Tag: Curiosity

Leting NASA’s Curiosity Rover “Follow the Water” on Mars

Leting NASA’s Curiosity Rover “Follow the Water” on Mars

  After four years of studiosly ignoring what might be the most interesting destinations on its path due to concerns over planetary protection, NASA is consideing letting its Curisoity Rover operating in Mars’ Gale Crater, have a bit more leash. “Pending approval of a mission extension, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover will continue to climb to […]

Posted in: Mars
Revisiting SpaceX “Red Dragon” Mars Sample Return

Revisiting SpaceX “Red Dragon” Mars Sample Return

When SpaceX first introduced a version of its Dragon capsule with propulsive capability, one early image released by the company depicted the spacecraft landing on a dusty red surface which looked suspiciously like Mars. That image, and more than a few comments regarding Dragon’s capabilities by company founder and CEO Elon Musk served as a […]

Posted in: Mars, SpaceX
Still More Evidence for a Wet Mars

Still More Evidence for a Wet Mars

Wet Mars : Credits: NASA/GSFC The journal Nature Communications has published a paper detailing research into comparatively recent water flow on Mars. Abstract: “Liquid water is currently extremely rare on Mars, but was more abundant during periods of high obliquity in the last few millions of years. This is testified by the widespread occurrence of mid-latitude […]

Posted in: Mars
A Milestone Accomplished, and a Significant Discovery on Mars

A Milestone Accomplished, and a Significant Discovery on Mars

Curiosity Self Portrait  /   Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Two noteworthy news stories from Mars. First, NASA’s diminutive but never say die rover Opportunity, which initially began its three month primary mission on the Red Planet 11 years ago, has now traveled a cumulative distance of 26.2 miles. Over the course of that journey, the distance of […]

Posted in: Mars, NASA
Rover Looks Back on Mars, NASA Looking Ahead

Rover Looks Back on Mars, NASA Looking Ahead

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ A true color image taken on August 15 NASA is looking back at the Curiosity Rover’s path across Mars today. Meanwhile, perhaps stung by publicity from a Senior Panel Review which questioned the scientific return of the mission, the space agency has scheduled a teleconference for 1:00 pm EDT […]

Posted in: Mars, NASA
NASA Review Suggests Mars Rover is Underachieving

NASA Review Suggests Mars Rover is Underachieving

Image Credit: NASA JPL Remember the “7 minutes of terror?” Apparently it has been followed by two years of boredom. A senior level review of NASA space science missions, a routine procedure in which missions are graded for a series of extensions beyond their original mission, was conducted earlier this year, and it came down […]

Posted in: Mars, NASA
As Uwingo Announces Beam Me to Mars, Curiosity Beams Another Image Back

As Uwingo Announces Beam Me to Mars, Curiosity Beams Another Image Back

Two Mars related stories. First, Uwingo, the crowd-sourced Mars funding site started which is attempting to raise $10 million this year to support research grants for Mars exploration has unveiled a new campaign. According to the announcement: “Uwingu presents the first opportunity for a shout-out from the people of Earth to Mars with personal messages […]

A New Iron Age: On Mars

A New Iron Age: On Mars

Image Credit : NASA Sometimes Mars just seems to be begging us to come stay a while. Composites are all the rage on Earth, and perhaps rightfully so. But one planet further out and making use of what is immediately available and our perspective may change somewhat. Take a look at the NASA news story […]

Posted in: Mars
Ten Years Later NASA’s Opportunity Rover is Still Going Strong

Ten Years Later NASA’s Opportunity Rover is Still Going Strong

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ While the flashy new Curiosity rover is celebrating the completion of its first full Martian year,  the much smaller but remarkably resilient Opportunity rover is still going strong in its 10th (Earth) year on Mars.  And as JPL reports, perched on the rim of the Endeavour crater and scoured […]

Posted in: Mars
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Marks One Martian Year

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Marks One Martian Year

NASA’s Curiosity Rover marked one year on the Red Planet today, one Martian year that is, or 687 Earth days. It of course warranted a youtube update which provides a bit of insight into the wheel damage issue which has slowed the rover’s course of progress and challenged the JPL team to develop new driving […]

Posted in: Mars
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