Mars

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Amateurs Find Mars Lander Lost 42 Years Ago
 Amateurs Find 
 Mars Lander 
 Lost 42 Years Ago 
in case you missed it
Apr 21, 2013 9:57 AM CDT

Amateurs Find Mars Lander Lost 42 Years Ago

Team may have located Russian lander missing since 1971

(Newser) - The Mars 3, a Soviet lander, went missing back in 1971 after performing the first soft landing on Mars. It operated for 15 seconds, failed, and eventually came to rest ... somewhere. The exact location was unknown, thanks to radio communications that were disabled, possibly thanks to a dust storm. But...

Mars Missions Slow in April, Thanks to Sun's Position

Interference means rovers pretty much get the month off

(Newser) - It's the Martian version of spring break: Curiosity and Opportunity , along with their spacecraft friends circling overhead, will take it easy this month because of the sun's interference. For much of April, the sun blocks the line of sight between Earth and Mars. This celestial alignment—called a...

Sex in Space Won&#39;t Kill You After All

 Sex in Space 
 Won't Kill You 
 After All 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 17, 2013 12:23 PM CDT

Sex in Space Won't Kill You After All

But a new study raises concerns about reproduction in plants, and maybe humans

(Newser) - One of the week's most salacious stories got its start in the journal Plos One with this headline: "Cell Wall Assembly and Intracellular Trafficking in Plant Cells Are Directly Affected by Changes in the Magnitude of Gravitational Acceleration." Of course, it wasn't until the Daily Mail...

NASA: Yep, Mars Could Have Supported Life

Soil sample dug up by Curiosity proves it

(Newser) - NASA scientists examining their first sample of Martian rock dug out by the rover Curiosity found some remarkable things in there: sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and carbon. In other words, ingredients that show the planet once could have supported life. Lead scientist Michael Mayer sums it up thusly:
  • "
...

Mars Couple's Radiation Shield: Their Own Feces

It'll line the walls, alongside food, water

(Newser) - When you're on a budget-conscious mission to Mars, you can't waste anything—including your own, well, waste. The lucky couple tapped for Inspiration Mars' private voyage to the red planet will be tasked with lining the walls of their vessel with their own poop to shield themselves from...

Mars Mission Seeks Married Couple

Private group plans to launch husband and wife to planet in 2018

(Newser) - In less than five years, a husband and wife could be on their way toward Mars in an audacious but bare-bones private mission that would slingshot them around the Red Planet, according to a plan outlined today by a financial tycoon and his team. The voyage would be a cosmic...

Private Firm Plans Manned Mars Trip in 2018

Inspiration Mars Foundation says journey will take about 500 days

(Newser) - While NASA concentrates on sending unmanned probes to Mars, a private space enthusiast plans to raise the ante—with a manned flight to Mars within the next five years, reports Wired . Most of the details are under wraps until Wednesday, but the Inspiration Mars Foundation has announced it intends to...

Latest Search for Alien Life Taking Place on Earth

NASA turns to geologists for help

(Newser) - NASA's latest partner in the search for alien life: a group of about 50 geologists who are hunting for evidence of ancient life here on Earth. The University of Wisconsin's Astrobiology Research Consortium last month started a five-year, $7 million project funded by a NASA grant. It'll...

Mars Rover Drills Into Planet for First Time

Curiosity's successful test paves way for bigger projects

(Newser) - NASA's Mars rover has busted out a new tool to pry into the planet's secrets. Curiosity used a drill at the top of one of its arms to make a small hole in Martian rock, reports LiveScience . It was just a test, the first of its kind, but...

Mars Crater Points to Water ... and Life?

Scientists find evidence of long-dry lake

(Newser) - Photos of an enormous crater on Mars indicate possible underground water—water that could have supported life, and could still be doing so. Images taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show the 57-mile-wide McLaughlin Crater, which is now dry. It's one of the planet's deepest spots at...

Curiosity Rover Snaps Pic of 'Martian Flower'?

NASA Rep says it 'appears to be part of the rock'

(Newser) - So, can flowers grow at -65 Fahrenheit? That was apparently the belief of one website reader after the Curiosity rover sent back a photo of a hard-to-identify, light-colored object on Mars, Space.com reports. Noting its reflection of sunlight, "translucent appearance," and "irregular confirmation (like pistils),"...

Martian Rock Found in Sahara Thrills Experts

2B-year-old stone holds more water than others

(Newser) - After a rock from Mars was discovered in the Sahara desert, scientists investigated it for a year—and they're fascinated by what they've learned. At an estimated two billion years old, the rock is older than most Martian meteorites and holds more water, the AP reports. And it...

1K People Willing to Take One-Way Trip to Mars

Mars One wants to send 4 people there in 2023

(Newser) - Earlier this year, Mars One announced plans to send four people to the Red Planet by 2023, where they will be stars of a reality show, of course. If you pooh-poohed the gambit as totally unfeasible, you'd be wrong in at least one way—the group has no shortage...

NASA: We're Sending a New Rover to Mars

Modeled after Curiosity, it should launch in 2020

(Newser) - NASA is headed to Mars—again. The space agency said today it plans to launch another mega-rover to Mars in 2020 that will be modeled after the wildly popular Curiosity. To keep costs down, engineers will borrow Curiosity's blueprints, build from spare parts where possible, and use proven technology...

Rover's Mars Find: Carbon or Contamination?

Nothing definitive yet, scientists say

(Newser) - Don't get too excited about life on Mars just yet: Though NASA's Curiosity rover did find a simple carbon compound on the planet, the team has yet to determine whether the compound actually came from Mars or was transported there on Curiosity itself. And the scoop of soil...

Mars Scoop May Not Be So 'Earth-Shaking' After All

But it will be 'interesting,' spokesman promises

(Newser) - An NPR story about NASA's Mars mission generated lots of attention today because of a big tease from a lead scientist looking at soil samples taken by the Curiosity rover:
  • "This data is gonna be one for the history books. It's looking really good."
But NASA'...

Mars Radiation? Astronauts Could Handle It

Curiosity rover shows Mars radiation near space station levels

(Newser) - One of the bigger sticking points in the quest to send humans to Mars has been the potentially deadly radiation levels they would experience. But new information gathered by the Curiosity rover shows that radiation levels on Mars are much milder than feared—about the same as those in low...

Martian Soil Is a Lot Like ... Hawaii's?

Curiosity scans soil sample

(Newser) - Aloha, Mars! The Curiosity rover has scanned a sample of Martian soil, and the ground composition on the Red Planet isn't all that unlike Hawaii's, reports the BBC . It's not a huge surprise to NASA scientists, who theorized that the soil would be comprised of "materials...

Rover's Latest Find: Rock Type Not Seen Before on Mars

Although it's not that unusual on Earth

(Newser) - Curiosity has identified a type of rock that no rover had previously spotted on Mars. It has the same chemical composition as rocks relatively common on Earth, found in rift zones like Hawaii's volcanoes, Wired reports. They develop in high-pressure conditions, often near water, though it's unclear if...

Mars Rover Finds 'Bright Object'

Curiosity makes first scoop of planet's surface

(Newser) - The Curiosity rover has conducted its first scoop of Mars' surface—and found an unidentified "bright object," the AP reports. The rover won't make another scoop until NASA officials can deduce what the thing is. It could just be a piece of the rover itself. Curiosity has...

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