On August 6, 2012, Mars rover Curiosity landed on the red planet, in a site called Gale Crater. The event was cause for immediate celebration for those who had worked for years to send the rover to Mars, but researchers…
Mars Rover Curiosity’s First Year in First-Person
Next week will mark the one-year (Earth year) anniversary of Mars rover Curiosity’s Mars landing. The rover has performed admirably, and all of its instruments have been successfully tested on the surface of the red planet. It has also, in…
Mars Rover Curiosity Sets One-Day Driving Record
Mars rover Curiosity is currently on a months-long journey to a Martian mountain named Mount Sharp. The rover has shifted into a distance driving mode and is now roving further than ever along its planned five-mile journey. This week, NASA…
Water on Mars Left With Atmosphere, Shows Rover
It’s been nearly one year since Mars rover Curiosity landed on Mars in August 2012. During that year, the rover has analyzed soil, drilled rock samples to determine whether conditions on Mars could have ever been conducive to life. Now,…
Mars Rover Curiosity Hits a 1 Kilometer Milestone
Last week, NASA revealed that Mars rover Curiosity has traveled more than 325 feet (99 meters) along its 5-mile (8 kilometer) trek to the base of a Martian mountain named Mount Sharp. This week the agency announced that the rover’s…
Mars Rover Curiosity Drives 135 More Feet
Last week, Mars rover Curiosity began a months-long journey to the base of a Martian mountain named Mount Sharp. This week, NASA revealed that the rover has driven 135 feet (41 meters) closer to its destination. Combined with the 59…
NASA Previews 2020 Mars Rover Mission
NASA’s Mars 2020 Science Definition Team this week released its recommendations for a rover the agency plans to send to the red planet by 2020. The announcement of the 2020 rover mission came in December 2012. The team of 19…
Mars Rover Curiosity Begins Months-Long Journey
One month ago, Mars rover Curiosity began preparing for a 5-mile drive by shifting into a distance-driving mode. Today, NASA announced that the first small steps in that long journey have begun. The rover finished investigating an outcrop named “Shaler”…
Mars Rover Opportunity Crosses Botany Bay
NASA today provided an update not on Mars rover Curiosity, but its elder rover Opportunity. The rover is part of the Mars Exploration Rover Project, which sent two rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, to Mars in 2004. Opportunity is the only…
Martian Atmosphere Had Oxygen 4 Billion Years Ago, Shows Study
A recent study by researchers at Oxford University has shown that the planet Mars may hav had an oxygen-rich atmosphere 4 billion years ago. Using meteorites identified as coming from Mars, as well as data from Mars rover Spirit, researchers…