Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 24, 2006 - On July 14, 1965, Mariner 4 swooped over Mars. It was a moment of high drama. Six other probes had already tried to reach the red planet and failed. Since the days of H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds, 1898), people had been hearing about life on Mars, and they were ready to see the canals and cities. The wait was becoming excruciating.
Beijing (AFP) Aug 23, 2006 - China and Russia are planning a joint mission to Mars that will bring back samples to earth and land on one of the red planet's tiny moons, state media quoted a Chinese scientist as saying Wednesday. Ye Peijian, of the Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology, made the announcement at a forum on the nation's space technology development, Xinhua news agency said.
Pasadena CA (SPX) Aug 23, 2006 - Opportunity is healthy and on the road to Victoria Crater. Spirit drove 35.67 meters (117 feet) from Beagle Crater to a small sand dune, or ripple, to examine the dune with the robotic arm. The ripple study included observations with the microscopic imager, two alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integrations, and two observations with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
Pasadena CA (SPX) Aug 21, 2006 - Spirit is healthy and continues to make progress on its winter science campaign. Spirit is finishing the McMurdo mega-panorama by acquiring touch-up images (dubbed grout by engineers). Spirit is nearly complete with the coverage of the ground around the rover.
Tempe AZ (SPX) Aug 16, 2006 - Every spring it happens. As the Sun peeks above the horizon at the Martian south polar icecap, powerful jets of carbon-dioxide (CO2) gas erupt through the icecap's topmost layer. The jets climb high into the thin, cold air, carrying fine, dark sand and spraying it for hundreds of feet around each jet.
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 16, 2006 - Like the fabled tortoise that, in the race with the hare, moves slowly yet accomplishes much, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has continued to make progress little by little, while essentially running in place.
High in the Arctic, just below Earth's north polar ice cap, a collaboration of nearly two dozen biologists, geologists, and engineers have embarked on an expedition to Mars.
The launch of the Mars Phoenix Lander is just a year away. The spacecraft will be aiming for the martian north pole, and if it lands successfully it will dig in snow and ice in one of the few places on Mars where scientists think life could be preserved.
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Aug 13, 2006 - Over 70 people, including six women and a married couple, from at least 16 countries have applied to take part in a marathon simulated flight to Mars, a Russian scientist said Friday.
Pasadena (JPL) Aug 13, 2006 - While Opportunity was collecting images with the panoramic camera on the rover's 902nd Martian day, or sol (Aug. 7, 2006), a spacecraft anomaly at 11:19 a.m. local solar time caused the rover's fault protection software to interrupt operations, place the rover in a safe state, and reboot the flight software.
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 11, 2006 - The Mars Society is seeking seven volunteers to participate as members of the crew of the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) during an extended simulation of human Mars exploration operations on Devon Island (May 1 through August 31, 2007).
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 09, 2006 - Scientists and researchers are spending two and a half weeks in Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of Norway. The objective of the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) is to characterize the geology, geophysical features, biosignatures, and possible life forms of volcanic centers, warm springs, and perennial rivers, settings thought to be analogous to sites on ancient Mars. AMASE targets the Bockfjorden area of the Norwegian island of Svalbard, in hot-spring-deposited carbonate terraces.
Berkeley CA (SPX) Aug 08, 2006 - The planet-wide dust storms that periodically cloak Mars in a mantle of red may be generating a snow of corrosive chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide, that would be toxic to life, according to two new studies published in the most recent issue of the journal Astrobiology.
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 08, 2006 - Spirit has finished acquiring images for the McMurdo panorama and began adding some finishing touches around the edges. The rover is healthy and continues to make progress on its winter science campaign of observations on Mars. Plans called for Spirit to complete a winter check-up of all the rover's cameras by calibrating the microscopic imager.
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 07, 2006 - After traversing the sandy plains of Meridiani to Beagle Crater, Opportunity investigated a patch of outcrop pavement thought to be representative of the Martian surface beyond the reach of materials excavated by the impacts that dug Beagle and the nearby, much larger Victoria Crater. Opportunity used its rock abrasion tool to grind away the surface of rock for the first time since the rover's 691st sol, or Martian day (Jan. 3, 2006).
Moscow (UPI) Aug 04, 2006 - Russia's space agency is seeking volunteers for a 520-day mock Mars mission. The announcement of the simulation is posted on the Web site of Russia's Federal Space Agency, Space.com reported. The flight will be simulated on the premises of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medical and Biological Research in northern Moscow.
