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NASA is tracking two explorers on a 2,268-mile (3,650 kilometers) journey across Antarctica to learn more about humanity’s ability to survive on Mars. British explorers Justin Packshaw and Jamie Facer Childs are on the 32nd day of an 80-day trek across the southernmost continent as part of the Chasing the Light mission — a grueling … Read more
Earth and Mars likely arose from collisions between giant moon-size rocks instead of the clumping together of tiny pebbles over time, a new study found. Previous research suggested there may be two primary ways in which rocky planets such as Earth are built. The classic model proposes that moon-to-Mars-size rocks dubbed planetary embryos once regularly … Read more
In April, the Ingenuity helicopter became the first vehicle ever to attempt powered flight on another planet. Theodore Tzanetos tells New Scientist of the exhilaration he felt leading the team Technology 15 December 2021 By New Scientist The Ingenuity helicopter NASA/JPL-Caltech OF ALL the craft that visited the Red Planet this year, perhaps the biggest … Read more
Over the course of just 10 days in February, three missions arrived at Mars. Together, they are creating a clearer picture of our closest planetary neighbour Space 15 December 2021 By Leah Crane The Tianwen-1 mission Xinhua/Alamy OVER the course of just 10 days in February 2021, three missions arrived at Mars. The first was … Read more
NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity has soared through alien skies yet again. “The #MarsHelicopter keeps going, going, going! Ingenuity successfully completed its 18th flight, adding 124.3 seconds to its overall time aloft on the Red Planet,” officials with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, which manages Ingenuity’s pioneering mission, said via Twitter today (Dec. … Read more
It hasn’t even been on Mars a full year, and NASA’s Perseverance rover is making excellent surprise discoveries. Amid a number of findings announced this week at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, scientists have revealed that the Jezero Crater formed from molten volcanic magma – and that organic molecules have been discovered in rocks … Read more
Previous discoveries of water on Mars were limited to the poles or deep underground, but water deposits spotted near the surface at the equator could be easily accessed by future astronauts Space 16 December 2021 By Alex Wilkins Candor Chasma is part of Valles Marineris, near the Candor Chaos region ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum), CC … Read more
The first Martian drone has reached the 30 minute air time mark. After a 117-second Mars sortie on Dec. 5, the total flight time for the Ingenuity helicopter is 30 minutes and 48 seconds after 17 total flights, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 15). There was a delay in … Read more
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has found life’s building blocks on the Red Planet. Perseverance has identified carbon-containing organic chemicals in some of the rocks it has examined on the floor of Mars’ Jezero Crater, mission team members announced on Wednesday (Dec. 15). To be clear: This is not a detection of Mars life. Organics can … Read more
By Leah Crane A selfie of the Perseverance Mars rover NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS NASA’s Perseverance rover has taken some of the most detailed measurements we’ve ever had of Mars rocks, yielding insights into the lake that once filled Jezero crater. When the rover landed on Mars in February, researchers were immediately intrigued by layered outcroppings near its … Read more