Mars News, Science, Technology at MarsDaily.com

Welcome To The Red Planet

Moffett Field CA (SPX) Mar 27, 2009
Did you ever wish you could stroll through the caldera of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system? Study the rock formations in Valles Marineris, a martian canyon as wide as the United States? Or retrace the tracks of NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers? Then you'll want to check out Google Mars. Tucked away inside the recently released Google Earth 5.0, Google Mars is the i ... more

HiRISE Sees Signs Of An Unearthly Spring

Tempe AZ (SPX) Mar 27, 2009
Tempe AZ (SPX) Mar 27, 2009 The High Resolution Imaging Experiment, or HiRISE, run from The University of Arizona, is seeing signs of spring on Mars. The signs are absolutely martian and unearthly. The HiRISE team has released new high-resolution images of terrain at Mars' south polar region taken last month by their camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. "Spring on Mars ... more

Mars Rovers Powering On After 5 years

Huntsville AL (SPX) Mar 27, 2009
In January 2004, NASA landed two identical robotic rovers named Spirit and Opportunity on the surface of Mars. The twins were primed for a brief 3-month mission to tell us a story of water and possibly life itself in the planet's past. More than five years later, the dynamic duo are still roving the Red Planet, engaged in a saga of overachievement that has transformed Mars exploration. ... more

Opportunity At Outcrop - Endeavour In Sight - Sol 1824-1831

Pasadena CA (SPX) Mar 26, 2009
Opportunity has positioned itself at an exposed rock outcrop and is in the middle of an "in situ" (contact) science campaign with the robotic arm (IDD). Because of the project team's desire to rest the right-front wheel actuator and to limit driving while an earlier drive sequence error is remedied, Opportunity took advantage of the nearby rock outcrop. This fits with the strategic science ... more

Discovery astronauts complete final spacewalk

Washington (AFP) March 23, 2009
Discovery astronauts ended their third and final spacewalk on Monday on a slight down note, unable to fix a jammed cargo carrier system, NASA said. Richard Arnold and Joseph Acaba, two former science teachers turned astronauts, carried out a six-and-a-half hour walk in space, which included attempts to unblock the external cargo carrier. The carrier became stuck after Acaba and another ... more

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Space station crew set for pioneering launch

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NASA And Microsoft To Make Universe Of Data Available To The Public

Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope to focus on Mars

Astronauts complete final space walk

Washington (AFP) March 23, 2009
Discovery astronauts ended their third and final space walk on Monday on a slight down note, unable to fix a jammed v,cargo carrier system, NASA said. Richard Arnold and Joseph Acaba, two former science teachers turned astronauts, carried out a six-and-a-half hour walk in space, which included attempts to unblock the external cargo carrier. The carrier became stuck after Acaba and anothe ... more

Discovery, space station maneuver to dodge debris

Washington (AFP) March 23, 2009
Discovery and the International Space Station maneuvered to avoid debris during Monday's spacewalk, dropping into a lower orbit, NASA officials said. Firing its steering jets, Discovery turned the shuttle and space station 180 degrees for three hours Sunday to increase drag, a maneuver designed to alter the vessel's trajectory and avoid an approaching piece of debris. The ISS's altitude ... more

Discovery crew embarks on third spacewalk

Washington (AFP) March 23, 2009
Astronauts from the US space shuttle Discovery began their third and final spacewalk Monday, with a busy to-do list including unblocking a cargo carrier system on the space station, NASA said. Richard Arnold and Joseph Acaba, two former science teachers turned astronauts, emerged from the decompression chamber at 1537 GMT, some six minutes earlier than planned. One of their tasks during ... more

Astronauts fail to budge stuck cargo carrier

Washington (AFP) March 23, 2009
The Discovery astronauts were unable to dislodge a stuck cargo carrier system during their third and final space walk Monday, and carried on with their busy to-do list on the orbiting space station, NASA said. Richard Arnold and Joseph Acaba, two former science teachers turned astronauts, emerged from the decompression chamber at 1537 GMT, some six minutes earlier than planned. One of th ... more

Online Poll For NASA's Mars Rover Naming Contest Opens March 23

Mars Rovers Take Stock On Goals And Routes

mars-water-science

The Salty Tears Of Phoenix Show Liquid Water On Mars

Opportunity's New Software Working Fine - sol 1811-1817

Pasadena CA (SPX) Mar 17, 2009
Opportunity continues to exhibit elevated motor current in the drive actuator of the right-front wheel. To mitigate this, the rover has been driving backward. This week, Opportunity built and booted new flight software, version R9.3. After a build activity on Sol 1811 (Feb. 26, 2009), Opportunity booted onto the R9.3 flight software on Sol 1814 (March 1, 2009). The new software has been wo ... more

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Alien Safari Part 5: Alien Vs Predator

Moffet Field CA (SPX) Mar 17, 2009
Q: There's controversy about the manned exploration of space versus sending robots. What are your feelings about that as we plan exploration over the next several decades? Tori Hoehler: I think the question of manned exploration crystallizes around Mars. That's the one that lies within the realm of feasibility. If you look at what we understand about the potential for life on Mars, NASA ha ... more

Spirit Makes Slight Progress on New Route - sol 1831-1837

Pasadena CA (SPX) Mar 14, 2009
After initially making good progress on a new route around "Home Plate" to the east, Spirit has been struggling in local terrain on the northeast corner of Home Plate. The route is difficult because the direction is up-slope with a lot of loose, fine material denying the five-driving-wheel rover good traction. After getting about 15 meters (49 feet) away from Home Plate last week in ... more

Mars, Then and Now: Google Mars Update

Washington DC (SPX) Mar 14, 2009
Today, NASA and Google announce an update to Mars in Google Earth, a 3D mapping tool for the Red Planet. Originally released with Google Earth 5.0, Mars in Google Earth now contains even more features that give users a sense of how our knowledge of Mars, and our study of astronomy, has evolved over time. After selecting 'Mars' from the toolbar in Google Earth, users fly to a 3D view of the ... more

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Forum To Explore Why We Should Go To Moon And Mars

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Mars Odyssey Reboots Successfully