An amazing video by NASA titled “Curiosity at Martian Scenic Overlook”. Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada gives a descriptive tour of the Mars rover’s view in Gale Crater which is 154 kilometers (96 miles) in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5-3.8 billion years old. It is created by an impactor. The crater is also …
Category Archives: Mars
How Space Exploration Has Changed from 2000 to 2020
From an all-female spacewalk to the first image of a black hole, a lot has changed in the last twenty years of space exploration. Here’s how space exploration has changed from 2000 to 2020.
Why Mars is cold despite an atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide
The recipe for the temperature of a planet’s surface has four major ingredients: atmospheric composition, atmospheric density, water content (from oceans, rivers, and air humidity) and distance from the Sun. There are other ingredients, including seasonal effects or the presence of a magnetosphere, but these work more like adding flavour to a cake. Paulo de …
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Curiosity’s new selfie & Mars 2020 stands on its six wheels
On October 24, 2019, NASA has published a new selfie of the Curiosity Mars Rover, which was taken on October 11, the 2,553rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission. The space agency has also announced that Curiosity’s successor, the Mars 2020 Rover now stands on its own six wheels.
NASA’s AMA (Ask Me Anything) about Van Allen Probes
On October 18, 2019, NASA held an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit. Scientists from the space agency answered questions about Van Allen Probes, two robotic spacecraft that were used to study the Van Allen radiation belts that surround planet Earth.
What Earth’s changing climate can teach us about altering the surface of Mars
In a rare instance of environmental success, the United Nations has just announced it believes the damage to the Earth’s protective ozone layer will be fully restored by the year 2050. This stands in stark contrast to the increasing alarm over the climate emergency, caused by an increasing greenhouse effect. Gareth Dorrian, University of Birmingham …
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Moon landing anniversary: One small step for man… a giant leap for space robots
Apollo 11’s successful mission 50 years ago was the turning point in the space industry. It is comparable to the Wright brothers‘ flight in 1903 that marked the beginning of the aviation industry and James Watt’s invention of the steam engine, the landmark of the industrialization era. The first step on the lunar surface is …
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Space exploration is still the brightest hope-bringer we have
I am one of the few African-American aerospace engineers who helped design the Apollo spaceships that took men to the Moon. My great-grandfather was a slave in Claiborne, Alabama, who used primitive tools to work the land. My father was born in Alabama before the Wright brothers made mankind’s first flight. He lived to see …
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Fly over Mount Sharp on Mars with this NASA video
NASA has published a video showing Curiosity Rover‘s (Mars Science Laboratory) proposed route on Mars’ Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons), a mountain rising 5.5 km (18,000 ft) high from the valley floor. The animated video shows what it would be like to soar over Mount Sharp, officially Aeolis Mons, which the Curiosity has been climbing since …
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InSight captures a sunrise, sunset, and clouds on Mars
NASA’s Mars InSight lander captured a series of sunrise, sunset, and clouds images. On April 24 and 25, 2019 (the 145th Martian day, or sol, of the mission), Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC) on the spacecraft’s robotic arm captured sunrise and sunsets. Another camera, called Instrument Context Camera (ICC) beneath the lander’s deck captured drifting clouds …
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