Mars

Aug. 26, 2008 -- PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Exploration rover Opportunity is heading back out to the Red Planet's surrounding plains nearly a year after descending into a large Martian crater to examine exposed ancient rock layers.

Mars Rover (artist's concept): Graphic: NASA

"We've done everything we entered Victoria Crater to do and more," said Bruce Banerdt, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Banerdt is project scientist for Opportunity and its rover twin, Spirit.    » read more »

August 12, 2008 -- If you could stand on Mars, what would you see? The robotic Phoenix spacecraft that just landed on Mars in May recorded the above spectacular panorama. The above image is actually a digital combination of over 100 camera pointings and surveys fully 360 degrees around the busy robotic laboratory.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Mars Panorama from the Phoenix Lander: Credit: Phoenix Mission Team, NASA, JPL-Caltech, U. Arizona    » read more »

Aug. 4, 2008 -- WASHINGTON -- Scientists are analyzing results from soil samples delivered several weeks ago to science instruments on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander to understand the landing site's soil chemistry and mineralogy.

Within the last month, two samples have been analyzed by the Wet Chemistry Lab of the spacecraft's Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer, or MECA, suggesting one of the soil constituents may be perchlorate, a highly oxidizing substance.    » read more »

June 25, 2008 -- PASADENA, Calif. -- New analysis of Mars' terrain using NASA spacecraft observations reveals what appears to be by far the largest impact crater ever found in the solar system.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Global Surveyor have provided detailed information about the elevations and gravity of the Red Planet's northern and southern hemispheres.

Artist's concept of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: Image by NASA/JPL

A new study using this information may solve one of the biggest remaining mysteries in the solar system: why does Mars have two strikingly different kinds of terrain in its northern and southern hemispheres? The huge crater is creating intense scientific interest.    » read more »

June 2, 2008 -- Is that ice under the Phoenix spacecraft on Mars? Quite possibly. Phoenix, which landed a week ago, was expected to dig under the Martian soil to search for ice, but the lander's breaking jets may already have uncovered some during descent.

Unusual Light Patch Under Phoenix Lander on Mars: Photo credit: Phoenix Mission Team, NASA, JPL-Caltech, U. Arizona

Pictured above is an image taken last week by the Robotic Arm Camera showing the unusual light-colored substance just in front of Phoenix's landing pad.    » read more »

May 25, 2008 -- PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars Sunday to begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander's robotic arm.

Icy, patterned ground on Mars: A polygonal pattern in the ground near NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, similar in appearance to icy ground in the arctic regions of Earth. NASA photo.

Radio signals received at 4:53:44 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53:44 p.m. Eastern Time) confirmed the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown 15 minutes earlier. The signals took that long to travel from Mars to Earth at the speed of light.    » read more »

26 May 2008 -- The U.S. space agency's Phoenix space probe has landed successfully near Mars' northern pole to begin a three-month mission to explore Martian soil and look for buried ice. Engineers and scientists breathed a sigh of relief late Sunday following a challenging landing and marveled at some early images Phoenix sent back to Earth.

Phoenix on Mars - artist's concept: NASA image

Mission controllers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California watched with white knuckles as Phoenix made its descent into the Martian atmosphere.    » read more »