Data in the world of astronomy is spread out in so many different places. There are archives for instruments on individual spacecraft and telescopes. Sometimes all that is needed to get new insight out of old data is to collect it all together and analyze a whole set rather than isolated instances. That is exactly what happened recently when a team from the Harvard Center for Astrophysics collected and analyzed data about almost 15,000 dust storms that have taken place on Mars over the last eight Martian years.

The data used to build the combined database was collected by the Mars Global Surveyor, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which both take daily images of the whole Martian surface. The database they developed, known as the Mars Dust Activity Database (MDAD) provided a variety of insights into some characteristics of the dust storms that occur so regularly on the red planet.

Last year was the year of Mars launches, and this one will be the year of Mars landings. The Hope Mars mission, launched by the United Arab Emirates, entered its orbit around Mars on February 9, while China's Tianwen-1 rover, now orbiting the planet, will land in May. Meanwhile, Nasa's Perseverance rover will land on the red planet come February 18.

Mars is one of the easiest planets to see in the night sky, blazing bright orange and visible for almost the whole year. It's been high up in the sky since the second half of last year, and you don't need any special equipment to see it.

This means there are some great opportunities to see the planet travelling across the night skies, including just as the Perseverance rover is touching down. The day the rover lands, there will be a close approach of the moon and Mars—meaning they will appear next to each other in the night sky.

It's not every day you get to see a close approach while a rover makes its landing.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are conducting experiments with an antimicrobial surface coating designed to fight the spread of bacteria and viruses.

The coating was developed by The University of Queensland and Boeing as a joint research project to inhibit viral agents, such as the Earth-bound coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor Michael Monteiro from UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) said it was exciting to see the research go into space after years of development.

The technology has already been tested aboard Boeing's ecoDemonstrator as part of the company's Confident Travel Initiative.

Boeing's Mike Delaney said while testing continued on orbit and on Earth, the team had been encouraged by the preliminary results of the antimicrobial chemical compound.

"There is potential for broad-based applicability for a surface coating like this when used in conjunction with other measures to prevent disease transmission," Mr Delaney said.

The ISS experiment tests two identical sets of objects from aircraft—including a seatbelt buckle, fabric from airplane seats and seat belts, parts of an armrest and a tray table—with only one set receiving the antimicrobial surface coating.