By Paul Scott Anderson, on April 6th, 2018
Venus as seen in ultraviolet light by NASA’s Pioneer Venus Orbiter spacecraft in 1979. The dark patches in the upper atmosphere have been a mystery for nearly a century. Could they actually contain living microbes? Photo Credit: NASA
When it comes to searching for evidence of life elsewhere in the Solar System, certain […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on June 4th, 2017
Mudstone lakebed sedimentary deposits seen by the Curiosity rover in Gale crater. The latest findings show that the lake in the crater was stratified and could have supported a wide variety of microorganisms. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Was Mars ever habitable? Did life ever actually exist there? Those are two of the biggest questions […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on March 15th, 2017
Artist’s conception of the Venera-D spacecraft in orbit around Venus. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Last week, AmericaSpace reported on why NASA should return to Venus, and new technology being developed to help make that happen, especially as in longer-lived landers or rovers. With its extremely hostile conditions, Venus has been much less of a […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on July 19th, 2016
Iconic painting of a Viking lander on Mars, prior to launch. The sampling arm reaches into the foreground. Image Credit: Charles Bennett/Lockheed Martin (Martin Marietta)
July 20, 1976, will be forever remembered by space enthusiasts. On that day, Viking 1 became the first U.S. spacecraft to land on another planet—in this case, Mars […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on February 2nd, 2016
Image of “cauliflower” silica formations found by the Spirit rover in 2008 near Home Plate in Gusev crater. Do they hold clues to ancient life on Mars? Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Was there ever life on Mars? That is one of the longest-running and most debated questions in planetary science, and while there have […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on September 28th, 2015
False-color image of RSL on slopes in Hale crater. The blue color is thought not to be related to their formation, but instead are from the presence of the mineral pyroxene. The image is produced by draping an orthorectified (Infrared-Red-Blue/Green(IRB)) false color image (ESP_030570_1440) on a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the same […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on August 29th, 2015
Does life spread through the galaxy like an infectious disease, with “bubbles” of inhabited planets? Image Credit: Harvard-Smithsonian CfA
We still don’t know if there is life elsewhere in the universe, but scientists are working on techniques to better understand how it may have originated anyway, in the event that such alien biology […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on August 20th, 2015
New low-angle “selfie” of the Curiosity rover taken while it was in Marias Pass, consisting of multiple images stitched together. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
After extensive investigations of rock layers in Marias Pass, a shallow valley near the base of Mount Sharp, the Curiosity rover is now heading southwest again, to continue gradually climbing […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on August 8th, 2015 Map of the eight proposed landing sites for the Mars 2020 Rover. Image Credit: NASA/MOLA Science Team
NASA’s next Mars rover is due to launch in July or August 2020, and the number of potential landing sites has now been narrowed down by scientists to eight locations. Out of an initial list of […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on June 18th, 2015
Methane has been discovered in some meteorites originating from Mars. Could it be a clue to life? Image Credit: Michael Helfenbein
The puzzle of methane on Mars has taken an interesting new twist: For the first time, the gas has been detected within Martian meteorites. The finding adds another layer to the ongoing […]
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