This is a good week to check out progress of the planet Mars as it continues toward an unusually close approach to the Earth in early fall.
This week Mars rises between 3:20 and 3:30 a.m. local time, and is well up in the south-southeast by dawn. It currently shines at magnitude 1.1, about equal in brightness with the star Spica , in the constellation Virgo , and just a trifle fainter than its so-called "rival," the ruddy star Antares in the constellation of Scorpius, the scorpion. Mars actually passed 4.7 degrees north of Antares on Jan. 18, but the Red Planet has since left it far behind to the west.
Other things to check out:
#BeAnAstronaut: NASA Seeks Applicants to Explore Moon, Mars
"Becoming an astronaut is no easy task, because being an astronaut is no easy task," said Steve Koerner , NASA's director of flight operations and chair of the Astronaut Selection Board at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston . "Those who apply will likely be competing against thousands who have dreamed of and worked toward going to space for as long as they can remember. But somewhere among those applicants are our next astronauts, and we look forward to meeting you.
Since the 1960s, NASA has selected 350 people to train as astronaut candidates for its increasingly challenging missions to explore space. With 48 astronauts in the active astronaut corps, more will be needed to serve as crew aboard spacecraft bound for multiple destinations and propel exploration forward as part of Artemis missions and beyond.
NASA to announce Mars Rover name this month | ABC27
The space agency turned to youth for the highly-anticipated title by holding a “Name the Rover” essay contest. Students from kindergarten through the 12th grade were eligible.
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The winner will be announced this month and then be invited to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to see the launch this July.
A NASA official says the contest is a way “To engage the next generation and encourage careers in all stem fields.”
NASA expected to name new Mars Rover later this month | WRBL
(WRBL) – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is expected to reveal the name of the new Mars 2020 rover later this month.
The space agency turned to America’s youth this time for the name of the rover, and held a “Name the Rover” essay contest. Students from kindergarten to 12th grade were eligible to enter the contest. NASA picked 155 semi-finalists.
The grand prize winner and selected rover name will be announced later this month, and the winner will be invited to Cape Canaveral Air Force Base to see the launch of the rover in July.
Many things are taking place:
Did Mars Get an Isotopic Facelift? | Planetary News
Like Earth, Mars has a core, mantle, and crust, which separated due to density contrasts in a process known as differentiation. One anomalous feature of Mars is that its mantle is believed to contain high abundances of elements that like to bond and form compounds with iron. These siderophile ('sidero-' = iron, '-phile' = loving) elements typically sequester themselves into the core of a planet early during its formation.
Scientists from the Southwest Research Institute and the University of Maryland completed a series of impact simulations designed to test how different collision scenarios affected the chemical and physical development of the martian mantle. Their simulation involved a large chondritic projectile colliding with Mars at a variety of angles and speeds, equivalent to the average adult being hit with a six-pound bowling ball.
Mars: NASA Insight Lander discovers hundreds of 'Marsquakes'
In fact, our red neighbor planet has had hundreds of quakes over the past year. The marsquakes were recorded by NASA's InSight Lander, a robot spacecraft that landed on Mars in November 2018.
"We've finally, for the first time, established that Mars is a seismically active planet," NASA's Bruce Banerdt said at a news conference with reporters last week. He said Mars is more seismically active than the moon but is less active than the Earth.
Researchers determined that Mars trembles more often – but also more mildly – than expected. Over the past year, more than 450 seismic signals have been recorded on the Martian surface, the vast majority of which are probably marsquakes (as opposed to "noise" created by environmental factors such as wind).
Idaho National Laboratory helps power 2020 Mars mission | ktvb.com
BOISE, Idaho — You have a chance to learn more about the Idaho team helping to fuel NASA's next rover launch to Mars.
The Idaho National Laboratory's team is here in Boise to talk about their contributions to the project.
They'll also have demonstrations and hands-on activities for both kids and adults to learn about the space program.
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If you can't make it Monday, there's another chance for you to hear about their project on Tuesday at the Children's Museum of Idaho.
Mars lander confirms quakes, even aftershocks on red planet - WIZM 92.3FM 1410AM
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's newest Mars lander has confirmed that quakes and even aftershocks are regularly jolting the red planet.
Scientists reported Monday that the seismometer from the InSight spacecraft has detected scores of marsquakes.
A series of research papers focus on the 174 marsquakes noted through last September. Twenty-four were relatively strong — magnitude 3 to 4 — and apparently stemmed from distant underground triggers. The rest were smaller, with uncertain magnitude and origin. Even the stronger quakes would not have posed a hazard to anybody on the planet's surface, researchers said in a press conference.
Happening on Twitter
What's up in the March sky? 🔭A planetary grouping of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn 🐶⭐ Sirius (aka the Dog Star) 🌙 Venus… https://t.co/eQAAeegws8 NASA Tue Mar 03 00:06:10 +0000 2020
See Mars with Jupiter and Saturn in the dawn sky in March https://t.co/J98MduQjxT https://t.co/LAseEL1SEQ SPACEdotcom (from NYC) Mon Mar 02 13:42:03 +0000 2020
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