Tag: Mars
-
NASA’s next Mars rover will soon ship to Cape Canaveral launch site
The Mars 2020 rover inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility high bay Dec. 27 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now Fresh off its first terrestrial test drive, NASA’s Mars 2020 rover was displayed to media last week at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California before it’s packed up…
-
Map of water ice on Mars shows where NASA (and SpaceX) are likely to send their first astronauts
The area of Mars outlined by the white box, in Arcadia Planitia, is considered a tempting target for human settlement due to the availability of water ice. (NASA / JPL-Caltech Graphic) A newly published survey pinpointing where Martian water ice is likely to lie close to the surface could serve as a roadmap for establishing…
-
For Mars colonization, new water map may hold key of where to land
It seems like an obvious thing to say. When looking to establish a human colony on Mars, water is key. So logically, one should follow the water when deciding where the first human interplanetary landings should occur. But water isn’t an obvious thing on Mars. There are no oceans or rivers or lakes like there…
-
Chinese Mars rover completes landing trial ahead of 2020 launch
A test model of China’s first Mars rover, set for launch in mid-2020, performs a landing test Nov. 14 inside a specially-built rig in northern China’s Hebei province. Credit: Xinhua China has performed a hover and hazard avoidance test on a model the country’s first Mars rover, while engineers ready the real spacecraft for launch…
-
Ground teams studying setback with InSight’s subsurface heat probe
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT) with comments from Bruce Banerdt, Insight’s principal investigator, about Level 1 requirements. Mars continues to surprise us. While digging this weekend the mole backed about halfway out of the ground. Preliminary assessment points to unexpected soil properties as the main reason. Team looking at next steps. #SaveTheMole…
-
Lessons from 15-year rover mission: Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids
Planetary scientist Steve Squyres, who headed the science team for NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers and now serves as Blue Origin’s chief scientist, demonstrates how the rovers were parked on slanted slopes to soak up maximum solar energy during the Martian winter. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — For 15 years, planetary…
-
SpaceX’s Elon Musk lays out a fast and furious plan for Starship super-rocket
SpaceX CEO stands in front of a darkly gleaming Starship Mk1 prototype as he outlines his plan for testing and launching the spaceship. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX CEO Elon Musk set a revved-up timeline tonight for testing and building a fleet of Starship rocket ships that he says would eventually take people on trips to…
-
NASA awards $10M to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin for hydrogen-oxygen storage tech
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander on the lunar surface. (Blue Origin Illustration) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is on the top of the funding list for a newly announced round of “Tipping Point” funding from NASA for technologies that could be applied to exploration and settlement of the…
-
NASA, ESA officials seek formal approvals for Mars sample return mission
Artist’s concept of a Mars sample return mission, including a U.S.-built Mars Ascent Vehicle (left), a European-built Earth Return Orbiter (center), and a NASA-provided Earth Entry Vehicle (right). Credit: ESA/ATG medialab After crystallizing a partnership to retrieve samples from the surface of Mars and return them to Earth, NASA and European Space Agency officials are seeking…
-
Bigelow’s B330 – an autonomous, expandable independent exploration space station
While Bigelow Aerospace’s expandable module, BEAM, continues to perform above all expectations while attached to the International Space Station (ISS), the company has larger ambitions for its range of modules, centered around the B330 – a huge inflatable module. The key focus is on attracting NASA to select B330 as a transportation module for long-duration…