Category Archives: Mars

Nasa’s hunt for signs of life on Mars divides experts as mission costs rocket

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The soaring price-tag of a plan to fly rock samples back to Earth is jeopardising other space projects, say critics

It is one of the most complex space missions ever contemplated. A flotilla of unmanned probes and robot rovers will be flown to Mars to gather rock samples which will then be blasted back to Earth for study for signs of life.

This is Nasa’s Mars Sample Return and it would involve the first-ever space launch from another planet, as well as the first-ever rendezvous in orbit around another planet.

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Planets aligned: how to see the astronomical phenomenon set to light up Australia’s sky

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Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus will be in alignment near the moon and visible using binoculars from Tuesday evening

A planetary alignment is set to light up Australia’s night sky.

Five planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus – will be in alignment near the moon from Tuesday evening.

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Artemis 1: Nasa’s moon rocket springs hazardous leak ahead of launch

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Fuel leak comes after Nasa fixed an engine issue that postponed the original launch attempt five days earlier

Nasa’s pioneering moon rocket sprang a hazardous fuel leak Saturday, throwing into doubt chances of a successful launch on a test flight that must go well before astronauts climb aboard.

The Artemis 1 was poised to make a second attempt to fly on Saturday afternoon after the US space agency declared it had identified and fixed an engine issue that caused the postponement of the original launch attempt five days earlier.

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Nasa’s Moxie instrument successfully makes oxygen on Mars

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Researchers hope scaled-up version could one day generate oxygen to sustain humans on Mars

An instrument the size of a lunchbox has been successfully generating breathable oxygen on Mars, doing the work of a small tree.

Since February last year the Mars oxygen in-situ resource utilisation experiment, or Moxie, has been successfully making oxygen from the red planet’s carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere.

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‘The Artemis generation’: Nasa to launch first rocket to the moon since 1972

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Test flight that will have no human crew aboard aims to return humans to the moon and eventually land them on Mars

For the first time in 50 years, Nasa on Monday is planning to launch the first rocket that can ferry humans to and from the moon.

The giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is scheduled to take off from Nasa’s Cape Canaveral, Florida, complex at 8.33am ET (1.33pm UK time) atop an unmanned Orion spacecraft that is designed to carry up to six astronauts to the moon and beyond.

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Origin site of oldest Martian meteorite ‘Black Beauty’ named after WA mining town

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Researchers used AI to pinpoint the meteorite’s crater on Mars’ southern hemisphere, naming it Karratha, a city close to the Pilbara region

Artificial intelligence has helped pinpoint the exact origin site of the oldest Martian meteorite, in a discovery researchers say provides clues about the planet’s early history.

The meteorite, commonly known as “Black Beauty” and officially called Northwest Africa 7034, contains the oldest known Martian igneous material, which is approximately 4.5bn years old. It was found in the Sahara Desert in 2011.

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European Space Agency suspends €1bn Mars mission with Russia

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The ESA has commissioned a study of how to get ExoMars off the ground without Roscosmos involvement

The European Space Agency has suspended its €1bn (£844m) ExoMars mission, a joint project with Russia that was due to launch a robotic rover in September. Member states of the ESA voted on Thursday to cancel the launch because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“The decision was made that this launch cannot happen, given the current circumstances and especially the sanctions that are imposed by our member states,” said agency director general Josef Aschbacher. “This makes it practically impossible, but also politically impossible to have a launch of [the rover] in September.”

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To the moon and beyond: what 2022 holds for space travel

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From lunar missions to anti-asteroid defence systems, there are plenty of exciting scientific developments to look forward to

This year promises to be an important one for space exploration, with several major programmes reaching the launch pad over the next 12 months. The US is to return to the moon, undertaking a set of missions intended to establish a lunar colony there in a few years. China is expected to complete its Tiangong space station while Europe and Russia will attempt to land spacecraft on Mars, having failed at every previous attempt. India, South Korea and Japan are also scheduled to put a number of missions into space.

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China releases footage from its Mars rover – video

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China’s National Space Administration has released footage recorded by the country’s Mars probe. The videos and photos taken by the camera installed on the Zhurong rover of the Tianwen-1 spacecraft show the lander deploying a parachute before touching down on the surface of Mars and the rover driving away from its landing platform. State broadcaster CCTV said Zhurong had been working on the red planet for 42 days and had moved 236 metres so far

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Nasa’s Mars helicopter goes on ‘stressful’ wild flight after malfunction

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Problem with camera-based navigation system saw helicopter wobble through the air in biggest tech issue Ingenuity has faced

A navigation timing error sent Nasa’s Mars helicopter on a lurching ride, its first major problem since it took to the Martian skies last month.

