opposite of nocturnal), it may surprise you to learn that most songbirds (in the order passeriformes) actually migrate by night. Nightfall brings a few advantages: fewer flying predators, more stable wind conditions and cooler temperatures to avoid overheating. However, there are hidden dangers to nocturnal migration, almost all of which are human-influenced. Obstacles like wind turbines and energy structures are more likely to be collided with, while urban lights can attract birds, drawing them closer, exhausting them, and making these tiny travellers more likely to suffer deadly window collisions.

What can you do to help migratory birds? One crucial way is to make your home and yard safer by treating your windows with anti-bird collision stickers and keeping your cats indoors. Otherwise, planting native plants, providing water sources, and avoiding pesticide use are other ways to encourage native migratory birds to your area. If you do see an injured bird, be sure to call our hospital hotline at 250-337-2021.

The MARS Annual General Meeting (AGM) is Saturday, Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. at the Merville Community Hall. All are invited to attend, although only members have voting rights. We hope to see you there!

James MacKenzie is the education co-ordinator at MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre

Animal SheltersbirdsComox Valley

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MARS Moment: Change of seasons means an increase in migrating birds Campbell River Mirror - Campbell River Mirror