#mars landing 2021

[arosetolivefor]

I want more music videos to be like these two

#marina diamandis #white lies #the themes match too.. the human condition... planet earth rocks (?) etc #ancient dreams in a modern land #i don't want to go to mars #harry is a little too serious in this one. he looks low-key scared lol #Youtube #2021 jewels

[nasa]

What We Learned from Flying a Helicopter on Mars

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history – not only as the first aircraft to perform powered, controlled flight on another world – but also for exceeding expectations, pushing the limits, and setting the stage for future NASA aerial exploration of other worlds.

Built as a technology demonstration designed to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, Ingenuity performed flight operations from the Martian surface for almost three years. The helicopter ended its mission on Jan. 25, 2024, after sustaining damage to its rotor blades during its 72nd flight.

So, what did we learn from this small but mighty helicopter?

We can fly rotorcraft in the thin atmosphere of other planets.

Ingenuity proved that powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds when it took to the Martian skies for the first time on April 19, 2021.

Flying on planets like Mars is no easy feat: The Red Planet has a significantly lower gravity – one-third that of Earth’s – and an extremely thin atmosphere, with only 1% the pressure at the surface compared to our planet. This means there are relatively few air molecules with which Ingenuity’s two 4-foot-wide (1.2-meter-wide) rotor blades can interact to achieve flight.

Ingenuity performed several flights dedicated to understanding key aerodynamic effects and how they interact with the structure and control system of the helicopter, providing us with a treasure-trove of data on how aircraft fly in the Martian atmosphere.

Now, we can use this knowledge to directly improve performance and reduce risk on future planetary aerial vehicles.

Creative solutions and “ingenuity” kept the helicopter flying longer than expected.

Over an extended mission that lasted for almost 1,000 Martian days (more than 33 times longer than originally planned), Ingenuity was upgraded with the ability to autonomously choose landing sites in treacherous terrain, dealt with a dead sensor, dusted itself off after dust storms, operated from 48 different airfields, performed three emergency landings, and survived a frigid Martian winter.

Fun fact: To keep costs low, the helicopter contained many off-the-shelf-commercial parts from the smartphone industry - parts that had never been tested in deep space. Those parts also surpassed expectations, proving durable throughout Ingenuity’s extended mission, and can inform future budget-conscious hardware solutions.

There is value in adding an aerial dimension to interplanetary surface missions.

Ingenuity traveled to Mars on the belly of the Perseverance rover, which served as the communications relay for Ingenuity and, therefore, was its constant companion. The helicopter also proved itself a helpful scout to the rover.

After its initial five flights in 2021, Ingenuity transitioned to an “operations demonstration,” serving as Perseverance’s eyes in the sky as it scouted science targets, potential rover routes, and inaccessible features, while also capturing stereo images for digital elevation maps.

Airborne assets like Ingenuity unlock a new dimension of exploration on Mars that we did not yet have – providing more pixels per meter of resolution for imaging than an orbiter and exploring locations a rover cannot reach.

Tech demos can pay off big time.

Ingenuity was flown as a technology demonstration payload on the Mars 2020 mission, and was a high risk, high reward, low-cost endeavor that paid off big. The data collected by the helicopter will be analyzed for years to come and will benefit future Mars and other planetary missions.

Just as the Sojourner rover led to the MER-class (Spirit and Opportunity) rovers, and the MSL-class (Curiosity and Perseverance) rovers, the team believes Ingenuity’s success will lead to future fleets of aircraft at Mars.

In general, NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions test and advance new technologies, and then transition those capabilities to NASA missions, industry, and other government agencies. Chosen technologies are thoroughly ground- and flight-tested in relevant operating environments — reducing risks to future flight missions, gaining operational heritage and continuing NASA’s long history as a technological leader.

You can fall in love with robots on another planet.

Following in the tracks of beloved Martian rovers, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter built up a worldwide fanbase. The Ingenuity team and public awaited every single flight with anticipation, awe, humor, and hope.

Check out #ThanksIngenuity on social media to see what’s been said about the helicopter’s accomplishments.

Learn more about Ingenuity’s accomplishments here. And make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

#tech #technology #futurism #space #robotics #inspiration #science #planets #NASA #aviation #Youtube

[aspaceinthecosmos]

Haven't seen anything about Ingenuity on tumblr yet, so I guess I'll make a post about it

Ingenuity (sometimes called Ginny) was an companion craft to Perseverance, one of the rovers currently on Mars. As opposed to any of the past rovers, however, Ingenuity was a rotorcraft intended to fly above Mars' surface.

After landing on Mars in February of 2021 and completing its first flight on April 19th, 2021, Ingenuity became the first aircraft to fly on another planet. Its original goal was only 5 flights, but it well surpassed that number, logging 72 flights with over two hours of in-air time.

On January 18th, 2024, Ingenuity lost contact with Perseverance midway through a flight, and a few days later, NASA had confirmation that the rotors were damaged, leaving Ingenuity incapable of flight.

