Hera burns towards Mars
ESA's Hera mission has completed the first critical maneuver on its journey to the Didymos binary asteroid system since launch on 7 October......»»
AI and self-driving vehicle risks are worth the rewards, says former GM R&D chief
Forget about Level 5 self-driving cars, says former GM R&D chief Larry Burns. Level 4 is the goal. And AI will be a boon to designers and engineers......»»
NASA loses, and then recovers, contact with its historic Mars helicopter
Ingenuity has been flying above Mars, off and on, for nearly three years. Enlarge / NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter has been flying across the red planet for nearly three years. (credit: NASA) The US space agency prompt.....»»
NASA regains communications with Mars helicopter Ingenuity
Just a few days after losing contact with the Mars helicopter Ingenuity, NASA has announced that it has regained communications with the plucky helicopter......»»
NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
NASA has re-established contact with its tiny helicopter on Mars, the US space agency said Saturday, after an unexpected outage prompted fears that the hard-working craft had finally met its end......»»
NASA has lost communication with the Ingenuity Mars helicopter
NASA has announced that it has lost contact with the helicopter on Mars, though it's not clear how serious this problem is......»»
Mars Express finds evidence of large water deposit at the Medusae Fossae Formation
Windswept piles of dust, or layers of ice? ESA's Mars Express has revisited one of Mars's most mysterious features to clarify its composition. Its findings suggest layers of water ice stretching several kilometers below ground—the most water ever f.....»»
Twenty years after landing: How NASA"s twin rovers changed Mars science
This month marks the 20th anniversary of Spirit and Opportunity's landing on Mars, part of a mission whose legacy will extend far into the future......»»
Space travel taxes astronauts" brains. But microbes on the menu could help in unexpected ways
Feeding astronauts on a long mission to Mars goes well beyond ensuring they have enough nutrients and calories to survive their multi-year journey......»»
Research helps California forest managers assess smoke hazards from prescribed burns
Across the American West, managers of fire-prone landscapes are increasingly using a practice that seems counterintuitive: setting small fires to prevent larger, more destructive ones. Commonly called "prescribed burns," these targeted, controlled fi.....»»
NASA"s Troubled Mars Sample Mission Has Scientists Seeing Red
NASA’s Mars Sample Return program is the agency’s highest priority in planetary science, but projected multibillion-dollar overruns have some calling the plan a “dumpster fire”.....»»
Solar electric propulsion systems could be just what we need for efficient trips to Mars
There are many different ways to get to Mars, but there are always tradeoffs. Chemical propulsion, proven the most popular, can quickly get a spacecraft to the red planet. But they come at a high cost of bringing their fuel, thereby increasing the mi.....»»
NASA’s Mars helicopter forced to cut short latest flight
NASA's Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, only managed to fly a third of its planned distance during its second flight, and its team back on Earth says it knows why......»»
Questions about NASA"s Mars Sample Return mission put JPL jobs in jeopardy
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory laid off 100 contractors last week and will scale back part of the first-ever effort to bring pieces of Mars to Earth, after a cost-cutting order from NASA that lawmakers called "short-sighted and misguided.".....»»
Add-on system in Mars water mining operations will screen for introduced and alien life
As noted at NASA's 2019 Carlsbad Conference, we have good reason to think that life could have started on Mars using the same geo-organic chemistry that started life on Earth. If Martian life persists today on Mars, it may be in near-surface ice, low.....»»
How many planets could be in the Kuiper Belt?
A recent study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters investigates the potential existence of Mars-sized free-floating planets (FFPs)—also known as rogue planets, starless planets, and wandering planets—that could have been captured by ou.....»»
Designing the "perfect" meal to feed long-term space travelers
Imagine blasting off on a multiyear voyage to Mars, fueled by a diet of bland, prepackaged meals. As space agencies plan for longer missions, they're grappling with the challenge of how to feed people best. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Food Scie.....»»
See the passing of a day on Mars with the Curiosity rover
On a quiet day the Curiosity rover captured the view around it using its forward and rear cameras, showing the progression of a Martian day......»»
Curiosity captures a martian day, from dawn to dusk
When NASA's Curiosity Mars rover isn't on the move, it works pretty well as a sundial, as seen in two black-and-white videos recorded on Nov. 8, the 4,002nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover captured its own shadow shifting across the su.....»»
ESA is stockpiling simulated regolith for the ultimate lunar playground
Testing interplanetary landers means putting them in an environment as close to their destination as possible. Mars landers are often tested in the "Mars Yard" at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in South California, and now ESA is looking to build a.....»»
NASA’s Mars helicopter just flew a colossal distance
During its 69th flight on Mars this week, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter flew a colossal distance, setting a new record in the process......»»