Mars News, Science, Technology at MarsDaily.com

September 13, 2019

Mars 2020 Spacecraft Comes Full Circle

Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 13, 2019
Engineers took NASA's Mars 2020 for a spin on Aug. 29, 2019. The 2,300-pound (1,040-kilogram) Martian vehicle was rotated clockwise and counterclockwise at about 1 revolution per minute on what is called a spin table in the clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The engineers were looking for the rover's center of gravity, or the point at which weight is evenly dispersed on all sides. Establishing the rover's center of gravity is ... read more

NASA Research Gives New Insight into How Much Atmosphere Mars Lost
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 06, 2019
A key tracer used to estimate how much atmosphere Mars lost can change depending on the time of day and the surface temperature on the Red Planet, according to new observations by NASA-funded scient ... more

'Martian CSI' Sheds Light on How Asteroid Impacts Generated Running Water Under Red Planet
Swindon UK (Sputnik) Sep 09, 2019
Volcanic Martian meteorites known as "nakhlites owe their name to El Nakhla in Egypt, where they first landed on Earth in 1911. Although they hold traces of impact of liquid water on the Martian sur ... more

NASA engineers attach Mars Helicopter to Mars 2020 rover
Washington (UPI) Aug 29, 2019
NASA engineers have installed the miniature helicopter on the space agency's Mars 2020 rover. The Mars Helicopter, nicknamed Scout, will be the first aircraft to fly on another planet. ... more

ESA Chief says discussed ExoMars 2020 launch with Roscosmos
Moscow (Sputnik) Aug 30, 2019
The 2020 mission of the ExoMars programme is expected to deliver a European rover and a Russian surface platform to the surface of Mars. The rover is expected to spend one year exploring the surface ... more

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Sep 11

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Sep 09

Sep 06

NASA's Mars Helicopter Attached to Mars 2020 Rover
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 29, 2019
Engineers attached NASA's Mars Helicopter, which will be the first aircraft to fly on another planet, to the belly of the Mars 2020 rover in the High Bay 1 clean room at the Jet Propulsion Laborator ... more

NASA Invites Students to Name Next Mars Rover
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 29, 2019
Red rover, red rover, send a name for Mars 2020 right over! NASA is recruiting help from students nationwide to find a name for its next Mars rover mission. Starting Tuesday, K-12 students in ... more

ExoMars rover ready for environment testing
Paris (ESA) Aug 28, 2019
The Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover has completed its construction activities in the UK and will now depart to France for testing under the conditions of the Red Planet's environment. The fina ... more

'Game-Changer' for Cosmic Research: NASA Chief Touts Nuclear Powered Spacecraft
Washington DC (Sputnik) Aug 23, 2019
Earlier this month, NASA's Future In-Space Operations working group said that its portable nuclear powered reactor will be ready to fly to Mars by 2022. Speaking at a National Space Council (N ... more

Scientists Explore Outback as Testbed for Mars
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 27, 2019
This week, scientists from NASA's upcoming Mars 2020 mission joined their counterparts from the joint European-Russian ExoMars mission in an expedition to the Australian Outback, one of the most rem ... more

Atacama Desert microbes may hold clues to life on Mars
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 23, 2019
Microbial life on Mars may potentially be transported across the planet on dust particles carried by wind, according to a study conducted in the Atacama Desert in North Chile, a well-known Mars anal ... more

A step closer to solving the methane mystery on Mars
Canberra, Australia (SPX) Aug 22, 2019
Scientists have taken an important step towards revealing the mysterious source of methane on Mars, by refining estimates of the gas in the planet's atmosphere. The methane puffing from a huge ... more

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 ... 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

All instruments onboard Rosalind Franklin rover
Paris (ESA) Aug 21, 2019
The full suite of scientific instruments, including cameras that will give us our eyes on Mars, the drill that will retrieve pristine soil samples from below the surface, and the onboard laboratory ... more