So long, Ingenuity. You did so much <3

Source:

#just jupiter #aspaceinthecosmos #space #astronomy #outer space #mars #ingenuity #perseverance #mars rover #nasa

[lonestarflight]

The Ingenuity Rover's Helicopter, nicknamed Ginny, is broken and alone

"In this most recent photo of Ingenuity, the dual-rotor 'copter can be seen motionless on a sandy dune in the background, as a barren, rocky Mars landscape fills the foreground.

The photo was taken on Feb. 4, 2024, at 1:05 p.m. local mean solar time, a little over two weeks since it suffered its mission-ending damage.

NASA and JPL's Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars as seen by the Perseverance rover's Mastcam-Z camera on Feb. 4, 2024.

Ingenuity suffered damage to its rotors during a flight on Jan. 18 as it made a landing on a featureless, "bland" patch of sandy Martian landscape. The helicopter usually makes use of landscape features such as rocks to help it navigate, but its 72nd flight found the drone without visual cues.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is still analyzing the damage to Ingenuity's blades, but regardless of what JPL finds, the helicopter's mission has officially come to an end now that it's no longer capable of flight.

Ingenuity landed alongside its robotic companion, the Perseverance rover, on Feb. 18, 2021. When it took to the Martian skies in April 2021, Ingenuity made history by conducting the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet.

The Ingenuity-Perseverance duo has been exploring an area known as Jezero Crater ever since, discovering signs of ancient bodies of water on the Red Planet that may have once harbored life billions of years ago. Ingenuity served as a scout for Perseverance, identifying areas of interest for the rover to explore.

In recent weeks as NASA and JPL have been coming to terms with the end of Ingenuity's groundbreaking mission, agency leaders have praised the helicopter and the teams behind it.

'We couldn't be prouder or happier with how our little baby has done,' said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity Project Manager at JPL, during a livestreamed tribute to the helicopter on Jan. 31. 'It's been the mission of a lifetime for all of us. And I wanted to say thank you to all of the people here that gave their weekends, their late nights. All the engineers, the aerodynamic scientists, the technicians who hand-crafted this aircraft.'

Tiffany Morgan, NASA's Mars Exploration Program Deputy Director, added that Ingenuity leaves behind a legacy that could pave the way for future aerial missions on other worlds.

This image, which shows the shadow of a damaged rotor on NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity, was taken after its 72nd and final flight on Jan. 18, 2024 on the Red Planet.

'The NASA JPL team didn't just demonstrate the technology, they demonstrated an approach that if we use in the future will really help us to explore other planets and be as awe-inspiring, as amazing, as Ingenuity has been,' Morgan said during the livestream.

NASA is already developing another drone destined for another world, the nuclear-powered Dragonfly, to someday explore Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The agency expects Dragonfly to launch no earlier than 2028."

#Ingenuity #Ingenuity Rover #ingenuity helicopter #Ginny #Helicopter #Mars Helicopter #Mars Rover #Rover #Mars #NASA #JPL #February #2024 #my post

[apod]

2024 February 10

The Shadow of Ingenuity's Damaged Rotor Blade Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Ingenuity

Explanation: On January 18, 2024, during its 72nd flight in the thin Martian atmosphere, autonomous Mars Helicopter Ingenuity rose to an altitude of 12 meters (40 feet) and hovered for 4.5 seconds above the Red Planet. Ingenuity's 72nd landing was a rough one though. During descent it lost contact with the Perseverance rover about 1 meter above the Martian surface. Ingenuity was able to transmit this image after contact was re-established, showing the shadow of one of its rotor blades likely damaged during landing. And so, after wildly exceeding expectations during over 1,000 days of exploring Mars, the history-making Ingenuity has ended its flight operations. Nicknamed Ginny, Mars Helicopter Ingenuity became the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021. Before launch, a small piece of material from the lower-left wing of the Wright Brothers Flyer 1, the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on planet Earth, was fixed to the underside of Ingenuity's solar panel.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240210.html

[a-d-nox]

what's a mars return?

did you know that you can check more than just your sun's return? any time a planet transits and becomes exactly conjunct your planet (it is in the exact sign and degree it was when you were born), you undergo a planetary return. mars returns happen roughly every 2 years (unless there is a retrograde too). my mars return is coming up this august and i couldn't be more thrilled to shed the lessons of my 2021 mars return chart and step onto a new battleground.

but what can a mars return chart show you?

what are you passion at / what you desire to do. your confidence and lack thereof. sex. what makes you angry / frustrated / aggressive / competitive. your impulsive behavior. where you are dominant / a leader. the challenge(s) you face.

sun

ego, leadership, self-confidence, sex life, focus, creative passions, authority, dominance, individuality, leadership development, dignity, awareness of other's intentions, and self-expression desires/passion.

moon

frustration, passion, desire, lust, anger, survival instincts, care for your unit/squad, where you feel most powerful, your blood family, passionate/lustful instincts, fertility, adaptability, relationship with your mother, menstruation, and habits.

mercury

communication about what you want, verbal inspiration of others, debates, arguments, how you antagonize others, the determination of your mind, physical health, perception, short trips, ground transportation, diplomatic mannerisms, aggressive mannerisms, and profanity.

venus

who you lust over, who you're attracted to, your reception of others' love, empathy/sympathy for others, pleasure, self-love/pleasure, compromise, values and moral drive, and possessions.

