Giant parachute responsible for landing 310-kg rover on Mars tested
The Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover. (Photo: ESA)
'This is the largest parachute ever designed for a Mars landing, and we've now confirmed it works,' said Luca Ferracina, system engineer for ESA's ExoMars Entry, Descent, and Landing Module. 'We've taken one big step closer to delivering the Rosalind Franklin rover safely to the Red Planet.'Landing on Mars is notoriously difficult. Within just six minutes, spacecraft must slow from 21,000 km/h to a complete stop on the surface.The ExoMars system uses a thermal shield, followed by two main parachutes, each extracted by its own pilot chute, and retro-rockets that fire just 20 seconds before touchdown.The first parachute, 15 meters wide, slows the vehicle through supersonic speeds. The second, an immense 35-meter canopy, the largest ever destined for another planet, ensures a soft landing.Both chutes are built from lightweight materials and pack into compact 'doughnut' bags, with folding taking three days to ensure perfect deployment.
Graphic: ESA
Originally qualified for flight in 2021, the parachute assembly was stored when the ExoMars mission was suspended due to the war in Ukraine. The Swedish test was designed to validate its performance after prolonged storage.Telemetry and high-speed video from the test will now be analyzed by UK company Vorticity, which leads parachute design and testing."This test confirms our parachute system is mission-ready," said Vorticity engineer John Underwood. "And it's poised to help Europe land safely on Mars for the first time."ExoMars is aiming for launch later this decade, carrying Europe's best hope for detecting signs of past Martian life.- EndsTrending Reel
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Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Tech executive ditches the American grind for a different 'pace of life' in France. Says, 'It's chaotic, but incredibly clarifying'
Jason Nellis , a 41-year-old tech executive, didn't just switch jobs or zip codes—he changed continents. This summer, the Washington D.C.-based father of two packed up his life and moved with his family to a town just outside Cannes, France, in search of something increasingly rare in American work culture: balance. His goal wasn't to escape the rat race, but to reimagine what it could look like altogether. In an interview with CNBC Make It , Nellis shared how the move—eight years in the making—took shape through spreadsheets, shared goals, and a very personal promise made at his wedding. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category others healthcare Data Science Healthcare Public Policy Artificial Intelligence Project Management Digital Marketing Leadership Data Analytics Design Thinking Operations Management Management MBA PGDM CXO Cybersecurity MCA Data Science Degree Others Product Management Technology Finance Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT - ISB Cybersecurity for Leaders Program India Starts on undefined Get Details A Vow to Go Abroad It all started with a half-joking commitment. When Nellis first began dating his wife Jennifer, she had plans to relocate to Berlin for work. She stayed in San Francisco to give their relationship a chance, and in return, Nellis vowed to take her abroad for at least three to five years someday. That promise made it into their wedding vows. Years later, after the birth of their first son, Kit, the couple began seriously considering the move. They ruled out Southeast Asia and Australia in favor of Europe—mainly to stay within reach of U.S. business hours and family ties. 'France was just the right combination of standard of living, quality of education available to us, and access to places like Cannes,' Nellis told CNBC. You Might Also Like: 'You're not a thinker': Techie reveals brutal feedback from boss that forced him to change his work strategy $20,000, Two Kids, One Leap of Faith With Jennifer now on a long-stay talent visa to build a hospitality business and Nellis retaining his fully remote role as Chief Product Officer at a U.S.-based digital rights company , the family began the process of moving. Between visas, flights, and international shipping, they spent around $20,000. They sold their car and most of their furniture, funding the dream one Marketplace post at a time. Since landing in France in May, they've been living a nomadic European summer—traveling through Spain, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. Their budget? $12,000 to $14,000 a month, roughly what they lived on in the U.S., but now with more scenery and less stress. Bringing the Office to Europe Nellis still clocks in—just later than before. His workday now begins at 3 p.m. and ends around 11 p.m. Central European Time, allowing him to overlap with colleagues back home. The trade-off? Unhurried breakfasts, hands-on parenting, and dinners with his sons, Kit and Ace. 'It's forced me to be much more judicious with my time,' he says, adding that their secret as working parents is a weekly sync meeting where they reassign responsibilities and rework schedules with total transparency. You Might Also Like: Bengaluru techie was mocked by interviewer: 'People like you won't make it to Google.' Her clapback has the internet's attention Redefining Success In a LinkedIn post, Nellis reflected, 'Relocation didn't shrink my ambitions—it expanded them.' He's now driven by a new definition of success: not just upward movement, but global impact. The family's life in France isn't just about postcards and pastries. It's about exposing their children to new languages, cultures, and ways of thinking. "My older son will be fluent in French probably within a few months," he told CNBC Make It . "The younger one will probably grow up with it as a natural language." Why the Slow Lane Feels Right While many Americans dream of lower costs abroad, Nellis is more interested in a slower, richer rhythm of life. 'The U.S. is an economic powerhouse,' he says, 'but I don't know if it's always healthy for boundaries—or for family relationships.' What he hopes his sons will gain is not a better life, necessarily, but a broader one. One where career doesn't automatically dominate identity, and where culture is not an occasional supplement but a daily experience. In his own words, 'We moved to Europe—not for a vacation, but to change our lives.'
