Tag: Mars
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MAVEN reveals Martian atmospheric time capsule on Phobos as Mars fleet prepares for arrival
Data from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft has revealed the unsurprising — yet previously not searched for — presence of Martian atmospheric ions preserved in the top layer of regolith on the planet’s innermost moon, Phobos. The announcement comes as an international fleet of Emirati, Chinese, and American spacecraft are set to…
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Year in Review: Mars missions, Lunar Samples, Crew launched from the US, and Starlink
Despite a worldwide pandemic which affected agencies around the world, 2020 featured many significant achievements in spaceflight. In total, 114 orbital launches were attempted, including deep space missions like Solar Orbiter, three missions to Mars, and the Chinese Chang’e 5 lunar sample return mission. Also this year, the United States regained domestic crew launch capability…
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China’s Mars-bound probe returns self-portrait from deep space
A camera ejected from China’s Tianwen 1 spacecraft on the way to Mars captured this view of the probe in deep space. Credit: China National Space Administration China’s space agency has released images captured by a small camera ejected from the country’s first Mars-bound spacecraft, showing the probe in deep space as it nears the…
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Elon Musk offers update on SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket
File photo of SpaceX founder, CEO and chief engineer Elon Musk. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani SpaceX founder Elon Musk detailed progress on the company’s next-generation Starship program Monday, saying the huge rocket could “probably” attempt its first launch into Earth orbit next year, and adding that the Starship will fly hundreds of missions before SpaceX puts…
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Mars missions complete first course corrections on journey to Red Planet
This illustration from NASA’s “Eyes on the Solar System” app shows the Mars 2020 spacecraft outbound from planet Earth. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Three robotic Mars missions launched from Earth last month have begun fine-tuning their trajectories through the solar system with the first in a series mid-course corrections to take aim on the Red Planet for…
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Liftoff! NASA’s Perseverance rover begins odyssey to seek out traces of life on Mars
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket sends NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover into space from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (ULA Photo) With the fiery flash of a rocket launch, NASA’s Perseverance rover headed out today for what’s expected to be a decade-long campaign to store up and bring…
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NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover mission serves as ultimate test for working from home (planet)
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Perseverance rover using the PIXL X-ray instrument to analyze rock on Mars. (NASA / JPL Illustration) The launch of NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover marks the start of a seven-month-long journey involving tens of millions of miles of travel — but it also marks the end of an eight-year-long journey involving…
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Perseverance, Ingenuity begin seven month journey to Mars
United Launch Alliance has launched NASA’s latest mission to Mars: the Perseverance rover and accompanying Ingenuity helicopter. Liftoff of the third of our world’s three missions to Mars during the current interplanetary transfer window occurred Thursday, 30 July 2020 at the start of a two hour launch window that opens at 07:50 EDT. Mission history…
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Plutonium power source installed on NASA’s next Mars rover
Artist’s concept of the Perseverance rover on Mars. Credit: NASA The nuclear power generator for NASA’s Perseverance rover has been installed on the spacecraft atop an Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral, and mission managers gave a green light Wednesday to continue preparations for the rover’s July 30 launch toward Mars. The rover’s Multi-Mission Radioisotope…
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Plutonium power source installed on NASA’s next Mars rover
Artist’s concept of the Perseverance rover on Mars. Credit: NASA The nuclear power generator for NASA’s Perseverance rover has been installed on the spacecraft atop an Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral, and mission managers gave a green light Wednesday to continue preparations for the rover’s July 30 launch toward Mars. The rover’s Multi-Mission Radioisotope…