CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: A NASA spacecraft designed to burrow beneath the surface of Mars landed on the red planet Monday after a six-month, 300 million-mile (482 million-kilometer) journey and a perilous, six-minute descent through the rose-hued atmosphere.
Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, leaped out of their seats and erupted in screams, applause and laughter as the news came in. People hugged, shook hands, exchanged high-fives, pumped their fists, wiped away tears and danced in the aisles.
“Flawless,” declared JPL’s chief engineer, Rob Manning.
“This is what we really hoped and imagined in our mind’s eye,” he said. “Sometimes things work out in your favor.”
A pair of mini satellites trailing InSight since their May liftoff provided practically real-time updates of the spacecraft’s supersonic descent through the reddish skies. The satellite also shot back a quick photo from Mars’ surface.
The image was marred by specks of debris on the camera cover. But the quick look at the vista showed a flat surface with few if any rocks — just what scientists were hoping for. Much better pictures will arrive in the hours and days ahead.
“What a relief,” Manning said. “This is really fantastic.” He added: “Wow! This never gets old.”
The three-legged InSight spacecraft reached the surface after going from 12,300 mph (19,800 kph) to zero in six minutes flat, using a parachute and braking engines to slow down. Radio signals confirming the landing took more than eight minutes to cross the nearly 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) between Mars and Earth.
It was NASA’s ninth attempt to land at Mars since the 1976 Viking probes. All but one of the previous US touchdowns were successful.
NASA last landed on Mars in 2012 with the Curiosity rover.
Viewings were held coast to coast at museums, planetariums and libraries, as well as New York’s Times Square.
“Landing on Mars is one of the hardest single jobs that people have to do in planetary exploration,” InSight’s lead scientist, Bruce Banerdt, said before the landing. “It’s such a difficult thing, it’s such a dangerous thing that there’s always a fairly uncomfortably large chance that something could go wrong.”
Mars has been the graveyard for a multitude of space missions. Up to now, the success rate at the red planet was only 40 percent, counting every attempted flyby, orbital flight and landing by the US, Russia and other countries since 1960.
The US, however, has pulled off seven successful Mars landings in the past four decades, not counting InSight, with only one failed touchdown. No other country has managed to set and operate a spacecraft on the dusty red surface.
InSight was shooting for Elysium Planitia, a plain near the Martian equator that the InSight team hopes is as flat as a parking lot in Kansas with few, if any, rocks.
This is no rock-collecting expedition. Instead, the stationary 800-pound (360-kilogram) lander will use its 6-foot (1.8-meter) robotic arm to place a mechanical mole and seismometer on the ground. The self-hammering mole will burrow 16 feet (5 meters) down to measure the planet’s internal heat, while the seismometer listens for possible quakes.
Nothing like this has been attempted before at our next-door neighbor, nearly 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) away. No lander has dug deeper than several inches, and no seismometer has ever worked on Mars.
By examining the interior of Mars, scientists hope to understand how our solar system’s rocky planets formed 4.5 billion years ago and why they turned out so different — Mars cold and dry, Venus and Mercury burning hot, and Earth hospitable to life.
InSight has no life-detecting capability, however. That will be left to future rovers. NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, for instance, will collect rocks that will eventually be brought back to Earth and analyzed for evidence of ancient life.
NASA spacecraft lands on red planet after six-month journey
NASA spacecraft lands on red planet after six-month journey
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Layali Diriyah brings art, culture, global flavors to its 4th edition
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- Host of winter entertainment options celebrate ancient Saudi city’s history, identity
- Food, luxury retail, hands-on heritage activities among visitor attractions
RIYADH: Layali Diriyah, the immersive winter entertainment experience, is offering a range of cultural and culinary experiences that celebrate the identity and history of the ancient city of Diriyah.
Now in its fourth edition, the event offers live music, light displays, and a number of restaurants.
