Topic: Mars Science Laboratory

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In Pictures: Exploring Mars with Curiosity
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In Pictures: Mars Spirit rover: What a long-range trip it's been
In Pictures: NASA's Future of Space Exploration

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Evidence for ancient life on Mars could be just below surface, new study finds (+video)

Researchers say that evidence of ancient life on Mars could take the form of simple organic molecules lying just beneath the Red Planet's surface, and that it could be detectable by NASA's newest rover, which is scheduled to touch down on the planet next month.
What causes the '7 minutes of terror' in Mars Rover landing? (+video)

The NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars's present or past ability to sustain microbial life, is due to land on August 5, almost nine months after its launch.
Mars rover to try out new strategy for finding alien life

Unlike previous missions to the Red Planet, the Mars Curiosity rover will focus on Martian geology.
How NASA's Curiosity rover could 'discover' Teflon on Mars (+video)

Teflon from the drill on NASA's Curiosity rover could contaminate Martian soil, say scientists, creating misleading evidence of an ancient alien civilization that had developed nonstick cookware.
The stakes are high for NASA's new, huge Mars rover

Back on Earth, scientists and engineers on the Mars Science Laboratory project are busily preparing for the Aug. 5 landing of the mission's 1-ton Curiosity rover. And there's a lot riding on the success of the ambitious mission.
Florida scientists reduced to holding bake sale to fund NASA

In an effort to rescue planetary science projects amid budget cuts, scientists in Florida are holding bake sales and car washes to sway legislators to protect NASA's budget.
Death Valley used as stand-in for Martian landscape (+video)

A project scientist for NASA's huge Curiosity rover is leading a handful of journalists on a trip to Death Valley, whose geology and vistas resemble Mars in some places. The goal is to help reporters get a better idea of the science Curiosity will be doing when it touches down on the Red Planet on the night of Aug. 5.
Life on Mars: Could fossil record be trapped in ancient lake mud?

A team of scientists from Brown University found that only 79 lake beds contained deposits of minerals that hint at clays on the surface.
Is Mars sucking water from its own atmosphere?

Salty soils on Mars act to collect moisture from the Red Planet's atmosphere, according to new research. The salt and the moisture combine to create a brine that may encourage nutrients.
Obama's NASA budget: Mars takes a hit, but space science isn't dead

Two major Mars missions lost out to the James Web Space Telescope in Obama's proposed NASA budget, but there's still money for other ambitious space-science missions.
Is NASA giving up on Mars? (+video)

NASA's 2013 budget includes deep cuts to its planetary science mission, particularly its efforts to send spacecraft to Mars. Instead, the space agency will focus on human spaceflight and infrared astronomy. Is NASA now heading down the wrong path?
Red Planet meets red ink: budget ax could chop two NASA Mars missions

The budget to be released by President Obama Monday is expected to include a one-third cut in NASA's Mars program, in part to pay for other cost overruns within the agency.
Why is NASA sending a penny to Mars?

A US penny is on-board NASA's Curiosity rover that is scheduled to land on Mars in August. The 1909 penny commemorating the centennial of President Lincoln's birth will act as a calibration target to help scientists and the public to gauge the size of objects on Mars.
Do we need spaceflight for the perspective?

An astronaut's life-changing lesson from a moment in orbit.
Why does Mars Curiosity rover have a laser raygun?

NASA's Mars rover, Curiosity, is armed with a laser to zap rocks, not Martians. The laser can vaporize rocks at a distance of 23 feet.
For NASA's rover Curiosity, it's 'Mars or Bust!'

NASA's rover Curiosity lifted off Saturday for its 354-million-mile cruise to Mars. After its nearly nine-month trip, the six-wheeled robot will descend to begin studying the environment for a better understanding of the red planet's history.
Mars explorer 'Curiosity' set for Saturday launch

NASA's Mars explorer Curiosity, the most capable robotic rover ever built for taking the measure of a planet, is to launch Saturday morning. Curiosity will analyze the layered terrain in Gale Crater to read in its rocks the history of the environment there.
Mars science lab 'Curiosity' to launch 'extraterrestrial real-estate appraisal'

After a decade of "following the water," planetary scientists want to see if water co-existed with other critical environmental conditions that could have allowed simple forms of life to emerge.
How NASA's Curiosity Mars rover could help future searches for life

NASA's new Mars rover, dubbed Curiosity, is designed to investigate Mars's chemical environment, paving the way for future missions to search for past or present life on the Red Planet.
Mars rover gets 'engine' upgrade: Curiosity fueled by nuclear power

The next Mars rover, Curiosity, is scheduled to launch Saturday. It's the first Mars rover to jettison solar panels for nuclear power, meaning it can go places and do things others couldn't.
Mars Curiosity rover waiting on launch pad. But will funding end?

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, which includes the car-sized Curiosity rover, arrived on its Cape Canaveral launchpad on Thursday. But some experts worry about the lack of funding for Mars missions beyond 2013.
Where did life exist on Mars? NASA chooses landing site for Curiosity rover

Curiosity rover, formally known as the Mars Science Laboratory, will land at the foot of an 18,000-foot mountain in Gale crater, NASA announced Friday. The mount is expected to yield unparalleled information on where and when life might have existed on Mars.
In Pictures: Exploring Mars with Curiosity
Mars may have been habitable underground, new research suggests

Evidence from an ancient meteor strike on Mars indicates the presence of liquid water at some point in the Red Planet's ancient past.
Should we explore Mars with a robot airplane?

NASA atmospheric scientist Joel Levine makes the case for flying an unmanned airplane over the Martian surface.