Mars - Space Axiom

NASA's Perseverance Rover Records the Sound of a Dust Devil on Mars

On September 27, 2021, the vortex of at least 118 metres high and 25 metres wide passed directly over the rover as it landed in the Jezero crater.

Space

NASA and DARPA to Create a Working Nuclear Thermal Rocket by 2027

As noted by NASA, nuclear-powered spacecraft will allow for shorter flight times, reducing the risks for astronauts during long-distance missions, such as future crewed missions to Mars.

Space

NASA's HiRISE Captures an Image of a Bear's Face on Mars

The circular fracture pattern could have been caused by sediment over a buried impact crater. The nose could have been formed by a volcanic or mud vent.

Space

NASA Showed How It Will Bring Mars Rock Samples Back to Earth

A set of samples from the rover will be reloaded aboard the Mars Ascent Vehicle. It will deliver the samples to a Martian orbit, where they will be picked up by the Earth Return Orbiter and delivered to Earth.

Space

The Automated Martian Station InSight Stopped Communicating

The InSight space science station, which arrived at Mars in 2018, has stopped communicating. As NASA noted, the last time the spacecraft could be contacted was December 15.

Space

Astronomers Discover Traces of an Ancient Ocean on Mars

Scientists from Pennsylvania State University have found evidence that about 3.5 billion years ago, Mars had a vast ocean, which covered hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the planet. Its existence was indicated by the topography of the shoreline.

Space

Mars Is Littered with More than 15 Thousand Pounds of Human Trash

West Virginia University postdoc Cagri Kilic has calculated how much debris humans have left on Mars over 50 years of exploring the surface of the Red Planet. There are now three main sources of debris: discarded hardware, inactive spacecraft, crashed spacecraft.

Space

Astronauts Could Use Martian Soil for 3D-Printing

In most of their experiments, the researchers mixed different amounts of simulated Martian regolith with a titanium alloy. They also tried to make a 3D-printing material from pure simulated regolith.

Space

You Can Now Explore Mars Using an Interactive Map

The map was unveiled at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 in Granada, Spain. It was created using orbital images as well as three-dimensional panoramic views of the Jezero crater.

Space

A Rare Alignment of Five Planets Took Place on June 24

For the first time in 18 years, billions of people around the world could enjoy an incredible spectacle in the night sky – a parade of planets. This is an astronomical phenomenon in which several planets line up in a single arc in the sky.

Space

NASA's Perseverance Rover Has a Traveling Companion in the Form of a Pet Rock

The Perseverance rover has shared an image of its traveling companion – a pet rock that managed to find its way into the front left wheel of the rover in early February and has traveled more than eight and a half kilometers (5.3 miles) with it since then.

Space

Bacterial Species in Kombucha Can Survive in Mars-Like Conditions

Kombucha cultures were sent to the ISS to determine how they would grow and survive under extraterrestrial conditions. After 1.5 years of being under simulated Martian conditions outside the ISS, the samples were cultivated for 2.5 years.

Space

NASA Shared a Video of the Ingenuity Helicopter's Longest Flight on Mars

On April 8, 2022, Ingenuity made its record 25th flight, traveling 704 meters at a maximum speed of 5.5 meters per second in 161.3 seconds. The video of the 161.3-second flight was sped up about five times, reducing its length to less than 35 seconds.

Space

NASA's InSight Lander Detects the Biggest Quake on Mars

Seismic waves passing through Martian crust, mantle and core provide invaluable information about their size, composition and structure, enabling a better understanding of the Red Planet's internal structure and past.

Space

NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Finds Wreckage From Perseverance Rover's Landing

NASA notes that the coating on the outside of the backshell, the parachute, and the lines connecting the parachute to the spacecraft all survived their trip to the surface of Mars.

Space

NASA's Perseverance Rover Reaches the Dried-up Delta of an Ancient River

Delta was formed billions of years ago at the confluence of a river and crater lake. On its dried-up bottom remained clusters of rocks and prehistoric deposits. These are the best samples to study the emergence and demise of organic life.

Space

Elon Musk Said the Price Point for a Ticket to Mars Is Affordable for Most People

The billionaire noted that the price would be based on economic feasibility. Some people might even need to sell their assets to visit Mars.

Space

NASA's Perseverance Rover Captures Solar Eclipse on Mars

The footage of the solar eclipse on the Red Planet was captured on April 2 as the rover moved toward the dried-up delta of an ancient Martian river that is located near the Jezero crater.

Space

UAE's Hope Probe and NASA's MAVEN Mission to Share Scientific Data

NASA said it had reached an agreement to share scientific data between the Emirates Mars Mission and MAVEN mission teams. This should increase the scientific impact of both projects and help unlock the mysteries of the Red Planet.

Space

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Captures Dry Ice on Mars

Dry ice is formed by the freezing of carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere. In midwinter, this frost reaches from the poles down to the middle latitudes, up to 50° latitude.

Space

Scientists Suggest Sending Astronauts to Mars Using Lasers

Scientists from McGill University in Canada have invented the concept of the laser catapult, which will help astronauts get to Mars in just 45 days. However, scientists do not yet know how to slow the spacecraft down once it arrives at its destination.

Space

CNSA Publishes New Photos Taken by the Tianwen-1 Probe

The photos show the Tianwen-1 orbiter itself above Mars, a close-up of the orbiter, as well as the planet's northern ice caps. These images confirm that the orbiter and the Zhurong rover are operating normally and are in good condition.

Space

NASA Announced Plans to Send Next-Gen Research Helicopter to Mars

The successful demonstration of possible flights on Mars, together with the information collected by Ingenuity during its test flights, let NASA engineers move on to designing a next-generation flying spacecraft for exploring the Red Planet.

Space

China to Send First Crewed Mission to Mars in 2033

China is working on a space program that involves five crewed flights to Mars until 2043. The first is scheduled for 2033. In the future, the country wants to create a permanent base on the planet for humans to live there.