Like Earth, Mars is surrounded by an ionosphere—the part of its upper atmosphere where radiation from the sun knocks electrons off of atoms and molecules, creating charged particles. The Martian ionosphere is complex and ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 23, 2025
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Andy Weir's bestselling story "The Martian" predicts that by 2035 NASA will have landed humans on Mars three times, perfected return-to-Earth flight systems and collaborated with the China National Space Administration. We ...
Planetary Sciences
May 22, 2025
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Communications with Mars explorers face unique challenges, including 4–24 minute signal delays and limited bandwidth that restricts data transmission. While NASA's Deep Space Network currently manages these communications, ...
Space Exploration
Apr 30, 2025
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The surface of Mars is extremely cold, irradiated, and desiccated. But at one time, the planet was much warmer and wetter, with flowing water, lakes, and even an ocean covering most of its northern hemisphere. Because of ...
Astrobiology
Apr 21, 2025
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Last week, the Perseverance Science Team were astonished by a strange rock comprised of hundreds of millimeter-sized spheres… and the team are now working hard to understand their origin.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 24, 2025
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A new paper released today documents the first soil, airfall dust, and rock fragment samples collected by NASA for return from Mars. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas astrobiologist leading the specimen selection team discusses ...
Astrobiology
Feb 6, 2025
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Are human spacecraft, landers, rovers and other space-exploration debris little more than trash littering the surface of Mars, or the modern equivalent of Clovis points—treasured artifacts marking Homo sapiens' lust for ...
Space Exploration
Dec 16, 2024
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Water is ubiquitous on Earth—about 70% of Earth's surface is covered by the stuff. Water is in the air, on the surface and inside rocks. Geologic evidence suggests water has been stable on Earth since about 4.3 billion ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 25, 2024
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In January 2024, the SHERLOC instrument aboard NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover encountered a significant issue. A fault in the instrument's motor caused the dust cover and autofocus mechanism to become inoperative, putting ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 7, 2024
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While roboticists have developed increasingly sophisticated systems over the past decades, ensuring that these systems can autonomously operate in real-world settings without mishaps often proves challenging. This is particularly ...
