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Phoenix Weathers Dust Storm![]() 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. The increasing opacity in the atmosphere from the storm decreased the power reaching the Phoenix's solar arrays. So on Martian days, or sols, 135-136 of the mission (Oct. 11-12), Phoenix scientists ... more Opportunity Takes A Victory Lap ![]() 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. ... more The Sun Is Setting On Phoenix ![]() 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. Over the past two weeks, Phoenix's nearly 2.4-meter-long (8 foot) arm moved a rock named "Headless" about 0.4 meters (16 inches) and snapped an image of the rock with its camera. Then the robotic arm scraped the ... more India Not Engaged In Space Race With China ![]() As India prepares for its first unmanned mission to the Moon next week, ISRO chief Madhavan Nair has said that New Delhi is not engaged in a space race with Beijing, stating that the priorities of the two countries are different and there is no competition. Chandrayaan-1, the country's first unmanned lunar venture, is slated for launch on October 22 and India has proposed Mars mission in ... more NASA Supercomputer Shows How Dust Rings Point To Exo-Earths ![]() Supercomputer simulations of dusty disks around sunlike stars show that planets nearly as small as Mars can create patterns that future telescopes may be able to detect. The research points to a new avenue in the search for habitable planets. "It may be a while before we can directly image earthlike planets around other stars but, before then, we'll be able to detect the ornate and ... more |
mars-general
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![]() ![]() NASA plans to launch a new exploration rover to Mars next fall, despite budget and technical concerns, a NASA official said Friday. "All indications are that they're still on track for the '09 launch," Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program, said at a teleconference. The space agency will review the mission's progress again in January, he said. NASA's Je ... more Phoenix Lander Digs And Analyzes Soil As Darkness Gathers ![]() 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. Over the past two weeks, Phoenix's nearly 2.4-meter-long (8 feet) arm moved a rock, nicknamed "Headless," about 0.4 meters (16 inches), and snapped an image of the rock with its camera. Then, the robotic arm ... more An Opportunity For A Tour Will Be An Endeavour ![]() 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 (2 ... more Nicaraguan Volcano Provides Insight Into Early Mars ![]() 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. ... more |
mars-water-science
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![]() ![]() NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity is setting its sights on a crater more than 20 times larger than its home for the past two years. To reach the crater the rover team calls Endeavour, Opportunity would need to drive approximately 12 kilometers (7 miles) to the southeast, matching the total distance it has traveled since landing on Mars in early 2004. The rover climbed out of Victoria Crater earlier ... more MRO Reveals Rock Fracture Plumbing On Mars ![]() NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed hundreds of small fractures exposed on the Martian surface that billions of years ago directed flows of water through underground Martian sandstone. Researchers used images from the spacecraft's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, camera. Images of layered rock deposits at equatorial Martian sites show the clusters of ... more Reaching for the stars: a space travel timeline ![]() Milestones in the history of manned space flight: -- 1st century AD: A simple explosive substance appears in China. To create a festive effect, containers filled with it are believed to have been thrown onto fires, whereupon they sometimes flew up into the air. -- 1232: The first documented use of "fire-sticks" as weapons -- by Chinese forces repelling a Mongol invasion. ... more Space key to mankind's survival: NASA chief ![]() Mankind's very survival depends on the future exploration of space, said NASA chief Michael Griffin in an interview with AFP marking the 50th anniversary of the US space agency. This journey, said the veteran physicist and aerospace engineer, is full of unknowns and has only just begun. "Does the survival of human kind depend upon it? I think so," he said. Griffin compared the first ... more
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exo-life
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