Mars news archive
'Phoenix' lander headed for Martian North Pole
In May 2008, the progeny of two promising U.S. missions to Mars will deploy a lander to the water-ice-rich northern polar region, dig with a robotic arm into arctic terrain for clues on the history of water, and search for environments suitable for microbes.
   FULL STORY [Aug. 4]
Mars orbiter captures view of stair-stepped mound
This Mars Global Surveyor image shows a stair-stepped mound of sedimentary rock on the floor of a large impact crater in western Arabia Terra.
   FULL STORY [July 31]
New maps of Mars water
"Breathtaking" new maps of likely sites of water on Mars showcase their association with geologic features such as Vallis Marineris, the largest canyon in the solar system. The maps detail the distribution of water-equivalent hydrogen as revealed by Los Alamos National Laboratory-developed instruments aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft.
   FULL STORY [July 28]
Mars-bound Opportunity rover adjusts trajectory
NASA's Opportunity spacecraft made its first trajectory correction maneuver Friday, a scheduled operation to fine-tune its Mars-bound flight path. For the trajectory adjustment, flight team members commanded Opportunity to perform a prescribed sequence of thruster firings.
   FULL STORY [July 18]
Fresh, rayed impact crater seen on Mars
This Mars Global Surveyor image shows a fresh, young meteor impact crater on the martian surface. It is less than 400 yards across. While there is no way to know the exact age of this or any other martian surface feature, the rays are very well preserved.
   FULL STORY [July 14]
Mars Express power glitch a minor annoyance, ESA says
Europe's Mars Express orbiter is now over one month into its marathon cruise to the Red Planet, and although the ground team has discovered a few of the probe's quirks in testing, project officials contend the spacecraft is performing well.
   FULL STORY [July 8]
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Earth's Opportunity rover launched to Mars
Recovering from a last-second cliffhanger delay, NASA finally launched its second state-of-the-art rover to Mars late Monday, sending the $400 million "Opportunity" spacecraft on its way atop a hot-rod Delta 2 rocket that lighted the night sky for dozens of miles around.
   FULL STORY [July 7]
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Mars Exploration Rover poised for Monday liftoff
After a nine-day wait to fix problems with its launcher, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity will take its second shot at departing Earth on Monday night aboard a Boeing Delta 2-Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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NASA's Odyssey orbiter watches a frosty Mars
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft is revealing new details about the intriguing, dynamic character of the frozen layers now known to dominate the high northern latitudes of Mars. The implications have a bearing on science strategies for future missions in the search of habitats.
   FULL STORY [June 26]
Mars orbiter eyes Phobos over planet's horizon
Images from the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor capture a faint yet distinct glimpse of the elusive Phobos, the larger and innermost of Mars' two moons. The moon, which usually rises in the west and moves rapidly across the sky to set in the east twice a day, is shown setting over Mars' afternoon horizon.
   FULL STORY [June 24]
Mars-bound Spirit rover adjusts trajectory
NASA's Spirit spacecraft, the first of twin Mars Exploration Rovers, performed its first trajectory correction maneuver Friday. The craft first performed a calibration and check of its eight thrusters, then fired the thrusters to fine-tune its flight path toward Mars.
   FULL STORY [June 20]
'Spirit' rover begins seven-month cruise to Mars
NASA kicked off an $800 million mission to Mars Tuesday, launching the first of two golf cart-sized robots that will creep across the red planet's surface looking for the geological traces of a warmer, wetter past and the environmental conditions necessary for the evolution of life.
   FULL STORY [June 10]
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
Delta 2
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   VIDEO: VIEW FROM THE SKID STRIP RUNWAY QT
   VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE QT
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Mars rovers named 'Spirit' and 'Opportunity'
Twin robotic geologists NASA is sending to Mars will embody in their newly chosen names -- Spirit and Opportunity -- two cherished attributes that guide humans to explore.
   FULL STORY [June 8]
Thermal data from Odyssey reveals a changing Mars
The first overview analysis of a year's worth of high-resolution infrared data gathered by the Thermal Emission Imaging System on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft is opening Mars to a new kind of detailed geological analysis and revealing a dynamic planet that has experienced dramatic environmental change.
   FULL STORY [June 5]
Clamps away: Mars Express eases its grip on its lander
Mars Express engineers breathed a sigh of relief Thursday morning at the European Space Operations Centre, in Germany. If a particularly delicate operation had not proceeded as planned, it would have been impossible to deploy the Beagle 2 lander on arrival at Mars.
   FULL STORY [June 5]
Japanese space probe headed to Mars rendezvous
As other nations launch their stake in this year's wave of Mars exploration, Japan has its own mission that is chugging toward the Red Planet despite encountering a rocky journey.
