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5 Years on Mars, How Curiosity Pulled Off One of the Most Incredible Landings in History
For the silver foxes among us, we may remember where we were when JFK died or when Challenger breathed her last in the skies above the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). But for NASA’s Curiosity rover—which alighted on Mars, inside the yawning bowl of Gale Crater, five years ago, today—its recollection is forever imprinted. “Five years […] More
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First Breaks Seen in Treads on Curiosity Rover’s Wheels, But the Journey Continues
As the Curiosity rover continues its traverse among the buttes and sand dunes of Gale crater, you would expect to see some wear and tear after a few years. The rover’s wheels have naturally taken the brunt of that, with small dents and holes appearing in the solid aluminum. But now, new damage has been […] More
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in News, NASA, AmericaSpace, Mars, Space, Science, MSL, Curiosity, Space Exploration, Astrobiology, Solar System, Research, habitabilityEvidence from Curiosity Rover Shows Mars Once Had Oxygen-Rich Atmosphere
Mars’ atmosphere is thin and cold, composed primarily of carbon dioxide along with other trace gases and some water vapor. Evidence has continued to mount, however, that the rarified atmosphere we see today once used to be much thicker and possibly warmer, making it potentially more life-friendly early on. Just how thick and how warm […] More
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in News, Tech, NASA, AmericaSpace, Mars, Space, Science, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Space Exploration, Mars Phoenix Lander, Space Exploration Technologies, Earth, Technology, Exploration, Mars Express, Solar System, Research, MAVEN, InSight, habitability, InSight, Mars OdysseyWelcome to Bagnold: Curiosity Rover Reaches Massive Dark Sand Dunes Near Mount Sharp
Since landing in 2012, the Curiosity rover has seen a lot of varied terrain within Gale crater, including ancient riverbed gravel, sandstone and mudstone rock outcrops, sand ripples finely sculpted by the Martian wind, and, of course, Mount Sharp looming above. Now the rover has reached a new type of landform previously only seen from […] More
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in News, Tech, NASA, AmericaSpace, Mars, Space, Science, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Johns Hopkins University, Space Exploration, Mars Phoenix Lander, press release, Earth, Technology, Exploration, Astrobiology, Life on Mars, Mars Express, Solar System, Research, MAVEN, News Release, InSight, habitability, InSight, Mars OdysseyNASA’s Curiosity Rover Approaching Active Martian Sand Dunes After Latest Drilling Completed
Mars is often referred to as a desert world, being bone-dry for the most part, with dust and sand blanketing most of the surface. Some regions are covered in vast sand dunes, reminiscent of deserts like the Sahara on Earth, only much colder. Gale crater, where the Curiosity rover landed in 2012, features extensive dune […] More
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in News, Tech, NASA, AmericaSpace, Mars, Space, Science, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Space Exploration, Mars Phoenix Lander, press release, Earth, Technology, Exploration, Astrobiology, Mars Express, Solar System, Research, News Release, habitability, Mars OdysseyCuriosity Rover Confirms Ancient Lake(s) in Gale Crater on Mars
Last week there was the exciting news that Mars still has flows of briny water occurring now, and this week there is more water-related news: additional findings from the Curiosity rover that the huge Gale crater was once a lake or series of lakes a long time ago. Curiosity had already found evidence that there […] More
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in News, Tech, NASA, AmericaSpace, Mars, Space, Science, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Space Exploration, Mars Phoenix Lander, press release, Earth, Technology, Exploration, Astrobiology, Mars Express, Solar System, Research, News Release, habitability, InSight, Mars OdysseyCuriosity Marks 3rd Anniversary on Mars With Amazing Science Discoveries
NASA’s Curiosity rover has just reached its third anniversary milestone on Mars, after landing in Gale crater on Aug. 5, 2012, and since then has made some incredible science discoveries, with more to come in the months and years ahead. NASA is celebrating this achievement and you can take part, too! More
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in NASA, Mars, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Space Exploration, Astrobiology, Life on Mars, Solar System
Curiosity Sees Blue Sunset on Red Planet
After nearly three years of laboring on the Red Planet, NASA’s Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover has finally captured her first color sunset on Mars—in living blue color! And it’s a whopper. It looks for all the world not like an alien world, but rather like a majestic sunset back here on Earth, from […] More
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in News, Tech, NASA, Mars, Space, Science, MSL, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Space Exploration, Mars Phoenix Lander, Cassini, Earth, Technology, Exoplanets, Astrobiology, Europa, Solar System, Research, habitability, Enceladus
Discovery of Salty Aquifer Beneath Antarctica May Have Implications for Life on Mars
Scientists have discovered a vast network of salty aquifers beneath the surface of Antarctica, thanks to an airborne imaging system used there for the first time. The finding may have interesting implications for the search for life elsewhere, such as Mars, since it is known that, at least on Earth, a large variety of microscopic […] More
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in NASA, Mars, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Space Exploration, Life on Mars, Solar System, habitability
Curiosity Passes 10K Mark Roving to Next Science Destination at ‘Logan’s Run’
NASA’s intrepid Mars rovers continue setting spectacular records for roving across the fourth rock from the Sun, even as they make marvelous science observations on the rocks they pass virtually every Sol (day) they survive the harsh environmental extremes of the alien Red Planet in search of signatures of habitability and microbes past and present, […] More
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in NASA, Mars, Space, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Space Exploration, Life on Mars, Solar System, habitability
Curiosity Discovers Biochemically Accessible Nitrogen, Key Ingredient Needed for Martian Life
Based on data gathered by NASA’s Curiosity rover, researchers now report that the robot has discovered a local source of nitrogen that is “biochemically accessible” and is one of the key ingredients necessary to support the existence of life forms on ancient Mars, if they ever existed. Finding an indigenous source of nitrogen “has significant […] More
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in NASA, Mars, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Space Exploration, Life on Mars, Solar System
Watch Curiosity’s Scars on Mars Change Over Time
Virtually since the moment of the nail-biting touchdown of NASA’s Curiosity mega rover inside Gale some 2.5 years ago, the most powerful camera orbiting Mars has been keeping tabs on the blast zones and scars created by the impact of the rover and other components of the landing gear. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment […] More
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