NASA has published an update on its Opportunity rover, which fell silent after losing power during the ongoing Mars dust storm. The space agency reveals what may happen next, including what it would take to get the rover back in action. Though it remains optimistic, NASA also warns that Opportunity may not be the same after the dust clears, with potential issues including reduce battery capacity.
A supposed debate broke out earlier this week amongst NASA and Elon Musk about the possibility of terraforming Mars. NASA scientists suggested that there isn't enough CO2 on Mars to terraform the planet with today's technologies. Elon Musk replied (on Twitter, of all places) that it was indeed terraform-friendly with the CO2 trapped in the planet's soil, using heat. Then people started to lose their minds, arguing one side or the other, when in reality there wasn't much of an argument in the first place, only a matter of a couple of different perspectives.
If you're located anywhere in North America, you won't be able to see tomorrow's total lunar eclipse...at least not by stepping outside. The celestial event won't be visible in the US, Canada, or Mexico, which is disappointing due to its uniqueness: this will be the longest lunar eclipse of the century. This doesn't mean that you're without options, however.
Scientists have announced the discovery of liquid water on Mars, a milestone find located at the Red Planet's southern polar ice cap. The subglacial lake's existence is teased by more than two dozen radar samplings of the regions, which were found to have similar profiles to subglacial lakes on Earth near Greenland and the Antarctic.
NASA has released an image showing "spiders" on Mars, small darks spots on the reddish landscape with tendrils one could easily perceive as tiny legs. The marks were captured by the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in mid-May at Mars' south pole during the planet's winter season. The "spiders" make their appearance as the season turns to spring, dotting the terrain.
The United Kingdom has announced a new deal with Airbus that will have it develop a special Mars rover for the European Space Agency (ESA). Unlike the two rovers NASA currently has operating on Mars, Airbus' rover will be able to ship samples back to Earth, giving scientists physical access to soil and rock dust from the Red Planet. This will mark the first time Mars samples have been delivered to our own planet.
A new animation helps us visualize just how massive the Mars dust storm is. This storm, which obscured the Sun and resulted in NASA's Opportunity rover going into a deep sleep, at one point was "only" as big as North America. In the weeks following that detail, NASA continued to update the public on this storm's size, using countries as a reference. A new image, though, shows us exactly how much of the Red Planet is covered by this storm.
NASA has published its latest update on the Mars dust storm, saying it is now spanning the entire Red Planet. The storm has been underway for about two weeks, blotting out the Sun and forcing the solar-powered Opportunity rover into a deep sleep mode as it clings to the last of its energy reservers. The Curiosity rover, meanwhile, remains unaffected by the event.
NASA researchers fear the space agency's Opportunity rover may soon reach the end of its life as a major Mars dust storm continues to blot out the sun. As we reported last week, a Martian dust storm bigger than North America is currently interfering with the rover's ability to operate on the Red Planet, and the rover has now put itself into a deep sleep mode.
NASA's Opportunity rover may not have to worry about running into traffic congestion on Mars, but vast dust storms are definitely an occupational hazard. The science robot has been forced to go into emergency lock-down, after a storm larger than all of North America whipped itself into a frenzy on the red planet.
As promised, NASA has announced new milestone Mars discoveries, namely the presence of organic molecules and seasonal changes in atmospheric methane. The findings add to the body of evidence suggesting Mars may once have been able to sustain life. Both discoveries were made possible by NASA's Mars Curiosity rover and have been detailed in a pair of new studies.
NASA engineers on the Curiosity rover on Mars have been working hard to devise a new way for the rover to drill into rocks and then extract powder that can be tested from them. Their efforts paid off over last weekend when Curiosity was able to produce the first drilled sample from Mars in more than a year.