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HiRISE Camera Reveals Rare Polar Martian Impact Craters
An odd, solitary hill rising part-way down an eroding slope in Mars' north polar layered terrain may be the remnant of a buried impact crater, suggests a…
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Europe delays ExoMars mission, again
London (UPI) Oct 18, 2008 - The European Space Agency says it's delaying its unmanned mission to Mars until 2016 and may seek help from Russia and the United States.
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Phoenix Mars Mission Honored By Popular Mechanics
Pasadena CA (SPX) Oct 17, 2008 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Mission is being honored with a Breakthrough Award by Popular Mechanics magazine in New York City. In its fourth year, the awards recognize innovators who improve lives and expand possibilities in science, technology, engineering and exploration.
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Young Researchers To Explore The Mysteries Of Our Solar System
London, UK (SPX) Oct 16, 2008 - Three young researchers are starting exciting new fellowships in UK Universities dedicated to exploring and uncovering the mysteries of our Solar System.
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Phoenix Weathers Dust Storm
Pasadena CA (SPX) Oct 15, 2008 - The Phoenix Lander over the weekend successfully weathered a regional dust storm that temporarily lowered its solar power, and the team is back investigating the Red Planet's northern plains.
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The Sun Is Setting On Phoenix
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Oct 14, 2008 - As fall approaches Mars' northern plains, NASA's Phoenix Lander continues to dig into the red planet's soil and deliver samples to its onboard science instruments for analysis.
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Opportunity Takes A Victory Lap
Pasadena CA (SPX) Oct 14, 2008 - A journey of 7.5 miles began with a partial victory lap around Victoria Crater, as Opportunity headed south toward enormous Endeavour Crater. Partway around the circuit, Opportunity passed the 7.5-mile mark of the mission. In metric terms, the rover began a 12,000-meter, cross-country trek by ending a similar 12,000-meter journey across uncharted terrain and in and out of craters.
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What Will Flight To Mars Reveal
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Oct 13, 2008 - Deep space exploration is becoming an ever bigger part of national space programs. Currently, missions to the Moon and Mars are considered feasible. The U.S. has announced preparation for another space probe launch to collect data from the Martian atmosphere, scheduled for 2013.
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Orbital Tweak Makes Odyssey More Sensitive In Martian Mineral Search
Tempe AZ (SPX) Oct 13, 2008 - A six-minute rocket firing on September 30 has put NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft on track for a new orbit around the Red Planet. The change, part of a two-year extension for the mission, will give an ASU-operated instrument carried on Odyssey greater sensitivity for mapping Martian minerals.
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Smaller And More Recent Features On Mars Can Now Be Dated
Tucson AZ (SPX) Oct 13, 2008 - The crater-counting system that scientists have used since the 1970s to determine the age of large geologic features on Mars will also allow them to date small features, such as riverbeds and lava flows, according to William K. Hartmann, a senior scientist at the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute.
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Phoenix Lander Digs And Analyzes Soil As Darkness Gathers
Pasadena CA (SPX) Oct 10, 2008 - As fall approaches Mars' northern plains, NASA's Phoenix Lander is busy digging into the Red Planet's soil and scooping it into its onboard science laboratories for analysis.
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NASA plans Mars launch next fall
Washington (UPI) Oct 10, 2008 - NASA plans to launch a new exploration rover to Mars next fall, despite budget and technical concerns, a NASA official said Friday.
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An Opportunity For A Tour Will Be An Endeavour
Pasadena CA Oct 04, 2008 - Opportunity has embarked on the next great challenge -- a journey of 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) southeast to a huge hole in the ground nicknamed Endeavour Crater. Measuring 22 kilometers (14 miles) from rim to rim and plunging 300 meters (1,000 feet) below the surface, Endeavour Crater is significantly larger than Victoria Crater, which is 730 meters (almost half a mile) wide and 70 meters (200 feet) deep. Because it is so much deeper, Endeavour promises to expose even more rock layers going further back in time.
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Nicaraguan Volcano Provides Insight Into Early Mars
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Oct 01, 2008 - Volcanic eruptions were commonplace on ancient Mars, when vents and fissures spewed out gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. Such locales were very hot and very acidic - characteristics that would seem to be inhospitable to life. But in recent years researchers have discovered a vast array of primitive organisms living in analogous environments on Earth.
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Mars Lander Sees Falling Snow, Soil Data Suggest Liquid Past
Pasadena CA (SPX) Sep 30, 2008 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. Spacecraft soil experiments also have provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water, processes that occur on Earth.
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Opportunity Slipping Like A Dune Buggy
Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 29, 2008 - During the past week, Opportunity has been trying to reach a patch of dust between two crests of the ridge surrounding Victoria Crater. The rover approached the ridge from the west, driving on flat ground, on Martian days, or sols, 1648 and 1650 (Sept. 12 and Sept. 14, 2008).