Mars – Page 24 – Spaceflight Now

Lost Beagle 2 spacecraft found on Mars

January 16, 2015 Keith Cooper

The UK’s Beagle 2 mission to Mars, which was lost in Christmas week 2003 during the final stages of its voyage to the red planet, has been rediscovered by NASA’s eagle eye in the Martian sky, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Mars rover detects methane spike, organic molecules

December 16, 2014 William Harwood

Carefully analyzing data collected by NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover, scientists discovered a sudden, unexpected spike in methane levels in the martian atmosphere over a two-month period one year ago.

Rover data suggest Mars crater once contained long-lived lake

December 10, 2014 Stephen Clark

Scientists analyzing imagery from NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover believe sediments left by an ancient lake more than three billion years ago formed a towering mountain that is set to be the robot’s research subject for the rest of its mission on the red planet.

MAVEN begins science mission at Mars

November 18, 2014 Stephen Clark

NASA’s newest Mars orbiter has formally started a one-year research campaign to study an ancient case of climate change that starved the red planet of water, breathable air and potential life, scientists said Monday.

New Mars lander takes shape

November 17, 2014 Spaceflight Now

The next Mars lander — a platform to drill beneath the surface of the red planet — has begun its assembly phase in preparation for launch in March 2016.

Comet’s brush with Mars more dramatic than expected

November 7, 2014 William Harwood

Comet Siding Spring’s close flyby of Mars last month dumped several tons of primordial dust into the thin martian atmosphere, likely creating a brief but spectacular meteor shower with thousands of shooting stars had any astronauts been there to see it, scientists said.

Mars spacecraft safe after fortuitous comet encounter

October 20, 2014 Stephen Clark

A fleet of robotic spacecraft orbiting Mars got a front row seat to space history and lived to tell about it, giving scientists their first close-up look at a comet fresh from a cloud of primordial mini-worlds at the outer reaches of the solar system.

Comet’s flyby of Mars a boon for scientists

October 19, 2014 William Harwood

The red planet’s brush with Comet Siding Spring was a close encounter of the best kind for science, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study a pristine remnant of the solar system’s birth 4.6 billion years ago as it makes its first and possibly last visit to the warmth of the inner solar system.

Fleet of Mars probes set to observe comet flyby

October 9, 2014 William Harwood

An international fleet of five Mars orbiters and two rovers will have ringside seats when a mountain-size comet streaks by on Oct. 19, passing within a scant 87,000 miles of the red planet at a blistering 126,000 mph.

Candidate landing sites selected for ESA Mars rover

October 5, 2014 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency has announced four candidate landing sites for the ExoMars rover, as a deadline looms to secure full funding for the mission in time for a scheduled launch to the red planet in 2018.