Robotic toolkit added to NASA's Mars 2020 Rover

Ancient Mars was warm with occasional rain, turning cold
Barcelona, Spain (SPX) Aug 20, 2019
Scientists have long known that water was abundant on ancient Mars, but there has been no consensus on whether liquid water was common, or whether it was largely frozen in ice. Was the temperature h ... 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

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

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

Are we prepared for a new era of field geology on the moon and beyond?
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 12, 2019

Space agencies must invest more resources on field geology training of astronauts to take full advantage of scientific opportunities on the Moon and other planetary bodies, Kip Hodges and Harrison Schmitt urge, in an Editorial. The Moon represents a pristine archive of the early history of the Solar System, making it an ideal research target for scientists seeking a window into planetary formati ... more

+ NASA Goddard Creates CGI Moon Kit as a Form of Visual Storytelling

+ India locates missing Moon lander

+ Ttiny satellites that will pave the way to Luna

+ China's lunar rover travels over 284 meters on moon's far side

+ India to launch another Lunar probe to in early 2020s with Japan

+ Chandrayaan-2 Completes Second De-Orbiting Manoeuvre Ahead of Historic Landing: ISRO

+ NASA Science Experiments to be Delivered to Moon by Commercial Landers

China's KZ-1A rocket launches two satellites
Jiuquan, China (XNA) Sep 02, 2019

Two satellites for technological experiments were sent into space by a Kuaizhou-1A, or KZ-1A, carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Saturday. The rocket blasted off at 7:41 a.m. and sent the two satellites into their planned orbit. Kuaizhou-1A, meaning speedy vessel, is a low-cost solid-fuel carrier rocket with high reliability and a short prep ... more

+ China's newly launched communication satellite suffers abnormality

+ China launches first private rocket capable of carrying satellites

+ 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

A burst of asteroid activity in Europe
Paris (ESA) Sep 11, 2019

The next few days will see a rare convergence of asteroid-related activity in Europe, as planetary defence and other experts meet in three locations to coordinate humanity's efforts to defend ourselves from hazardous space rocks. Such intense levels of international scientific collaboration are driven in part by the fact that an asteroid impact could cause devastating effects on Earth. But ... more

+ Two Asteroids to Safely Fly by Earth

+ Newly Discovered Comet Is Likely Interstellar Visitor

+ Tsunami Followed Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Impact

+ Europe and US teaming up for asteroid deflection

+ OSIRIS-REx's final four sample site candidates in 3D

+ UCF Student Working as Image Analyst for NASA's OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Recovery Mission

+ Australia set to welcome JAXA's Hayabusa2

Storms on Jupiter are disturbing the planet's colorful belts
Berkeley CA (SPX) Aug 23, 2019

Storm clouds rooted deep in Jupiter's atmosphere are affecting the planet's white zones and colorful belts, creating disturbances in their flow and even changing their color. Thanks to coordinated observations of the planet in January 2017 by six ground-based optical and radio telescopes and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a University of California, Berkeley, astronomer and her colleagues ... more

+ ALMA shows what's inside Jupiter's storms

+ Young Jupiter was smacked head-on by massive newborn planet

+ Mission to Jupiter's icy moon confirmed

+ 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

Nitrogen explosions created craters on Saturn moon Titan
Ithaca NY (SPX) Sep 11, 2019

Lakes of liquid methane on the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, were likely formed by explosive, pressurized nitrogen just under the moon's surface, according to new research. "Titan has very distinctive topography. Its lakes show different kinds of shapes and in some cases sharp ridges," said paper co-author Jonathan Lunine, professor of physical sciences at Cornell University. ... more

+ Saturn's Rings Shine in New Hubble Portrait

+ Methane-filled lakes on Saturn's moon Titan are explosion craters

+ New models suggest Titan lakes are explosion craters

+ A brief astronomical history of Saturn's amazing rings

+ 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

Clemson physicists lead rocket missions to further explore the wonders of Earth's atmosphere
Clemson SC (SPX) Sep 12, 2019

