Mars News - MarsDaily,com brings you the news of Mars - rovers, landers, orbiters. http://www.marsdaily.com/index.html Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT en-us SpaceX said Friday it will make another launch attempt next week of the massive Starship rocket - key to CEO Elon Musk's long-term vision of colonizing Mars - after two consecutive in-flight explosions earlier this year. "The ninth flight test of Starship is preparing to launch as soon as Tuesday, May 27," the company said on its website, adding the launch window would open at 6:30 pm (233]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT A newly released image from the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission reveals a crater layered with geological history and sculpted by ancient martian forces. Captured in October 2024 by the orbiter's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), the scene features Deuteronilus Cavus, a 120-kilometer-wide depression in Mars's mid-latitudes where planetary highlands meet lowlands. This nearl]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT China is encouraging international researchers to join its Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission by proposing scientific payloads for inclusion on the spacecraft. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has issued a global call for proposals, welcoming submissions from institutions abroad, including those in Hong Kong and Macao, for the development of instruments to be used on the up]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT A swirling Martian dust devil made a surprise appearance in a selfie captured by NASA's Perseverance rover on May 10, commemorating its 1,500th sol on Mars. The photo was taken while the rover was paused at "Witch Hazel Hill," located along the rim of Jezero Crater, where it has been conducting scientific investigations for five months. According to Justin Maki, imaging lead at NASA's Jet ]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT New findings from Brown University and the University of Bern challenge the long-standing theory that certain streaks on Martian slopes are formed by flowing water. Using machine learning to analyze a comprehensive dataset of slope streak features, the research suggests these formations are more likely the result of dry processes, including wind and dust activity. For decades, scientists h]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT Graduate students from The University of Texas at Austin have made a significant breakthrough in understanding Mars' ancient water cycle, filling a crucial gap in the link between surface water and groundwater. Mohammad Afzal Shadab and Eric Hiatt developed a computer model that calculates the time it took for water to move from the Martian surface to deep underground aquifers, a process t]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT The idea of transforming Mars into a habitable world has long captured the public imagination, but recent research led by Pioneer Research Labs and the University of Chicago, with contributions from Los Alamos National Laboratory, is taking a closer look at the scientific feasibility of this ambitious goal. In a perspective paper published in Nature Astronomy, the authors examine the pract]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT Scientists expect the new area of interest on the lower slope of Jezero Crater's rim to offer up some of the oldest rocks on the Red Planet. NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is exploring a new region of interest the team is calling "Krokodillen" that may contain some of the oldest rocks on Mars. The area has been on the Perseverance science team's wish list because it marks an important boun]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT Planetary scientists have discovered a new way to investigate the Martian subsurface by analyzing the debris ejected from impact craters. This approach, which relies on measuring the size and distribution of ejecta blankets, could offer critical insights into hidden features like glaciers and sediment deposits, using only satellite data. Traditionally, researchers have studied crater shape]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT A team of planetary scientists has discovered a new approach to explore the Martian subsurface using debris layers created by impact craters. The study shows that ejecta blankets - layers of rock and other material expelled during an impact event - can reveal significant details about the subsurface composition depending on the type of material beneath the crater. This breakthrough could enhance]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT After a busy few months exploring the outer slopes of the Jezero crater rim at an area named "Witch Hazel Hill," the Perseverance Science Team was eyeing another sample of these truly ancient rocks, which likely predate Jezero crater itself. The target? A rock containing spherules, which could shed a light on volcanic- or impact-related processes occurring in Mars' most ancient past. After]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT NASA's Perseverance Mars rover made history by detecting them for the first time from the surface of another planet, and MAVEN confirmed the detection. On March 15, 2024, near the peak of the current solar cycle, the Sun produced a solar flare and an accompanying coronal mass ejection (CME), a massive explosion of gas and magnetic energy that carries with it large amounts of solar energeti]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT On Earth planning date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025 - we came into another strange and interesting workspace that is as exciting as the one we had on Monday. This is our first arrival at a potential boxwork structure - a series of web-like, resistant ridges visible in orbital images that we have been looking forward to visiting since we first saw them. Today's observations will be the first step to ]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT NASA is pushing the boundaries of construction technology to support long-term human exploration of the Moon and Mars. By focusing on in-situ resource utilization, the agency aims to reduce the need for costly Earth-based supplies. The Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT) project, funded by NASA's Game Changing Development program and managed by the Marshall Space F]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, currently en route to Jupiter's moon Europa, recently utilized a close flyby of Mars to calibrate its critical infrared imaging system. The maneuver, conducted on March 1, positioned the spacecraft just 550 miles (884 kilometers) above the Martian surface, using the planet's gravity to adjust its trajectory for a more efficient journey to Jupiter. The flyb]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 11:49:32 GMT