   FULL STORY [June 4]
Europe's first adventure to Mars successfully launched
Kicking off a string of Mars launches this month, a Russian Soyuz booster did its job Monday as it placed the first European mission to the Red Planet onto the path that will see it arrive late this year amidst a flurry of international science missions.
   FULL STORY [June 2]
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
   MARS EXPRESS PREVIEW STORY
   BEAGLE 2 OVERVIEW STORY
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Twin roving geologists bound for surface of Mars
Building on past successes -- and learning from embarrassing failures -- NASA is poised to jump start its Mars exploration program by sending a pair of "monster truck" rovers to the Red Planet in an $800 million mission to search for clues about what happened to the water than once carved the martian surface.
   FULL STORY [May 29]
Giant airbags will give rovers' landings a bounce
If all goes well, Mars Rover-A will slam into the atmosphere of Mars on January 4, 2004, at an angle of 11.5 degrees, an altitude of about 80 miles and a velocity of 12,000 mph. Eight seconds before touchdown, giant airbags will suddenly inflate, encapsulating the spacecraft in a protective cocoon.
   FULL STORY [May 29]
NASA has Mars missions planned through decade
The Mars Exploration Rovers represent the next step in an ambitious, on-going program to explore the Red Planet, to map out its structure, composition and meteorology and to determine whether it ever harbored life.
   FULL STORY [May 29]
Europe shoots for Mars with robotic orbiter and lander
An unprecedented international scientific assault on Earth's cosmic neighbor will be launched in June as four spacecraft are fired to Mars, beginning next week with Europe's first mission to the Red Planet.
   FULL STORY [May 28]
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   ILLUSTRATION OF MARS EXPRESS' TRAJECTORY
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The Beagle has landed...
Well, not quite but the innovative Beagle 2 will soon be on its way to Mars aboard European Space Agency's Mars Express. Once at the Red Planet, it may turn up evidence of past or present life.
   FULL STORY [May 28]
Mars rover launch delayed
NASA has postponed the launch of its first Mars Exploration Rover at least three days to give managers more time to complete pre-flight engineering reviews. The liftoff is now targeted to occur June 8 aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
   FULL STORY [May 27]
   LAUNCH WINDOWS CHART
Martian view of Earth
Have you ever wondered what you would see if you were on Mars looking at the Earth through a small telescope? Now you can find out, thanks to a unique view of our world recently captured by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft currently orbiting the Red Planet.
   FULL STORY [May 22]
'Happy Face' crater of Mars
Every day, the Mars Global Surveyor wide angle instruments obtain a global view of the planet to help monitor weather and seasonal patterns of frost deposition and removal. The two pictures here show Galle Crater, informally known as "Happy Face," as it appeared in early southern winter.
   FULL STORY [May 17]
A new way to explore the surface of Mars
Students from North Carolina State University are helping NASA expand the exploration of the surface of Mars. The team of students and researchers has designed a wind-powered rover that can be blown, like tumbleweed, across the surface of the Red Planet collecting atmospheric and geological samples at multiple locations.
   FULL STORY [May 14]
Europe's mission to the Red Planet nearing launch
The European Space Agency's Mars Express mission to the Red Planet has passed its flight readiness review in preparation for launch June 2 atop a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Central Asia.
   FULL STORY [May 5]
Drilling on Mars
When ESA's Mars Express reaches the Red Planet in December 2003, there will be a drill on board its Beagle 2 lander. This drill will dig into the surface to take samples of the Martian rocks. Who would imagine that the creativity of an enthusiastic dentist is behind a 'cosmic' drill?
   FULL STORY [April 15]
Fix ordered for possible problem on Mars rovers
Engineers have uncovered a potential problem with the two identical Mars Exploration Rovers that will be launched to the Red Planet in the coming months, prompting NASA to delay liftoff of the first rover by one week.
   FULL STORY [April 14]
   LANDING SITES SELECTED
New Mars Global Surveyor view of dune field
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor in orbit around the Red Planet has captured this view of the Wirtz Crater sand dune field. Scientists say the shape of the dunes indicates that wind has been transporting the sand from the southwest toward the northeast.
   FULL STORY [April 7]
NASA's Odyssey marks one year in orbit around Mars
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has transformed the way scientists are looking at the red planet. "In just one year, Mars Odyssey has fundamentally changed our understanding of the nature of the materials on and below the surface of Mars," the project scientist says.
   FULL STORY [March 15]
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Scientists report Mars has liquid iron core
New information about what is inside Mars shows the Red Planet has a molten liquid-iron core, confirming the interior of the planet has some similarity to Earth and Venus. Researchers analyzing three years of radio tracking data from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, concluded Mars has not cooled to a completely solid iron core.
   FULL STORY [March 6]
Melting snow could be cause of gullies on Mars
The now-famous Martian gullies were created by trickling water from melting snow packs, not underground springs or pressurized flows, as has been previously suggested, argues Dr. Philip Christensen, the principal investigator for the Mars Odyssey's camera system and a Professor at Arizona State University in Tempe.