Business Standard
3 hours ago
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India's CamCom Technologies Announces Strategic Partnership with ERGO Group AG in Landmark Global AI Deployment for Insurance Sector
NewsVoir Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 2: In a major milestone for India's deep-tech ecosystem, CamCom Technologies, an award-winning, industry-agnostic computer vision company headquartered in Bengaluru, has entered into a strategic partnership with ERGO Group AG, one of Europe's leading insurance groups. Under this collaboration, CamCom will serve as the primary technology partner for ERGO's AI-powered visual inspection solution, which is now being rolled out across multiple European markets. The partnership signals CamCom's growing global footprint and affirms its position as a world-class platform delivering enterprise-ready AI solutions for critical sectors. The solution is already live in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with phased rollouts planned across other ERGO markets in Europe. CamCom's proprietary Large Vision Model (LVM) -- the world's first domain-specific AI engine for defect and damage detection on surfaces -- is trained on a dataset of over 450 million customer-validated images. It allows insurance customers to capture and upload images of vehicles or properties via their smartphones, enabling accurate, auditable, and scalable pre-inspection and damage assessments. This reduces subjectivity, improves efficiency, and enhances transparency for both insurers and customers. "We are proud to be ERGO's trusted technology partner," said Geetha Sham, Director and President - Europe, CamCom Technologies. "This partnership marks a milestone in our global journey and reinforces our commitment to delivering scalable, high-performance AI solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of the insurance sector." "Good technology is not just innovative -- it must be practical, scalable, and intuitive," said Mark Klein, Chief Digital Officer and Member of the Board of Management, ERGO Group AG. "CamCom's AI solution meets all these criteria, and we're excited to expand this collaboration beyond India and into our European markets, where we operate in motor and homeowners' insurance classes. Together, we aim to simplify and digitize insurance experiences for our customers' workflows, helping validate the platform's robustness, accuracy, and scale in real-world applications. The partnership with ERGO Group AG signals the success and maturity of this collaboration", he added. Parthanil Ghosh, Executive Director, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited, commented "Our long-standing partnership with CamCom has brought measurable improvements to our automotive claims and underwriting operations. Their AI-driven inspection solutions have enhanced efficiency, accuracy, and customer experience -- we are pleased to see this proven technology now supporting ERGO Group's global initiatives." Ajith Nayar, CEO of CamCom Technologies said, "CamCom as an industry-agnostic computer vision platform, we have built world-class solutions that are not only accurate and scalable, but also trusted by global enterprises and Governments. With the onboarding of an esteemed brand like ERGO Group AG, we are expanding our global footprint and reaffirming our commitment to delivering AI innovation that drives real-world impact from India." CamCom's platform is currently deployed by over 15 insurance companies across globally. The platform complies with region-specific regulations, including GDPR in Europe and IRDAI guidelines in India -- enabling secure, compliant, and efficient integration across geographies. This partnership is also aligned with ERGO's broader ambition to be the digital leader in insurance by 2025 and reflects the group's continued investment in innovative technologies through platforms like the ERGO ScaleHub in Dusseldorf. *Subject to IRDAI approvals CamCom, an award-winning, industry-agnostic Computer Vision (CV) platform, is revolutionising defect and damage assessment on all surfaces. They are pioneers in leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and associated technologies in the visual inspection process. CamCom's expertise lies in assessing micro-defects during production and macro-damages in the aftermarket, which is often subjective and inconsistent. The impactful CamCom AI solutions increase efficiency, prevent defective product seepage, and offer non-linear scalability. Their track record includes successful implementations in various industries across the globe, demonstrating their capabilities and reliability. For more information, please visit: ERGO is one of the largest insurance groups in Germany and Europe. The Group is represented in over 20 countries worldwide, with a focus on Europe and Asia. ERGO offers an extensive product portfolio for private and corporate clients in every key insurance category, as well as end-to-end support and services. Three separate units operating under the umbrella of ERGO Group AG - ERGO Deutschland AG, ERGO International AG, and ERGO Technology & Services Management AG - manage the ERGO Group's businesses and activities. The German and international businesses as well as global management of IT and technology services are organised in these units. Around 37,000 people work for the Group, either as salaried employees or as full-time, independent