A multi-institutional team of astrophysicists headquartered at Boston University, led by BU astrophysicist Merav Opher, has made a breakthrough discovery in our understanding of the cosmic forces that shape the protective bubble surrounding our solar system—a bubble that shelters life on Earth and is known by space researchers as the heliosphere.

Astrophysicists believe the heliosphere protects the planets within our solar system from powerful radiation emanating from supernovas, the final explosions of dying stars throughout the universe.

A rare total solar eclipse in Antarctica this weekend (Saturday 4 December) is giving researchers a unique opportunity to learn more about how solar eclipses affect space weather. The next total eclipse in Antarctica will not be until 2039.

The total eclipse, which happens when the sun and moon are in line with the Earth, will only be visible in Antarctica, sweeping across the Ronne ice shelf and Ellsworth land, with the rest of Antarctica in partial shadow. The maximum eclipse will be at 0733 GMT.

John Law, Antarctic Atmospheric Scientist at Rothera station says that "the team here are really excited about being able to witness the eclipse on Saturday morning. We will be setting our alarm clocks for the early hours, the maximum amount of Sun that will be hidden by the moon will be around 94% around 4am in the morning. During the summer, the sun never sets below the horizon so even at 4am we should see the effect of the eclipse.

The ExoMars rover used in the Earth-based Mars Terrain Simulator makes escaping from a sand trap look easy in this exercise.

The rover initially has its front two wheels almost completely buried in sand, but easily escapes using its unique wheel-walking mode.

It takes about 20 minutes to complete the 2 m drive—slow and careful being the key to getting out of a difficult situation.

Rovers on Mars have previously been caught in sand, and turning the wheels dug them deeper, just like a car stuck in mud or snow. To avoid this, the ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin—and its replica—has a unique wheel walking locomotion mode. Similar to leg movements, wheel-walking combines motions of the deployment actuators (the legs) with the rotation of the wheels to progress without slippage. This motion gives very good traction in soft soils and high slopes, such as dunes.

"We hope to never need to use wheel walking on Mars to escape dangerous sand traps, but we are glad to have such functionality to potentially safeguard the mission," comments Luc Joudrier, ESA ExoMars Rover Operations Manager. "From a rover operational point of view, this is really our insurance again difficult terrains."

In the test run seen here, the back wheels drag once the front four wheels have gained good traction on firmer terrain.