News Archive / Tagged: Mars

• NASA’s InSight lander flexes arm, ‘listens’ to Martian winds

  Jim SharkeyDecember 12th, 2018

  NASA's Mars InSight lander has been getting to known for its new home at Elysium Planitia and preparing for what it will be doing there. As it turns out, one of those things - is listening.

• MarCO CubeSats perform successfully during InSight landing

  Laurel KornfeldNovember 28th, 2018

  Two CubeSats successfully monitored InSight's entry, descent, and landing on Mars and returned data to Earth hours before NASA's Mars orbiters came into position to transmit the data.

• NASA chooses Jezero Crater as landing site for Mars 2020 rover

  Jim SharkeyNovember 21st, 2018

  Selecting a landing site is a crucial step in Mars mission planning as the scientific value of an area must be weighed against any potential hazards.

• Final ASPIRE test certifies Mars 2020 parachute

  Heather SmithNovember 6th, 2018

  NASA's Mars 2020 rover is one step closer to exploring the dusty plains of the Red Planet. A recent test has not only demonstrated the viability of a key system - it has also made history.

• Inside Opportunity: Oppy still silent

  James RiceNovember 1st, 2018

  Dr. Jim Rice has provided this latest update from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Has the rover been silenced forever?

• Curiosity Mars rover experiencing memory problem

  Derek RichardsonSeptember 20th, 2018

  While one NASA team attempts to reconnect with the 14-year-old Opportunity Mars rover following a planet-wide dust storm, engineers for another rover located on the opposite side of the planet are troubleshooting a glitch.

• Curiosity reveals mysterious variety of terrains at Vera Rubin Ridge

  Laurel KornfeldSeptember 11th, 2018

  The area around NASA's Curiosity rover is providing scientists with colors and textures that are leaving them puzzled.

• InSight 3 months from checking Mars’ temperature

  Jason RhianSeptember 4th, 2018

  While former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski might have scaled Mount Everest, there are mountains on Mars that far outstrip even Everest's staggering 29,029-foot (8,848-meter) height. NASA has a spacecraft on its way to the Red Planet to try and find out why these peaks reach such heights.

• InSight lander passes halfway mark on journey to Mars

  Derek RichardsonAugust 21st, 2018

  NASA’s InSight spacecraft passed the halfway mark Aug. 6, 2018, on its journey to Mars. In that time, the lander has performed two trajectory correction maneuvers and verified all of its instruments are working properly.

• Martian storm chasers: Spacecraft observe dust storm

  Paul KnightlyJuly 30th, 2018

  A fleet of spacecraft are diligently studying the global dust storm currently encircling Mars. Much as storm chasers would do on Earth, they are collecting valuable data so that scientists can better understand how these storms form and evolve.

• Inside Opportunity: ‘Oppy’ fights for its life in massive Martian dust storm

  James RiceJuly 1st, 2018

  Our intrepid Opportunity rover is currently in the midst of riding out a massive global dust storm that began May 30. This storm moved south down the well-known Acidalia storm track into Xanthe Terra. A few days later the storm had stretched from eastern Valles Marineris to northern Arabia Terra. It then moved across the equator and south toward Meridiani Planum where Opportunity is located.

• Record-setting Mars dust storm was overdue

  Paul KnightlyJune 28th, 2018

  As a global dust storm imperils the Opportunity rover and encircles Mars, scientists are getting their best look yet into the rare phenomenon. Data gleaned from this rare atmospheric event could also help provide important clues as NASA develops plans for crewed landings on the surface of the Red Planet.

• Curiosity snaps photos of thickening haze as Martian dust storm goes global

  Tomasz NowakowskiJune 25th, 2018

  Despite being in the worse dust storm in recent years, NASA's Curiosity rover is sticking it out - and even managed to take a 'selfie' of itself.

• NASA’s Opportunity rover goes silent as massive dust storm engulfs Mars

  Derek RichardsonJune 13th, 2018

  NASA’s long-lived Opportunity rover is currently weathering a massive dust storm—the largest the solar-powered rover has had to endure in its nearly 15 years of surface operations. The vehicle has been operating in Meridiani Planum since January 2004.

• Aliens discovered on Mars? Don’t believe the hype

  Laurel KornfeldJune 7th, 2018

  NASA's Mars Curiosity rover, which has been exploring the Red Planet since 2012, has discovered organic molecules in Martian rocks and atmospheric methane levels that change seasonally, according to an announcement and a live discussion the space agency held on Thursday, June 7. Proof of alien life? Not so much.