agents. In the 2024 financial year, ERGO generated insurance revenue of EUR20.8bn and a result of EUR810m. ERGO is part of Munich Re, one of the world's leading reinsurers and risk carriers. You can find more information at HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited, one of the leading private sector general insurance companies of India, whose promoters are HDFC Bank Limited, one of India's leading private sector banks, and ERGO International AG, the primary insurance entity of Munich Re Group. A digital-first company, transforming into an AI-first company, HDFC ERGO is a leader in implementing technology to offer customers the best-in-class service experience. HDFC ERGO offers a complete range of General Insurance products including Health, Motor, Home, Agriculture, Travel, Credit, Cyber and Personal Accident in the retail space along with Property, Marine, Engineering, Marine Cargo, Group Health and Liability Insurance in the corporate space. Be it unique insurance products, integrated customer service models, top-in-class claim processes or a host of technologically innovative solutions, HDFC ERGO has been able to delight its customers at every touchpoint and milestone. The Company has created a stream of innovative & new products as well as services using technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Processing Language (NLP), and Robotics. HDFC ERGO offers a range of general insurance products and has a completely digital sales process with 299 branches and 600+ digital offices across India. HDFC ERGO's technology platform has empowered the customers to avail services digitally on a 24x7 basis, with 70%+ claims for retail products intimated digitally and over 80% of service interactions are catered digitally of which 10% are AI led. The Company issued ~3.4 crore policies in FY25 and has one of the best claims payout ratios in the General Insurance industry. Please log on to or stay connected on the following social media handles to get more information on HDFC ERGO and the products and services offered by the company. This media information contains forward-looking statements that are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the management of CamCom Technologies, the ERGO Group and HDFC ERGO General Insurance. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements given here and actual developments, in particular the results, financial situation and performance of the Companies. The company assumes no liability to update these forward-looking statements, or to adjust them to future events or developments.
News18
3 hours ago
- News18
Photos: Adarsh Gourav Attends Alien: Earth's ‘Magical' European Premiere
Last Updated: Adarsh Gourav will be seen as the character Slightly in Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth. Actor Adarsh Gourav walked the red carpet of the European premiere of his upcoming show Alien: Earth on July 29. He is all set to be seen in a completely different role than his usual ones in the sci-fi series. The premiere event took place at the Barbican Centre, London, and the BAFTA-nominated actor graced the red carpet alongside the rest of the cast of the upcoming show. Taking to his Instagram account on Friday, August 1, Adarsh dropped some glimpses from the premiere. In one picture, he was seen with his co-stars Sydney Chandler, Kit Young, Erana James, Jonathan Ajayi, and Lily Newmark, posing on the red carpet. Another few captured some of their behind-the-scenes antics. Through some pictures in the carousel, Adarsh also gave a closer look at his stylish outfit for his red carpet appearance. In the monochrome pictures, he was rocking an all-black look, comprising a half-sleeved leather shirt paired with a tie, a leather jacket and pants. He was seen posing for photos in the streets of London and was even seen giving autographs to fans who gathered at the event. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adarsh Gourav (@gouravadarsh) Adarsh Gourav Says It Was His 'Privilege' To Work With The Cast Of Alien: Earth In the caption of the post, he wrote, 'The European premiere of @alienearthfx was magical. Such a privilege to work alongside the best talent in the world. Super excited for the show to drop on the 12th of August on @hulu and @disneyplus worldwide." Adarsh's sweet words for the cast of Alien: Earth immediately received reactions from his co-stars. The show's lead actress, Sydney Chandler, reacted to the post with red hearts, whereas his co-star, Babou Ceesay, wrote, 'You're an icon." Actress Diem Camille penned, 'Absolute superstar and heart." The upcoming show, directed by Noah Hawley, is a prequel set two years before the events of the original 1979 film Alien. Alien: Earth will follow the story of a young woman and a group of tactical soldiers who must fight to survive after a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth. The entire series was reportedly filmed in Thailand to immerse viewers in a world that is both completely foreign and familiar. The show, led by Sydney Chandler as Wendy, the first hybrid, features Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav, Kit Young, David Rysdahl, Babou Ceesay, Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James, Lily Newmark, and Diem Camille as Siberian, among others. Alien: Earth will premiere on August 12 and after an eight-episode run, will end in September. First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
