Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020)
Credit: © Nintendo

The year 2021 marks the 35th anniversary of one of the most beloved video game series of all time. “The Legend of Zelda” is a fantasy adventure series developed by Nintendo for play on the company’s video game consoles and handheld game systems. A video game console is a specialized gaming computer that connects to a television.

In the main series of Zelda games, the player controls an elflike boy named Link on a solitary quest. Zelda is the name of a princess whom Link must often rescue. Armed with a sword, shield, and other magical items, Link must explore puzzle-filled dungeons and battle fantastical monsters. Critics have widely praised the Zelda games for their rich, interactive worlds, engaging puzzles, and dramatic musical scores.

The Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto created the first Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda, released in 1986. The game’s spirit of adventure and mystery was inspired by Miyamoto’s recollections of his childhood explorations of a cave by lanternlight. He took the name Zelda from Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of the American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Legend of Zelda became the first video game to enable players to save their progress across multiple play sessions.

The Legend of Zelda (1986)
Credit: © Nintendo

Sequels to the game featured increasingly complex gameplay. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991), for example, challenged players to explore a parallel “dark world” that mirrored the game’s main world. In The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (1998), players use a magic ocarina (flutelike instrument) to change the passage of time. Early Zelda games, like most early electronic games, featured two-dimensional gameplay. The Ocarina of Time is considered a pioneering work of three-dimensional play.

Since 2000, Eiji Aonuma, another Japanese designer, has led development on most Zelda games, with Miyamoto playing a more advisory role. Aonuma’s games include The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002), in which players control the wind to sail across a vast ocean. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006) was noted in part for its darker, spookier tone. Aonuma also produced The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011). The game introduced virtual sword fights that closely track the player’s swings and thrusts with the game controller.

The Zelda series returned to its open-world roots with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017). The game presented players with a sprawling three-dimensional world to explore: killing monsters, foraging for natural materials, and completing quests in the desired order. This setting was also featured in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020), an action game that served as one of many spinoffs of the Zelda series.

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover Perseverance
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Mars is one of the most difficult destinations to arrive safely at in the solar system, but you might not know it if you have been paying attention to the news lately. Earthlings are a perfect three-for-three on Mars missions this February. Two countries saw their first missions ever arrive at the Red Planet last week. Then yesterday, the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) landed the Mars 2020 rover Perseverance on the surface of Mars. This flotilla of missions to the Red Planet was facilitated by a favorable alignment in the middle of 2020 that brought the planet close to Earth.

On February 9, a spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) arrived in orbit around Mars. The orbiter, called Hope or Amal, will map Martian weather on a planet-wide scale. Such mapping has never been attempted before. UAE became just the fifth country to reach the planet. All systems look good at the moment, but Hope is due to enter the orbit from which it will conduct its mapping in May. At that point, engineers will know for sure if the probe will be able to accomplish its mission.

Hot on Hope’s heels was an ambitious mission sent by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The mission, called Tianwen-1, went into orbit around Mars the next day. The mission consists of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. The lander and rover will attempt a landing in a few months. If CNSA successfully deploys Tianwen-1, China will become the third country to land a spacecraft on Mars and just the second to land a rover on Mars.

The last—but certainly not least—to arrive was Perseverance. The rocket carrying the beefy rover blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on July, 30, 2020. Perseverance is the largest rover ever sent to Mars. It’s the size of a small automobile and weighs over 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) on Earth.

Unlike China and the UAE, the United States is a Mars veteran. NASA has landed several successful missions there, including the still-operational sibling craft of Perseverance, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity.

The design of Perseverance is based on that of Curiosity, which has been exploring Mars since 2012. Engineers used many extra components that were originally created as backups for Curiosity in case of manufacturing defects in the originals. But Perseverance is more than just a pile of spare parts. Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientists and engineers modified—and beefed up—the design to fit Perseverance’s mission. Perseverance is about 5 inches (13 centimeters) longer and 278 pounds (126 kilograms) heavier than Curiosity.