Clemson University physicists will conduct a pair of three-year rocket missions funded by NASA Heliophysics designed to deepen our understanding of the visible and invisible mechanisms that modulate energy into Earth's atmosphere. Stephen Kaeppler is the principal investigator on a project titled "INCAA," which will study how energy is transferred and dissipated during colorful active auro ... more

+ First Earth observation satellite with AI ready for launch

+ German HALO research aircraft to investigate ozone hole, Amazon fires and gravity waves

+ Do animals control earth's oxygen level

+ Cutting edge UK led satellite will help to identify natural resources from space

+ Researchers show satellite data can reveal fire susceptibility in peatlands

+ Lightning 'superbolts' form over oceans from November to February

+ Philippine Airborne Campaign Targets Weather, Climate Science

Innovative model created for NASA to predict vitamin levels in spaceflight food
Amherst MD (SPX) Sep 13, 2019

A team of food scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a groundbreaking, user-friendly mathematical model for NASA to help ensure that astronauts' food remains rich in nutrients during extended missions in space. The new research, published in the journal Food Chemistry, gives NASA a time-saving shortcut to predict the degradation of vitamins in spaceflight food ... more

+ Testing and Training on the Boeing Starliner

+ A new journey into Earth for space exploration

+ Natalie Portman joins Hollywood space race with 'Lucy in the Sky'

+ Voice-command ovens, robots for pets on show at Berlin's IFA tech fair

+ Israeli high-tech looks to future -- whoever wins vote

+ Malaysia Interested in Having Access to Russian Space Tech, Prime Minister Says

+ JAXA spacecraft carries science, technology to the Space Station

First water detected on potentially 'habitable' planet
London, UK (SPX) Sep 12, 2019

Water vapour has been detected in the atmosphere of a super-Earth with habitable temperatures by UCL researchers in a world first. K2-18b, which is eight times the mass of Earth, is now the only planet orbiting a star outside the Solar System, or 'exoplanet', known to have both water and temperatures that could support life. The discovery, published in Nature Astronomy, is the first ... more

+ First Water Detected on Planet in the Habitable Zone

+ The rare molecule weighing in on the birth of planets

+ Research redefines lower limit for planet size habitability

+ Water detected on an exoplanet located in its star's habitable zone

+ How to Spin a Disk Around Young Protostars

+ Potassium Detected in an Exoplanet Atmosphere

+ Planetary collisions can drop the internal pressures in planets

Lockheed, Raytheon launch Javelin missiles from unmanned vehicle
Washington (UPI) Sep 10, 2019

A team of defense contractors has remotely launched Javelin missiles from an unmanned vehicle. The Javelin Joint Venture team, a partnership of Raytheon Company and Lockheed Martin, fired the Javelin missiles from a Kongsberg remote launcher mounted on a Titan unmanned ground vehicle in a test fire at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center in Alabama. "Javelin offers true fire-and-fo ... more

+ Iran unveils new reconnaissance and attack drone

+ Iraq paramilitary force says Israel behind latest drone attack

+ Hughes partners with startup to extend LTE Coverage using helicopters and UAVs

+ Drone buzzes above vineyard helping Luxembourg winegrower

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

+ AFRL conducts first flight of robopilot unmanned air platform

+ Teams test swarm autonomy in second major OFFSET field experiment

Sandia experiments at temperature of sun offer solutions to solar model problems
Albuquerque NM (SPX) Sep 12, 2019

Experimenting at 2.2 million degrees Celsius, physicists at Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine have found that an astronomical model - used for 40 years to predict the sun's behavior as well as the life and death of stars - underestimates the energy blockage caused by free-floating iron atoms, a major player in those processes. The blockage effect, called opacity, is an element's natu ... more

+ It's not aurora, it's STEVE

+ NASA Selects Proposals to Advance Understanding of Space Weather

+ Streaks in Aurora Found to Map Features in Earth's Radiation Environment

+ Proposals selected for small satellites to study interplanetary space

+ 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

Fire forces Japan to cancel rocket launch to ISS
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 11, 2019

