Mr. Future

From a BBC Technology Article:

“Nasa has confirmed that laptops carried to the ISS in July were infected with a virus known as Gammima.AG.

The worm was first detected on earth in August 2007 and lurks on infected machines waiting to steal login names for popular online games….

The laptops infected with the virus were used to run nutritional programs and let the astronauts periodically send e-mail back to Earth.

The laptops carried by astronauts reportedly do not have any anti-virus software on them to prevent infection. ”

If NASA can’t secure a Windows machine as scrutinized and isolated as a laptop on the ISS, imagine how much harder it is to reliably lock down a home or office network.

Link

Budget-battered NASA Scientists plan to put one of the twin Mars rovers, Spirit, “into hibernation mode” for the coming Martian winter, and limit the activities of the other robot, Opportunity, to fulfill an order to cut $4 million from the program’s budget, mission team members said Monday.

The news comes amid belt-tightening at NASA headquarters, which is under pressure to juggle Mars exploration and projects to study the rest of the solar system. Both rovers were originally planned for three-month missions, but due to a number of factors including their amazingly successful designs, the robots are now in their fourth year of continuous exploration. It costs NASA about $20 million annually to keep the rovers running.

Link (via Yahoo/AP)

Update:  Spirit spared?   NASA issues conflicting signals as to the rover’s fate.

“…shortly after CNN.com published the story, NASA administrator Michael Griffin said the agency will not shut down one of the two Mars rovers, according to spokesman Bob Jacobs.

“There is a process that has to be followed for any mission to be canceled and the cancellation of the Mars Exploration Rovers is not under consideration,” Jacobs said. “There is an ongoing budget review within the agency’s Mars exploration program. However, shutting down of one of the rovers is not an option.

NASA headquarters spokesman Dwayne Brown confirmed the budget directive had been issued. The cut’s purpose is to offset cost overruns with the Mars Science Laboratory, a rover set to launch next year, he said.”

Link