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.
Pasadena (JPL) Dec 12, 2001 - Of all the places to land on Mars, where in the world should the twin rovers in 2003 go?
Pasadena (JPL) Jan 15, 2003 - The launch dates for the two Mars Exploration Rovers are getting closer and so is the need to pick a place for them to land. Adventurous travelers might spin a globe and pick a vacation based on whichever spot their finger finds. But scientists and engineers working on NASA's newest rover mission cannot be as casual about landing site choices for the twin rovers that will launch in May and June of this year.
Chicago - Feb. 26, 2001 - Chemical analysis of Martian meteorites supports the controversial theory of water on Mars, according to Meenakshi Wadhwa, PhD, associate curator of meteoritics at The Field Museum in Chicago. Her research was published in the February 23rd issue of Science.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Brisbane - Sept. 19, 2001 - An experiment conducted at Pioneer Astronautics for the Mars Society has demonstrated that the Coriolis forces that mice will be exposed to during the Translife Mission will not be excessive.
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.
Washington - Dec. 4 2000 - Layered geologic outcrops on Mars, that will be described in this week's issue of the journal Science -- may be composed of sedimentary rock that dates from the earliest span of martian history, between 4.3. and 3.5 billion years ago.
Pasadena (JPL) Apr 30, 2002 - NASA and JPL are sending RATS to Mars to work as field geologists. A RAT is not quite a furry little friend, but rather a high-tech robot with diamond teeth, called a Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT).
Greenbelt - Jan. 17, 2001 - NASA's Mars Global Surveyor will complete its primary mapping mission of Mars on January 31, 2001 after a mapping mission that lasted one full Mars year (687 days). During this time MGS was able to globally map the planet while monitoring seasonal changes.
