Bethesda MD (SPX) Feb 12, 2021
There is no doubt that humans are going to Mars. It is simply a question of how and when. However, there are many fundamental concerns that must be dealt with. Some of these address crew safety, radiation exposure, long travel times, life support on Mars and return options. We already know that low energy methods of transfer can take eight months each way and minimum Mars surface time between re

San Antonio TX (SPX) Feb 12, 2021
A Southwest Research Institute scientist has updated Mars chronology models to find that terrains shaped by ancient water activity on the planet's surface may be hundreds of millions of years older than previously thought. This new chronology for Mars, based on the latest dynamical models for the formation and evolution of the solar system, is particularly significant as the days count dow

Tempe AZ (SPX) Feb 12, 2021
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will land on Mars Feb. 18, 2021. Onboard the rover is the ASU-led mast-mounted camera system "Mastcam-Z," which can zoom from wide angle to telephoto, take 3D images and videos, and take photos in up to 11 unique colors. ASU will hold a live landing watch party on Feb. 18 beginning at 11:30 a.m. Arizona time (MST) with Mastcam-Z principal investigator Ji

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 12, 2021
NASA is improving a flight software system to help create and certify essential software for the lunar Gateway. As part of the Artemis program, NASA will send astronauts to the Moon and establish a sustained lunar presence by the end of the decade. The Gateway will provide a waypoint for lunar exploration and allow astronauts to live and work in lunar orbit as well as host science instrume

Beijing (XNA) Feb 12, 2021
Precise braking near Mars has helped China's probe Tianwen 1 successfully enter the orbit around the red planet on Wednesday, according to the country's space scientists. Yang Yuguang, a researcher with China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited, told the Science and Technology Daily that the braking is a key and risky step in the Mars exploration mission, which requires a hi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 12, 2021
Meet Kirsten Howley, the real-life astrophysicist working to prevent an asteroid "Armageddon" In the 1998 movie "Armageddon," an asteroid the width of Texas is about to hit Earth. The heroes who stop it in the nick of time are a group of orange-suited Americans, all men. Life isn't always like the movies. Not that an asteroid couldn't slam into Earth, mind you. Asteroids - most

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 12, 2021
Given plans for future manned missions to the Moon - and interest in the potential for longer-term lunar habitation - the presence of water on the Moon is of critical importance. Studies over the last few decades have revealed water lurking on our satellite in numerous forms. But how does it get there? Lunar water has been found locked in ice form in the cold, permanently shadowed craters

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The ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is investigating the martian atmosphere. Discovering new gases related to active process and looking for their sources is a key goal of the mission. ExoMars has discovered hydrogen chloride for the first time. It appeared during a global dust storm in 2018 and disappeared again afterwards. The detection was made in both hemispheres simultaneously so it is unlikely to come from volcanic activity. Seasonal change that triggers dust activity is thought to be the driving force behind the observation. Salt in the dusty surface – left over from when Mars had