Mars rover – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

More signs of past — and possibly present — habitability of Mars

June 7, 2018 William Harwood

NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover, slowly making its way up the side of a towering mountain of sedimentary rock at the center of its Gale Crater landing site, has found fresh evidence for the red planet’s past — and possibly present — habitability, scientists reported Thursday.

Scientists resume use of Curiosity rover’s drill and internal lab instruments

June 5, 2018 Stephen Clark

Using new drilling techniques after a stalled electrical motor halted sampling operations on Mars, the Curiosity rover has delivered rock powder to one of its onboard lab instruments for analysis for the first time since 2016, officials said Monday.

NASA to replace cracked heat shield in time for Mars 2020 rover launch

April 28, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA officials plan to replace the Mars 2020 rover’s heat shield after engineers discovered a crack in the structure earlier this month, but managers anticipate no delay in the mission’s scheduled launch date a little more than two years away.

Engineers hopeful Mars rover’s drill can return to service

October 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

Engineers have started testing a new way to use the Curiosity rover’s drill to bore into Martian rocks after a motor in the device stalled late last year, but ground teams are still months away from the first chance to resume drilling operations.

Opportunity rover peers into ‘Perseverance Valley’

July 21, 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Opportunity rover, now showing nearly 28 miles on its odometer since landing on Mars, recorded a panoramic view last month of its next scientific destination, a valley that may have been carved by water, an icy or muddy debris flow, or ancient Martian winds.

NASA marks 20 years of continuous Mars exploration

July 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Mars Pathfinder probe dropped to the surface of Mars for an airbag-cushioned landing 20 years ago Tuesday, bouncing 15 times across an ancient flood plain before deploying a mobile robot to usher in two decades of uninterrupted Martian exploration.

Scientists narrow list of landing sites for NASA’s next Mars rover

February 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

A rover NASA plans to launch to Mars in 2020 will likely explore one of three locations selected last week by a scientific advisory group, which picked candidate landing sites that were once homes to ancient lakes and hot springs.

Launch of the Curiosity Mars rover

November 26, 2011 Spaceflight Now

This video captures the final portion of the launch countdown and follows the Atlas 5 rocket’s flight through arrival in the preliminary orbit carrying the Curiosity rover headed for Mars. (Membership Required)