Tag: Mars
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Lockheed Martin adds a lander to its picture for NASA’s future journeys to Mars
An artist’s conception shows Lockheed Martin’s lander on Mars. (Lockheed Martin Illustration) Lockheed Martin has fleshed out its picture for sending astronauts to the Red Planet by adding a refuelable lander and a water-based fuel supply chain to its “Mars Base Camp” mission architecture. The system, updated today at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia,…
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SpaceX’s Elon Musk is setting up his fans for a surprise during Mars mission update
One year after unveling his plan for Mars settlement at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico, SpaceX founder Elon Musk will return to the IAC stage this week in Australia.. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX founder Elon Musk says he’ll unveil “major improvements and some unexpected applications” this week when he updates his plan for sending…
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Mars spacecraft back on track to provide InSight into the Red Planet
NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission is back on track for a 2018 launch after the discovery of leaks in key instrumentation during testing forced NASA to abandon its original 2016 launch date. The spacecraft is now in final testing at its Lockheed Martin facility in Denver, ahead of…
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Mars spacecraft back on track to provide InSight into the Red Planet
NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission is back on track for a 2018 launch after the discovery of leaks in key instrumentation during testing forced NASA to abandon its original 2016 launch date. The spacecraft is now in final testing at its Lockheed Martin facility in Denver, ahead of…
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NASA studies mission to return samples from Mars by end of 2020s
Artist’s concept of a Mars sample return concept, including the Mars Ascent Vehicle. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA is examining options to launch a robotic mission as soon as 2026 to pick up rock specimens from the surface of Mars and bring them back to Earth, moving forward the timeline for a sample return mission as the…
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SpaceX informed NASA of slowdown in its commercial Mars program
Artist’s concept of a Red Dragon spacecraft on the surface of Mars. Credit: SpaceX Confirming rumors and suspicions that SpaceX is adjusting its plans to begin dispatching robotic landers to Mars, NASA officials said the commercial space company has informed the agency that it has put its Red Dragon program on the back burner. Under…
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Explore Mars like an astronaut: Mars 2030 VR experience lifts off
The Mars 2030 virtual reality experience launched today and is available for download. (Photo courtesy of Fusion Media Group) Mars 2030, a virtual reality experience that simulates living and working on the Red Planet, launched today for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Steam PC. The 3-D game has yet to be released for PlayStation…
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Opportunity rover peers into ‘Perseverance Valley’
Toward the right side of this scene is a broad notch in the crest of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. Wheel tracks in that area were left by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity as it observed “Perseverance Valley” from above in the spring of 2017. The valley is a major destination for the rover’s…
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Phobos photobombs Mars in Hubble view
This multiple-exposure photo shows 22 minutes’ worth of Phobos’ orbit around Mars. (NASA / ESA / STScI Photo / Z. Levay) Leave it to tiny Phobos to horn in on Mars’ glory in an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The view of the Red Planet and the larger of its two moons, released…
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Elon Musk is bullish on Dragon space rides, but Red Dragon on Mars? Not so much
Artwork shows a Red Dragon capsule firing its thrusters for a Mars landing. (SpaceX Illustration) SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says he expects to see astronauts flying to the International Space Station on his company’s Dragon capsules by mid-2018 – but is downplaying a technology that would have opened the way for robotic “Red Dragon” missions to…