A pre-dawn fire on Wednesday forced Japan's space agency to cancel the launch of an unnamed rocket meant to deliver supplies to the International Space Station, the operator said. The fire broke out near the launch pad on southern Tanegashima island at around 03:05 am (1805 GMT on Tuesday), as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) was preparing to launch the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's ... more

+ Roscosmos to Build Cheap Soyuz-2M Rocket for Commercial Satellites Launch Service

+ SES selects SpaceX to launch O3b mPOWER MEO communications system

+ China to launch Third Long March 5 by year end

+ Vega Flight VV15: Findings of the Independent Inquiry Commission's investigations

+ Russian Space Agency to Test Modernized Fregat Upper Stage During Launch of Meteor Satellite in 2020

+ Engine Section for NASA's SLS Rocket Moved for Final Integration

+ New salt-based propellant proven compatible in dual-mode rocket engines

Graphene sets the stage for the next generation of THz astronomy detectors
Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) Sep 11, 2019

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology have demonstrated a detector made from graphene that could revolutionize the sensors used in next-generation space telescopes. The findings were recently published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy. Beyond superconductors, there are few materials that can fulfill the requirements needed for making ultra-sensitive and fast terahert ... more

+ Are black holes made of dark energy

+ Towering balloon-like features discovered near center of the Milky Way

+ Observed explosion of monster star requires new supernova mechanism

+ NASA Satellite Spots a Mystery That's Gone in a Flash

+ Telescope for NASA's WFIRST Mission Advances to New Phase of Development

+ Scientists discover a new type of pulsating star

+ China's giant telescope picks up mysterious signals from deep space

UN offers use of ESA's hypergravity centrifuge to researchers worldwide
Noordwijk, Netherlands (SPX) Sep 06, 2019

Imagine being able to increase the force of gravity simply by turning a dial. A United Nations fellowship is offering this opportunity to researchers all over the world, through access to ESA's hypergravity-generating Large Diameter Centrifuge. Manipulate gravity and a lot of other factors shift too: bubbles in liquid alter their behaviour, convection currents accelerate and metal alloys f ... more

+ A key piece to understanding how quantum gravity affects low-energy physics

+ 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

First 'Overtones' Heard in the Ringing of a Black Hole
Pasadena CA (SPX) Sep 12, 2019

By listening for specific tones in the gravitational waves of black hole mergers, researchers are putting Albert Einstein's theories to new tests. When two black holes collide, they merge into one bigger black hole and ring like a struck bell, sending out ripples in space and time called gravitational waves. Embedded in these gravitational waves are specific frequencies, or tones, which are akin ... more

+ Scientists Discover Black Hole Has Three Hot Meals a Day

+ 'Ringing' black hole validates Einstein's general relativity 10 years ahead of schedule

+ Unexpected periodic flares may shed light on black hole accretion

+ Black hole at the center of our galaxy appears to be getting hungrier

+ Scientists detect the ringing of a newborn black hole for the first time

+ And then there was light: looking for the first stars in the Universe

+ Milestones on the way to the nuclear clock

Russia terminates robot Fedor after space odyssey
Moscow (AFP) Sept 11, 2019

It's mission over for a robot called Fedor that Russia blasted to the International Space Station, the developers said Wednesday, admitting he could not replace astronauts on space walks. "He won't fly there any more. There's nothing more for him to do there, he's completed his mission," Yevgeny Dudorov, executive director of robot developers Androidnaya Tekhnika, told RIA Novosti state news ... more

+ At NY Fashion Week, robotic dresses take on a life of their own

+ 'Sense of urgency', as top tech players seek AI ethical rules

+ Psychosensory electronic skin technology for future AI and humanoid development

+ Russian robot 'Fedor' leaves ISS

+ Russian Humanoid Robot Fedor Announces Full Implementation of Flight Test Program

+ CIMON back on Earth after 14 months on the ISS

+ NASA Robots Compete Underground in DARPA Challenge

China's KZ-1A rocket launches two satellites
Jiuquan, China (XNA) Sep 02, 2019

+ China's newly launched communication satellite suffers abnormality

+ China launches first private rocket capable of carrying satellites

+ 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

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