Curiosity Begins Mars Roadtrip
Curiosity has taken off on a year-long roadtrip, which is how long it will take the Mars rover to travel the eight kilometers needed to reach its Mount Sharp destination. NASA said the journey began last week from an area called Glenelg, which is about 400 meters east-southeast of Curiosity’s landing site. According to mission […]
Evidence of Water Found on Mars
The Curiosity rover has discovered an ancient stream bed that suggests water, possibly lots of it, once flowed on Mars. In a new study, scientists say their findings represent the first on-site evidence of sustained water flow on the Martian landscape. The discovery also supports the theory Mars would have once been able to host […]
Saturn’s Rings Are Raining on Planet
The old adage “April showers bring May flowers” may take on new meaning with the release of a new NASA-funded study tracking the rain of charged water particles from Saturn’s famous rings into the planet’s atmosphere. The study, led by the University of Leicester, England, found there’s more of this rain and its spread over […]
NASA Wants to Speed Journey to Mars
NASA wants to shorten the journey to Mars. It took about eight months for its Mars rover, Curiosity, to reach the red planet. And now, the US space agency is looking for ways to cut the travel time for future manned missions there. Researchers in Washington State say that might be possible through a unique […]
New Imager Finds Distant Planets Unlike Others in Known Universe
Thanks to new technology, astronomers are conducting the first remote reconnaissance of a distant solar system, allowing them to collect the first chemical fingerprints of four exoplanets orbiting a star some 128 light years from Earth. Astronomers involved with Project 1640, a high-contrast imaging program at the Palomar Observatory in California, say the four exoplanets […]
Curiosity Makes Its Way to First Mars Experiment
The Mars rover Curiosity is about to undertake its first major scientific experiment on the Red Planet.Before Curiosity heads off to its primary destination, the foothills of Mount Sharp, scientists want to learn more about the terrain surrounding the rover’s landing site. The Mars mission team members are fascinated with the geology of the area, […]
Curiosity Beams Back Stunning Mars Images, Human Voice
NASA’s Curiosity rover has beamed back spectacular HD photos of the Martian surface. Captured by a 100-millimeter telephoto lens and 34-milllimeter wide angle lens, the images show the dark dunes, layered rock and canyons of Mount Sharp, a mountain inside Gale Crater, where the rover landed. NASA also released photos of Curiosity at work as […]
Curiosity Adjusts to Life on Mars
On its first full solar day on Mars, the Curiosity rover is under going a month-long series of health checks before getting down to its mission of exploring the chemistry of Mars. Curiosity isn’t expected to drill its first drill hole in a Mars rock for about another month or two, according to Rob Manning, […]
Science Images of the Week
Scientists Hope Rover Will Discover If Life Exists on Mars
Excitement is building at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. A little over eight months after its November 2011 launch, NASA’s newest and most advanced Mars rover is set to land on the red planet on Monday, Aug. 6. The Curiosity rover carries the most sophisticated payload of scientific equipment ever used on Mars’ […]