The experimental helicopter, named Ingenuity, managed to land safely after the problem occurred, officials at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Thursday.

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China lands unmanned spacecraft on Mars for first time

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State-run media says landing ‘spectacularly conquered’ a new milestone; it joins US Perseverance rover which landed in February

An unmanned Chinese spacecraft has successfully landed on the surface of Mars, Chinese state news agency Xinhua has reported, making China the second space-faring nation after the US to land on the red planet.

The official Xinhua news agency said the lander had touched down on Saturday, citing the China National Space Administration.

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Nasa’s Mars helicopter in first powered, controlled flight on another planet

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Ingenuity successfully takes flight, hovering at height of about 3 metres before touching back down

Nasa’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter has completed the first powered, controlled flight on another planet, the space agency has announced.

The small helicopter successfully took flight on the red planet on Monday morning, hovering in the air at an altitude of about 3 metres (10 feet), before descending and touching back down on the Martian surface.

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Perseverance rover sends back first ever recording of driving on Mars – video

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Nasa’s latest Mars rover, Perseverance, has sent back the sounds of its six metal wheels driving across the planet’s surface. The recording was captured by one of its two onboard microphones, with Nasa releasing 16 minutes’ worth. Engineers are investigating whether a high-pitched scratching noise is caused by electromagnetic interference or the rover’s movement. Perseverance will continue to look for somewhere to launch the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a drone that it is carrying

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Perseverance Mars rover: Nasa releases first-drive review

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Vehicle had no problem going 6.5 metres, turning and backing up, then photographed its own wheel marks on planet’s surface

Nasa’s Mars rover Perseverance has taken a short drive two weeks after touching down, mission managers have said.

The six-wheeled, car-sized probe went 6.5 metres (21.3 feet) during a half-hour test within Jezero crater, an ancient lake bed and river delta.

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Nasa releases video of Perseverance rover landing on Mars

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Space agency also reveals audio recorded by Perseverance on surface of red planet

Nasa has unveiled a first-of-its-kind video of its car-sized rover Perseverance making its sensational landing on Mars, and released the first audio recorded on the surface of the red planet.

The American space agency shared the footage on Monday, days after the spacecraft made its dramatic descent to the Martian surface.

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Nasa scientists hail Perseverance rover’s arrival on Mars with stunning images

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Car-sized vehicle designed to seek signs of life is pronounced ‘healthy’ after dramatic descent to surface of the red planet

Nasa scientists have said the Perseverance Mars rover is “healthy” and is beaming back many stunning new images from the surface of the planet, promising significant scientific discoveries ahead.

Related: Perseverance’s mission to Mars – in pictures

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Mars rover landing: Nasa’s Perseverance safely touches down in search of life

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Radio signals confirmed that the six-wheeled rover had survived its perilous descent and arrived within its target zone

Nasa’s science rover Perseverance, the most advanced astrobiology laboratory ever sent to another world, streaked through the Martian atmosphere on Thursday and landed safely on the floor of a vast crater, its first stop on a search for traces of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.

Mission managers at Nasa’s jet propulsion laboratory near Los Angeles burst into applause and cheers as radio signals confirmed that the six-wheeled rover had survived its perilous descent and arrived within its target zone inside Jezero crater, site of a long-vanished Martian lake bed.

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Nasa Perseverance rover to land on Mars in search of life

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Spacecraft will descend on red planet carrying helicopter and instruments to look for biosignatures

A rover and a tiny helicopter are preparing to land on Mars, aiming to offer an opportunity to answer an enduring question: has life ever emerged on another planet?

Nasa’s ninth mission to descend on the cold, dry, red planet will be steered by a $2.7bn (£2.1bn), car-sized, six-wheeled rover christened Perseverance, which is expected to touch down on Thursday following a seven-month journey.

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Tianwen1 probe sends back its first picture of Mars

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Chinese spacecraft aiming to enter orbit in days before putting down lander and rover months later

China’s Tianwen-1 probe has sent back its first picture of Mars, the Chinese space agency has said, as the mission prepares to touch down later this year.

The spacecraft, launched in July around the same time as a US mission, is expected to enter Mars orbit around 10 February.

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