Usually, getting to another planet is supposed to be the hardest part of the mission. Not so for NASA's InSight lander.
The probe touched down on the Red Planet in November 2018, and immediately started taking weather measurements and photographing its new permanent home. Unlike its more famous sibling missions like Opportunity and Curiosity, InSight is no rover, and will instead perform its whole mission from one location in the broad plain of Elysium Planitia near Mars' equator.
In case you are keeping track:
Up Close With The Mars Rover : NPR
NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab let folks have a look at the Mars 2020 mission's rover before it gets packed up on its journey to Cape Canaveral for launch in 2020.
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is almost ready to send another rover to Mars. It will launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla. next summer. But first, scientists in California have to pack it up and ship it across the country.
JACOB MARGOLIS, BYLINE: Before you can get even a little close to the rover, you've got to prepare yourself to visit it in the clean room - no notepads and pencils with shavings that can fly off, no makeup, like lipstick or foundation, because it might shed. You can't even wear perfumes or cologne with scent molecules that can waft through the air and land on the rover. Believe me, JPL's David Gruel is watching.
Mars 2020 rover could pave way to manned mission - CNN Video
Europe's Mars lander passes parachute test | Science | The Guardian
The parachutes are essential in helping slow down the spacecraft from 21,000km/h at the top of the planet's thin atmosphere, to virtually nothing six minutes later, when it touches down on the Martian soil. In tests earlier this year, the parachutes sustained damage during deployment. This was traced to the parachute bag in which they were held before being deployed.
Working with Nasa, ESA made modifications to the way the parachutes are released from the bag, which avoids creating so much friction. Using a special rig at JPL, the parachutes have now been tested up to their expected extraction speed of just over 200km/h with no sign of damage. Further confirmatory tests will now take place.
Many things are taking place:
China launches powerful rocket in boost for 2020 Mars mission
"After more than 2,000 seconds, the Shijian 20 satellite was sent into its predetermined orbit," the official Xinhua news agency reported.
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The successful launch is a key part of China's ambitious plans for a mission to the Red Planet next year and hopes of having a crewed space station by 2022.
"The Long March 5 rocket is tasked with important missions," Wu Yanhua, the deputy head of China's National Space Administration, said in a video released by CCTV last week.
NASA's Moon to Mars Plans, Artemis Lunar Program Gets Fast Tracked in 2019
"2019 will be remembered as the year the Artemis program really became a reality with real spaceflight hardware built, U.S. commercial and international partnerships standing behind it, and hardworking teams across NASA and the world coming together like never before to quickly and sustainably explore the Moon and use what we learn there to enable humanity's next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine .
"Throughout this year, as I have visited each of our centers, I have personally witnessed their unparalleled commitment to accomplishing our mission. The daily devotion of our employees makes them well deserving of this award," Bridenstine said. "I am honored to lead such a dedicated team. They are what makes NASA the Best Place to Work in Government."
Astrobiology.com on Deutsche Welle TV - Mars 2020 - Astrobiology
Keith's note: I was on Deutsche Welle TV today talking about the Mars 2020 rover mission and its implications for Astrobiology.
NASA's latest Mars rover to hunt for fossil records - Taipei Times
The US space agency on Friday showed off its Mars 2020 rover, whose official name is to be chosen early next year.
NASA would in February ship the rover to Florida's John F. Kennedy Space Center, where its three sections are to be fully assembled. A July launch would send the rover to a dry lake bed on Mars that is bigger than the island of Manhattan.
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