NASA Prepares Robot to Characterize the Atmosphere and Climate on Mars: related news

NASA Selects Mission to Study Mars Atmosphere

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected a Mars robotic mission that will provide information about the Red Planet's atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability in greater detail than ever before. Called the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, the $485 million mission is scheduled for launch in late 2013. The selection was evaluated to have the best science value and lowest implementation risk from 20 mission investigation proposals submitted in response to a NASA Announcement of Opportunity in August 2006. "This mission will provide the first direct measurements ever taken to address key scientific questions about Mars' evolution," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Mars Satellite's First Weather Report

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been circling Mars for over two years now, and has provided unprecedented views of the Red Planet with its HiRISE Camera. But did you also know that MRO is a weather-monitoring satellite, too? The Mars Climate Sounder instrument is examining the Martian atmosphere and has issued its first Mars weather report. "It has taken 20 years and three missions but we finally have an instrument in orbit that gives us a detailed view of the entire atmosphere of Mars and it is already giving us fresh insights into the Martian climate," said Professor Fred Taylor of Oxford University. Within a paper issued by the Mars 'weather team' comes surprising news: during the freezing Martian winter the atmosphere above the planet’s South Pole is considerably warmer than predicted.

Rover Sand Traps Provide Clues on Mars Climate

If you watched the "Five Years on Mars" documentary on the National Geographic channel about the Mars Exploration Rovers, you probably saw how both rovers have gotten stuck in some of the small sand dunes on Mars surface. These dune fields on Mars are a bit of a mystery to planetary geologists, and in fact, there is nothing like them on Earth. The fields of rippled sand on Mars, called Transverse Aeolian Ridges (TARs), are found over large areas across Mars. The dunes themselves are smaller than the gigantic dunes also found on Mars, but the fields are bigger than any sand ripple fields found on Earth. TARs hold clues to past and present climate processes, and since they can be death traps for rovers, scientists want to know more about these unusual features.

NASA Prepares Robot to Characterize the Atmosphere and Climate on Mars

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Lockheed Martin Spacecraft to be Flown for NASA's MAVEN Mars Mission

has been selected by NASA to design, build and operate the spacecraft for NASA's Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) program. NASA's newest mission will analyze the upper atmosphere and past climate change on Mars. The $485-million project is led by principal investigator Bruce Jakosky of the

Lockheed Martin Spacecraft to be Flown for NASA's MAVEN Mars Mission

PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has been selected by NASA to design, build and operate the spacecraft for NASA's Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) program. NASA's newest mission will analyze the upper atmosphere and past climate change on Mars. The

NASA Hosts Mars Atmosphere Workshop in Virginia

at The Woodlands Hotel and Conference Center in Colonial Williamsburg. The goal of the Third International Workshop on the Mars Atmosphere: Modeling and Observations is to bring together experts on the Mars atmosphere and climate system.

Mars Science Laboratory: Still Alive, For Now

The Mars Science Laboratory, the next generation of Mars rovers slated to head to Mars in 2009, is still alive, for the time being. The car-sized rover designed to look for life on Mars is over budget and behind schedule due to technical problems, and NASA officials met today to discuss their options. Potentially, Congress could pull the plug on the mission if cost overruns go too high. NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and Science Associate Administrator Ed Weiler were briefed, and met with mission managers in attempt to work out a potential solution. In a press briefing today, Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA headquarters said the rover's progress will be assessed again in January, but the mission will need more money.

NASA Announces Next Mars Mission

Grant Henninger writes "Today, NASA announced their final selection for the Mars Scout 2013 mission: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN. MAVEN will provide the first direct measurements ever taken to address key scientific questions about Mars's evolution by measuring characteristics of its atmospheric gases, upper atmosphere, solar wind, and ionosphere. The mission, estimated to cost $485M, is scheduled for launch in late 2013."

NASA Says Phoenix Mars Mission Has Ended

This artist's rendering provided by NASA shows the Phoenix Mars spacecraft. NASA said Monday, Nov. 10. 2008, that the Phoenix Mars mission has ended. The lander has been digging trenches and conducting science experiments since May, to study whether the environment on Mars could support primitive life. (AP Photo/NASA)

NASA selects Mars climate mission

NASA has approved its next orbiter mission to Mars. The Maven spacecraft will arrive at the Red Planet in late 2014, to study the atmosphere and climate history of Earth's near neighbour.

