Life on Mars 'pregnancy test' successfully launched
Key components of a new approach to discover life on Mars were successfully launched into space Friday as part of a twelve-day, low-Earth orbit experiment to assess their survivability in the space radiation environment-a prelude future journeys to Mars. view more (2007-09-18)
Chronicle of Martian Expedition
A man is the most vulnerable chain in long-term space expedition. How numerous should a crew be? What are the principles of a crew selection? What should be made to protect people during a flight and on some other planet? Scientists from the Institute for Problems of Medicine and Biology are trying to answer these and many other questions. With... view more... (2001-04-20)
Preparing for the Venus Express
The European Space Agency is planning its first mission to unveil the mysteries of Earth`s cloud-shrouded sister planet, Venus. On Wednesday 10 April, Professor Fred Taylor (University of Oxford) will be explaining to the UK National Astronomy Meeting why European scientists are hoping to be on board the Venus Express in 2005. Venus, the Earth`s... view more... (2002-04-03)
Phoenix mission to Mars will search for climate clues
On May 25, 2008, approaching 5 p.m. PDT, NASA scientists will be wondering: Just how green is their valley? That's because at that time the Phoenix Mars Mission space vehicle will be touching down on its three legs to make a soft landing onto the northern Mars terrain called Green Valley. view more (2008-05-23)
Microbes under Greenland Ice may be preview of what scientists find under Mars' surface
A University of California, Berkeley, study of methane-producing bacteria frozen at the bottom of Greenland's two-mile thick ice sheet could help guide scientists searching for similar bacterial life on Mars. view more (2005-12-15)
Life detection instrument passes key test on road to Mars
The dry, dusty, treeless expanse of Chile's Atacama Desert is the most lifeless spot on the face of the Earth, and that's why Alison Skelley and Richard Mathies joined a team of NASA scientists there earlier this month. view more (2005-06-29)
New isotope molecule may add to Venus' greenhouse effect
Planetary scientists on both sides of the Atlantic have tracked down a rare molecule in the atmospheres of both Mars and Venus. The molecule, an exotic form of carbon dioxide, could affect the way the greenhouse mechanism works on Venus. view more (2007-10-11)
Space radiation threats to astronauts addressed in federal research study
A better understanding of solar storms and how best to protect astronauts from space radiation is needed as NASA pushes toward manned missions to the moon and Mars in the coming decades, according to a new National Research Council report. view more (2006-10-26)
Ice clouds put Mars in the shade
Until now, Mars has generally been regarded as a desert world, where a visiting astronaut would be surprised to see clouds scudding across the orange sky. However, new results show that the arid planet possesses high-level clouds that are sufficiently dense to cast a shadow on the surface. view more (2008-01-17)
Setting stars reveal planetary secrets
Watching the stars set from the surface of the Earth may be a romantic pastime but when a spacecraft does it from orbit, it can reveal hidden details about a planet's atmosphere. view more (2007-11-06)
Phoenix Mars mission spacecraft lands at Kennedy Space Center
A U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft carried NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft Monday, May 7, from Colorado to Florida, where Phoenix will start a much longer trip in August. view more (2007-05-09)
Hundreds of auroras detected on Mars
Auroras similar to Earth's Northern Lights appear to be common on Mars, according to physicists at the University of California, Berkeley, who have analyzed six years' worth of data from the Mars Global Surveyor. view more (2005-12-13)
Sharp views show ground ice on Mars is patchy and variable
For the first time, scientists have found that water ice lies at variable depths over small-scale patches on the Red Planet. The discovery draws a much more detailed picture of underground ice on Mars than was previously available. The new results appear in the May 3, 2007, issue of the scientific journal Nature. view more (2007-05-03)
Exploring Mars ... from Grenoble
A neutron diffraction experiment carried out recently at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble by the physicists Bachir Ouladdiaf (ILL), Gérard Fillion and Rafik Ballou (Laboratoire Lois Néel, CNRS, GRENOBLE), in partnership with the geophysicists Pierre Rochette (CNRS and Université d'Aix-Marseille) and Lon Hood (University... view more... (2004-03-18)
Relic of life in that Martian meteorite? A fresh look
Since the mid-1990s a great debate has raged over whether organic compounds and tiny globules of carbonate minerals imbedded in the Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 were processed by living creatures from the Red Planet. view more (2006-03-23)
Challenges of landing on alien worlds
Three ESA missions are due to send down robotic `spaceprobes` when they arrive at their alien destinations. Since these craft will be going where no one has gone before, how can scientists be sure what it will be like down there? How do you ensure that your spaceprobe is prepared for anything? Experts take every precaution to ensure that these... view more... (2002-10-10)
Life hitching a ride to Earth: Bugs could travel to Earth in comfort aboard Martian meteorites
FOR the first time, millions of bacterial spores have been purposely exposed to outer space, to see how they are affected by solar radiation. The results support the idea that life could have arrived on Earth in the form of bacteria carried from Mars on meteorites. The idea that life started... view more... (2002-01-09)
Gullies on Mars show tantalizing signs of recent water activity
Planetary geologists at Brown University have found a gully fan system on Mars that formed about 1.25 million years ago. The fan offers compelling evidence that it was formed by melt water that originated in nearby snow and ice deposits and may stand as the most recent period when water flowed on the planet. view more (2009-03-02)
Rim of Crater Huygens on Mars
These images, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, show the eastern rim of the Martian impact crater Huygens. view more (2004-10-19)
UI's Gurnett finds 'lumpy' ionosphere, glimpses of the subsurface of Mars
University of Iowa Space Physicist Don Gurnett and his UI colleagues report that a scientific instrument aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft is working perfectly and that its data have so far revealed that Mars' ionosphere - part of the upper atmosphere - is very lumpy and complex, and that the instrument can... view more... (2005-12-01)
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