British engineers have begun testing technologies that will be needed to bring samples of Martian rock to Earth.
It's a rehearsal for a key part of a multi-billion-dollar project now being put together by the US and European space agencies - Nasa and Esa.
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The small tubes - about the size of whiteboard markers - being manipulated by the Airbus prototype represent the Martian samples.
It would then be the job of a later European robot, launching in 2026, to run around and pick up the cylinders. This "fetch rover" would deliver the tubes to a handling station, from where they could be despatched to Earth.
Many things are taking place:
Budweiser Tests Beer Making on International Space Station With Eye On Mars | Fortune
Landslides Work Differently on Mars, and Now We Might Know Why - Universe Today
Some landslides, both here on Earth and on Mars, behave in a puzzling way: They flow a lot further than friction should allow them too.
They can also be massive, including a well-preserved one in Valles Marineris that is the same size as the state of Rhode Island. Scientists have speculated that it might be so large because a layer of ice that existed in the past provided lubrication. But a new study suggests that no ice is needed to explain it.
The new study is published in Nature Communications and is titled " Longitudinal ridges imparted by high-speed granular flow mechanisms in martian landslides ." It's lead authors are Giulia Magnarini and Tom Mitchell, both of University College of London.
Trump aims for role of NATO statesman but mars unity message - The Washington Post
Trump called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "two-faced" and French President Emanuel Macron "nasty" during a 52-hour trip that exposed the alliance's divisions on military budgets and relations with Turkey, as well as the U.S. leader's own unconventional ways on the world stage.
At the same time, he found it difficult to leave behind events in Washington, lashing out as House Democrats resumed their push for impeachment over Trump's call for Ukraine to investigate a political rival. He said it was "sad" that Democrats were pushing ahead with the inquiry when "there was no crime whatsoever and they know it."
Quite a lot has been going on:
Mars' Blair Gerlach named PSCA Class AAA Girls Soccer Coach of the Year - Trib HSSN
Members of the Mars girls soccer team lift the PIAA Class AAA trophy after defeating Villa Joseph Marie 1-0 at Hersheypark Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019.
NASA Suggests Mars' Mega Dust Storms May Have Transported Its Water into the Space - News18
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has suggested that giant dust storms which are very common on Mars, have formed dust towers, which act as 'space elevators,' due to which the water of the planet has gone up to the atmosphere.
In a report that has been published on their official website, it is mentioned that when the dust heats up it does carry small amount of water along with it.
"The rate of dust activity surprised Heavens and other scientists. But especially intriguing is the possibility that dust towers act as 'space elevators' for other material, transporting them through the atmosphere. When airborne dust heats up, it creates updrafts that carry gases along with it, including the small quantity of water vapor sometimes seen as wispy clouds on Mars," added the report.
China completes crucial landing test for first Mars mission in 2020 - Reuters
HUAILAI, China (Reuters) - China on Thursday successfully completed a crucial landing test in northern Hebei province ahead of a historic unmanned exploration mission to Mars next year.
China is on track to launch its Mars mission, Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, said on Thursday, speaking to foreign diplomats and the media before the test.
The Mars lander underwent a hovering-and-obstacle avoidance test at a sprawling site in Huailai, northwest of Beijing. The site was littered with small mounds of rocks to simulate the uneven terrain on Mars which the lander would have to navigate on its descent to the planet’s surface.
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