mars

passion, desire, confidence, ambition, lust, sexual desire, anger/combativeness, aggressiveness/competitiveness, athletics, temper, impulse, dominance over other, activity / physical energy, and violence.

jupiter

luck at pursuing your passions/desires, wins/successes, opportunity to move into leadership roles / win, who is willing to follow you, expansion of you empire, knowledge of the things you desire / are passionate about, wisdom gained from previous experiences, air travel, how you seek justice, exploration of foreign land, and spoils/profit/gains from what you win/achieve.

saturn

hard work, challenges/struggles, what the absence of your father/fatherly figure is like (mars has no father - read that myth here), lack of confidence, delays in you passions/desires, physical limitations, physical discipline, responsibility for others, physical effort, self-control, physical stability, endurance, emotional detachment (battle compartmentalization), and grudges.

uranus

allis, fluctuation in attitude/confidence, online arguments, physical uniqueness, rebellion, unplanned/sudden occurrences (surprise attacks), independence, freedom from others, p0rn0graphy, shock (usually of the traumatic variety), (battlefield) chaos, disasters scenarios, and fans/followers.

neptune

creative plans/strategies, camouflage and how you blend in, over-sensitivity, selflessness/egoism, retreating, intuition, deception/lies/manipulation, passionate inspiration, and fascination.

pluto

physical transformation, power, sex, 0rgasms, destruction of others, death, intensity, physical magnetism, physical regeneration, infatuation with other, obsession with others, seduction, manipulation of other, how you plans evolve and change, and the liabilities you remove from your life.

1h/asc

how you approach life, physical body, confidence, the initiative you take, your ambition, your behavior, physical alterations, individuality, and passion.

2h

impulse spending habits, passion projects / side hustles, your work ethic, material possessions (spoils), stability, giving/receiving, and resources.

3h

communication, your strategic mind, your perceptions, interests, ground transportation, social media (the arguments you get in and your followings), and short journeys.

4h/ic

homes/houses (raiding homes that aren't yours or location of your own home), family/family roots, and the foundation of your plans foundations.

5h

children, talent for arguing or your passions, creative plans, risk-taking activities, hookups, pleasures/desires, and strategy games you play

6h

physical health, fitness routine, your duties towards others, your hygiene, and analytics/strategy.

7h/dsc

long term relationships, physical attraction towards others, partnerships, allis, known enemies, and negotiations.

8h

major physical transformation, sex, death, changes of heart, your partners resources/assets, seduction, secrets, spiritual transformation, surgery/operations, and trauma (ptsd).

9h

(battle) wisdom, morality/ethics, foreign environments / long journeys, travel, and learning about leadership / your passion.

10h/mc

your legacy, your reputation, long-term goals/plans, mission, responsibilities towards others, authority, expertise, and leadership.

11h

allis, gains, desires, awareness of other's intentions towards you, groups you lead, politics, and interaction with others.

12h

mental healing/health, hidden weaknesses, hidden enemies, k!nks, fears, losses, closure from tense situations, repressed memory, past challenges, and mental restrictions that become physical restrictions.

like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for! please use my "suggest a post topic" button if you want to see a specific post or mythical asteroid next!

click here for the masterlist

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© a-d-nox 2023 all rights reserved

#astrology #astro community #astro placements #astro chart #asteroid astrology #asteroid #natal chart #persona chart #greek mythology #astrology tumblr #mars #mars return chart #mars return

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

70% • Second hand embarrassment • Bozo bozo bozo • Kinko's field trip 2006 • Where did you fall • Spoiled little brat • Your favorite sidekick • Dry land 2001 • The fish song • Del mar county fair 2008

Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ YouTube

#hyltta-polls #polls #artist: underscores #language: english #decade: 2020s #Hyperpop #Indie Pop #Indie Rock #Alternative R&B #Alt-Pop #Pop Rock

[usafphantom2]

Updated B-52 electronic warfare suite will be tested in flight in 2024

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 03/29/2024 - 10:36 in Military

Flying through the skies since the 1950s, the B-52 Stratofortress is a U.S. Air Force (USAF) workhorse and a lasting symbol of American military power. The eight-engine giant has unique capabilities unparalleled to any other American warplane - which is why, after more than 70 years of service, it continues to play a vital role in the defense and national security strategy of the U.S. And thanks to a collaboration between L3Harris and USAF, this iconic aircraft is prepared to remain ready for the mission against highly sophisticated emerging threats in the coming decades.

Under a 10-year contract worth $947 million granted in 2021, L3Harris is upgrading and improving the AN/ALQ-172 electronic war self-protection system (EW), which protects the B-52 and air crews from a wide range of electronic threats. Our current work is based on decades of experience in providing critical technology as a Manufacturer of Original Equipment of the AN/ALQ-172 systems for the B-52 fleet. And combined with other ongoing modernization efforts, these updates will increase the relevance and reliability of the B-52 by the 2050s.

L3 Harris AN/ALQ-172 systems.

"Our opponents continue to evolve, facing advanced and far-reaching threats that challenge our ability to operate in contested environments," says Robert "Trip" Raymond, USAF's Program Leader for EW Technology Development at L3Harris. "It is essential that we provide our B-52 crew with the necessary tools to keep the B-52 relevant, lethal and survivable as the backbone of the strategic bomber force of the United States."

