| February 21, 2007 |
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our time will build eternity |
| PREVIOUS ISSUE OF MARSDAILY |
Hunting Martian Fossils Best Bet For Locating Mars Life
San Francisco CA (SPX) Feb 20, 2007Hunting for traces of life on Mars calls for two radically different strategies, says Arizona State University professor Jack Farmer. Of the two, he says, with today's exploration technology we can most easily look for evidence for past life, preserved as fossil "biosignatures" in old rocks. Farmer is a professor of geological sciences in ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration, where he heads the astrobiology program. A Wet Past Launches Quest For Life On Red Planet 
San Francisco (AFP) Feb 15, 2007Growing evidence of water on Mars adds weight to the theory that life once existed and could still exist beneath its surface, said a group of scientists meeting in San Francisco. "We have abundant evidence that early Mars was water rich," Houston, Texas, Lunar and Planetary Institute astronomer Stephen Clifford told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Spirit Perfects The Art Of Driving On Five Wheels 
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 20, 2007Rover drivers have now refined their techniques for maneuvering on only five wheels. All of Spirit's drives during the past week ended within centimeters (inches) of the targeted endpoint. Spirit is healthy and has arrived at the rock outcrop known as "Bellingshausen" on the way back to "Home Plate." |
Orbiter Provides New Hints Of Past Groundwater Flows On Mars
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 16, 2007 A spacecraft recently arrived at Mars has provided new evidence that fluids, likely including water, once flowed widely through underlying bedrock in a canyon that is part of the great Martian rift valley. The new color images from the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show an equatorial landscape of hills composed of dozens of alternating layers of dark- and light-toned rocks, and crossed by dark sand dunes. Success For Thales Space Laser Headed To Mars 
Paris, France (SPX) Feb 13, 2007Thales's space laser programme has achieved a new milestone with the successful completion of shock-resistance tests at over 2,000 g in all three axes. Designed to operate for two years on Mars after a 10-month voyage through space, the Thales laser has already demonstrated impressive performance. Animation Of Newly Uploaded Mars Exploration Driving Capability 
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 13, 2007Until recently, NASA's two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, could figure only one or two steps ahead in planning a path and driving on their own. New software uploaded to the rovers onboard computers now enables them to look ahead and plan a path to a spot 50 meters (164 feet) away, evading obstacles along the way. |
The First Hiking Maps Of Mars
Paris, France (ESA) Feb 13, 2007Scientists using data from the HRSC experiment onboard ESA's Mars Express spacecraft have produced the first 'hiker's maps' of Mars. Giving detailed height contours and names of geological features in the Iani Chaos region, the maps could become a standard reference for future Martian research. The maps are known as topographic maps because they use contour lines to show the heights of the landscape. Opportunity Flips 10 Kilometers And Tests New Drive Software 
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 13, 2007Opportunity has completed a remote sensing campaign at "Cape Desire" and is on the move to the next promontory, called "Cabo Corrientes." Spring Comes To Spirit At Gusev 
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 12, 2007Spring is in the thin, Martian atmosphere once again as NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit scans the local terrain for dust devils expected this time of year. The rover remains healthy and has completed remote sensing studies of a soil target known as "Tyrone," conducted from a distance of about 10 meters (33 feet) away. Tyrone has bright soil upturned in wheel tracks. |
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CCDs On The Blink
Pasadena CA (SPX) Feb 09, 2007NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft this month is set to surpass the record for the most science data returned by any Mars spacecraft. While continuing to produce data at record levels, engineers are examining why two instruments are intermittently not performing entirely as planned. All other spacecraft instruments are operating well and continue to return science data. Detailing A Winter Haven On Mars At Gusev Crater 
Pasadena CA (SPX) Feb 09, 2007Since April of 2006, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been sojourning in a place called "Winter Haven," where the robotic geologist spent several months parked on a north-facing slope in order to keep its solar panels pointed toward the sun. Opportunity Passes Ten Kilometer Mark
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 08, 2007NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity extended its cumulative Martian driving record to more than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) by crossing 50.51 meters (165.7 feet) of flat ground during the 1,080th Martian day since arriving on Mars. This view shows the surroundings at the completion of the day's drive. It is a mosaic of frames taken by Opportunity's navigation camera. |
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