An illustration of NASA's Perseverance rover deploying a supersonic parachute before landing on Mars.
* * *
Several leaders from the Mars 2020 Perseverance team will be on hand Wednesday to discuss the mission and run through what landing day will look like.
Follow CNET's 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.
Many things are taking place:
New evidence for multiple ice ages on Mars | Space | EarthSky
Earth has had at least 5 major ice ages. Now it appears Mars – the next planet outward from the sun – has undergone anywhere from half a dozen to 20 ice ages in the past several hundred million years.
Just as on Earth, glaciers have flowed across the surface of Mars in the distant past. But while Earth’s glaciers have mostly receded (and are still shrinking ), Mars’ glaciers are frozen in place and covered by rocky debris. Scientists haven’t been sure if there was one huge Ice Age on Mars, or multiple ice ages spread out over millions of years. Now, a new study announced by researchers at Colgate University in New York state is helping to answer those questions.
New crew arrives in Hawaii for mock Mars mission — Commander's report: sol 2 | Space
Dr. Michaela Musilova is the director of Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation ( HI-SEAS ) program, which conducts analog missions to the moon and Mars for scientific research at a habitat on the volcano Mauna Loa. Currently, she is in command of the two-week Valoria 1 mission and contributed this report to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights .
* * *
Today's conversation topics ranged from future career prospects, to personal body issues and deep romantic relationship discussions. I could barely get any work done as the crew was on a roll jumping from topic to topic, all while exercising, working, cooking and cleaning. I didn't want to tear myself away when my obligations were calling.
Sols 3010-3012: Bonjour, Nontron (Mars) – NASA's Mars Exploration Program
Curiosity is continuing to make her way through the fractured intermediate unit toward the sulfate unit. After an 80-meter drive in our last plan, Curiosity has officially crossed into the new quadrant “Nontron” and parked with this amazing view (see image). And after more than 1000 sols visiting Scotland, Curiosity is now learning French! There are more details about this new Nontron quadrant in the Sol 3007 blog .
Curiosity will be starting off the weekend taking a 360-degree, 120-frame Mastcam panorama of this spectacular location, along with some more close-up images of rocks in the rover’s vicinity. These other observations include a bright-red rock in the workspace called “La Rogue Gageac” and some pebbles (to look at movement and stratigraphy).
Were you following this:
Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover to Capture Sounds From the Red Planet – NASA's Mars Exploration
Audio gathered by the mission may not sound quite the same on Mars as it would to our ears on Earth. A new interactive online experience lets you sample the difference.
When the Mars Perseverance rover lands on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021, it will not only collect stunning images and rock samples; the data it returns may also include some recorded sounds from Mars.
The rover carries a pair of microphones, which – if all goes as planned – will provide interesting and historic audio of the arrival and landing at Mars, along with sounds of the rover at work and of wind and other ambient noise.
Mars Launches #HereToBeHeard Campaign to Advance Action on Gender Equality
Victoria Mars , Mars Board Member and ambassador of Mars' Full Potential program: "Women have played a powerful role in our history and leadership at Mars. But we have more to do. We're striving to empower more women within our workplace, and across our extended value chain.
"The magnitude and urgency of gender inequality in society demands more action. If global business doesn't listen and step up now, then when? Business can have an outsized impact on driving change at scale. At Mars we're seizing this opportunity to expand the conversation and drive action. The #HereToBeHeard movement is about ensuring that all women's voices have a chance to be heard and translating what we hear into impact plans that advance gender equality."
Substance found in Antarctic ice may solve a martian mystery | Science | AAAS
Researchers have discovered a common martian mineral deep within an ice core from Antarctica. The find suggests the mineral—a brittle, yellow-brown substance known as jarosite—was forged the same way on both Earth and Mars: from dust trapped within ancient ice deposits. It also reveals how important these glaciers were on the Red Planet: Not only did they carve valleys, the researchers say, but they also helped create the very stuff Mars is made of.
Jarosite was first spotted on Mars in 2004, when the NASA Opportunity rover rolled over fine-grained layers of it. The discovery made headlines because jarosite needs water to form, along with iron, sulfate, potassium, and acidic conditions.
6 Things to Know About NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on Its Way to Mars
Ingenuity, a technology experiment, is preparing to attempt the first powered, controlled flight on the Red Planet.
The helicopter, which weighs about 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) on Earth and has a fuselage about the size of a tissue box, started out six years ago as an implausible prospect. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California knew it was theoretically possible to fly in Mars’ thin atmosphere, but no one was sure whether they could build a vehicle powerful enough to fly, communicate, and survive autonomously with the extreme restrictions on its mass.
No comments:
Post a Comment