Mars Express has the sophisticated science to find the water ice on Mars
"The presence of such a large amount of water ice under Mars`s surface is very surprising. Especially so close to the surface!" says Gerhard Schwehm, Head of the Planetary Missions Division at ESA. The team working on ESA`s Mars Express, the next mission to the Red Planet, is thrilled by NASA`s Mars Odyssey detection of hydrogen-rich layers under... view more... (2002-05-30)
Deep and Crisp and Eaten: Scotland's Deep- Fried Mars Bar
Scotland has had a reputation as the home of the deep-fried Mars bar for many years. Researchers Dr Mark Petticrew, from the University of Glasgow, and Dr David Morrison had never actually seen them for sale but after a recent mention by Jay Leno, host of NBC's Tonight Show they set out to find if it is myth or fact. view more (2004-12-17)
Astronomers hunt Martian water from Earth
As Mars makes its closest approach in almost 60,000 years, two Australian astronomers have used the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii to look for signs that the planet once had liquid water - and so may have hosted life. Dr. Jeremy Bailey of the Anglo-Australian Observatory and the Australian Centre for Astrobiology (ACA) at... view more... (2003-08-26)
Hitchhiking bacteria could compromise the detection of life on Mars
Is there life on Mars? It's possible, but it may not be Martian, say scientists. New research, published in the open access journal BMC Microbiology, suggests that conditions on Mars are capable of supporting dormant bacteria, known as endospores. This raises concern about future attempts to detect Martian life forms because endospores originating... view more... (2003-04-03)
A little bit of Ferrari takes off to the Red Planet !
ESA PR 52-2002. What is the fastest Ferrari`s distinctive red paint has ever travelled? Next year it will be 10800 km/h! Mars Express, to be launched in May/June 2003, the first European spacecraft to visit the Red Planet, will be speeding on its way accompanied by the very essence of Ferrari: a sample of its distinctive red paint. Mars has... view more... (2002-07-22)
University of Leeds academic goes searching for Martians
University of Leeds biogeochemist Liane Benning is the only European scientist chosen to be part of the NASA science team looking for life on Mars. She is one of 21 geologists, astrobiologists and engineers developing scientific concepts and rover design for the astrobiology field laboratory mission to Mars in 2013. "A combination of... view more... (2004-02-23)
Aussies plan for Mars weather forecasts
A team of Australian astronomers have developed a way of forecasting the weather on Mars - without putting their toes in space and created beautiful images of our neighbouring planet. view more (2004-09-09)
Marsquake detection sensors will take search for water underground
Researchers at Imperial College London have just begun a 5-year project to design and build tiny earthquake measuring devices to go to Mars on the 2007 NetLander mission. Unlike the instruments on next year`s European Mars Express/Beagle II mission, the Marsquake sensors will be the first to look deep inside the planet. The internal structure of... view more... (2002-05-30)
Can Biosensors Find Life On Mars?
Is there life on Mars? Thanks to a £60k grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), a team from Cranfield University and the University of Leicester will try and find the answer. The team, led by Dr David Cullen from Cranfield's Biotechnology Centre and Dr Mark Sims at the Space Research Centre at the... view more... (2001-11-27)
Many characteristics of Mars, including ice, are similar to Earth, paper says
Mars gets as far as 250 million miles away, but many parts of it closely resemble places on Earth, including its landscape, history of water, soil and even its weather, says a Texas A&M University researcher in the current issue of "Science" magazine. view more (2009-07-06)
NASA images, White Sands features support a wetter Mars
NASA's announcement yesterday of evidence that water still flows on Mars, at least in brief spurts, demonstrates that the view of Mars as a very dry planet should be reevaluated, says Dawn Sumner, professor of geology at UC Davis. Recent work from by Sumner and graduate student Greg Chavdarian also supports the presence of liquid water near the... view more... (2006-12-08)
Beagle 2 Information Note: The Beginning of Beagle 2's Lone Odyssey
Image Advisory: The Beginning of Beagle 2's Lone Odyssey Following the successful separation of the British-built Beagle 2 spacecraft and the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter earlier today, ESA has released the first images of the small lander as it begins its lone voyage to the surface of the Red Planet. The images, taken with the... view more... (2003-12-19)
Claritas Fossae tectonic region on Mars
These Mars Express images show Claritas Fossae, an ancient tectonic region on Mars, west of Solis Planum, a tectonic and volcanic area south-east of the Tharsis volcano group. The images were taken by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on Mars in orbit 68 from an altitude of 271 km. The images are centred at 255.7° East and 30.9°... view more... (2004-03-31)
ESA sets the date for Mars Express launch
Just before midnight on 2 June (23:45 local time, 19:45 CET) a Soyuz rocket operated by Starsem will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and Mars Express will be on its way. The spacecraft was given the green light to launch following completion of a successful flight readiness review on 3 May. The Mars Express launch window opens on 23 May... view more... (2003-05-05)
Possible evidence found for Beagle 2 location
The news that Beagle 2 may have been spotted on the surface of Mars in the immediate vicinity of where it was expected to land was welcomed by the European Space Agency. view more (2005-12-22)
Ferrari red paint passes road test for trip to Mars
The symbol of Ferrari's extraordinary success, its red paint "Rosso Corsa", has been given the green light to go into space, as it was declared officially 'space qualified' at a formal ceremony held today at Interspace in Toulouse, France. A specially constructed glass globe, known as FRED, containing the sample of paint, was then... view more... (2002-09-18)
Methane doesn't necessarily mean life on Mars, says Dartmouth study
Two Dartmouth researchers have weighed in on the debate over whether the presence of methane gas on Mars indicates life on the red planet. Mukul Sharma, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, and Chris Oze, a postdoctoral fellow, argue that the Martian methane could have been produced by inorganic processes just as easily as by bacteria. view more (2005-06-08)
Mars Express: no signal from Beagle 2 so far
ESA's Mars Express orbiter made its first attempt to establish contact with the Beagle 2 lander, after the two spacecraft separated on 19 December 2003. The orbiter made its first pass over the Beagle 2 landing site today at 13:13 CET, but could not pick up any signal from the tiny lander. More attempts to contact Beagle 2 are planned in the... view more... (2004-01-07)
Mars Sample Return: bridging robotic and human exploration
The first robotic mission to return samples to Earth from Mars took a further step toward realisation with the recent publication of a mission design report by the iMARS Working Group. The report defines key elements of the future internationally-funded mission involving the cooperation of ESA, NASA and other national agencies. view more (2008-07-23)
No place for life to hide from Mars Express
Of all missions sent to Mars only one, the Viking 26 years ago, has dared to search for life. Its only conclusive result was that finding proof of extraterrestrial life proved to be much harder than expected. Second attempts never followed. Until now. ESA`s Mars Express, the next mission to the Red Planet and the first European one, has an... view more... (2002-09-03)
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