Tag: Mars
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Propulsive landings nixed from SpaceX’s Dragon spaceship
Artist’s concept of SpaceX’s Red Dragon spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s upgraded Dragon capsules will not return astronauts to Earth for powered landings as originally envisioned, company boss Elon Musk said Wednesday, a design change that raises questions about the space transport firm’s plans to send commercial landers to the surface of Mars. Musk cited safety…
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The internet goes all atwitter over U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s questions about Mars civilization
U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., asks about Mars’ ancient past. (House Science Committee via YouTube) What game was U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., playing when he asked Caltech geochemist Kenneth Farley whether there was any evidence of an ancient civilization on Mars? The question was an add-on at today’s House Space Subcommittee hearing on NASA’s…
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When will Elon Musk update Mars plan? Maybe in September, maybe in Australia
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk got a rock-star reception last September at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico when he unveiled his long-promised plan to send scads of settlers to Mars. Now he’s working on a reprise, and it just might be announced at this September’s IAC meeting in Australia. Musk dropped the hint overnight when…
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Vice President Mike Pence vows return to moon and ‘boots on Mars’ in NASA speech
Vice President Mike Pence addresses a gathering at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a prototype Orion spaceship as a backdrop. (NASA via YouTube) Vice President Mike Pence, the newly minted chairman of a revived National Space Council, said today that President Donald Trump is committed to a return to the moon and a…
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NASA marks 20 years of continuous Mars exploration
This portion of a classic 1997 panorama from the IMP camera on the mast of NASA’s Mars Pathfinder lander includes “Twin Peaks” on the horizon, and the Sojourner rover next to a rock called “Yogi.” Credit: NASA/JPL NASA’s Mars Pathfinder probe dropped to the surface of Mars for an airbag-cushioned landing 20 years ago Tuesday,…
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Stephen Hawking lays out plan for settling space, from moon and Mars to the stars
Physicist Stephen Hawking addresses an audience at the Starmus Festival via video. (Starmus via YouTube) British physicist Stephen Hawking has repeatedly warned us that we have just a century or two to move off Earth, and he just shared his vision for how to do it. Hawking laid out a timetable this week during a…
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Robotic telepresence could be the best way for humans to explore Mars, scientists say
A mosaic of images shows NASA’s Curiosity rover in its Martian surroundings. Researchers say future rovers may well be controlled from stations in Mars orbit. (NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS Photo) Robotic telepresence could save future Mars explorers from the perils that faced fictional astronaut Mark Watney in “The Martian” — and serve as the…
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Opportunity rover’s roll on Mars eerily echoes Apollo 16’s stroll on the moon
NASA’s Opportunity rover snapped a picture of its own tread marks as it passed by Orion Crater on Mars. (NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / ASU) Forty-five years after the astronauts of Apollo 16 rode out on a rover to look over a crater on the moon, NASA’s Opportunity rover looked over a crater on…
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Elon Musk promises an update on his plan to settle Mars – including how he’ll fund it
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Interplanetary Transport System lifting off with a refueling tanker sitting beside it. (Credit: SpaceX) SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s vision to send a million people to Mars is now in print, but the billionaire visionary says he’s already working on an update. The newly published print version, appearing on the New…
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ASAP on board with NASA’s DSG as stepping stone to Mars
NASA’s major push towards building a new outpost near the Moon has received encouraging words from its key safety advisory body. NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) was told the build up of the outpost in the 2020s represented an ambitious, forward-looking and credible plan that has both agency and political support. DSG: NASA has been…