Asma Al-Shehri, one of the visitors, told Arab News: “The place is absolutely stunning, and it’s even more well-prepared than I expected. What impressed me the most was the incredible hospitality — the organizers are everywhere, ready to assist and welcome you.”
Layali Diriyah opened on Feb. 12, 2025 as part of Diriyah Season 24/25.
Food lovers can indulge in a selection of flavors at six cafes and nine restaurants, featuring both local and international cuisines. The event also includes 13 luxury retail stores, giving visitors access to renowned brands, unique handcrafted items, and winter-inspired food and beverage stalls.
A highlight of this year’s event is the “Chef’s Table Experience,” where visitors can enjoy exclusive dishes prepared for the occasion. This fine-dining experience, with its elegant winter atmosphere, adds a luxurious touch to the vibrant energy of Layali Diriyah.
Standout features of this year’s event include interactive art installations such as the palm frond bridge. Other attractions include traditional swings and live folk performances.
Visitors can also engage in hands-on heritage activities that celebrate Diriyah’s historical significance, allowing them to experience the traditions and customs that define the region.
Entry to Layali Diriyah is SR185 ($49) per person. Alternatively, visitors can book a table at one of the participating restaurants and pay the entrance fee through The Chefz app. The event also provides a shuttle service from designated parking areas.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival announces 2025 dates
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JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has announced the dates for its fifth edition, with international celebrities set to touch down in Jeddah for the festival that will run from Dec. 4-13.
The event will take place at the film festival’s headquarters in Al-Balad, Jeddah.
Last year’s theme, “The New Home of Film,” celebrated the festival’s new headquarters Al-Balad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 2024 festival played host to more than 40,000 attendees and nearly 7,000 accredited guests, showcasing 122 films from 85 countries, including 61 premieres. A total of 302 screenings took place, with half of the films being world or international premieres, including 46 world premieres, 15 international premieres, and 53 MENA premieres.
The Al-Balad headquarters features five purpose-built cinemas and a large auditorium that hosted back-to-back screenings as well as In Conversation panels with celebrities.
Presided over by Spike Lee, the 2024 edition's two juries deliberated across 14 competition categories, with 16 feature films vying for top honors, alongside short films from the Arab world, Asia, and Africa featured in the New Saudi, New Cinema, and Arab Shorts programs.
Last year’s red carpet featured the likes of Emily Blunt, Aamir Khan, Mona Zaki, Viola Davis, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Other notable attendees included Michelle Yeoh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Johnny Depp, Yousra, Vin Diesel, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cynthia Erivo, Brendan Fraser, Mohamed Sami, and more.
‘Conclave’ and ‘Brutalist’ share BAFTA honors as Anna Kendrick looks to Georges Chakra archive
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- “Conclave”, which stars Ralph Fiennes as a cardinal corralling conniving clergy as they elect a new pope, was also named outstanding British film and took trophies for editing and adapted screenplay
- US filmmaker Brady Corbet took the BAFTA for best director for “The Brutalist,” while leading man Adrien Brody scooped up the best actor gong
DUBAI/LONDON: Hollywood actress Anna Kendrick hit the red carpet at the 78th British Academy Film Awards in an archival look by Lebanese designer Georges Chakra on Sunday night in London.
Kendrick showed off a silk chiffon pleated gown adorned with bands of cascading black crystal fringe and a sweeping train from the designer’s Fall/Winter 2005-2006 couture collection at the BAFTAs.
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Meanwhile, Papal thriller “Conclave” and immigrant epic “The Brutalist” tied for top honors at the ceremony, with each film picking up four coveted gongs.
“Conclave,” directed by German-born Edward Berger, won the BAFTA for the best film with its tale of the intrigue and horse-trading behind the scenes during the election of a new pope.
Accepting the award, Berger recalled the journey to make the film took seven years, paying tribute to British screenplay writer Peter Straughan's “wonderful script” and lead actor Ralph Fiennes.
