Fayetteville AR (SPX) Aug 01, 2006 - A recent grant from NASA will enable the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences at the University of Arkansas to continue its work creating missions to asteroids and exploring the possibilities and chemistry of water on Mars as part of the nation's space effort.
Ann Arbor MI (SPX) Aug 01, 2006 - The question of whether the planet Mars can support life has tantalized scientists for years, but research now suggests that Martian dust devils and storms produce oxidants that would render the planet's surface uninhabitable for life as it exists on Earth.
Pasadena CA (SPX) Jul 31, 2006 - Spirit remains healthy and continues to make progress on computer upgrades and scientific research, despite winter temperatures colder than any yet experienced during the rover's two and a half years on Mars.
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 25, 2006 - In terms of going and going and going, the Energizer Bunny has nothing on NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers. Originally designed to operate in the harsh environment of the red planet for 90 sols, or Martian days, Spirit recently passed its 900th sol, and Opportunity will reach that mark within two weeks.
Pasadena CA (SPX) Jul 24, 2006 - Pasadena CA (SPX) Jul 24, 2006 The answer to the question about life on Mars may very well come from analyzing an unsuspecting source - the soil, specifically the icy layer of soil underneath the red planet's surface. By analyzing the properties of Mars frozen layer of soil during NASA's next lander mission, scientists will be able to better understand and theorize about life on Mars.
Beijing, China (XNA) Jul 24, 2006 - Scientists from several nations are conducting a ground-based experiment on life support systems so humans can explore space and one day live outside Earth's biosphere, perhaps on Mars or on the Moon.
Pasadena CA (SPX) Jul 24, 2006 - Beginning July 22 in the early hours of its 907th Martian day, or sol, Spirit began knitting together and testing all 200 pieces of new flight software that mission controllers transmitted to the rover in recent weeks.
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 21, 2006 - Opportunity is healthy and continued driving towards Beagle Crater, which is about 140 meters (459 feet) away as of sol 877 (July 12, 2006). The upload of the flight software files was completed on sol 876, and the flight software build process is currently planned for sols 879-881.
Cambridge MA (SPX) Jul 21, 2006 - MIT engineers and scientist colleagues have a new vision for the future of Mars exploration: a swarm of probes, each the size of a baseball, spreading out across the planet in every direction.
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 21, 2006 - This week Spirit greeted the 900th day, or sol, of exploration on Mars. Spirit is healthy and continues to make science observations despite winter power limitations. One file of a new software upgrade remains to be transmitted to the rover. Rover handlers plan to have Spirit start using the new software sometime in mid-August.
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Jul 20, 2006 - Astronauts who travel in space are at risk for bone loss in much the same way as cancer patients who receive radiation therapy, and both groups are more likely to develop fractures than the general population.
Pasadena CA (SPX) Jul 20, 2006 - Thirty years after the first successful landing on Mars by NASA's Viking spacecraft, the ambitious mission continues to evoke pride and enthusiasm for future space exploration.
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 20, 2006 - NASA scientists plan to drill someday into the surface of Mars to look for water and signs of possible life. So, scientists are developing an automated, unmanned drill rig that can operate totally on its own, unsupervised for hours at a time.
Ithaca NY (SPX) Jul 18, 2006 - At this very moment, on an alien world millions of miles from Earth, two wheeled robots named Spirit and Opportunity are dutifully exploring Mars. But by all previous accounts, these Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) should have stopped functioning ages ago. After all, their warranty was only good for 90 days
Pasadena (SPX) Jul 13, 2006 - Opportunity is healthy. This week, Opportunity continued uplinking its new flight software load and driving toward Victoria Crater. Opportunity completed three more drives toward the large crater on sols 869 (July 4, 2006), 870 and 871. As of Sol 870, Opportunity is approximately 115 meters (377 feet) from Beagle Crater and about 600 meters (just over one-third of a mile) from Victoria Crater.
Paris, France (SPX) Jul 12, 2006 - As part of ESA's ambitious, long-term Aurora exploration program, ExoMars will search for traces of life on Mars. The mission requires entirely new technologies for self-controlled robots, built-in autonomy and cutting-edge visual terrain sensors.
