Mars Exploration

New Instrument May Detect Underground Water On Mars

harminka — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:25:33 -0500

With the whoosh of compressed gas and the whir of unspooling wire, a team of Boulder scientists and engineers tested a new instrument prototype that might be used to detect groundwater deep inside Mars.

March launch planned for ESA's gravity mission

harminka — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:08:00 -0600

ESA is now gearing up to return to Russia to oversee preparations for the launch of its GOCE satellite – now envisaged for launch on 16 March 2009. This follows implementation of the corrective measures after the anomaly with the Rockot launcher that delayed the launch of GOCE by Eurockot Launch Services last October.

Methane Finding Reveals The Red Planet is not a Dead Planet

Armen Hareyan — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 14:23:59 -0600

Mars today is a world of cold and lonely deserts, apparently without life of any kind, at least on the surface. Worse still, it looks like Mars has been cold and dry for billions of years, with an atmosphere so thin, any liquid water on the surface quickly boils away while the sun's ultraviolet radiation scorches the ground.

Martian rock arrangement not alien handiwork

harminka — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:00:19 -0600

At first, figuring out how pebble-sized rocks organize themselves in evenly-spaced patterns in sand seemed simple and even intuitive. But once Andrew Leier, an assistant geoscience professor at the U of C, started observing, he discovered that the most commonly held notions did not apply.

NASA: Life Possible On Mars

Armen Hareyan — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:31:35 -0600

A key question is, how did the ice get there in the first place? The tilt of Mars' spin axis sometimes gets much greater than it is now. Climate modeling tells us ice sheets could cover mid-latitude regions of Mars during those high-tilt periods. The buried glaciers make sense as preserved fragments from an ice age millions of years ago. On Earth, such buried glacial ice in Antarctica preserves the record of traces of ancient organisms and past climate history."

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Ceased Communications

Armen Hareyan — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:19:19 -0600

Goodbye Phoenix Mars Lander. May be we will see you on Mars somewhere when we get there ourselves. You did a great job sending wonderful images of Mars and letting the humanity know more about the red planet. NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications after operating for more than five months.

New spaceship force field makes Mars trip possible

harminka — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:04:01 -0600

According to the international space agencies, "Space Weather" is the single greatest obstacle to deep space travel. Radiation from the sun and cosmic rays pose a deadly threat to astronauts in space.

Sensitive laser instrument could aid search for life on Mars

harminka — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:12:31 -0500

Minuscule traces of cells can be detected in a mineral likely present on Mars, a new study shows. The results, obtained using a technique developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, could help mission scientists choose Martian surface samples with the most promise for yielding signs of life.

Phoenix Mars Lander Detects Falling Snow On Mars

Armen Hareyan — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:06:17 -0500

The U.S. space agency, NASA, says its Mars probe has detected snow falling high in the planet's atmosphere. NASA says the Phoenix Lander found the snow falling from clouds about four kilometers above the spacecraft's landing site.

Looking for water on Mars

harminka — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:47:58 -0500

NASA's Phoenix Scout Lander reached Mars on May 25,, opened a soils lab, and started looking for water. Phoenix uses a robotic scoop arm to deliver regolith samples to the suite of instruments aboard the Lander--with one exception.

Valley networks on Mars formed during long period of episodic flooding

harminka — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:10:13 -0500

A new study suggests that ancient features on the surface of Mars called valley networks were carved by recurrent floods during a long period when the martian climate may have been much like that of some arid or semiarid regions on Earth. An alternative theory that the valleys were carved by catastrophic flooding over a relatively short time is not supported by the new results.

NASA Denies Rumors Of Finding Life on Mars

Armen Hareyan — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:26:32 -0500

NASA has denied media and internet speculation that the Phoenix Lander has found life on the 'Red Planet', Mars and has also denied that the White House in the United States has been briefed on such matters that would lead up to an announcement by NASA later this week. This comes just after NASA stated on July 31, that Phoenix confirmed the presence of water-ice on Mars.