Paris, France (ESA) Jun 03, 2010 - About to be shut away from the outside world, the Mars500 volunteers still get to have fun. Their duties will include regular playing of video games - though with a serious purpose.
Raleigh NC (SPX) Jun 03, 2010 - The concept of a wind-powered vehicle that can be used to explore the surface of Mars - a so-called tumbleweed rover that would roll over the surface of Mars like a tumbleweed - has been around for more than 10 years, but so far there has been no consensus on exactly what that vehicle should look like.
Moscow (AFP) June 3, 2010 - Six men from Europe, Russia and China will on Thursday be voluntarily locked away in a module for almost one and a half years to simulate the psychological effects of a mission to Mars.
Leicester, UK (SPX) Jun 03, 2010 - University of Leicester scientists have announced the start of work, in collaboration with industry, on advanced instruments for ExoMars- a new mission to Mars in 2018.
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 02, 2010 - Spirit remains silent at her location called Troy on the west side of Home Plate. No communication has been received from the rover since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010).
Bonn, Germany (SPX) Jun 02, 2010 - On 3 June 2010, six 'astronauts' will commence a virtual trip to Mars. Sealed into a cramped container at the Moscow Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) for 520 days, they will experience the rigours and isolation of long-duration spaceflight. This marks the start of the main part of the Mars 500 experiment, and on completion will constitute the longest ever space simulation experiment.
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jun 01, 2010 - On Mars, water is frozen solid. The average temperature of the Red Planet is negative 55 degrees Celsius (-67 F), and when the temperature rises - the highest recorded temperature is a balmy 20 degrees C (68 F) - this ice turns directly into a gas, skipping the liquid phase entirely because of the low atmospheric pressure.
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 01, 2010 - Opportunity has benefited from a small (about 10 percent) dust cleaning event on her solar arrays on or about Sol 2246 (May 19, 2010). This improves the available energy for the rover. With the passing of the winter solstice, temperatures should be improving, as well.
Pasadena CA (SPX) May 28, 2010 - Data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have helped scientists solve a pair of mysteries dating back four decades and provided new information about climate change on the Red Planet.
Pasadena CA (JPL) May 27, 2010 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ended operations after repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft were unsuccessful. A new image transmitted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows signs of severe ice damage to the lander's solar panels.
Idaho Falls ID (SPX) May 27, 2010 - The next generation of Mars rovers could have smaller, cheaper, more robust and more sensitive life-detecting instruments, thanks to a new invention by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory.
Pasadena CA (SPX) May 27, 2010 - With the winter solstice just passed, Opportunity is constrained by power and must recharge between drives. The rover had an extended stay on the north facing site, referred to as a Lily Pad that it reached on Sol 2240 (May 13, 2010). The favorable northerly tilt provided an increase in power for extra remote science and a MarsQuake experiment.
Pasadena CA (JPL) May 25, 2010 - Spirit remains silent at her location called Troy on the west side of Home Plate. No communication has been received from the rover since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010).
Pasadena CA (JPL) May 25, 2010 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ended operations after repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft were unsuccessful. A new image transmitted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows signs of severe ice damage to the lander's solar panels.
Washington (AFP) May 24, 2010 - NASA has declared the US Mars lander Phoenix defunct, writing it off as a victim of the red planet's icy winter after numerous unsuccessful attempts to communicate with it.
Pasadena CA (JPL) May 24, 2010 - Planners of NASA's next Mars mission have selected a flight schedule that will use favorable positions for two currently orbiting NASA Mars orbiters to obtain maximum information during descent and landing.
