Mars Rovers
“Good Night Oppy” Beautifully Illustrates the Unbreakable Bond Between Humans and our Robotic Explorers
In January 2004, NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity (aka “Oppy”) landed in two completely different locations on Mars. Their missions…
Will Mars finally answer, ‘Are we alone?’
We recently examined how and why the planet Venus could answer the longstanding question: Are we alone? Despite its harsh…
NASA Gives a Detailed Analysis of all the Landing Debris Perseverance Has Found on Mars
A recent blog by Dr. Justin Maki, Imaging Scientist and the Deputy Principal Investigator on the Perseverance rover Mastcam-Z camera,…
Mars Rovers Will Need to Dig Deeper If They Want to Find Evidence of Life
The search for life—even ancient life—on Mars is trickier than we thought. In a recent study published in the journal…
Martian Dust is Starting to Darken Ingenuity’s Solar Panels
Like every solar-panel-powered vehicle on Mars, maintaining electrical power always becomes an issue at some point in the mission. Last…
Perseverance Begins the Next Phase of its Mission, Studying an Ancient River Bed on Mars
On February 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance (Percy) Rover successfully landed in the dried-up lakebed known as Jezero Crater on Mars,…
How Time Flies: Perseverance and Ingenuity Have Been on Mars for a Year
What a year it’s been -- Earth year, that is! The dramatic touchdown on Mars for the Perseverance rover and…
We’re Constantly Battling Invasive Species Here on Earth. What Does That Teach us About Infecting Other Worlds With Earth Life?
When Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins returned from the Moon in the summer of 1969, they spent three…
Communication With Mars is About to Become Impossible (for two Weeks)
Every two years, Mars enters what is known as a "Solar Conjunction," where its orbit takes it behind the Sun…
Thanks to Ingenuity’s Pictures, Perseverance Knows Where to Drive to Next
The Perseverance rover now has a new tool to help scientists and engineers figure out where the rover goes next.…