Space and astronomy news
Some lucky astronomers get to work with some of the rarest material in the world. Real Martian meteorites are extraordinarily rare, but are invaluable in terms of understanding Martian geology. Now, one of the most famous meteorites, nicknamed “Black Beauty”, is helping shed light on a much more speculative area of science: Martian biology.
Earth is the only planet in the solar system with aircraft capable of sustained flight. Suppose the ground-breaking Ingenuity helicopter, currently stowed aboard the similarly spectacular Mars Perseverance rover, accomplishes its planned mission. In that case, Mars will become the second planet to have a powered aircraft fly through its atmosphere.
All eyes are on Mars this week, and, if we’re being honest, NASA’s InSight lander isn’t the star of the show right now. At the time of writing, we’re anxiously waiting to find out whether or not the Perseverance rover survives its fiery arrival at Mars. But Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) is just the …
According to a new study, the Perseverance rover could find evidence in Jezero that will allow scientists to reconstruct the planet’s chronology.
A new study conducted by NASA scientists and Rice University shows how Iceland’s environment is the closest analog on Earth for ancient Mars
It’s looking more and more like the future of space exploration could involve drones in a big way. We’ve already seen it here on Earth, where all kinds of flying drones are used by all kinds of people for all kinds of things. Drones are particularly useful in resource development, exploration, imaging, and remote sensing. …
Continue reading “New Drones for Exploring Mars are Getting Tested in Iceland”
A image released by the MRO mission shows a landslide near the location where the Perseverance rover will land, illustrating how Mars is still a active world.
The 2020 Mars City Design challenge inspired some truly innovative ideas for urban farming and living sustainably on Mars!
A fireball hurtled across the sky on December 5th – the sample return capsule from the Hayabusa2 asteroid mission by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). The capsule landed in Woomera, a remote location in the Australian Outback. Earlier this month, the capsule’s sample containers revealed fine grain topsoil from asteroid 162173 Ryugu. A second sample …
Continue reading “Some of Hayabusa2’s Samples are as Big as a Centimeter”
The Mars Sample Return (MSR) program, a joint effort between NASA and the ESA to bring samples of Mars back to Earth, just moved into the next phase of development!