mars missions
Archaeology On Mars: Preserving Artifacts of Our Expansion Into the Solar System
In 1971, the Soviet Mars 3 lander became the first spacecraft to land on Mars, though it only lasted a…
The New Mars Landing Approach: How We’ll Land Large Payloads on the Red Planet
Back in 2007, I talked with Rob Manning, engineer extraordinaire at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he told me something…
Determining the Safest Martian Caves for Future Astronauts
When astronauts land on Mars someday, they might have to live in lava caves or lava tubes to survive the…
Aerocapture is a Free Lunch in Space Exploration
This article was updated on 11/28/23 When spacecraft return to Earth, they don't need to shed all their velocity by…
Europe’s ExoMars Rover Will Likely Miss This Year’s Launch Window Because of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
As countries around the world respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine with sanctions aimed at crippling Moscow and Vladimir Putin,…
UAE’s Mars Hope Team Publishes ‘Mars Atlas’
The United Arab Emirates Space Agency releases a unique comprehensive atlas of the Red Planet.
China’s Mars-bound Tianwen-1 Takes a Selfie
The CNSA (Chinese National Space Agency) has released an image of its Tianwen-1 spacecraft to coincide with the National Day…
Scientists Search for Ancient Fossils in Australia, Practicing the Techniques They’ll Use on Mars
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover is heading to Mars soon to look for fossils. The ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars rover is heading to…
Success! NASA Confirms the Mole is Working Again.
After months of setbacks, NASA says that the InSight Lander's Mole is working again. InSight landed on Mars on Nov.…
You Can Use a Live Webcam to Watch NASA Build the Mars 2020 Rover
NASA's next mission to the surface of Mars is called the 2020 rover (in case you didn't know already.) It's…