Tag: Mars
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Holy Hubble! See a super-sized Mars get bigger than it’s looked for a decade
This image of Mars was captured on May 12 by the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and UVIS. Click on the image for an annotated view. (Credit: NASA, / ESA / STScI / AURA / J. Bell / ASU / M. Wolff / STScI) For the next couple of weeks, Mars will look…
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NASA’s chief agrees with author of ‘The Martian’: The first Mars crews will steer robots from orbit
Is this how the first human missions to Mars will unfold? NASA’s chief favors an approach for extended operations from Martian orbit, rather than starting out with a crew landing on the surface. (Credit: NASA) The first humans to reach Mars almost certainly won’t go down to the surface, but will manage fleets of rovers…
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Mars 2020 Rover builds momentum via contract awards
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is making progress with the build up of Mars 2020 Rover, with contract awards for instrumentation and hardware. Following the recent announcement Space Systems Loral (SSL) will design and build the camera focus mechanisms, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has been tasked with the design and manufacture the Skycrane descent brake. Mars 2020 Rover:…
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Departure of Europe’s first Mars rover delayed to 2020
Artist’s concept of the ExoMars rover. Credit: ESA Europe’s ExoMars rover will not be ready for launch in 2018, officials said Monday, forcing a two-year delay for the ambitious mission to drill into the Martian surface and search for the remnants of past life. Delays in the development of the European-built rover and a Russian…
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SpaceX plans to debut Red Dragon with 2018 Mars mission
SpaceX has entered into an agreement with NASA for a Dragon mission to Mars, set to take place as early as 2018. Known as “Red Dragon”, the variant of the Dragon 2 spacecraft will be launched by the Falcon Heavy rocket, ahead of a soft landing on the surface of Mars. The mission is also part…
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SpaceX plans to debut Red Dragon with 2018 Mars mission
SpaceX has entered into an agreement with NASA for a Dragon mission to Mars, set to take place as early as 2018. Known as “Red Dragon”, the variant of the Dragon 2 spacecraft will be launched by the Falcon Heavy rocket, ahead of a soft landing on the surface of Mars. The mission is also part…
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SpaceX announces plan to send mission to Mars in 2018
Artist’s concept of SpaceX’s Red Dragon spacecraft landing on Mars. Credit: SpaceX Elon Musk’s space transport company — chartered with a long-term goal of colonizing Mars — plans to send the first commercial mission to the red planet as soon as 2018 with assistance from NASA, SpaceX announced Wednesday. Measuring about 20 feet tall and…
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NASA seeks to boost Mars communication network ahead of human missions
As part of its increasing dedication and ramp up of activities at the red planet, NASA has announced a solicitation of ideas for a new Mars orbiter in the 2020s that will be tasked with a variety of scientific objectives as well as an enhancement of the communications network around the red planet in advance…
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NASA seeks to boost Mars communication network ahead of human missions
As part of its increasing dedication and ramp up of activities at the red planet, NASA has announced a solicitation of ideas for a new Mars orbiter in the 2020s that will be tasked with a variety of scientific objectives as well as an enhancement of the communications network around the red planet in advance…
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An engine for Mars: Aerojet wins $67M NASA contract for solar electric propulsion
A prototype 13-kilowatt Hall thruster fires during testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. The prototype demonstrated the technology readiness needed for industry to continue the development of high-power solar electric propulsion into a flight-ready system. (Credit: NASA) Aerojet Rocketdyne’s operation in Redmond, Wash., has won a $67 million contract from NASA to design and develop…