Pasadena (JPL) Mar 25, 2002 - Just one of the many problems in landing on another planet, after it's been determined where to land and the method to get there, is landing safely. For JPL, a safe landing is the name of the game, as engineers work to prepare two rovers for the journey to Mars.
Paris (ESA) Jun 04, 2003 - While final preparations continue for the launch of ESA's Mars Express -- the Agency's first mission to explore the Red Planet -- European scientists and engineers are also looking towards the future, to a time when humans are able to set foot on the rust-red sands of our neighbouring world.
by Timothy N. Titus, Ph.D U.S.G.S. Astrogeology Team - Speculations about life on Mars have always caused great interest and controversy. Recently, several Internet articles have been posted describing the discovery of Martian Surface Organisms in the south polar region of Mars.
Paris (ESA) Dec 03, 2003 - Seven years ago, Prof. Vittorio Formisano had the worst day of his professional life. A malfunctioning rocket stage sent Russian planetary probe Mars '96 tumbling back down to Earth ¿ and along with it an instrument that he and his team had worked on for almost a decade. Today, Vittorio is Principal Investigator for a new version of the same instrument ¿ the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) ¿ now almost at the Red Planet on board ESA's Mars Express.
Sydney - Sept. 11. 2001 - All creatures great and small could be an appropriate metaphor for the menagerie of probes that NASA would like to send to Mars. Despite budget shortcomings that could threaten NASA¿s Scout program for small missions, engineers are pressing ahead with plans for a large rover that is tipped to fly in 2007. There could also be other spacecraft of various descriptions in the same time frame, but it¿s difficult to predict their nature with absolute certainty.
Pasadena - Sol 4-A, 2004 - In this interview with Astrobiology Magazine's managing editor Henry Bortman, conducted just after NASA released the first high-resolution color picture of Gusev on January 6th, Nathalie Cabrol talks about her historic interest in the site and what stories she thinks Gusev Crater might have to tell about Mars.
Pasadena - Sol 6-A, 2004 - Within 24 hours after Pathfinder landed on Mars in 1997, NASA scientists had pinpointed its landing site. Spirit's story is a bit different. Spirit landed six days ago, but scientists are still struggling to figure out exactly where.
for NASA Science News - Alien planets have alien weather. Take Mars, for example. A morning weather report on the Red Planet might sound like this: Good morning, Martians! It looks like another solar storm heading our way. An X-class solar flare exploded this morning and proton counts have soared 1000-fold. More of the deadly particles are en route, so don't leave shelter today without your radiation suit!
by Phil BerardelliScience & Technology Editor - The spectacular success of NASA's twin Mars rovers is due obviously to the skills and determination of the scientists and engineers involved in the mission, but luck also contributed to an amazing degree.
Providence - Feb. 28, 2001 - Brown University recently received a three-year, $638,000 grant to develop a system to monitor the cognitive abilities of astronauts during a proposed NASA manned mission to Mars in 2020.
Pasadena - Oct. 26, 2000 - By means of orbiters, landers, rovers and sample return missions, NASA's revamped campaign to explore Mars, announced today, is poised to unravel the secrets of the red planet's past environments, the history of its rocks, the many roles of water and, possibly, evidence of past or present life.
Los Angeles - Oct. 25, 2001 - Hard working volunteers skilled in the use of hand and power tools are needed to assist in the construction of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS).
Denver - Oct. 31, 2000 - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists studying Mars have discovered minerals with profound implications for the past history of the planet. The mineral olivine, an iron-magnesium silicate that weathers easily by water, has been found in abundance on Mars. The presence of olivine implies that chemical weathering by water is low on the planet and that Mars has been cold and dry throughout its geologic history.
Moffett Field - Jan. 8, 2001 - Mars may once have been a very wet place. A host of clues remain from an earlier era, billions of years ago, hinting that the Red Planet was host to great rivers, lakes and perhaps even an ocean. But some of the clues are contradictory -- they don't all fit together in a coherent whole. Little wonder, then, that the fate of water on Mars is such a hotly debated topic.
KSC - Jan. 5, 2001 - The first major step toward NASA's return of a spacecraft to an orbit around Mars was achieved late Thursday night, Jan. 4, when the Mars Odyssey spacecraft arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Paris (ESA) Sep 10, 2002 - Of all missions sent to Mars only one, the Viking 26 years ago, has dared to search for life. Its only conclusive result was that finding proof of extraterrestrial life proved to be much harder than expected. Second attempts never followed.
