Mars

Russia’s War in Ukraine Threatens Joint Missions to Mars, Venus and the Moon

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In the weeks since Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops storming into neighboring Ukraine, blowback from that invasion has erupted around the world—and off-world, too. As the crisis deepens, it is increasingly disrupting international cooperation on present and planned projects for space science and exploration, potentially jeopardizing their future. Much like nesting matryoshka dolls of diminishing … Read more

Mars: Curiosity rover discovers diverse cache of organic minerals

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Organic molecules and clay minerals found in Gale Crater could be a sign of ancient Martian life, but it isn’t possible yet to rule out that they are products of inorganic processes Space 10 March 2022 By Alex Wilkins The Gale Crater as viewed through a camera on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The Curiosity … Read more

China’s Zhurong rover reveals how weather and ancient water altered rocks on Mars

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China’s first Mars rover reveals how weather and ancient water changed the surface of the largest impact basin on Mars. China’s Zhurong rover landed in the Utopia Planitia, a 2,000-miles-wide (3,300 kilometers) basin in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars, in May 2021. Since then, the rover has been studying local geology, chemical composition of rocks, … Read more

Mars: Perseverance rover measures speed of sound on Mars for the first time

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Using a laser to strike rocks and a built-in microphone, NASA’s Perseverance rover has measured changes in the speed of sound on Mars due to temperature affecting the atmosphere Space 9 March 2022 By Alex Wilkins An illustration of NASA’s Perseverance rover NASA/JPL-Caltech The speed of sound on Mars has been measured for the first … Read more

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has captured over 2200 photographs of Mars

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The helicopter is providing scientists with information about Mars, reaching places the Perseverance rover cannot traverse Space 8 March 2022 By Chen Ly NASA’s Perseverance rover captured this image of the Ingenuity helicopter NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU NASA’s helicopter Ingenuity has taken more than 2200 photographs of Mars since arriving on the planet just over a year ago. … Read more

NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance snags 7th Red Planet rock sample

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NASA’s Perseverance rover now has seven Mars rock samples in its collection. The car-sized robot drilled into another Martian rock and socked away the resulting core, mission team members announced via Twitter today (March 8). It’s the seventh drilled sample that Perseverance has collected since touching down on the floor of the Red Planet’s Jezero … Read more

Mars: China’s Zhurong rover finds hints landscape was shaped by water

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The first reported findings from China’s Mars rover suggest the plain it is exploring was shaped by winds – and perhaps also by water Space 7 March 2022 By Chen Ly China’s first Mars rover Zhurong with the landing platform Xinhua / Alamy China’s Zhurong Mars rover landed at Utopia Planitia – a large plain … Read more

Curiosity rover snaps close-up of tiny ‘mineral flower’ on Mars

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A photo of the “mineral flower”  alongside other diagenetic features on the surface of Mars captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover on Feb. 25. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) NASA’s Curiosity rover recently got up close and personal with a tiny, flower-like mineral deposit on the surface of Mars. The beautiful branching rock, which is just 0.4 inch … Read more