Tag: Mars
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Mars entry testbed to fly Monday after weather delays
The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator test vehicle is seen suspended from its balloon launch platform in Hawaii during a mission dress rehearsal May 29. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA is gearing up to fly a balloon-launched, rocket-powered test vehicle from Hawaii on Monday to wring out the design of a new supersonic parachute and entry probe scientists…
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InSight Mars Lander completes assembly ahead of 2016 launch
The next NASA lander to touch down on the surface of Mars is picking up the pace ahead of its launch on an Atlas V rocket next March. The latest milestones saw the lander deploy its solar arrays inside a Denver clean room at Lockheed Martin, marking the completion of the lander’s assembly as it…
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Curiosity rover sees blue on the red planet
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover recorded this view of the sun setting at the close of the mission’s 956th Martian day, or sol (April 15, 2015), from the rover’s location in Gale Crater. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Texas A&M University NASA’s Curiosity rover has returned a stunning image of the sun dipping behind a distant ridge from a…
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Falcon Heavy enabler for Dragon solar system explorer
SpaceX head Elon Musk has revealed plans to utilize the Falcon Heavy and Dragon 2 vehicles for science missions throughout the solar system. Citing Dragon 2’s capability as a “science delivery platform”, Mr. Musk claimed the crew-capable spacecraft could also be tasked with landing scientific payloads at destinations ranging from the Moon and Mars –…
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UAE details ambitious plan for Martian weather satellite
Artist’s concept of the Emirates Mars Mission. Credit: Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center Scientists from the United Arab Emirates have announced the Arab world’s first Mars probe will launch in July 2020 and collect global measurements of the Martian atmosphere. Assuming a launch in 2020, the robotic probe will fly on a seven-month cruise to…
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NASA favors propulsive Mars landings over supersonic parachutes
NASA’s Human Architecture Team (HAT) has opted to remove supersonic parachutes as an option for landing “human-scale hardware” on the surface of Mars. The decision will result in all forward planning involving a mix of supersonic retro propulsion in combination with deployable, inflatable, and rigid aeroshells for missions to the Red Planet. Landing On Mars: NASA…
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With memory restored, Opportunity rover completes marathon on Mars
This self-portrait of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows effects of wind events that had cleaned much of the accumulated dust off the rover’s solar panels. The image combines multiple frames taken by Opportunity’s panoramic camera in March 2014. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ. NASA’s Opportunity rover trekking across Mars completed a marathon’s worth of…
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Glitch on Curiosity rover traced to drill mechanism
The mast camera on the Curiosity Mars rover captured this raw color view of the craft’s drill after collecting a rock powder sample Feb. 24. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Officials are assessing how to adjust operations to collect future rock core samples with NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover after identifying its drill as the likely source of a…
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Engineers analyzing short circuit on Mars rover
Image analysts used dozens of images from Curiosity’s arm-mounted camera to create this “selfie” at the base of Mount Sharp. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS A short circuit that halted movement of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is not expected to keep the mobile robot stationary for long, but engineers want to know whether the problem will restrict some…
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Crunch time: Next Mars lander enters final year before launch
Artist’s concept of the InSight lander on Mars. Credit: NASA Wednesday marked one year until the launch of a NASA seismic station to Mars, and scientists believe they have found a suitable operating post for the lander as engineers race to keep the mission on schedule for liftoff in a narrow 26-day window next March.…