Lockheed Martin Delivers Mars Science Laboratory Backshell to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

recently delivered the backshell for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The backshell is half of the large and sophisticated two-part aeroshell that will encapsulate and protect the MSL rover during its deep space cruise to Mars, and from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the system descends through the Martian atmosphere. Lockheed Martin has designed and built nearly every capsule flown by NASA for space exploration since Apollo, but none as large as the MSL aeroshell at about 15 feet in diameter. For comparison, the heatshields of the Spirit and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rovers measured 8.5 feet and Apollo capsule heatshields measured just under 13 feet. In addition to protecting the rover, the backshell provides the structural support for the parachute and

NASA Selects Mission to Study Mars Atmosphere

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected a Mars robotic mission that will provide information about the Red Planet's atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability in greater detail than ever before.

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NASA Can't Reach Mars Lander, Ends Mission

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander monitors the atmosphere overhead and reaches out to the soil below in this artist's depiction of the spacecraft fully deployed on the surface of Mars. (NASA/JPL/UA/Lockheed Martin)

Lockheed Gets $485M From NASA To Create MAVEN Craft

coondoggie writes to tell us that Lockheed Martin has landed a $485 million contract to create the spacecraft for NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) project. "MAVEN is the second mission in NASA's Mars Scout Program — a series of small, low-cost, principal investigator-led missions to the Red Planet, NASA said. The Phoenix Mars Lander was the first mission under the program. Lockheed Martin is the industry partner on the Phoenix mission. It designed and built the spacecraft, and also provided flight operations and currently surface operations for the lander. The mission has been extended through Sept. 30, 2008."

NASA Orbiter Reveals Details of Wetter Mars

NASA orbiter reveals details of wetter Mars WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has observed a new category of minerals spread across large regions of Mars, which suggests liquid water remained on the planet's surface 1 billion years later than scientists believed, the U.S. space agency NASA announced Tuesday.

NASA finds evidence of a wetter Mars

This NASA artist's conception shows the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in low orbit over the planet Mars, March 10, 2006. The NASA probe entered orbit Friday in search of water, life and other information about our red neighbor. (UPI Photo/NASA)

NASA Mars Lander Sees Falling Snow, Soil Data Suggests Liquid Past

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. Spacecraft soil tests experiments also have provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water, processes that occur on Earth. A laser instrument designed to gather knowledge of how the atmosphere and surface interact on Mars, detected snow from clouds about 2.5 miles above the spacecraft's landing site. Data show the snow vaporizing before reaching the ground. "Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim Whiteway, of

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Ceased Communications

Goodbye Phoenix Mars Lander. May be we will see you on Mars somewhere when we get there ourselves. You did a great job sending wonderful images of Mars and letting the humanity know more about the red planet. NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications after operating for more than five months.

5 Years At Mars: The Best of Mars Express

In December, the Mars Express spacecraft will celebrate the fifth anniversary of its arrival at Mars. In observation of this milestone the German Aerospace Center DLR has put together a collection of some of the best images from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), the main camera on board the spacecraft. The stunning, high resolution images this instrument has produced of Mars' surface are nothing short of jaw dropping, and they have provided new perspectives and new discoveries about our neighboring planet. One of the iconic images from Mars Express is the image above of water ice inside a crater near Mars North Pole.

NASA Hosts Mars Atmosphere Workshop in Virginia

More than 150 Mars atmosphere experts from the U.S., Canada and Europe will be in Williamsburg, Va., for a NASA sponsored workshop.

NASA Hosts Mars Atmosphere Workshop in Virginia

HAMPTON, Va., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 150 Mars atmosphere experts from the U.S., Canada and Europe will be in Williamsburg, Va., for a NASA sponsored workshop.

NASA Hosts Mars Atmosphere Workshop in Virginia

HAMPTON, Va., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 150 Mars atmosphere experts from the U.S., Canada and Europe will be in Williamsburg, Va., for a NASA sponsored workshop.

NASA Hosts Mars Atmosphere Workshop in Virginia

HAMPTON, Va., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 150 Mars atmosphere experts from the U.S., Canada and Europe will be in Williamsburg, Va., for a NASA sponsored workshop. (Logo:

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