Mars News, Science, Technology at MarsDaily.com

August 19, 2019

Roscosmos postpones joint ESA ExoMars mission after failed parachute tests

Moscow (Sputnik) Aug 16, 2019
Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos said in a statement on Thursday that the launch of the joint Russian-European ExoMars-2020 astrobiology mission, aimed at searching for evidence of life on Mars, had been postponed after the recent failure of tests of the parachutes needed for the landing. "The launch of the ExoMars-2020 mission is planned to take place during the 'astronomic window' from July 26-August 13, 2020, with landing on Mars scheduled for March 2021," Roscosmos said. Meanwhi ... read more

Robotic toolkit added to NASA's Mars 2020 Rover
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 16, 2019
The bit carousel - a mechanism that will play a key role in the acquisition, containment and eventual return to Earth of humanity's first samples from another planet - has been incorporated into NAS ... more

NASA descends on Icelandic lava field to prepare for Mars
The Lambahraun Lava Field, Islande (AFP) Aug 14, 2019
To prepare for the next mission to Mars in 2020, NASA has taken to the lava fields of Iceland to get its new robotic space explorer ready for the job. ... more

NASA's portable trash bin-sized nuclear power module to be ready by 2022
Washington DC (Sputnik) Aug 14, 2019
The reactor is expected to fulfil a variety of tasks on the red planet, ranging from supplying astronauts with heat and air, to powering 3D printers that will be used for constructing buildings. ... more

Methane not released by wind on Mars, experts find
Newcastle UK (SPX) Aug 13, 2019
Wind erosion has been ruled out as the primary cause of methane gas release on Mars, Newcastle University academics have shown. Methane can be produced over time through both geological and bi ... more

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Optometrists verify Mars 2020 rover's perfect vision
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 07, 2019
Equipped with visionary science instruments, the Mars 2020 rover (https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020) underwent an "eye" exam after several cameras were installed on it. The rover contains an armada of ... more

Dark meets light on Mars
Paris (ESA) Aug 09, 2019
ESA's Mars Express has captured the cosmic contrast of Terra Cimmeria, a region in the southern highlands of Mars marked by impact craters, water-carved valleys, and sand and dust in numerous chocol ... more

New finds for Mars rover, seven years after landing
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 07, 2019
NASA's Curiosity rover has come a long way since touching down on Mars seven years ago. It has traveled a total of 13 miles (21 kilometers) and ascended 1,207 feet (368 meters) to its current locati ... more

MEDLI2 installation on Mars 2020 aeroshell begins
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 05, 2019
Hardware installed onto NASA's Mars 2020 entry vehicle this week will help to increase the safety of future Mars landings. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA's Artemis ... more

World first as kits designed to extract metals from the Moon and Mars blast off for space station tests
London, UK (SPX) Jul 30, 2019
Astronauts will test the devices on board the International Space Station, following the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last night (at 23:01 BST, Thursday 25 July) from NASA's Kenne ... more

Mars 2020 rover does biceps curls
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 30, 2019
The robotic arm on NASA's Mars 2020 rover does not have deltoids, triceps or biceps, but it can still curl heavy weights with the best. In this time-lapse video, taken July 19, 2019, in the clean ro ... more

Europe prepares for Mars courier
Paris (ESA) Jul 26, 2019
The first round-trip to the Red Planet will see a European orbiter bringing martian samples back to Earth. ESA is opening the door to industry to build the spacecraft that will deliver the precious ... more

Fueling of NASA's Mars 2020 rover power system begins
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 26, 2019
NASA's Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, has given the go-ahead to begin fueling the Mars 2020 rover's Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generato ... more

Trump pits Apollo 11 astronauts against NASA chief
Washington (AFP) July 19, 2019
President Donald Trump welcomed surviving Apollo 11 crew members Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the White House Friday, using the occasion to tell his space chief he would prefer to go straight to Mars without returning to the Moon. ... more

ExoMars radio science instrument readied for Red Planet
Paris (ESA) Jul 23, 2019
An ambitious instrument for ESA's ExoMars 2020 mission has passed its testing in conditions resembling those on the Red Planet. It will now be transported to Russia for its acceptance review, follow ... more

Red wine compound could help protect astronauts on trip to Mars

Mars 2020 Rover: T-Minus One Year and Counting
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 22, 2019
The launch period for NASA's Mars 2020 rover opens exactly one year from July 17, 2020, and extends through Aug. 5, 2020. The mission will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and ... more

Red wine's resveratrol could help Mars explorers stay strong
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 18, 2019
Mars is about 9 months from Earth with today's tech, NASA reckons. As the new space race hurtles forward, Harvard researchers are asking: how do we make sure the winners can still stand when they re ... more

