Spaceflight Insider

News Archive / Tagged: rover

  • What’s in a name? Mars 2020 wouldn’t know, it doesn’t have one – yet

    James RiceDecember 30th, 2019

    NASA's Mars 2020 rover is on the verge of traveling to the Red Planet and beginning its search for evidence of Martian life. But it's missing something very important.

  • NASA Mars 2020 rover passes driving test

    Jim SharkeyDecember 27th, 2019

    Remember how stressful it was taking your first driver's test? Now imagine driving a car that's worth $2.5 billion.

  • I have the power! Mars 2020 rover completes critical milestone

    Laurel KornfeldJuly 29th, 2019

    With just one year to go before the Mars 2020 rover's scheduled launch, work is commencing on the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) that will serve as the rover's power source.

  • Mars 2020 rover get rock-zapping SuperCam

    Jim SharkeyJuly 4th, 2019

    With its scheduled launch date just over a year away, work on NASA's Mars 2020 rover continues apace. In recent weeks, the rover has received MastCam-Z, its legs and wheels and its main robotic arm. and now one of the "big guns" of its scientific suite has been added to the rover.

  • NASA’s 2020 Mars rover gets 7-foot-long robot arm

    Jim SharkeyJuly 1st, 2019

    Engineers working in High Bay clean room 1 of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) recently added a vital component to the space agency's Mars 2020 rover. On June 21, the team installed the rover's main robotic arm.

  • Next NASA Mars mission to serve as pathfinder for astronauts

    Cullen DesforgesJune 17th, 2019

    It’s no secret that sending the first astronauts to Mars will be a monumental challenge marked with many “firsts.” Given that NASA hasn't launched a manned mission beyond low-Earth orbit in 47 years - crews will need a guide to show them the way. Enter the next rover the U.S. space agency plans to send to the Red Planet.

  • Mars 2020 spacecraft tested for flight, rover gets cameras

    Joe LatrellJune 13th, 2019

    Leading up to a planned July 2020 launch date, NASA’s latest mission to Mars is currently undergoing testing. Both the spacecraft and its rover payload have been tested and have been equipped with new equipment in preparation for flight.

  • Curiosity update: Methane spike confirmed and Martian eclipses observed

    Jim SharkeyApril 7th, 2019

    A methane spike detected by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover in 2013 has been confirmed by researchers reanalyzing data captured by the Mars Express orbiter.

  • Toyota, JAXA team up to study human-rated Moon rover

    Curt GodwinMarch 17th, 2019

    Having a reputation of building some of the most rugged and dependable vehicles on Earth, Toyota is setting its sights on something a little more ambitious.