Mars

Headed To Mars? Watch Out For Cosmic Rays

Thu, 30 May 2013 20:00:00 +0000

There was great fanfare when the Mars Science Laboratory launched in November 2011, and again when its precious cargo — NASA's Mars rover Curiosity — touched down on the red planet in August 2012.

The eight months in between had drama of their own. Curiosity was constantly bombarded with radiation as it traveled through space — high-energy protons thrown out by the sun, and galactic cosmic rays slicing through the solar system from distant supernovas.

Here on Earth, the magnetic field and atmosphere shield us from most of this radiation.

Water Trapped For 1.5 Billion Years Could Hold Ancient Life

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:03:00 +0000

Scientists have discovered water that has been trapped in rock for more than a billion years. The water might contain microbes that evolved independently from the surface world, and it's a finding that gives new hope to the search for life on other planets.

The water samples came from holes drilled by gold miners near the small town of Timmins, Ontario, about 350 miles north of Toronto. Deep in the Canadian bedrock, miners drill holes and collect samples.

Send Your Haiku To Mars! NASA Seeks Poets

Korva Coleman — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:42:00 +0000

Galactic poet?

Here's how to become famous.

Send your work to Mars!

NASA is raising awareness for its upcoming launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft with its Going to Mars project.

This One-Way Trip To Mars Is Brought To You By ...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:11:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74pA5YH-ehY

Mars Rovers Go Quiet, As Sun Blocks Transmissions

Bill Chappell — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:31:00 +0000

Communications between the Earth and Mars are on hiatus for several weeks, thanks to interference from the sun. That means NASA's orbiters and rovers that study Mars will be left to their own devices until radio signals can once again travel between the two planets.

Known as "solar conjunction," the problem arises when the orbit of planets places the sun directly between them.

"It's like being on either side of a huge bonfire," NASA explains, in a video on its website.