A material way to make Mars habitable
Boston MA (SPX) Jul 17, 2019
People have long dreamed of re-shaping the Martian climate to make it livable for humans. Carl Sagan was the first outside of the realm of science fiction to propose terraforming. In a 1971 paper, S ... more

Aerogel could be a key building material for Mars
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 17, 2019
Raising crops on Mars is far easier in science fiction than it will be in real life: The Red Planet is an inhospitable world. Among other challenges, subzero temperatures mean water can persist on t ... more

NASA funds demo of 3D-Printed spacecraft parts made, assembled in orbit
Huntsville AL (SPX) Jul 13, 2019
NASA has awarded a $73.7 million contract to Made In Space, Inc. of Mountain View, California, to demonstrate the ability of a small spacecraft, called Archinaut One, to manufacture and assemble spa ... more

NASA SLS rocket testing ensures astronaut safety, mission success
Huntsville AL (SPX) Jul 11, 2019
As the world reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo missions, NASA is looking forward to its next giant leaps. One way NASA ensures the safety of astronauts and the success of the Artemis mi ... more

Chandrayaan-2 enters Lunar Transfer Trajectory
New Delhi, India (SPX) Aug 15, 2019

The final orbit raising manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was successfully carried out August 14, 2019 at 02:21 am IST. During this maneuver, the spacecraft's liquid engine was fired for about 1203 seconds. With this, Chandrayaan-2 entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory. Earlier, the spacecraft's orbit was progressively increased five times during July 23 to August 06, 2019. The health ... more

+ Chandrayaan-2 mission to reach Lunar orbit on 20 August

+ India's moon-bound Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft set to leave Earth's orbit

+ Moon glows brighter than Sun in images from NASA's Fermi telescope

+ NASA Marshall to lead Artemis Program's human lunar lander development

+ Kilopower technology could be used for lunar night operations

+ China's lunar rover travels 271 meters on moon's far side

+ First steps in getting Canada to the Moon

China launches first private rocket capable of carrying satellites
Beijing (AFP) July 25, 2019

A Chinese startup successfully launched the country's first commercial rocket capable of carrying satellites into orbit Thursday, as the space race between China and the US heats up. Beijing-based Interstellar Glory Space Technology - also known as iSpace - said it launched two satellites into orbit around 1:00 pm Beijing time (0500 GMT) from Jiuquan, a state launch facility in the Gobi de ... more

+ Chinese scientists say goodbye to Tiangong-2

+ China's space lab Tiangong 2 destroyed in controlled fall to earth

+ From Moon to Mars, Chinese space engineers rise to new challenges

+ China plans to deploy almost 200 AU-controlled satellites into orbit

+ Luokung and Land Space to develop control system for space and ground assets

+ Yaogan-33 launch fails in north China, Possible debris recovered in Laos

+ China develops new-generation rockets for upcoming missions

Scientists to use near-Earth object telescope to observe cosmic mergers
Washington (UPI) Aug 16, 2019

Scientists have reprogrammed the Catalina Sky Survey's near-Earth object telescopes to look for both asteroids and cosmic mergers. "Catalina Sky Survey has all of this infrastructure for their asteroid survey," Michael Lundquist, postdoctoral research associate at the University of Arizona, said in a news release. "So we have deployed additional software to take gravitational wave alert ... more

+ Best of both worlds: asteroids and massive mergers

+ Largest impact crater in the US, buried for 35 million years

+ Four Candidate Sites Selected for Asteroid Sample Collection

+ Critical Observation Made on During First Night of Return to Operations

+ Asteroid's features to be named after mythical birds

+ Asteroid's surprise close approach illustrates need for more eyes on the sky

+ Aquariids peak on Monday starts month of meteor showers

Young Jupiter was smacked head-on by massive newborn planet
Houston TX (SPX) Aug 19, 2019

A colossal, head-on collision between Jupiter and a still-forming planet in the early solar system, about 4.5 billion years ago, could explain surprising readings from NASA's Juno spacecraft, according to a study this week in the journal Nature. Astronomers from Rice University and China's Sun Yat-sen University say their head-on impact scenario can explain Juno's previously puzzling gravi ... more

+ Giant Impact Disrupted Jupiter's Core

+ Young Jupiter Was Smacked Head-On by Massive Newborn Planet

+ Hubble showcases new portrait of Jupiter

+ Jupiter's auroras powered by alternating current

+ Kuiper Belt Binary Orientations Support Streaming Instability Hypothesis

+ Study Shows How Icy Outer Solar System Satellites May Have Formed

+ Astronomers See "Warm" Glow of Uranus's Rings

A brief astronomical history of Saturn's amazing rings
Los Angeles CA (The Conversation) Aug 15, 2019