No matter how many successful missions are under a space agency’s belt, getting a spacecraft to Mars is a heart-pounding ordeal. Landing on the Red Planet is especially challenging. Mars is a large planet, so its gravity pulls spacecraft towards it at high speed. It lacks a thick atmosphere like that of Earth, however, that spacecraft could use to slow down. Furthermore, retrorockets placed on the rover would scour the ground near the landing site and contaminate it with rocket exhaust.

JPL has developed a complex of system to land a large rover on the Martian surface, which was first used with MSL. A parachute slowed the craft after it entered the Martian atmosphere. A set of rockets then fired to hover the craft above the surface. Then, Perseverance was lowered to the ground on a tether. Mission planners call this complicated ride through the atmosphere, filled with opportunities for mission-ending disaster, “the seven minutes of terror.”

Perseverance touched down in Jezero Crater. Billions of years ago, the crater held a lake that was fed by a river system. Perseverance will explore this ancient river delta and search for signs of past life there.

Perseverance carries many sophisticated scientific instruments that will enable it study the geology and climate of the region. The rover is equipped with a special drill and sample vials. After studying the rock samples it has drilled, it will place them in sealed vials and cache (stow) them on the surface. Scientists hope to recover the cached vials and send them to Earth in an ambitious sample return mission in a decade or so.

Other special features included an upgraded autonomous driving package, which will enable Perseverance to pick its way through obstacles on its own to reach a target, and a small helicopter drone called Ingenuity that will look to demonstrate the first powered flight on a solar system body other than Earth. Expect to hear about more exciting discoveries—and see more stunning pictures of Mars—in the months and years ahead.

Seen any llamas lately?
Credit:© Copula, Shutterstock

Diana Heimann had a prob-llama—her 7-year-old llama Gizmo was missing. This past December, after moving the long distance from the state of Indiana to Westchester County, New York, Gizmo jumped the fence of his new home. Along with his llama friend Sandman, Gizmo wanted to look around the new town. And, while Sandman was soon lassoed and returned to the farm, Gizmo took off. Gizmo’s escape prompted a weeks-long search that enlisted the help of many people, animals, and electronic devices throughout the region.

Heimann employed several trusted pet-finding techniques. For instance, she called Gizmo’s name. But, Gizmo did not respond. She posted on social media websites. She called for llama search parties. She made signs that featured photos of Gizmo’s face and backside (in case anyone spotted Gizmo running away). She then moved on to some experimental techniques. For example, she called the owners of a drone photography business. A drone is an aircraft that operates without a pilot on board. Drones were sent high into the sky, in the hopes of using heat-sensing technology to locate Gizmo. Two Tibetan spaniels went in search—or should we say in sniff—of Gizmo, but the dogs barked more than sniffed. The search went on for more than two weeks, but Gizmo was nowhere to be found . . .

A llama has thick hair and a long neck and looks somewhat like a small camel. But unlike camels, llamas have no hump.
Credit: © Thinkstock

You might be wondering how Gizmo survived for so long without going home for food and other necessities. But, have no fear, the llama is a hardy animal. It eats grasses and low shrubs. The llama does not need to drink much water, either. It can get much of the moisture it needs from plants. There was no evidence that Gizmo planned his escape. He did not pack blankets or books, for instance. But, he could have carried many blankets and books if he wanted. Llamas can carry about 130 pounds (60 kilograms). They can travel from 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 kilometers) a day with a full load.

However, Gizmo was not found many miles (or kilometers) away from his home. Seventeen days after he escaped, Gizmo was found wandering only 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away. Gizmo was reunited with Heimann and with Sandman. At last, he was home.

