Topic: Mars (Planet)

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Man and Mars through history

A look back over centuries at man's attempt to uncover information about the 'Red Planet.'Sources: NASA, American Museum of Natural History, and Scientific American

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Mars heist: Red Planet was robbed of most of its atmosphere billions of years ago

Two papers report that Mars’s atmosphere was lost in cataclysmic events some 4 billion years ago, leaving the planet with too thin an atmosphere to support life.
Mars 2020: NASA's going bold – on a budget

Mars 2020: NASA's next rover will search for signs of ancient life on Mars and stockpile the evidence for an eventual return to Earth. To save money, NASA will borrow hardware and designs from the successful Mars Curiosity rover.
NASA, Reddit encourage 7-year-old Dexter Walters to seek space

Dexter Walters, a science-hungry young boy, wrote NASA that he was too young to apply for a trip to colonize Mars. NASA responded. His mother, surprised, posted it to Reddit where users offered their advice on how to encourage Dexter's appetite.
Supermoon photos: Spectacular moon pics wow stargazers

Supermoon photos: Sunday's full moon coincided with our natural satellite's closest distance from the Earth, making it the biggest full moon of the year.
Hipster Mars had oxygen before it was cool

Four billion years ago called, and they want their oxygen-rich atmosphere back, finds new research from Oxford University.
Go big or go home: NASA's 1.3 billion-pixel panorama from Mars

NASA researchers have composed an interactive, panoramic view of Mars created with more than 900 exposures taken from the Curiosity rover.
Giant claw marks on Mars dunes? Blocks of dry ice to blame, study says.

Experiments with dry ice in Utah supported the theory that the narrow gullies spotted on some Martian dunes were caused by the annual spring thaw of chunks of frozen carbon dioxide.
Old NASA rover shows off new tricks

Almost 10 years into what was originally supposed to be a 90-day mission, NASA's Mars Opportunity Rover is doubling down on its recent triumph, beaming home 'some of the most important findings of our entire mission.'
Mars discovery: Rock reveals science of planet’s watery past

A rock analyzed by the rover Opportunity has signs of clay-mineral composition, hinting at abundant fresh water – perhaps a habitable environment – in Mars’ past.
Curiosity rover says goodbye to 'Mars Rat'

What a lonely world. Curiosity is set to begin the next part of its mission, leaving behind the rat-shaped rock that has prompted speculation of alien rodents.
3-D pizza on Mars? NASA awards grant.

NASA is funding a prototype for a 3-D food printer, which would create a pizza out of prepackaged powders. If it succeeds, the 3-D pizza could be a starting point for solving many of the world's food-related problems.
NASA funds 3-D pizza (and chocolate) printer

Does computer-printed food conjure images of Star Trek's replicator? A prototype 3-D printer for food has already produced chocolate, but its designer has his sights set on pizza, which NASA hopes to feed to astronauts.
Why do planets farthest from sun have highest winds? Team closes in on answer

The planets beyond Mars exhibit the highest winds speeds of any other planets in the solar system. It's a puzzle, because less energy from the sun is available there to drive higher winds.
Spring break over, Curiosity rover goes back to work

Curiosity's one-month spring vacation, caused by Mars slipping behind the sun, is now over. "Can you hear me now? Conjunction is over," tweeted Curiosity's handlers today.
Global News Blog Good Reads: Mars mission, gene patents, cellphone tracking, 'absurd' start-ups, Netflix streamlines

This week's round-up of Good Reads includes a company that aims to turn a Mars colony into reality television, attempts to patent human genes, cellphone users' real feelings about privacy, and a smart focus by Netflix.
Mars One will look for — and hide from — life on Mars

Mars One plans to put four astronaut-explorers on Mars by 2023, but they will take steps to avoid contaminating any lifeforms already on Mars.
Livable super-Earths? Two candidates among Kepler's latest finds.

Researchers unveiled a total of three planets Thursday, including two potentially livable super-Earths. The discoveries bring the Kepler team closer to its goal.
NASA's big decision: Build a moon base or lasso an asteroid?

NASA and lawmakers disagree over the future of human spaceflight. NASA has its sights set on an asteroid landing, while legislators want a permanent moon base.
Sen. Bill Nelson announces NASA's plan to capture asteroid

NASA will use a robotic spaceship to capture an asteroid and bring it closer to the moon. Astronauts will then explore the asteroid in the hopes of developing technology to nudge dangerous asteroids away from Earth.
Ready for a one-way trip to Mars?

A Dutch company wants to send four people, selected via reality-show-style elimination, on a permanent trip to the Red Planet in 2022.
Mars sand dunes may hint at water beneath

The discovery, based on research in Alaska, opens a window on processes at play early in Mars' history, when it hosted an environment that could have harbored microbial life.
Bow-legged robot can scamper across rugged terrain

Scientists have developed a tiny robot with six curved legs that enable it to sprint over unstable surfaces such as sand, gravel, and other unstable surfaces.
Curiosity rover snaps images of huge Martian mountain

NASA has assembled a view of the Red Planet's Mount Sharp from dozens of telephoto images snapped by the Curiosity Mars rover.
Curiosity Mars rover suffers another glitch, remains in safe mode

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has put its scientific exploration on hold while it deals with a minor software problem.
Did life on Earth originate on Mars?

Rock samples gathered by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover suggest that the Red Planet could have supported microbial life at about the same time that life first appeared on Earth, meaning that any life on Mars, if there was any, could have predated, and possibly even seeded, life on Earth.