Many dream of what they would do had they a time machine. Some would travel 100 million years back in time, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Not many, though, would think of taking a telescope with them, and if, having done so, observe Saturn and its rings. Whether our time-traveling astronomer would be able to observe Saturn's rings is debatable. Have the rings, in some shape or form, exi ... more

+ Yale researcher has a window seat for planning NASA's Dragonfly mission

+ SMU's 'Titans in a jar' could answer key questions ahead of NASA's space exploration

+ The mission of a lifetime: a drone on Titan in 2034

+ Dragonfly Mission to Study Titan for Origins, Signs of Life

+ NASA's Dragonfly Will Fly Around Titan Looking for Origins, Signs of Life

+ "Bathtub rings" around Titan's lakes might be made of alien crystals

+ Cassini reveals new sculpting in Saturn rings

Monitoring the Matterhorn with millions of data points
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Aug 17, 2019

The summer heatwave of 2003 triggered a rockfall that shocked both researchers and the general public: 1,500 cubic metres of rock broke away from the Hoernli ridge - a volume roughly equivalent to two houses. The fracture event exposed bare ice on the surface of the steep scarp. Experts soon realised that the record temperatures had warmed the rock down to such a depth that the ice contained in ... more

+ Making microbes that transform greenhouse gases

+ Using lasers to visualize molecular mysteries in our atmosphere

+ Making sense of remote sensing data

+ NASA's Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor Goes to Work Aboard the International Space Station

+ Earth's last magnetic field reversal took far longer than once thought

+ NASA targets coastal ecosystems with new space sensor

+ CryoSat conquers ice on Arctic lakes

The first DJ in space
Paris (ESA) Aug 15, 2019

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano made space (and music) history on 13 August when he broadcast the first DJ music set from orbit, performing to an audience of over 3000 people as part of the BigCityBeats WORLD CLUB DOME Cruise Edition. The results of his work were beamed to the main stage on board the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl moored at the Spanish island of Ibiza. His set of around 12 minut ... more

+ Solar sail craft could revolutionize space travel

+ Virgin Galactic unveils new Mission Control for space tourism

+ Brain games hosted by Keegan-Michael Key will test perceptions with a live audience

+ India orders Russian equipment for first manned space mission

+ Xplore To Send Celestis Memorials to the Moon, and Beyond

+ Orion Service Module completes critical propulsion test

+ Two weeks of science and beyond on ISS

New "Gold Open Access" Planetary Science Journal Launched
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 16, 2019

Research articles reporting significant developments, discoveries, and theories about planets, moons, small bodies, and the interactions among them will soon have a new showcase: The Planetary Science Journal (PSJ). This online publication is being launched by the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the major organization of professional astronomers in North America, in conjunction with t ... more

+ Timeline suggests 'giant planet migration' was earlier than predicted

+ How Many Earth-like Planets Are Around Sun-like Stars

+ Does ET exist ponders UVA astronomer

+ NASA plans for Webb to zero in on TRAPPIST-1 atmospheres within a year of launch

+ How astronomers chase new worlds in TESS data

+ Fluorescent glow may reveal hidden life in the cosmos

+ Dead planets can 'broadcast' for up to a billion years

AFRL conducts first flight of robopilot unmanned air platform
Wright-Patterson AFB OH (SPX) Aug 16, 2019

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) and DZYNE Technologies Incorporated successfully completed a two-hour initial flight of a revolutionary Robotic Pilot Unmanned Conversion Program called ROBOpilot Aug. 9 at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. "This flight test is a testament to AFRL's ability to rapidly innovate technology from concept to application in ... more

+ Drone buzzes above vineyard helping Luxembourg winegrower

+ Skyfront Perimeter Drone Performs The First Beyond-Line-of-Sight Flight under FAA Part 107

+ Teams test swarm autonomy in second major OFFSET field experiment

+ S.Korea tests drone delivery in remote regions

+ DLR conducts flight tests for gyrocopter drones

+ General Atomics to build parts, equipment for MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone

+ State Dept. approves $950M drone support services sale to South Korea

Proposals selected for small satellites to study interplanetary space
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 16, 2019

NASA has selected two proposals to demonstrate small satellite technologies to improve science observations in deep space, which could help NASA develop better models to predict space weather events that can affect astronauts and spacecraft. "This is the first time that our heliophysics program has funded this kind of technology demonstration," said Peg Luce, deputy director of the Helioph ... more

+ NASA's MMS finds first interplanetary shock

+ Parker Solar Probe completes 2 orbits of Sun

+ Magnetic plasma pulses excited by UK-size swirls in the solar atmosphere

+ Researchers recreate the sun's solar wind and plasma "burps" on Earth

+ Airbus brings a SMILE to ESA

+ 'Terminators' on the sun trigger plasma tsunamis and the start of new solar cycles