The effort of modernization and support - ALQ-172 Maintenance and Reliability System (MARS) - intends to do exactly that, increasing the average time between failures due to its modular design, while further improving the performance, maintenance capacity and reliability of the system. Thanks to an integrated and improved radio frequency system, crews will be able to simultaneously combat multiple radar threats that interfere with aircraft operations. And by replacing analog systems with more economical software solutions, USAF will be able to reduce the size of B-52 crews from 5 to 4. This frees up resources for additional mission-critical activities.

Ultimately, the updates will further help USAF in its Global Attack Mission and strengthen the effectiveness of the B-52 in modern warfare, while making future upgrades cheaper and easier.

"We are implementing affordable solutions that not only reduce costs, but also provide crews with more advanced protection against the most sophisticated threats detected by radar," said Jimmy Mercado, Program Director at L3Harris. "All this results in a more modern, efficient and effective aircraft, ready to dominate the future struggle."

USAF plans to conduct a test flight with the new electronic warfare capabilities of the B-52 in 2024.

Tags: Military AviationBoeing B-52H StratofortressEW - ELECTRONIC WARL3HarrisUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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#b 52 stratofortress #usaf #bomber

[newenglandfaerie]

I'm rereading The Martian, and in Chapter 15 the narrator lists some (though it's implied not all) previous NASA Mars missions, including "Mariner, Viking, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity". The book was originally published in 2011, a year before Curiosity landed on Mars (though obviously the plan was well known), and including it in the list was a cool and subtle way of reinforcing that the story takes place in the near future.

But obviously Curiosity is now old news, and in 2021 Perseverance became the latest NASA rover to land on Mars. It landed on the opposite side of the planet from where the Martian takes place, so it's presence wouldn't be relevant to Mark's survival, but it's absence from the list in chapter 15 is notable if you are even vaguely aware of current NASA research.

I think it'd be really cool if in future reprintings of the book (I assume it's still in print?) they left everything else the same (because adjusting for every new scientific discovery would be a nightmare), but added Perseverance to that list. idk about anyone else, but that would do wonders for my immersion in the story and make it feel less like a past vision of the future, and more like a still real vision of the future

#the martian #andy weir #scifi books #mars rover

[roboticsappreciationsociety]

By Jonathan Amos, Science correspondent@BBCAmos

Nasa says its Perseverance rover has essentially completed the job it was asked to do when it landed on Mars in February 2021.

The robot's basic requirement was to survey an ancient crater lake and to collect rocks that would aid the quest to identify evidence for past life.

This primary objective had been accomplished, the mission team told a major conference in San Francisco.

The announcement was made on the 1,000th Martian day of the mission.

"It's a pretty incredible achievement and we've done an amazing amount of science," said Nasa's director of planetary science, Dr Lori Glaze.

This does not mean Perseverance is about to park up and "switch off the engine".

Plenty of challenges lie ahead.

#robot #robotics #mars rover #perseverance #nasa

[mariacallous]

“I am opposed to war, unless in self-defense.” This was the most-liked comment on Douyin—the Chinese counterpart to TikTok—in reaction to a speech delivered by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Jan. 9. In his address, Wang previewed China’s top diplomatic goals for 2024 and emphasized “the unwavering resolve of all 1.4 billion Chinese citizens to achieve reunification with Taiwan,” a statement made just days prior to the island’s general elections.

The broader reaction to Wang’s remarks likely wasn’t what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hoped for: Tens of thousands of Chinese social media users responded, many of them with grievances, sarcasm, and defiance, widely questioning the costs of a potential war.

One man from Shanghai complained, “Who is going to fight the war? If I die, who is going to pay my mortgage or my car loan?” Wang’s speech framed “national unification” as one of “China’s core interests,” but as one user from Hunan rebutted, “[China’s] core interests are that every Chinese can be treated equally and have access to elderly care and health care.” The pushback went beyond economic and social grievances. Some posters were even bolder, suggesting that Taiwan’s democracy may demonstrate a political alternative to mainland China: “The fact that Taiwanese choose their own way of life,” said one commentator from Shandong, “might show that Chinese people can take a different route.”

The mood among social media users is a sharp departure from past elections. After almost every Taiwanese general election since 2016, a wave of pro-war fever has swept the Chinese internet. After Taiwan’s 2020 elections, for example, upbeat war enthusiasts in China produced oil paintings that illustrated wild fantasies of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) capturing Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen alive after landing in Taiwan and forcing her to sign an official surrender document onboard a Chinese aircraft carrier—a scene reminiscent of the 1945 Japanese surrender that ended World War II.

In 2021, one of the most popular songs to go viral on Chinese social media was “Take A Bullet Train to Taiwan in 2035.” Its allusion to a high-speed rail line connecting Beijing and Taipei was a dog whistle to nationalist masses who hoped that unification was on the horizon—by force, if necessary.

Absent from these fantasies, however, was the blood and violence that accompanies real war. At the time, China’s star was rising on the international stage, and public confidence was riding high on China’s success in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic within its borders. As such, the sentiments surrounding unification and the use of military force were quite romantic; many people believed that victory over Taiwan would be easy, that the Taiwanese would surrender voluntarily if the PLA simply blockaded the island.