Sandra Lindsay, a Black nurse, is injected with the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer on Dec. 14, 2020, in the Queens borough (section) of New York City. The rollout of the vaccine, the first to be given emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, begins the largest vaccination effort in U.S. history.
Credit: © Mark Lennihan, Getty Images

The long-awaited V-Day, short for Vaccine Day, arrived in the United States on Monday, December 14, with the beginning of widespread vaccination against the coronavirus disease COVID-19. Vaccination involves the administration of special medicines called vaccines, which can help make a person immune to a particular disease. Sandra Lindsay—a nurse at a hospital in the Queens borough (section) of New York City—became the first person in the United States to receive the authorized COVID-19 vaccination. COVID-19 has killed more than 1 million people and infected more than 60 million people around the world. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted an emergency use authorization for the vaccine, by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, on December 11. V-Day provided a moment of hope against the COVID-19 pandemic (worldwide outbreak of disease) even as the U.S. death toll topped 300,000.

The fact that Lindsay—a Black health care worker—was first in line to receive the vaccine is significant. In the United States, COVID-19 has disproportionally affected Black Americans, and medical workers have been on the front line of the fight against the disease. Lindsay said it was important for her to take the vaccine, in part because of the history of unequal and racist treatment of minorities in the medical system. In particular, she mentioned the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, a notorious medical experiment involving Black Americans. Beginning in 1932, medical workers conducted blood tests among 4,000 Black men in Tuskegee, Alabama, and selected for the study about 400 who were found to be infected with the sexually transmitted disease syphilis. The participants in the study were not informed that they were infected with syphilis or told about the expected outcomes of the experiment. Lindsay hoped to inspire Black people and other minorities who may be skeptical about the vaccine. After receiving the first of two doses, she said, “It feels surreal. It is a huge sense of relief for me, and hope.”

The first doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be given to Americans were shipped on Sunday, December 13. The United States is not the first country to approve the vaccine. On December 8, Margaret Keenan of the United Kingdom became the first person in the world to receive the authorized vaccine. Canada has also approved the vaccine, administering its first dose the same day as the United States.

In many cases, administration of a COVID-19 vaccine will be voluntary. But, it will be a while until everybody who wants a vaccine can get one. In the United States, the first doses will be given to health care workers. Frontline workers (workers likely to encounter the disease) and people who are vulnerable to the virus, including the elderly and people with such risk factors as obesity or diabetes will be next. Some of these people may receive the vaccine by the end of 2020. But, most people will have to wait until the spring of 2021.

Most vaccines are administered into the body by injection. A vaccine contains substances that stimulate the body’s immune system to produce molecules called antibodies. The immune system uses antibodies to fight against germs that enter the body. Antibodies produced in response to a vaccine can protect a person who is exposed to the actual disease-causing organism. The process of protecting the body in this way is called immunization. Vaccines have been successful in fighting many other diseases, including chickenpox, meningitis, and yellow fever.

Pfizer and Moderna began clinical trials in July. During these trials, participants were given either the vaccine or a placebo. A placebo is a substance that contains no active ingredient. Comparing infection rates in subjects who received the placebo with those among subjects who got the vaccine can help determine if the vaccine is effective. In the Pfizer and Moderna clinical trials, half the participants were given a placebo of salt water, and half were given the vaccine. The researchers then waited to see who might get sick. The results were very promising—both vaccines were about 95 percent effective in preventing COVID-19. By contrast, commonly administered influenza vaccines (known as flu shots) are 40 percent to 60 percent effective.

In late November, the companies Pfizer and Moderna each applied for emergency approval from the FDA for their COVID-19 vaccines.  The two companies are among dozens of drugmakers that have worked tirelessly to develop a vaccine against the deadly virus.

The dish of Arecibo Observatory’s radio telescope lies heavily damaged following the collapse of the instrument platform on Dec. 1, 2020.
Credit: © estadespr, Shutterstock

The year 2020 claimed yet another victim, with the destruction of one of the most impressive telescopes ever built—the radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory. Already damaged beyond repair, the remaining cables that held the telescope’s instrument platform snapped on December 1, sending the platform crashing through the dish below. It was a spectacular and disappointing end to a telescope that has done so much to further our understanding of the universe.

