The first mission devoted to observing the Martian atmosphere and its evolution, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution), has ended after more than 11 years in orbit at Mars and a decade beyond its primary, one-year mission. The spacecraft was heard last on Dec. 6, when it experienced an unexpected loss of signal after […]
Category: Mars
NASA’s Psyche Mission Aces Mars Flyby, Targets Metal-Rich Asteroid
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft completed its close approach of Mars on May 15, coming within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the planet’s surface. This flyby used a gravity assist from Mars to provide a critical boost in speed and to adjust the spacecraft’s orbital plane without using any onboard propellant, sending it on its way toward […]
NASA’s MAVEN Makes 1st Discovery of Atmospheric Effect at Mars
In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected — observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission, scientists identified a phenomenon known to occur in Earth’s magnetosphere, where charged particles are squeezed like toothpaste […]
Curiosity Shakes Loose a Pesky Rock
After NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover drilled a sample from this rock on April 25, 2026, it withdrew its robotic arm and pulled the entire rock off the surface with it. Engineers spent several days repositioning the arm and vibrating the drill to try and get the rock loose. When it finally detached on May 1, […]
NASA Draws on Industry for Mars Telecommunications Network
On Thursday, NASA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP), seeking industry collaboration for the Mars Telecommunications Network. Reliable, high bandwidth communications is necessary to relay science data, high-definition imagery, and critical information during Mars missions. The network will use high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiters at the Red Planet to support future surface, orbital, and human exploration. […]
Perseverance Stuns in New Selfie
NASA’s Perseverance rover recently took a self-portrait against a sweeping backdrop of ancient Martian terrain at a location the science team calls “Lac de Charmes.” Assembled from 61 individual images, the selfie shows Perseverance training its mast on a rocky outcrop in the foreground after creating a circular abrasion patch, with the western rim of […]
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Snaps Selfie in Mars’ Western Frontier
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover recently took a self-portrait against a sweeping backdrop of ancient Martian terrain at a location the science team calls “Lac de Charmes.” Assembled from 61 individual images, the selfie shows Perseverance training its mast on a rocky outcrop on which it had just made a circular abrasion patch, with the western […]
NASA Pushes Next-Gen Mars Helicopter Rotor Blades Past Mach 1
The rotor blades that will carry NASA’s next-generation helicopters to new Martian heights broke the sound barrier during March tests at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Data from the tests, which took place in a special chamber that can simulate environmental conditions on the Red Planet, indicate that the fastest traveling part of […]
NASA’s Perseverance, Curiosity Panoramas Capture Two Sides of Mars
NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have captured two 360-degree landscapes that highlight how the missions are revealing details of the Red Planet’s formation, watery past, and potential for life. Located 2,345 miles (3,775 kilometers) apart from each other on Mars — about the distance from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. — both rovers are exploring […]