In 2024, however, things have changed. The most recent Taiwanese presidential election—in which the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a repeat victory—served as an uncomfortable reminder to the Chinese public that neither Taiwanese politicians nor voters are interested in Beijing’s plans for political unification. Although the forceful unification narrative still exists, any push from nationalists to reignite war fever has now run into a wall of skepticism following the DPP victory.

“Wake up,” one Weibo user wrote in opposition to the broader online calls for forceful unification. “Stop dreaming,” another echoed. The defiant voices are becoming a common reaction to the suggested use of military force to an extent rarely seen, given the massive culture of censorship on Chinese social media.

A clear reason for this change is China’s economic slowdown. While Taiwan went to the polls in 2024, China was grappling with a youth unemployment rate above 20 percent, a housing market crisis with sales down by 45 percent, and a stock market in free fall that lost $6 trillion in just three years, the likes of which haven’t been seen in almost a decade. News about Taiwanese elections failed to arouse the same nationalistic reactions among the preoccupied Chinese public that had occurred in the previous two contests.

Instead, the 2024 elections triggered a flood of complaints: “Sort out our own economy, what a mess.” a Shanghai resident said angrily. “Look at our stock market,” an apparently frustrated investor from Hunan grieved, “It’d be better to keep the status quo, and leave Taiwanese alone.” The gloomy economy has made some commenters question the underlying justification for war: “With low-income people making less than 1,000 yuan a month ($140), and the national insurance tax going up, huge medical bills, and unaffordable apartments, why do you want forceful unification? I don’t get it.”

“It is the economy that really matters,” another person from Tianjin pointed out. “[Taiwan] being independent or not has nothing to do with ordinary people.”

The changing attitudes toward Taiwan’s elections reflect a broader shift in public sentiment in China’s online space. Discontent about the country’s poor economic reality has been growing louder, drowning out calls for a military takeover.

Ironically, the CCP’s own past propaganda efforts contributed to this cooling effect. Right before Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Taiwan in August 2022, official and semiofficial rhetoric in mainland China was so belligerent that it led many Chinese to believe that the day of unification had finally arrived and that the military would shoot down her plane and launch its attack on Taiwan imminently.

This was the peak of forceful unification hysteria, but it only left its crusaders disappointed. In the end, there was not only no shootdown of Pelosi’s plane, but there also weren’t even military exercises conducted before she left Taiwan. Many Chinese, especially forceful unification advocates, felt betrayed and disillusioned by their government’s failure to follow through on its belligerent rhetoric, and the after-effects of this letdown are still being felt today.

During Taiwan’s 2024 elections, war enthusiasts were continuously reminded of Beijing’s military inaction following Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. “Have you guys forgotten Pelosi?” one said. One commonly repeated joke, observing the lack of military action, scoffed that the only thing that was fired up when Pelosi visited was the stove in her hotel. The kinds of threats that once resonated with nationalists now drew widespread ridicule online: “delusion,” “talking a big game,” “an unrealistic fantasy,” and “all hat, no cattle.”

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Chinese political spectrum, the 2024 election prompted the resurgence of the view among many liberals that Taiwan’s democracy represents a desirable political model. In the early 2010s, many Chinese saw Taiwan as a beacon of hope for Chinese society—a liberal, civic, and democratic alternative to the one-party state. The liberal Chinese writer Han Han coined a popular phrase—“The most beautiful scenery of Taiwan is its people.”—that encapsulated the view of how trustworthy and free a people can become under democracy.

But after the crackdown on liberal intellectuals and online speech under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the honeymoon did not last long and was gradually replaced by a climate of xenophobia, jingoism, war euphoria, and a longing for unification by force. Making matters worse, a growing nationalist mood in Taiwan led many to believe that Taiwanese looked down on mainlanders.

The 2024 elections, however, prompted a renewed interest from the Chinese public about their neighbor, home to the world’s only Chinese-speaking democracy. News about Taiwanese elections aroused great curiosity on Weibo about the nuts and bolts of the electoral process—what a ballot looks like, how many ballots one can cast, how votes are counted, and how candidates are selected. When a few Taiwanese Weibo users answered these questions, they were liked and retweeted by thousands of Chinese accounts, drawing genuine admiration and blessings from many.

“Are we going to see one day like this?” one user from Gansu wondered with a crying emoji. “Maybe this is accumulating experience for our own future: giving speeches, holding debates, and counting votes,” commented another, from Tianjin.

China’s shifting public sentiment is bound to have repercussions for cross-strait relations, but it would probably be a bridge too far to infer that the Chinese public will fiercely oppose a war in the Taiwan Strait. Ultimately, the nationalist base remains. At present, the euphoria about forceful unification is quieting down, mainly because the party’s over-the-top propaganda failed to meet the expectations of its most ardent supporters. But if aggressive rhetoric were followed by military action in the future, war fever could be easily fanned again.

Despite the prevalence of extreme nationalism, Chinese public opinion is more divided on Taiwan than it seems, and these divisions are only likely to increase. What concerns most ordinary Chinese are decent jobs, good income, accumulating savings for retirement, and getting affordable access to health care and housing.