The radio telescope was the primary instrument at the observatory, located in Puerto Rico, 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of San Juan. A radio telescope collects and measures radio waves given off by objects in space. At 1,000 feet (305 meters) in diameter, the Arecibo radio telescope was the world’s most powerful when it opened in 1963. It remained the largest dish (bowl-shaped reflector) in the world until 2016, when the dish of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) was completed in Guizhou Province, China.

The Arecibo dish was built into a natural basin-shaped valley. The dish focused radio waves onto receivers mounted on the large instrument platform suspended above. The waves came from such distant objects as pulsars (rapidly spinning stars whose waves arrive on Earth as regular pulses). Arecibo astronomers discovered the first binary pulsar (a pulsar in orbit around a companion star) in 1974. In the early 1990′s, astronomers at the observatory discovered planets beyond the solar system and ice at the poles of Mercury. Until the middle of 2020, astronomers were using the radio telescope for a variety of astronomical observations, including monitoring and assessing the threat level of near-Earth asteroids.

The Arecibo Observatory radio telescope as it appeared before its collapse in 2020. The instrument platform (top center) crashed through the dish on December 1.
Credit: © Than Tibbetts, Shutterstock

The impressive appearance of the massive dish surrounded by the lush, forested hills of Puerto Rico’s interior seemed particularly to capture the public imagination. The radio telescope appeared in the sci-fi motion picture Contact (1997) and the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995), for example.

The final collapse of the telescope began in August 2020, when an auxiliary cable that held the instrument platform broke. The falling cable tore several large gashes in the dish. In November, before engineers had a chance to repair the dish or replace the cable, a main support cable broke. The United States National Science Foundation (NSF) quickly determined that the telescope could no longer be saved without putting lives at risk. The NSF was considering plans to decommission the telescope—taking it permanently out of service—when the collapse occurred.

The future of the Arecibo Observatory appears doubtful. The U.S. Congress could direct funds to replace the telescope, but it may be more likely that the facility will be closed permanently.

In 1975, scientists engaged in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence used the dish from the Arecibo telescope to beam a powerful signal into space. This signal was designed by astronomer Frank Drake with the help of famous science popularizer Carl Sagan to give any intelligent being who discovers it information about Earth and humans. Encoded within the message was an image of the dish itself. Although it is unlikely that any alien civilizations will receive the message, it serves a lasting monument to the telescope’s legacy.

Nurse administering a vaccination.
Credit: © Shutterstock

The coronavirus disease COVID-19 has killed more than 1 million people and infected more than 60 million people around the world. But, hope may be just around the corner, in the form of vaccines. Vaccines are special medicines that can help make a person immune to a particular disease. Vaccines have been successful in fighting many other diseases, including chickenpox, meningitis, and yellow fever.

In late November, the companies Pfizer and Moderna each applied for emergency approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their COVID-19 vaccines.  The two companies are among dozens of drugmakers that have worked tirelessly to develop a vaccine against the deadly virus.

Most vaccines are administered into the body by injection. A vaccine contains substances that stimulate the body’s immune system to produce molecules called antibodies. The immune system uses antibodies to fight against germs that enter the body. Antibodies produced in response to a vaccine can protect a person who is exposed to the actual disease-causing organism. The process of protecting the body in this way is called immunization. 

Pfizer and Moderna began clinical trials in July. During these trials, participants were given either the vaccine or a placebo. A placebo is a substance that contains no active ingredient. Comparing infection rates in subjects who received the placebo with those among subjects who got the vaccine can help determine if the vaccine is effective. In the Pfizer and Moderna clinical trials, half the participants were given a placebo of salt water, and half were given the vaccine. The researchers then waited to see who might get sick. The results were very promising—both vaccines were about 95 percent effective in preventing COVID-19. By contrast, commonly administered influenza vaccines (known as flu shots) are 40 percent to 60 percent effective.

