Tag: M1

India Celebrates a MOM Safe at Mars

India Celebrates a MOM Safe at Mars

Two days after NASA hailed the arrival of its MAVEN spacecraft at the Red Planet, rising space power India is now celebrating the successful orbital insertion of its own; MOM, or Mars Orbital Mission. From the Indian space Research Organization Press Release: “India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft successfully entered into an orbit around planet Mars today […]

Posted in: India Space, Mars
Maven Arrives at Mars, India’s MOM Two Days Away

Maven Arrives at Mars, India’s MOM Two Days Away

Image Credit: NASA Following a 10 month interplanetary cruise after launch from Cape Canaveral on November 18th 2013, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter arrived successfully at the Red Planet on Sunday evening. Orbital insertion was achieved at 10:24 PM EDT, with the aid of a 33 minute burn of the six main […]

Posted in: India Space, Mars
Maven Prepares For Mars Gravity Capture Tonight

Maven Prepares For Mars Gravity Capture Tonight

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC NASA Press Release: NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is nearing its scheduled Sept. 21 insertion into Martian orbit after completing a 10-month interplanetary journey of 442 million miles. Flight Controllers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado, will be responsible for the health and safety of the spacecraft […]

Posted in: Mars
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
After Multiple Resets, NASA Plans to Reboot Rover Flash Memory

After Multiple Resets, NASA Plans to Reboot Rover Flash Memory

NASA News Story: An increasing frequency of computer resets on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has prompted the rover team to make plans to reformat the rover’s flash memory. The resets, including a dozen this month, interfere with the rover’s planned science activities, even though recovery from each incident is completed within a day or […]

Posted in: Mars
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 […]

NASA’s LDSD “Saucer-Shaped” Mars Landing Test is a Partial Success

NASA’s LDSD “Saucer-Shaped” Mars Landing Test is a Partial Success

After a number of scrubs due to high winds at its Hawaii test site, NASA was finally able to conduct the first of three planned Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) test flights on Saturday. From the NASA news release: The balloon launch occurred at 8:45 a.m. HST (11:45 a.m. PDT/2:45 p.m. EDT) from the US Navy’s […]

Posted in: Mars, NASA
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
As NASA Dithers, the Boldly Go Institute Plans Mars Sample Return

As NASA Dithers, the Boldly Go Institute Plans Mars Sample Return

The quickly expanding list of privately funded space ventures added a new name this week, The Boldly Go Institute, and its goals are worthy of the name.  Headlined by Dr. Jon Morse, Dr. Laurie Leshin and Dr. Scott Parazynski, all NASA veterans, the institute seeks to step in where NASA is falling short with big […]

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