So long as the economy is struggling and people’s livelihoods are threatened, there is no guarantee that the CCP’s attempts to exploit nationalism will work; quite the opposite, it could be faced with plenty of pushback.

[ruiniel]

hello <3 I saw you’re doing requests and I wondered if you could perhaps do CarmillaxFem! friends to reluctant lovers? Thank you and much love!

Thank you for the ask! I promised I'd do this even with closed requests, so here it is - part I! There was a brief scene in the series where we had a peek into Carmilla's origin story. I went back there. Pre-council of sisters era.

Spirit wild, To suffer brief

Fandom: Castlevania series (2017-2021)

Pairing: Carmilla of Styria x F!Reader

Count: 0.8k

Rating: M

Tags/CW: heavy angst, emotional, strangers to lovers, dark themes, drama you are warned, wlw, AFAB reader, mutual pining, unresolved sexual tension, angst again, unresolved emotional tension, confessions, eventual smut, but not in this part

Summary: She's succeeded, taken everything for her own. She is not weak, she will never be weak again. Carmilla now rules over lands as far as the eye can see across the frosted peaks of Styria. A deep and ancient vale is hers, and this will be her seat. The emptiness, she never dwells on. Until one day.

All characters depicted are 18+

Also on AO3

I. Why

“What on earth is that?”

The voice has you lifting your head, peeking upward at the figure standing before you. The heavy scent of lilies fills your nostrils, but you daren’t hold the ice in that gaze for long before you place your forehead against the cold tiles; startled in your resignation.

Where is… he?

One of the guards flanking your prostrated figure scratches their head. “From the village at the base of the mountain.”

You tremble, the cold seeping through your flesh, into your bones as silence falls, a leaden weight ready to break your back.

“...and why is it here?” The voice follows, a tint of exasperation to it now. It seems to belong to a woman, but…

“... for the lord.”

Footsteps near, light as tinsel; the scent of lilies envelops you. 

“Get up, girl.” You know an order when you hear one, and so muster all the vigor left in your wearied knees, the impulses crackling in your joints as you rise to full height. “What is that you were mumbling?”

You open your mouth to speak, hesitate. “I am… every year, our community sends an offering,” Your voice chokes on your heartbeat; nausea roils in your stomach. “To the lord of the castle.”

Silence.

“Do they, now? Why?”

Cold, hungering, and even more confused, you raise your gaze to see the woman better. 

She is…

You look down, absently studying the stained rug beneath your feet. “Every year, if a sacrifice is presented, he… he leaves us be; he does not hunt us, it was a… a pact. I do not know more, it was done before I came to be.”

She snorts, starts pacing. “Of course, just like the disgusting old fool to …” she keeps rambling as you watch with bleary eyes, humming and murmuring as though she’d forgotten you’re there.

Your stomach aches with the hunger it nurses like a wound; you fold your arms around yourself, miserable, finally understanding what those men felt as they approached the gallows during the few executions you’d witnessed. 

Suddenly, a cold grip like the kiss of winter’s breath grabs you by the chin, and you’re staring closely into eyes of blue and lips of red — crimson, like…

She smiles; you try to draw back, but her grip holds firm. “The lord of this castle is gone.” Her lashes are long, shadowing her barely-tinted irises like tender hoarfrost. “I am its master now, and whatever schemes that lecher had in place interest me not at all. This fantastically idiotic covenant ends now, with you,” she spews, and you finally understand this is actually happening, that the thread of your life is to be snipped after nary a handful of years, before you’d had a true chance of doing more than cast shadow upon the earth.

But then…

“... and I have no interest to feed,” the woman, the vampire continues. “So tell me, then, girl, what use have I for you, save for feeding you to my guards?”

“None,” you murmur, eyes closing against the sting of tears marring your filthy cheek.

The stony grip loosens, and she steps back, an eyebrow raised and sounding almost disappointed as she crosses her pale arms at her chest. “Well, that’s the worst attempt at groveling to beg for one’s life that I’ve ever heard.”

“It makes no difference,” you add as an afterthought before you can think better of it. Might these be the last words you speak? Mocking banter at the gates of the undead?

“Why did they send you, then?” she asks, and what follow are questions accompanied by a strange smile. So sharp, a most primeval fear coils deep in your center. “Did they coerce you to do it? Did they cast you out of town?”

You fiddle with the worn material of your cloak. “No, I came of my own will.”

“How stupid,” the words are blunt, but you’ve had your share of scorn — what’s a little more? And then, something unexpected happens: she dismisses the guards with a gesture, before leaning against the stone column in the tallest chamber you have ever seen.

“Maybe so, but it was the most practical choice.”

“Ah yes,” the vampire runs a slender hand through her sleek, moon-kissed hair. They said a vicious monster dwelled here, settled into this abode centuries past. They knew little else, and still, you chose to come. “Humans do have a penchant for it… being ‘practical,’ that is.” She tilts her head, like a nightbird watching the scuttling of small beating hearts in the wilds. “Don’t toy with me. I’m already bored of this game, so for the last time I put to you: why?”

You swallow and part your lips to speak. Your hunger is sharper now, stabbing you inside as fatigue has you lurching over for a minute. She moves not at all. 