Vaccines are one of the most powerful tools in modern medicine. They have nearly or completely eliminated several diseases. For instance, Edward Jenner, a British physician, introduced vaccination in 1796 as a preventive measure against smallpox. By the late 1970′s, smallpox vaccination had wiped out the dreadful disease. In the United States and many other countries, disease has been greatly reduced by widespread childhood immunizations. In 1952, for example, more than 21,000 cases of the paralytic disease polio were reported in the United States. By the end of the 1900′s, fewer than 10 cases per year were reported. More than 95 percent of children in the United States receive all their recommended immunizations by the time they enter school.

In many cases, administration of a COVID-19 vaccine will be voluntary. But, it will be a while until everybody who wants a vaccine can get one. Once approved, the vaccine—from Pfizer, Moderna, or other companies—will likely first be available to health care workers, frontline workers (workers likely to encounter the disease), and people who are vulnerable to the virus, including the elderly and people with such risk factors as obesity or diabetes. Some of these people may receive the vaccine by the end of 2020. But, most people will have to wait until the spring of 2021.

A rural official in Japan shows off a mechanical Monster Wolf, invented to frighten away wildlife.
Credit: © Toru Yamanaka, Getty Images

The Japanese motion picture Gojira (1954) introduced one of the most recognizable monsters in popular culture, often called by its American name, Godzilla. In the film, the giant, dinosaurlike monster goes on a destructive rampage through Tokyo. Now, Japan has a new monster—but, unlike Godzilla, this monster protects the country’s people.

This fall, officials in the city of Takikawa—on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido—installed two mechanical wolves near a residential neighborhood in which bears had injured or killed people in recent months. Wild bears in search of food had been entering areas on the edge of Takikawa, walking through yards and rummaging through trash. Rural areas often serve as barriers between the wilderness and urban areas. But, as rural populations shrink, so too does the barrier between wilderness and populated areas.

Each Monster Wolf, as the machines are called, looks a lot like a normal wolf, if you ignore the metal legs and flashing red eyes. A Monster Wolf is 4 feet (1.2 meters) long and just under 3 feet (0.9 meter) tall. Along with its fake fur and bared fangs, the Monster Wolf shares perhaps the wolf’s most distinctive feature, an eerie howl. The Monster Wolf’s head has motion detectors that are triggered when intruders approach. The wolf then produces howling, screeching sounds. Other frightening noises the robot can imitate include a dog’s bark, a hunter’s voice, and gunshots.

The mechanical wolves in Takikawa are not the country’s first. Since the Monster Wolf was created in 2016, more than 70 of them have been installed in communities across Japan. The creations have previously scared off such animals as deer and monkeys, which have been filmed leaping away from the mechanical nightmares. Since the wolves showed up in Takikawa, there have been no bear sightings.

In the electronic game Among Us (2018), players take on the role of crewmates, shown in this image, originally on a spaceship. One or a few of the apparent crewmates is actually an impostor, tasked with killing crewmates and sabotaging their work.
Credit: © Awangart18, Shutterstock

Are your friends acting strangely? Have they begun accusing various colors of being “sus”? They haven’t necessarily lost their minds. They’re just going crazy for the latest video game sensation: Among Us.

Among Us is a multiplayer game in which players take on the role of crewmates, originally on a spaceship. Each crewmate is given a list of tasks to perform, such as repairing vital systems or refueling the engines. Crewmates accomplish these tasks by succeeding at minigames, smaller games within the main game. However, one or a few players are secretly assigned to be impostors. Impostors look like crewmates, but it is their job to sabotage equipment and kill crewmates without being discovered.

Among Us can be played via the internet or a local wireless network. The game is played from a top-down perspective, with players moving around a map. Each player has a limited field of vision, enabling impostors to sneak around and conduct their mischief. When the body of a dead crewmate is discovered, play stops, and the players are taken to a meeting. Players can also call an emergency meeting.

It is at the meetings that the game really gets wild. In a meeting, players share information in an attempt to deduce the identity of one or more impostors. The players can then vote to kick people off the crew, with the goal of kicking out the impostors. It may sound simple enough, but remember the impostors are in the meeting also, and they are indistinguishable from ordinary crewmates. The impostors can deceive, misdirect, and outright lie to the crewmates, coaxing them to vote an innocent crewmate off the ship. Players refer to one another by the color of their spacesuits at these meetings, for example declaring “Cyan is sus” (short for suspicious).

