NASA funds experimental radiation shield and Mars climbing robot

Several futuristic projects have just been awarded money through NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts programme – here are New Scientist‘s top five choices Space 3 March 2022 By Will Gater NASA has just announced the projects that will be getting money from its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme, which aims to support ideas for game-changing … Read more

Spacesuit design: Amplifying footsteps might help astronauts find their feet on Mars

Spacesuits tend to muffle sounds, but hearing our footsteps may provide useful cues about our environment and reduce the risk of tripping Space 2 March 2022 By Matthew Sparkes A mock-up spacesuit boot used in tests Maryam Al Kuwaitti Astronauts sent to explore Mars may be more sure-footed if their boots are fitted with microphones to … Read more

Mars missions: A brief history

Mars missions have been launching from Earth with regularity since the 1960s, bent on exploring our planetary neighbor. With its potential for liquid water — and therefore, life — Mars is an alluring target.  But it’s a difficult journey, and only about half of all Mars missions successfully make it to the Red Planet, according … Read more

Europe’s Mars rover will likely miss 2022 launch on Russian rocket due to Ukraine invasion sanctions

Europe’s ExoMars rover, built to search for traces of life on the Red Planet, is unlikely to launch as planned in September aboard a Russian rocket as a result of sanctions rolled out by European countries in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine.  The ExoMars mission, which comprises the Trace Gas Orbiter (in orbit around … Read more

Ukraine invasion: Russian sanctions mean ESA’s Mars rover is unlikely to launch in 2022

The European Space Agency is due to launch its Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover on a Russian rocket this September, while satellites belonging to a company part-owned by the UK government are set to catch a Russian ride on 4 March Space 25 February 2022 By Jonathan O’Callaghan An artist’s impression of the Rosalind Franklin rover, … Read more

Ingenuity helicopter aces 20th Mars flight

NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity has now outflown its Red Planet expectations by a factor of four. The 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) Ingenuity landed on the floor of Jezero Crater with NASA’s life-hunting, sample-caching Perseverance rover on Feb. 18, 2021. The solar-powered chopper soon embarked on a five-flight technology-demonstrating mission designed to show that powered flight is … Read more

Curiosity Rover Snapped This Photo of a Tiny And Delicate Mineral ‘Flower’ on Mars

The Curiosity rover took a picture of something pretty enticing this week on the surface of Mars. While the object in question looks like a tiny little flower or maybe even some type of organic feature, the rover team confirmed this object is a mineral formation, with delicate structures that formed by minerals precipitating from water.   … Read more

Dust devils’ subtle trails across Mars revealed in bold blue

The Martian surface is criss-crossed by little whirlwinds that swirl through its thin atmosphere. Their tracks are revealed in this striking infrared image taken by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Space 23 February 2022 By Gege Li ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS Photograph ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS THIS intriguing landscape is one of the latest images of the surface of Mars. It … Read more

Mars’ atmosphere: Facts about the composition and climate

Mars’ atmosphere is over 100 times thinner than Earth’s and is primarily composed of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and argon gases. Oxygized dust particles kicked up from the Martian surface fill the atmosphere turning Mars’ skies a rusty tan color, according to NASA.  Water exists on Mars but the atmosphere is too thin for it to … Read more