Mars News, Science, Technology at MarsDaily.com

September 27, 2013

First scoop of Mars soil contains 2 percent water: study
Washington (AFP) Sept 26, 2013
The first scoop of Martian soil analyzed by NASA's Curiosity rover held about two percent water, offering hope for hydrating humans who someday explore the Red Planet, scientists said Thursday. "We saw Mars as a very dry desert and while this is not as much water you will find in Earth soil... it's substantial," said Laurie Leshin, lead author of the study in the journal Science. In a cubic foot (0.03 cubic meters) of Martian soil, about the size of a block that is a foot wide, tall and deep, "y ... read more

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NASA Rover Inspects Pebbly Rocks at Martian Waypoint NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has resumed a trek of many months toward its mountain-slope destination, Mount Sharp. The rover used instruments on its arm last week to inspect rocks at its first waypoi ... more		Martian Life: Good or Bad? Is there life on Mars? The answer has eluded us for decades, and the more we explore the planet, the more elusive that answer seems to become. The discovery by the NASA rover Curiosity that Mars see ... more		Communications Tests Go the Distance for MAVEN It's not easy to simulate millions of miles electronically, but that's what engineers did recently as they tested the all-important communications system the MAVEN spacecraft will use to relay its s ... more
				Curiosity Rover Detects No Methane On Mars Data from NASA's Curiosity rover has revealed the Martian environment lacks methane. This is a surprise to researchers because previous data reported by U.S. and international scientists indicated p ... more		Robotic Arm Goes to Work on Rock Target Opportunity is at the northern edge of 'Solander Point' on the rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is investigating the geologic contact at the base of Solander Point. On Sol 3426 (Sept. 12, 20 ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Life on Mars hopes fade after rover findings: study Hopes of finding life on Mars suffered a setback after new findings from NASA's Curiosity rover detected only trace amounts of methane gas in the Red Planet's atmosphere, a study said Thursday. ... more		India unveils Mars mission spacecraft India unveils its Mars mission space craft on Wednesday, saying the launch of the space craft is likely to happen in late October or early in November, local news agency PTI reported Thursday. ... more		Eutelsat orders 340 new OneWeb LEO satellites from Airbus Planet secures multi year satellite contract with Swedish Armed Forces EU should consider forming combined military force: defence chief		Explosive flooding said responsible for distinctive Mars terrain Catastrophic melting and outflow of a buried ice lake formed the lumpy, bumpy floor of an ancient impact carter on Mars, an Italian scientist says. ... more
				Upgrade to Mars rovers could aid discovery on more distant worlds Smart as the Mars Curiosity mission has been about landing and finding its own way on a distant world, the rover is pretty brainless when it comes to doing the science that it was sent 567 million k ... more		Investigating 'Coal Island' Rock Outcrop Opportunity is at the base of 'Solander Point' on the rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is investigating a scarp (rock outcrop), called 'Coal Island.' On Sol 3412 (Aug. 29, 2013), Opportunity ... more

US Navy History of Human Spaceflight Conference

Space Situational Awareness Conference 2013

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

India prepares to launch country's maiden mission to Mars Indian officials have confirmed a November launch date for the country's first mission to Mars, set to launch from a spaceport in the south of the country. ... more		New technology could make for smarter planet rovers The Curiosity rover exploring Mars boasts impressive technology but future rovers will need more smarts to explore more distant worlds, U.S. scientists say. ... more		HawkEye 360 boosts RF coverage with new Cluster 13 satellites Slow orbital wobble patterns drive ancient greenhouse climate swings Ordovician mass extinction cleared the way for jawed fishes to rise		Terramechanics research aims to keep Mars rovers rolling In May 2009, the Mars rover Spirit cracked through a crusty layer of Martian topsoil, sinking into softer underlying sand. The unexpected sand trap permanently mired the vehicle, despite months of r ... more
				Space Cadets line up for one-way Mars trip More than 200,000 people from 140 countries have applied to go to Mars and never return, the group behind an ambitious venture to colonize the inhospitable red planet said Monday. ... more		SwRI study suggests debris flows on frozen arctic sand dunes are similar to dark dune spot-seepage flows on Mars A team of scientists from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has demonstrated that frozen water in the form of snow or frost can melt to form debris flows on sunward-facing slopes of sand dunes in ... more

Mission to moon will boost research and awareness

Mighty Eagle Improves Autonomous Landing Software With Successful Flight

Watch Out for the Harvest Moon

Chinese VP stresses peaceful use of space

China's space station to open for foreign peers

Last Days for Tiangong

New space crew joins ISS on Olympic torch mission

Station Crew Readies for Cygnus' Sunday Arrival

American, two Russians take shortcut to space

New Horizons - Late in Cruise, and a Binary Ahoy

Pluto Science Conference Exceeds Expectations

SciTechTalk: Grab your erasers, there are more moons than we thought

	NASA Evaluates Four Candidate Sites for 2016 Mars Mission NASA has narrowed to four the number of potential landing sites for the agency's next mission to the surface of Mars, a 2016 lander to study the planet's interior. The stationary Interior Expl ... more		Examining Rocks Around Boulder Field Opportunity is at the base of 'Solander Point' on the rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is navigating around a large boulder field examining the geologic contacts in this area. On Sol 3405 (A ... more		Scouting a Boulder Field Opportunity is at the base of 'Solander Point' on the rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is scouting a large boulder field. On Sol 3398 (Aug. 15, 2013), Opportunity drove 75 feet (22.8 meters) ... more		We may all be Martians New evidence has emerged which supports the long-debated theory that life on Earth may have started on Mars. Professor Steven Benner will tell geochemists gathering today (Thursday 29 Aug) at ... more

SwRI tests rooftop solar fire behavior and mitigation options

Fast FPGA pulse shaping clears neutron gamma pile ups in nuclear detectors

Bayesian neural net sharpens thorium 232 fission yield data

Mars Curiosity Debuts Autonomous Navigation		ASA Mars Rover Views Eclipse of the Sun by Phobos		International Space Agencies Outline Steps to Take Humans to Mars		Mars Rover Opportunity Working at Edge of 'Solander'		Snapping Pictures of the Martian Moons
MRO Swapping Motion-Sensing Units		Opportunity Reaches Base of 'Solander Point'		NASA launches new Russian-language Mars website		Twin astronauts to be studied 'as one' in space research		Big ice may explain Mars' double-layer craters

Full Curiosity Traverse Passes One-Mile Mark

Curious craters on Mars said result of impacts into ancient ice

NASA Begins Launch Preparations for Next Mars Mission

Mars rover hoping to yield more secrets, one year on

NASA Curiosity Rover Approaches First Anniversary on Mars

Space cadets in Washington for one-way ticket to Mars

'Lazarus comets' explain Solar System mystery

Dawn's Arrays Keep It Powering Along

Mars Rover Opportunity Nears Solander Point

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