+ Details of Solar Science Mission Revealed at UK Astronomy Meeting

Secret Russia weapon project: gamechanger or PR stunt?
Paris (AFP) Aug 14, 2019

A deadly explosion at a Russian testing site has focused attention on President Vladimir Putin's bid to build a nuclear-powered missile that the Kremlin hopes would give Moscow the edge in a new arms race. Western experts have linked the blast at the Nyonoksa test site on August 8, which caused a sharp spike in local radiation levels, to the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile f ... more

+ SNC selects ULA for Dream Chaser launches

+ Bolton says Russia 'stole' US hypersonic technology

+ US detect explosion of old European Ariane 4 rocket in space

+ Robotic tool operations bring in-space refueling closer to reality

+ Chinese space startup to send heavy satellite

+ Vulcan Centaur rocket on schedule for first flight in 2021

+ AFRL achieves record-setting hypersonic ground test milestone

Observed explosion of monster star requires new supernova mechanism
Boston MA (SPX) Aug 16, 2019

Scientists at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian have announced the discovery of the most massive star ever known to be destroyed by a supernova explosion, challenging known models of how massive stars die and providing insight into the death of the first stars in the universe. First noticed in November 2016 by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia satellite, three year ... more

+ Astronomers measure mass, energy from high-mass protostar for first time

+ Dark matter may be older than the big bang, study suggests

+ A new lens for life-searching space telescopes

+ Scientists discover a new type of pulsating star

+ Stellar Evolution in Real Time Detected in the Old Star T Ursae Majoris

+ Glitch in neutron star reveals its hidden secrets

+ Finding a cosmic fog within shattered intergalactic pancakes

A key piece to understanding how quantum gravity affects low-energy physics
Trieste, Italy (SPX) Aug 09, 2019

Researchers have, for the first time, identified the sufficient and necessary conditions that the low-energy limit of quantum gravity theories must satisfy to preserve the main features of the Unruh effect. In a new study, led by researchers from SISSA (Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, the Complutense University of Madrid and the University of Waterloo, a solid theoretica ... more

+ Fastest eclipsing binary, a valuable target for gravitational wave studies

+ Chameleon Theory Could Change How We Think About Gravity

+ Artificial gravity breaks free from science fiction

+ Researchers find quantum gravity has no symmetry

+ Development of a displacement sensor to measure gravity of smallest source mass ever

+ Gravitational waves leave a detectable mark, physicists say

+ UCLA students touch space with a microgravity experiment

Atomic 'Trojan horse' could inspire new generation of X-ray lasers and particle colliders
Stanford CA (SPX) Aug 15, 2019

How do researchers explore nature on its most fundamental level? They build "supermicroscopes" that can resolve atomic and subatomic details. This won't work with visible light, but they can probe the tiniest dimensions of matter with beams of electrons, either by using them directly in particle colliders or by converting their energy into bright X-rays in X-ray lasers. At the heart of such scie ... more

+ ALMA dives into Black Hole's 'Sphere of Influence'

+ Physicists say they've discovered a new state of matter

+ NASA selects proposals to further study the fundamental nature of space

+ Where in the universe can you find a black hole nursery?

+ Ultracold quantum particles break classical symmetry

+ Cloaked black hole discovered in early universe using NASA's Chandra

+ Einstein's general relativity theory is questioned but still stands for now, team reports

NASA Robots Compete Underground in DARPA Challenge
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 15, 2019

Robots from all over the world will compete to find objects in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge Systems Competition, held Aug. 15-22 in mining tunnels under Pittsburgh. Among them will be a team led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, that features wheeled rovers, drones and climbing robots that can rise on pinball-flipper-shaped treads to scale obstacles. Held by ... more

+ Evolving computers from tools to partners in cyber-physical system design

+ NASA wants your help developing autonomous rovers

+ Employees less upset at being replaced by robots than by other people

+ Roach-inspired robot nearly as fast as real thing, unsquashable

+ A computer that understands how you feel

+ In the shoes of a robot: The future approaches

+ Kitchen disruption: better food through artificial intelligence

China launches first private rocket capable of carrying satellites
Beijing (AFP) July 25, 2019

+ Chinese scientists say goodbye to Tiangong-2

+ China's space lab Tiangong 2 destroyed in controlled fall to earth

+ From Moon to Mars, Chinese space engineers rise to new challenges

+ China plans to deploy almost 200 AU-controlled satellites into orbit

+ Luokung and Land Space to develop control system for space and ground assets

+ Yaogan-33 launch fails in north China, Possible debris recovered in Laos

+ China develops new-generation rockets for upcoming missions

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