US filmmaker Brady Corbet took the BAFTA for best director for “The Brutalist”, while leading man Adrien Brody scooped up the best actor gong for his portrayal of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor and architect who emigrates to the United States.
Brody told a winners press conference that the film was “an opportunity for me to honor my own ancestral struggles.”
In “a film that speaks to tremendous cruelty and despicable behavior in our past... we see elements existing today that can guide us and remind us of that,” he added.
Veteran British actor Fiennes, who played a cardinal in “Conclave”, once again saw his hopes of winning a BAFTA gong dashed, losing out to Brody in the race for the honour.
Scandal-hit “Emilia Perez”, a surreal musical about a Mexican druglord, had been heavily favored at the beginning of the year. But it ended the evening with just two BAFTAs, including one for Zoe Saldana for best supporting actress.
Until last month, French director Jacques Audiard's movie had been expected to be a frontrunner having won 11 nominations.
But old racist and Islamophobic tweets by lead actor Karla Sofia Gascon surfaced at the end of January, shaking up the race just before the London ceremony and the Oscars on March 2.
Jordan’s Princess Iman welcomes first child
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DUBAI: Jordan’s Princess Iman bint Abdullah II and her husband, Jameel Alexander Thermiotis, have welcomed a baby girl, Princess Amina.
Queen Rania, the princess’s mother, took to social media to announce the news on Sunday.
“My darling Iman is now a mother. We’re grateful and overjoyed to meet Amina, our family’s newest blessing. Congratulations Jameel and Iman — may God bless you and your precious little girl,” she captioned the post.
This will be the second grandchild for Queen Rania and King Abdullah. Their first grandchild, born in August, is the daughter of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein. She was named Iman in honor of her aunt.
Model Imaan Hammam turns curator of Arab art on Instgram
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DUBAI: Dutch-Moroccan-Egyptian model Imaan Hammam took to Instagram to announce the launch of her new archival project, Ayni, which will highlight significant contributions to Arab film, art, music and literature.
“Meet Ayni (@ayni.vault), an archive dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Arab artistic expression through ‘my eyes,’” Hammam captioned the post on Instagram.
“Follow along as I highlight some of the most significant contributions to Arab film, art, music, and literature — both old and new — and celebrate the talented artists behind them. This project holds such a special place in my heart, and I hope you enjoy it just as much as I enjoy curating it.”
Late last year, the model made waves when she delivered the opening remarks at the highly regarded Fashion Trust Arabia Awards’ sixth event, which took place in Marrakech, Morocco.
The 28-year-old went on stage in a gorgeous black kaftan from Moroccan designer Selma Benomar. The heavily embroidered look highlighted Moroccan artistry and design, and paid tribute to the country’s royal family.
“So honored to open this year’s @fashiontrustarabia Awards here in the motherland,” Hamman said on Instagram. “Celebrating Arab artistry in the place where my roots run deep made this experience truly special. Proud to uplift the creativity that makes our culture unique. A special thank you to @selma_benomar_caftan for designing this gorgeous Moroccan custom-made caftan.”
Although Hammam was born and raised in Amsterdam, her mother is from Morocco and she visits the country frequently.
Hammam is one of the most in-demand models in the industry. She was scouted in Amsterdam’s Centraal Station before making her catwalk debut in 2013 by walking in Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture show.
Hammam has appeared on the runway for leading fashion houses such as Burberry, Fendi, Prada, Bottega Veneta, Marc Jacobs, Moschino, Balenciaga and Carolina Herrera, to name a few, and starred in international campaigns for DKNY, Celine, Chanel, Versace, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani, Tiffany & Co. and others.
Celebrity guests at the Fashion Trust Arabia ceremony included Emirati singer Balqees Fathi, British model Jourdan Dunn, Lebanese-British fashion entrepreneur Karen Wazen and American-Lebanese supermodel Nour Arida.