Topic: Mars Science Laboratory
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Exploring Mars
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Plasma
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In Pictures: Mars Spirit rover: What a long-range trip it's been
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In Pictures: NASA's Future of Space Exploration
All Content
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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Do we need spaceflight for the perspective?
An astronaut's life-changing lesson from a moment in orbit.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Exploring Mars
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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.
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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.
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Plasma
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Mars orbiter back up and running again following computer glitch
Mars orbiter spontaneously rebooted itself and stopped gathering information last week. However, last Saturday, the Mars orbiter began collecting data again and appears to be back on track, high above the Red Planet.
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Life on Mars? Prime spot for Martian fossils identified.
Life on Mars: A new study has identified a spot that could be a good place to search for fossilized remains of life on Mars.
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Water on Mars first discovered 10 years ago. Is it still there?
Water on Mars first discovered ten years ago, might still flow on the surface of the red planet.
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Life on Mars? NASA wants Martian rocks to find clues
NASA discusses trip to Mars to bring back rock and soil samples back to Earth. Here, they could be analyzed for fossilized traces of alien bacteria.
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James Cameron Wants to Film Mars in 3-D
James Cameron has convinced NASA to mount a 3-D camera on top of Curiosity's mast for the upcoming mission to Mars, scheduled to launch in 2011.
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