   FULL STORY [Feb. 19]
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Study shows how water may have flowed on Mars
NASA scientists have discovered how an intricate martian network of streams, rivers and lakes may have carried water across Mars. Using new three-dimensional data from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft and a powerful state-of-the-art computer code that 'models' overland water flow, scientists visualized the complex flow of martian water.
   FULL STORY [Feb. 12]
Homestretch for Mars rover naming contest
NASA is reminding America's school kids that time is running out on a chance to make history by naming two rovers being launched to explore Mars. The "Name the Mars Rovers" contest closes January 31, so there is still time to submit the winning entries.
   FULL STORY [Jan. 20]
Dark streaks on Mars may signal active water
Salty water driven by hot magma from Mars' deep interior may be forming some of the mysterious dark slope streaks visible near the Red Planet's equator, according to University of Arizona scientists.
   FULL STORY [Dec. 10]
The weathermen of Mars
Researchers have discovered further evidence for the possible existence of a changing, and perhaps predictable, Martian climate. They have used data gathered from February through November 2002 by the Neutron Spectrometer subsystem aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft.
   FULL STORY [Dec. 10]
NASA's revealing Odyssey
The latest observations from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, highlighting water ice distribution and infrared images of the Red Planet's surface, are being released this week at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
   FULL STORY [Dec. 8]
NASA selects four Mars Scout concepts for study
In the first step of a two-step process, NASA selected four proposals for detailed study as candidates for the 2007 "Scout" mission in the agency's Mars Exploration Program. The selection process is the first fully competed opportunity for scientific missions to the Red Planet.
   FULL STORY [Dec. 6]
New research explores past, present water on Mars
A pair of studies published this week reveals that while Mars may not have been as warm and wet as once thought, it does have substantial amounts of water ice, including newly-discovered deposits near the planet's south pole.
   FULL STORY [Dec. 5]
Where on Earth is Mars?
Among the thousands of visitors to Mt. Etna this year, one group came not just to look at one of most famous volcanoes on Earth. Dozens of scientists trekked up Etna together this fall to observe what Etna has in common with Mars.
   FULL STORY [Nov. 22]
Mars rover takes baby steps
Like any travelers worth their frequent flyer miles, the twin rovers of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission must prepare for a long journey. The twins face a daunting 286 million mile voyage to Mars. To ensure their readiness, scientists and engineers at JPL are testing the rovers by simulating conditions they'll experience en route to and upon arrival at the red planet.
   FULL STORY [Nov. 14]
Rover
Mars glows in X-rays
This remarkable Chandra image gave scientists their first look at X-rays from Mars. In the sparse upper atmosphere of Mars, about 75 miles above its surface, the observed X-rays are produced by fluorescent radiation from oxygen atoms.
   FULL STORY [Nov. 9]
Mars
Search for ancient Martian life continues
In the latest study of a 4.5 billion-year-old Martian meteorite, researchers have presented new evidence confirming that 25 percent of the magnetic material in the meteorite was produced by ancient bacteria on Mars. These latest results were published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
   FULL STORY [Aug. 8]
Mars
No bugs please, this is a clean planet!
When packing for a trip towards another planet, there are some things, such as microorganisms, that you do not want to include in your 'luggage'. For example, what if extraterrestial life is finally detected on Mars, and scientists realise afterwards that such life is actually terrestrial?
   FULL STORY [Aug. 3]
ESA
Legacy of Mars Pathfinder pushes future missions
On Friday, July 4, 1997, American flags dressed the nation in a giant Independence Day celebration. How appropriate then that 119 million miles away from Earth, there was even more to celebrate: NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission had completed its seven-month journey by bouncing to a landing on Mars and opening up a whole new world of exploration.
   FULL STORY [July 7]
Pathfinder
Mars' dust key force on atmosphere, surface
According to most scientists who study the Mars, dust is the defining feature of the planet's atmosphere and may constitute the major force eroding the planet's surface, much like the role played by water on the Earth.
   FULL STORY [June 30]
Mars
Evidence found of lake, catastrophic flood on Mars
Geologists at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum have discovered a large former lake in the highlands of Mars that would cover an area the size of Texas and New Mexico combined, and which overflowed to carve one of that planet's largest valleys.
   FULL STORY [June 23]
Mars
Inside Apollo
See inside the Apollo Command and Service Modules in detail like never before through color computer generated drawings.
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Story on stage
SIGNED COPIES! "A Space Story" DVD is a galactic journey with astronaut Story Musgrave visiting the Hubble Space Telescope, viewing Earth from Space, and reaching for the heavens. Get a signed copy while stocks last!
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Mars DVD
Explore the Red Planet from the comfort of your home with this interactive DVD. Includes 3D glasses for viewing three-dimensional images of Mars.
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