 “Because… because I am dying.”

TBC

MASTERLIST: CASTLEVANIA SERIES x READER

More of my work is on AO3

BLOG MASTERPOST (all you need to know)

Likes/comments/reblogs always and forever appreciated

#carmilla x reader #carmilla castlevania #carmilla x you #castlevania x you #carmilla of styria #wlw #sapphic #x reader #afab reader #sapphic fanfiction #vampire x oc #vampire x reader #ruiniel:fanfiction #wlw fanfiction #carmilla x fem!reader #carmilla x afab reader

[hdowlpost]

Masterlist of the 2023 @hdowlpost Winter Gift Exchange - Part Two -

Poems

@apricity wrote Fine Boning (G | poem) for @drarrymheart

@DrarryMyHeart wrote The Date (G | poem, limericks) for @moonpeachh

@jadewritergirl wrote I Wish (G | poem) for @wilfriede0815

@KatIsSleeping wrote If You Only Knew (not rated | poem) for @darkravenwrote

Collabs

@inspiredbeing, @moonpeachh, @mars-bar81, @dodgerkedavra and @vaysh wrote wrote Everything in Its Place (G | 7608 words) for @flightinflame

Fic

@apricity wrote You're My Present This Year (PG | 1897 words) for @anaxandria

@azure26 wrote [Owl 1] Knightprince and poem (R | 943 words) for @sitaz

@azure26 wrote [Owl 2] Incendium and poem (G | 697 words) for @smirkingharlequin

@azure26 wrote [Owl 3] Fools Rush In and a Poem (R | 1161 words) for @vaysh

@darkravenwrote wrote The Mystery of the Missing Missive (G | 1830 words) for @threading_fate

@drarrymyheart created Warmth is Where Your Heart Is (NC-17 | 2321 words) for @darkravenwrote

@drarrymyheart wrote Hold Me Close (NC-17 | 6425 words) for @mars-bar81

@drarrymyheart wrote Never Have I Ever Thought That You Might Want Me, Too (NC-17 | 8244 words ) for @stargazing_enby

@DrWhoIsGinnyHolmes wrote A Sight Unseen (NC-17 | 1572 words) for @meowfoy

@DrWhoIsGinnyHolmes wrote The Casualties of Mating (NC-17 | 2147 words) for @pheaphilus

@DrWhoIsGinnyHolmes wrote (I'm Stuck) 'Cause Your Love Has Tamed the Devil Out of Me (R | 2976 words) for @retiredunicorn

@dodgerkedavra wrote The Snowman (R | 3441 words) for @drarrymyheart

@dodgerkedavra wrote Get What You Knead (NC-17 | 7515 words) for @meowfoy

@flightinflame wrote Take my hand and drag me head first (PG | 3201 words) for @legendrarry

@flightinflame wrote Visions of Sugar Plums (G | 6422 words) for @ladderofyears

@flightinflame wrote Reach Toward (PG | 4969 words) for @maraudersaffair

@flightinflame wrote Materials Provided (PG | 1085 words) for @smirkingharlequin

@inheartofwinter wrote Kreacher's Matchmaking Journal (R | 5087 words) for @KatIsSleeping

@inheartofwinter wrote Will You Marry Me? (R | 5804 words) for @mars-bar81

@inspired_being wrote Carols, a Blanket and a Soft Landing (G | 6073 words) for @jadewritergirl

@inspired_being wrote Promising Baker (PG | 2020 words) for @littlewinnow

@inspired_being wrote A Missing Mug and Mysterious Memos (G | 800 words) for @uncanny_cerulean

@jadewritergirl wrote Drowning in Changing Tides (R | 3103 words) for @azure26

@jadewritergirl wrote The Very Bad, Terrible, Awful, Impossible Idea (G | 5720 words) for @legendrarry

@jadewritergirl wrote The Best Laid Plans (G | 2396 words) for @mars-bar81

@KatIsSleeping wrote Know Me Again (G | 500 word drabble) for @bererjs

@KatIsSleeping wrote You're the Glow in a Priceless Work of Art (G | 1750 words) for @inspired-being

@ladderofyears wrote The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (G | 3570 words) for @littlewinnow

@ladderofyears wrote Family before Tradition (PG | 4430 words) for @queenie-jinny

@ladderofyears wrote Night at the Opera (G | 2021 words) for @threading_fate

@maraudersaffair wrote The Baby is Yours (NC-17 | 2513 words) for @anaxandria

@maraudersaffair wrote I Want You to Be Mine, Harry (NC-17 | 1084 words) for @dodgerkedavra

@maraudersaffair wrote To: Charlie | From: Harry and Draco (NC-17 | 2329 words) for @DrWhoIsGinnyHolmes

@maraudersaffair wrote A Christmas in Heat (NC-17 | 3692 words) for @kitty_fic

@maraudersaffair wrote A Meeting with Professor Potter (NC-17 | 3525 words) for @themightyflynn

@mars-bar81 wrote The Warming Charm Extravaganza (G | 1919 words) for @inheartofwinter

@mars-bar81 wrote High flying Love (G | 2715 words) for @lumosatnight

@mars-bar81 wrote A deer, a dream, and a hot chocolate heist (G | 1578 words) for @moonpeachh

