Dear Express Explained Reader, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover touched down in the early hours of Friday (India time), and has since sent back some spectacular images of the Martian surface. Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California have received the first status report from the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a critical technology demonstrator experiment. Perseverance is the most advanced, most expensive, and most sophisticated mobile laboratory sent to Mars, and the results of the experiments it conducts will likely define the next couple of decades of Mars exploration. Washington DC-based NASA planetary scientist Dr Amitabha Ghosh, who has worked for multiple NASA Mars Missions for nearly a quarter century, wrote two pieces for The Indian Express this week — on the flotilla of recent missions to the Red Planet, and on the history of Mars exploration and the new frontiers that Perseverance seeks to reach. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has launched a global diplomatic offensive to drum up support for a proposed law in his country that would force Internet giants Facebook and Google to pay media companies for the news content that is published on their platforms. While Google has fallen in line after an initial show of defiance, Facebook has pushed back strongly against the legislation that would set a precedent in regulating social media across geographies. Pranav Mukul and Anil Sasi explained the larger issues around the tussle that is being watched around the world. Earlier in the week, Nandagopal Rajan wrote about why Facebook’s response to the Australian move has been different from Google’s. Karunjit Singh broke down the reasons behind the inexorable rise in the prices of automobile fuels in India. Bottom line: Petrol and diesel are taxed heavily in India, and oil price decontrol is a one-way street — the consumer never benefits. But even as you fret about the current situation, do read Anil’s piece about an exciting new alternative to automobile fossil fuels that the government has begun to explore, hydrogen — how it can help transform the transport sector, and what hurdles lie in the way. It won’t take away your frustration about the prices of petrol and diesel, but it will introduce you to the possibilities that lie ahead. Stay safe. Thank you for reading The Indian Express Explained. Stay safe. Sincerely, Monojit (monojit.majumdar@expressindia.com) If you received this newsletter as a forward, you can subscribe to it here | Do read our Explained articles here 
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