Mars News, Science, Technology at MarsDaily.com

December 06, 2013

Controllers prepare for spacecraft's rendezvous with protoplanet Ceres
Pasadena, Calif. (UPI) Dec 4, 2013
NASA scientists say they've finalized flight plans for the Dawn spacecraft when it arrives at the dwarf planet Ceres in late March 2015. Mission managers have finished creating a schedule of scientific operations for Dawn, which has been cruising toward Ceres, the largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, since September 2012, when it departed its first cosmic target, the asteroid Vesta. Ceres could present an icy, even possible watery counterpoint to the dry Ves ... read more

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Quietly Cruising Through The Asteroid Belt Gliding smoothly through the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Dawn continues to make good progress on its ambitious mission of exploration. It is patiently but persistently pursuing Cere ... more		NASA's Dawn Fills out its Ceres Dance Card It's going to be a ball when NASA's Dawn spacecraft finally arrives at the dwarf planet Ceres, and mission managers have now inked in the schedule on Dawn's dance card. Dawn has been cruising toward ... more		Opportunity Rover Robotic Arm Within Reach of Rock Outcrop Opportunity is ascending 'Solander Point' at the rim of 'Endeavour Crater.' The rover is maintaining favorable northerly tilts for improved energy production. On Sol 3496 (Nov. 23, 2013), the ... more
				MAVEN Performs First Trajectory Correction Maneuver MAVEN mission controllers performed a successful trajectory correction maneuver, also known as a TCM. Post-maneuver data review shows that TCM-1 went according to plan. This maneuver removed the pla ... more		Deep Space Perils For Indian Spacecraft There's no turning back. India's Mars Orbiter Mission has left Earth orbit and is heading for the red planet. After a flourish of media coverage before and shortly after launch, attention on this mi ... more

ExoMars program marks critical milestone for ESA and Russia Cooperation with Russia comprises practically all areas of the European Space Agency's (ESA) space activities. Several months ago the ESA and Russian federal space agency signed a formal agreement t ... more		The State of Super Earths Our solar system hosts a cornucopia of worlds, from the hellfire of Venus to the frozen plains of Mars to the mighty winds of Uranus. In that range, the Earth stands alone, with no planet coming clo ... more		Sidekick autonomy software guides YFQ-42A test mission for CCA program Infleqtion lists shares on NYSE as neutral atom quantum firm Top Chinese gaming companies continue to challenge		NASA poised to launch Mars atmosphere probe What happened to the water on Mars? How did the Red Planet's atmosphere become so thin over time? NASA's MAVEN probe is scheduled to launch Monday on a mission to find out. ... more
				India's spacecraft successfully begins journey to Mars India's first mission to Mars left Earth's orbit Sunday, successfully entering the second phase of its journey that could see New Delhi win Asia's race to the Red Planet, scientists said. ... more		Curiosity Resumes Science After Analysis of Voltage Issue NASA's Mars rover Curiosity resumed full science operations on Saturday, Nov. 23. Activities over the weekend included use of Curiosity's robotic arm to deliver portions of powdered rock to a labora ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

International Conference on Protection of Materials and Structures From Space Environment

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Sounding Rocket to Peek at Atmosphere of Venus A week after launching a new orbiter to investigate the upper atmosphere of Mars, NASA is sending a sounding rocket to probe the atmosphere of Venus. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or M ... more		How Habitable Is Mars? A New View of the Viking Experiments Almost 40 years ago, two NASA probes on the surface of Mars scooped the soil in search of signs of microbes. The results that came back from the twin Viking missions were, to say the least, ambiguou ... more		Solar-driven ionosphere charges may nudge stressed faults toward rupture Stable black carbon in mangrove soils boosts coastal climate role Low crystallinity iron minerals show promise for chromium cleanup and carbon storage		Winter Means Less Power for Solar Panels Opportunity is ascending 'Solander Point' at the rim of 'Endeavour Crater.' The rover is maintaining favorable northerly tilts for improved energy production. Opportunity is experiencing the p ... more
				Unusual greenhouse gases may have raised ancient Martian temperature Much like the Grand Canyon, Nanedi Valles snakes across the Martian surface suggesting that liquid water once crossed the landscape, according to a team of researchers who believe that molecular hyd ... more		Research uncovers secrets of Mars' birth from unique meteorite As NASA prepares to launch a new Martian probe, a Florida State University scientist has uncovered what may be the first recognized example of ancient Martian crust. The work of Munir Humayun - a pr ... more

China's most moon-like place

LADEE Instruments Healthy and Ready for Science

China launches first moon rover mission

China moon rover enters lunar orbit: Xinhua

China space launch debris wrecks villagers' homes: report

Turkey keen on space cooperation with China

Russian android may take on outer space operations at ISS

Repurposing ISS Trash for Power and Water

Russian spacecraft with advanced navigation system docks with ISS

The Sounds of New Horizons

On the Path to Pluto, 5 AU and Closing

SwRI study finds that Pluto satellites' orbital ballet may hint of long-ago collisions

	Billionaire eyes private Mars mission in 2017 Billionaire Dennis Tito has revealed his scheme for dispatching two astronauts to the red planet as early as December 2017, saying that 'rare alignments' of planets should be exploited as the contex ... more		Rover Team Working to Diagnose Electrical Issue Science observations by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity have been suspended for a few days while engineers run tests to check possible causes of a voltage change detected on Nov. 17. "The vehicle ... more		Stunning meteorite sheds light on infant Mars A meteorite found in the Sahara last year by Bedouin tribesmen is a rock from Mars, revealing that the Red Planet's crust formed 4.4 billion years ago, scientists reported on Wednesday. ... more		Lockheed Martin-Built MAVEN Launches To Mars NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, was launched Monday at 1:28 pm ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alli ... more

AALTO plans Zephyr stratospheric hub in northern Australia and seeks local payload partners

Ancient guano drove Chincha coastal power

UAH lands first DARPA award for biological sciences department

The Overprotection of Mars?		Variation of halogens in martian soil calls for an atmosphere-surface cycle		Evidence found for granite on Mars		The Plan for Inspiration Mars		Researchers develop algorithm to identify individual grains of Mars soil
NASA launches spacecraft to study Mars atmosphere		LeVar Burton Shares MAVEN's Story in a New NASA PSA		Mars Rover Teams Dub Sites in Memory of Bruce Murray		Martian moon samples will have bits of Mars		NASA release 'tour' of ancient, wet Mars as YouTube video

Curiosity Out of Safe Mode

MAVEN Aims To Answer Where Did the Water on Mars Go

Mission to Mars moon could be a sample-return twofer

Indian Mars mission suffers glitch but 'no setback'

NASA says new deep space vehicle on time for 2014 test

India Mars mission back on track after engine glitch: scientists

Proposed sample-collecting mission to Mars moon could be a 'twofer'

ExoMars Lander Module Named Schiaparelli

Opportunity Maneuvering Around A Dune Field

Prolific NASA Mars Orbiter Passes Big Data Milestone

'Freakish' asteroid discovered, resembles rotating lawn sprinkler

Frugal Mars mission launchpad for India in global space market

Mars probe named in honor of 19th century astronomer Schiaparelli

Curiosity Team Working To Understand First Fault Related Warm Reset

Multiple Missions Will Get China Moving On Mars

Mythbusting India's Mars Mission

Six-tailed asteroid stuns scientists

India reaches for Mars on prestige space mission

Dawn Enjoying Smooth Travels Deep In The Main Asteroid Belt

Mars Mission: India's Tryst with the Red Planet

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