Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
When NASA successfully landed the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity – nicknamed ‘Oppy’ – in 2004, the plan was to explore the Martian terrain for 90 days. Through expert engineering and careful handling, Oppy was able to exceed its designed lifespan 60 times over, exploring the planet for nearly 15 years. Over the course of its impressive expedition, Oppy made a number of key geological discoveries and broke several records, including longest off-world distance travelled at 28 miles. Then, in 2018, following one of the most intense dust storms ever recorded on Mars, Oppy relayed its final message to Earth: ‘My battery is low and it’s getting dark.’ This short video from the US filmmaker John D Boswell, also known as Melodysheep, uses images captured by Oppy and music composed using the sounds of Martian winds to pay anthropomorphic tribute to the resilient rover – and by extension, those responsible for its awe-inspiring journey.
Video by John D Boswell
Website: Melodysheep
video
Earth science and climate
A biologist on the sorrows of documenting the Great Salt Lake’s collapse
6 minutes
video
Design and fashion
Household items are reborn in a ‘visual symphony of everyday objects’
11 minutes
video
Music
As a pianist strikes a chord, visualisations of his notes appear in real time
5 minutes
video
Quantum theory
Why aren’t our everyday lives as ‘spooky’ as the quantum world?
7 minutes
video
Space exploration
Burning ice, metal clouds, gemstone rain – tour the strangest known exoplanets
31 minutes
video
Logic and probability
Chew over the prisoner’s dilemma and see if you can find the rational path out
6 minutes
video
Biology
The idea that life on Earth originated elsewhere is not as far out as it seems
6 minutes
video
Biology
Flicker through the eclectic beauty and biological diversity of 2,400 leaves
3 minutes
video
Metaphysics
Bertrand Russell wanted to kill off causation. Can contemporary philosophy rescue it?
8 minutes