Among Us traces its style of play to a party game sometimes called Mafia or Werewolf. In that game, certain players are secretly selected to be “killers,” and the other players must work to deduce their identity. Among Us was developed by the game studio InnerSloth of Redmond, Washington, and released in 2018. Among Us exploded in popularity in mid-2020, partly through playthroughs (video recordings of gameplay) posted on the video-streaming service Twitch. In October, a stream of the United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez playing the game became one of the most widely viewed Twitch streams ever.

American mathematician and engineer Mary Jackson
Credit: NASA Langley Research Center

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., will be named after the American mathematician and engineer Mary Jackson (1921-2005). Jackson was the first black female engineer at NASA. She championed the advancement of women and minorities in the fields of mathematics and engineering.

Jackson was born Mary Winston on April 9, 1921, in Hampton, Virginia. She received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physical science from the Hampton Institute in 1942. She then worked as a mathematics teacher and took on a variety of jobs before joining the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Langley Research Center in 1951. NACA was the agency that preceded NASA.

At Langley, Jackson was a member of the West Area Computing unit. This group of black women mathematicians included Katherine Goble Johnson and was headed by Dorothy Vaughan. At the West Area Computing unit, Jackson initially analyzed data collected from flight experiments. She was promoted to engineer in 1958. That year, she co-authored her first report on the behavior of air around objects in flight at supersonic (faster than sound) speeds. She went on to publish several more research reports on this topic.

Jackson achieved a high rank as a NASA engineer, but she was frustrated by the gender and racial prejudice that still restricted her advancement. In 1979, she ended her engineering career to take a position as Langley’s Federal Women’s Program Manager. In this role, she helped women advance at the Langley Research Center.

Jackson retired from NASA in 1985. She died on Feb. 11, 2005. The book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race (2016), written by the American author Margot Lee Shetterly, chronicles Jackson’s life and career, as well as those of other members of the West Area Computing unit. American actress and musician Janelle Monáe portrayed Jackson in the 2016 film Hidden Figures, based on Shetterly’s book.

Child enjoying an ice pop
Credit: © Shutterstock

The dog days of summer are near. That doesn’t mean that people play with puppies all day. The dog days of summer are much more ruff than that! They are the hottest days of the year. And, one of the best ways to cool off during the dog days of summer is to enjoy an ice pop!

An ice pop is a sweet frozen treat. The word Popsicle is a trademark for a popular brand of ice pop. Ice pops are often fruit flavored. Some ice pops contain chocolate or milk, resulting in a creamy texture. Popsicles and many other ice pops are made with a stick for holding. Ice pop-like treats are enjoyed in many different places under many different names.

The Popsicle was invented in 1905. An 11-year-old boy named Frank Epperson left a mixture of water and powdered soda flavoring on his porch overnight. The mixture chilled, producing a frozen, sugary treat. Epperson called the treat an Epsicle, combining his name with the word icicle. The name later changed to Popsicle. In 1924, Epperson applied for a patent. A patent is a document granting an inventor exclusive rights to an invention for a limited time. The next year, Epperson sold the rights to the Popsicle to the food distributor Joe Lowe Co. The Popsicle became a major success during the Great Depression, a worldwide economic slump of the 1930’s. At that time, a five-cent version with two sticks enabled people to share an inexpensive treat.

Ice treats are popular all over the world. People in the Philippines make an ice candy of fresh fruit and milk. In Italy, people enjoy a freezer pop with fruit juice marketed under the trade name Polaretti. The paleta is popular in Mexico. The paleta is an ice pop made with fresh fruit. It does not have as much added sugar as other ice pops.

Ice pops are sold at such places as grocery stores, sporting events, and festivals or fairs. But a particularly fun way to enjoy an ice pop is to make one yourself. It’s a great way to beat the summer heat and have a little fun!