NASA declared the Mars digger dead Thursday after failing to burrow deep into the red planet to take its temperature.
Scientists in Germany spent two years trying to get their heat probe, dubbed the mole, to drill into the Martian crust. But the 16-inch-long (40-centimeter) device that is part of NASA's InSight lander couldn't gain enough friction in the red dirt. It was supposed to bury 16 feet (5 meters) into Mars, but only drilled down a couple of feet (about a half meter).
In case you are keeping track:
Mars meets the planet George with a sheep watching | Post Bulletin
I admit that headline is a strange one, but there is an explanation. Let's start with Mars. Since late last summer, Mars has been a part of the evening sky. In early October, Mars and Earth passed within 39 million miles of each other while traveling in their individual orbits around the sun, something astronomers call "opposition."
Mars was very bright in October, but has faded since then, as the red planet is now over 100 million miles away. Despite that, Mars is still easily found high in the southern Rochester evening sky. Just look for the brightest star-like object in that part of the sky with a distinctive orange-red hue.
Sixth-graders in Calaveras County get hands-on experience building Mars rovers
Sixth-graders at Avery Middle School spent the day building model Mars rovers at socially distanced in-class learning, then took their vehicles outside and tried to maneuver them around a small map using books and boxes to simulate rough terrain.
Every sixth-grader in Calaveras County will receive a rover kit, thanks to the Mars-based 4-H STEM challenge through the University of California.
CMCo 4-H Club Invites Grade Schoolers on a Trip to Mars | Community | capemaycountyherald.com
COURT HOUSE - The 4-H Youth Development Program invites youth in grades 4-8 to go on a free trip to Mars this February.
According to a release, the Cape May County 4-H Mars Base Camp science activity explores the race to send humans to Mars and will take place, via Zoom, on four nights, Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24, from 6- 7:15 p.m. Each participant will receive a Mars Base Camp activity kit and guidebook.
Anyone can join in the learning fun – you don't have to be a 4-H member to sign up for this program and experience Mars with us.
And here's another article:
NASA's Curiosity Rover Reaches Its 3,000th Day on Mars – NASA's Mars Exploration Program
Curiosity's View of 'Benches' on Mars: This panorama, made up of 122 individual images stitched together, was taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Nov. 18, 2020, the 2,946th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Full image and caption ›
As the rover has continued to ascend Mount Sharp, it’s found distinctive benchlike rock formations
It’s been 3,000 Martian days, or sols, since Curiosity touched down on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, and the rover keeps making new discoveries during its gradual climb up Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain it has been exploring since 2014. Geologists were intrigued to see a series of rock “benches” in the most recent panorama from the mission.
Mars Petcare Expands Manufacturing Footprint In Arkansas With $145 Million Investment
"At Mars Petcare, everything we do is in service of our purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS," said Ikdeep Singh, Regional President of Mars Petcare North America . "The investment in our Fort Smith manufacturing facility enables us to continue to serve the ever-growing needs of pets and pet parents and represents our commitment to our Associates and this community."
"The investment from Mars Petcare in their Fort Smith manufacturing facility will boost the economy at both the local and state level," said Asa Hutchinson , Governor of Arkansas . "Since the facility opened in 2009, it has become a hub of diverse and quality jobs, and we thank Mars Petcare for continuing to grow and invest in the Fort Smith community."
7 Things to Know About the NASA Rover About to Land on Mars
In a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, engineers observed the first driving test for NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover on Dec. 17, 2019. Full Image Details
The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, which has started its approach to the Red Planet, will help answer the next logical question in Mars exploration.
With only about 50 million miles (80 million kilometers) left to go in its 293-million-mile (471-million-kilometer) journey, NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is nearing its new planetary home. The spacecraft has begun its approach to the Red Planet and in 43 days, on Feb. 18, 2021, Perseverance will blaze through Mars' atmosphere at about 12,100 mph (19,500 kph), touching down gently on the surface about seven minutes later.
A mysterious 'wobble' is moving Mars' poles around | Space
The Red Planet is wiggling and wobbling as it spins, research in the journal Geophysical Research Letters confirms, and astronomers have no idea why.
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This wonky wobble has negligible effect on our planet, according to Eos, but still presents a puzzle. Scientists have calculated that the wobble should naturally die down within a century of its origin, but our planet's current wobble has been going strong for much longer than that.
The Mars wobble is just as puzzling. The authors of the new study detected the wobble using 18 years of data collected by three satellites orbiting the Red Planet: Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Global Surveyor. This small shift in the Martian poles should also resolve itself naturally, the team calculated, but currently appears to be going strong.
Happening on Twitter
RIP: #Mars digger bites the dust after 2 years on red planet https://t.co/sYZE6T9f3a physorg_com Thu Jan 14 21:37:16 +0000 2021
Scientists in Germany spent two years trying to get their heat probe, dubbed the mole, to drill into the Martian cr… https://t.co/w20HQ1U63s NewsHour (from Arlington, VA | New York, NY) Fri Jan 15 11:52:01 +0000 2021
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