@meowfoy wrote Perfect Jacket (PG | 1526 words ) for @bererjs

@meowfoy wrote We Get By With a Little Help From Amortentia (NC-17 | 4610 words) for @retiredunicorn

@moonpeachh wrote Do It Yourself (PG | 1156 words) for @littlewinnow

@moonpeachh wrote From Antarctica, Love Draco (R | 2308 words) for @uncanny_cerulean

@pheaphilus wrote A Hand To Hold (in the dark) (PG | 5109 words) for @apricitydays-lazynights

@pheaphilus wrote Say It Out Loud (NC-17 | 11334 words) for @starquestingfordrarry

@porcelainheart wrote Malfoy Knows Best (NC-17 | 4200 words ) for @starquestingfordrarry

@queeniejinny wrote An accidental courtship (NC-17 | 6504 words) for @peachydreamxx

@sitaz wrote Krampusnacht (PG | 9058 words) for @darkravenwrote

@sitaz wrote That Which Remains (PG | 2538 words) for @hdowlpost community

@smirkingharlequin wrote The Secret (PG | 1685 words) for @azure26

@starquestingfordrarry created Of easy wind and downy flake (NC-17 | 14194 ) for @ItsPhantasmagoria

@starquestingfordrarry wrote Strange Entanglements (the particles of us) (NC-17 | 15319 words) for @wilfriede0815

@themightyflynn wrote An Unexpected Santa (NC-17 | 4025 words) for @porcelainheart

@themightyflynn wrote The Pale Ferret Café (G | 3778 words) for @peachydreamxx

@threading_fate wrote Love to be Sought (G | 2843 words) for @retiredunicorn

@uncanny-cerulean wrote First Frost (PG | 4767 words) for @digtheshipper

@uncanny-cerulean wrote Roots and All (PG | 10203 words) for @ItsPhantasmagoria

@XxTheDarkLordxX created The Scent of You (Inside me) (NC-17 | 9630 words) for @azure26

All gifts have been de-anoned on AO3. ♥ Creators' names will be added to the LJ posts in the next week. Many creators have different names across fandom platforms; we chose the name we know you by best (except Logan :)). If you'd like your name changed in this post, just let us know. ♥ If you see any mistakes, dead links or entries we may have missed, please let us know in comments or email us.

#drarry #hdowlpost #hdowlpost2023 #masterlist #draco x harry

[fanning-the-flames]

Moonshot: A Cheng'e Story

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Next>

Cover

Part 1 of 5

Astronaut Wei Wuxian is about to make history as part of China's first human moon landing on September 12, 2030. He is woken up from a recurring dream (nightmare) where he grasps at a stream of light by the call to report for the landing. The team is made up of the commander, Lan Wangji, the pilot, Wei Wuxian, and the communications officer, Wen Qionglin. Wen Qionglin passes along well wishes from Director Jin, which Wei Wuxian is suspicious of, though the Director does want the mission to go well for his son to lead the Mars mission.

After a successful moon landing, Wei Wuxian drives him and Lan Wangji on the moon rover, where Lan Wangji is even more reticent than usual. Suddenly a white hare jumps in front of the rover, causing a crash. It hops away into the arms of a human figure in purple robes.

Next >

2021 Cheng'e: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [x]

2022 Cheng’e: [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ]

Don't worry, the Jade Hares in this comic are as tough as jade and near indestructible. He didn't even get hit, but would've been fine regardless.

Er...spoilers below? You probably know who the Hare is...

#wei wuxian #lan wangji #cql #mdzs #the untamed #chang e au #chengxian #don't read this if you are looking for wangxian #for those who saw that early post of this #apologies #comic #chinese mythology #challenge: draw a story in space with as little space as possible #definitely if this was fully fleshed out there would be the near disaster landing #saved by wwx quick reflexes and ingenuity #so imagine all that happened as well

[dailyoverview]

This Overview of Mars, captured by NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, shows the wreckage of a “backshell” — a component that detached from the Perseverance rover when it landed on Mars in February 2021. We can also see the backshell’s 70-foot-wide (21-meter) parachute in frame.

The Ingenuity is a robotic helicopter that follows the Perseverance rover around Mars, taking photos as it hovers above the red planet’s surface. This photo was taken, along with 9 others, during its 26th flight last week, which lasted 159 seconds and spanned 1,181 feet (360 meters).

Source imagery: NASA

[apod]

2023 June 24

3D Ingenuity Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS, ASU

Explanation: The multicolor, stereo imaging Mastcam-Z on the Perseverance rover zoomed in to capture this 3D close-up (get out your red/blue glasses) of the Mars Ingenuity helicopter on mission sol 45. That's Earth-date 2021 April 5. Casting a shadow on the Martian surface, Ingenuity is standing alone on its four landing legs next to the rover's wheel tracks. The experimental helicopter's solar panel, charging batteries that keep it warm through the cold Martian nights and power its flight, sits just above Ingenuity's two 1.2 meter (4 foot) long counter-rotating blades. Thirteen sols later, on April 19, Ingenuity became the first aircraft to perform powered, controlled flight on another planet. It has since gone on to complete more than 50 flights through the thin atmosphere of Mars.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230624.html