Sunny roofs, robots in training and a Martian new year

Welcome to Positive Times for the first of October, twenty twenty-six. Today we start on a school roof, meet robots practising with doors, and wish Mars a happy new year. Then we visit a project for trees that need patience and careful observation, before our small discovery. Along the way, we will separate things that have happened from things still being planned.

In Grassina, a school canteen roof becomes an energy source

Our first stop is Grassina, near Florence in Italy. On the thirtieth of September, a solar installation was inaugurated on the canteen roof of Marconi primary school. These are photovoltaic panels: they turn sunlight into electricity. An agreement signed in March provided seventy-five thousand euros in regional funding. There is a completed result to report: the installation is in place and has been inaugurated. But how much electricity does it produce? And how much money does it save? The reports we read do not yet provide those measurements. Seeing the panels and measuring their results are different steps. Imagine looking at a school from its playground. The space above your head can have another useful job. That is an example to picture the idea. Our editorial thought: the roof has found a second job.

• Regione Toscana — Toscana Notizie · Fotovoltaico, inaugurato nuovo impianto in una scuola di Bagno a Ripoli (Fi)
• Regione Toscana — Toscana Notizie · Contributo Regione per fotovoltaico a scuola Marconi di Grassina, firmato accordo
• Dai Colli Fiorentini · Fotovoltaico, inaugurato il nuovo impianto sulla scuola primaria Marconi di Grassina

Before space, robots need to learn to open a door

Now, let us meet some NASA robots. In an update dated the twenty-eighth of September, the agency describes a robotic arm recognising a hatch, operating its latch, opening the door and moving cargo bags. It sounds like an ordinary household task, but a robot has to coordinate several actions. These were demonstrations on Earth. We are not describing a robot already working on the Moon. At Johnson Space Center, the iMETRO project brings together physical environments, robotic platforms and digital tools. It lets researchers practise tasks in spaces designed for people before considering their use on missions. Here is an editorial comparison: building a training course with doors and boxes, and checking each step before a race. The encouraging part is this practical work. Even the future needs to learn how to use a door handle.

• NASA · Reliable Robots: Meet Johnson’s Dexterous Robotics Team
• NASA Johnson Space Center Robotics · iMETRO: Integrated Mobile Evaluation Testbed for Robotics Operations

Happy new year, Mars: one trip around the Sun takes 687 days

Meanwhile, Mars has begun a new year. The European Space Agency marks the thirtieth of September, twenty twenty-six, as the start of the new Martian year. The chosen reference is the spring equinox in the planet’s northern hemisphere. This is an astronomical convention, of course. We are not reporting celebrations by Martian residents. NASA explains that Mars takes about six hundred and eighty-seven Earth days to complete one trip around the Sun. Its seasons last longer than ours, while one rotation takes about twenty-four point six hours. So a day and a year do not change by the same amount. To picture the idea, imagine two counters travelling on different tracks around the same lamp. This is an example, not a scale model of the Solar System. The question to remember is simple: are we counting one rotation, or a whole trip around the Sun?

• ESA · Happy New Year on Mars
• NASA · Mars Facts

The Bronx Zoo prepares to welcome back American chestnuts

Back on Earth, we visit the Bronx Zoo in New York. On the thirtieth of September, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced twenty-five hybrid American chestnut trees, donated by two organisations working on tree restoration. Hybrids come from crossing different trees. The planting ceremony is planned for the fifth of October. Today, we are describing a plan, not a finished job. The wider project selects crosses for resistance to a disease caused by a fungus, and includes annual observations of tree health. Better resistance does not mean the trees are unbeatable. The species cannot be described as already restored. Imagine recording how a little plant grows each year. One lovely leaf on its first day cannot tell you its whole life story. That is our example for remembering that planting is a beginning. Watching what happens over time is part of the work.

• Wildlife Conservation Society · American Chestnut Trees Return to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo More Than a Century After Blight That Wiped Them Out Was First Documented Here
• New York Restoration Project · New York Restoration Project Launches the 1,000 Chestnut Challenge

Why snow crystals grow in six directions

Our small discovery today concerns snow. Why do many branching snow crystals have six main directions? The answer lies in the arrangement of water molecules in ice, which forms a hexagonal structure. Hexagonal means connected to six sides or directions. As a crystal grows, temperature and humidity help shape its pattern. There are plates and needles too, not just perfect little stars. Try this editorial example: draw six rays on two sheets, then add different little branches. The basic idea remains, but the appearance changes. The drawing does not reproduce a cloud. It helps us remember the difference between a shared structure and many possible shapes.

• Met Office · Snowflakes
• NOAA NESDIS · How Do Snowflakes Form?
• NOAA · How do snowflakes form? Get the science behind snow

To keep exploring, find these stories in the first of October edition of Positive Times, along with their sources, easier reading and questions to help you remember. Thank you for joining us. Come back tomorrow for more things to understand and new reasons to stay curious.