Posted on by Matt Williams

Planetary Scientists Have Chosen a Few Landing Sites for the Mars 2020 Rover

One solution could be to have the Mars 2020 rover drive from one potential landing site toward another favorite. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In the summer of 2020, NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will launch from Cape Canaveral and commence its journey towards the Red Planet. Once it arrives on the Martian surface, the rover will begin building on the foundation established by the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. This will include collecting samples of Martian soil to learn more about the planet’s past and determine if life ever existed there (and still does).

Up until now, though, NASA has been uncertain as to where the rover will be landing. For the past few years, the choice has been narrowed down to three approved sites, with a fourth added earlier this year for good measure. And after three days of intense debate at the recent fourth Landing Site Workshop, scientists from NASA’s Mars Exploration Program held a non-binding vote that has brought them closer to selecting a landing site.

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Posted on by Matt Williams

How Science Journalism Helped Me Become a Better Sci-Fi Writer

Hello all. I hope our readers don’t mind that I’m taking a bit of a diversion here today to engage in a little shameless self-promotion. Basically, I wanted to talk about my recently-published novel – The Jovian Manifesto. This book is the sequel to The Cronian Incident, which was published last year (and was a little  shamelessly promoted at the time).

However, I also wanted to take this opportunity to talk about hard science fiction and how writing for a science publication helped me grow as a writer. By definition, hard sci-fi refers to stories where scientific accuracy is emphasized. This essentially means that the technology in the story conforms to established science and/or what is believed to be feasible in the future.

So when I set out to write The Cronian Incident, I wanted it to be as realistic as possible, both in terms of technology and setting. Many of the ideas I came up with, and much of the material I drew from, was inspired from my work here at Universe Today. Since I joined the team in 2010 and became a regular member in 2014, I’ve had the chance to write about space-related news, as well as exciting research and scientific breakthroughs.

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Posted on by Evan Gough

There’s a Funny Cloud on Mars, Perched Right at the Arsia Mons Volcano. Don’t Get Too Excited, Though, it’s not an Eruption

A funny cloud on Mars. The ESA' Mars Express orbiter captured this image of an elongated cloud forming near the Arsia Mons volcano at the Martian equator. Image: ESA/Mars Express
A funny cloud on Mars. The ESA' Mars Express orbiter captured this image of an elongated cloud forming near the Arsia Mons volcano at the Martian equator. Image: ESA/Mars Express

The ESA’s Mars Express orbiter has spotted a funny cloud on Mars, right near the Arsia Mons Volcano. At first glance it looks like a plume coming out of the volcano. But it’s formation is not related to any internal activity in this long-dead volcano. It’s a cloud of water ice known as an orographic or lee cloud.

The cloud isn’t linked to any volcanic activity, but its formation is associated with the form and altitude of Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons is a dormant volcano, with scientists putting its last eruptive activity at 10 mya. This isn’t the first time this type of cloud has been seen hovering around Arsia Mons.

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Posted on by Matt Williams

There Might be Enough Oxygen Below the Surface of Mars to Support Life

Artist's impression of water under the Martian surface. Credit: ESA/Medialab

The possibility that life could exist on Mars has captured the imagination of researchers, scientists and writers for over a century. Ever since Giovanni Schiaparelli (and later, Percival Lowell) spotted what they believed were “Martian Canals” in the 19th century, humans have dreamed of one day sending emissaries to the Red Planet in the hopes of finding a civilization and meeting the native Martians.

While the Mariner and Viking programs of the 1960s and 70s shattered the notion of a Martian civilization, multiple lines of evidence have since emerged that indicate how life could have once existed on Mars. Thanks to a new study, which indicates that Mars may have enough oxygen gas locked away beneath its surface to support aerobic organisms, the theory that life could still exist there has been given another boost.

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Posted on by Matt Williams

Plans for a Modular Martian Base that Would Provide its own Radiation Shielding

Artist's impression of the spherical space ship core that would transport modular bases to Mars. Credit: Marco Peroni Ingegneria

The idea of exploring and colonizing Mars has never been more alive than it is today. Within the next two decades, there are multiple plans to send crewed missions to the Red Planet, and even some highly ambitious plans to begin building a permanent settlement there. Despite the enthusiasm, there are many significant challenges that need to be addressed before any such endeavors can be attempted.

These challenges – which include the effects of low-gravity on the human body, radiation, and the psychological toll of being away from Earth – become all the more pronounced when dealing with permanent bases. To address this, civil engineer Marco Peroni offers a proposal for a  modular Martian base (and a spacecraft to deliver it) that would allow for the colonization of Mars while protecting its inhabitants with artificial radiation shielding.

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Posted on by Matt Williams

Now You Can Buy Fake Mars Dirt for $20/Kilogram. Obviously You’ll Want to Know if Potatoes Can Grow in it

A team of astrophysicists have developed a way to create Martian soil simulants, and are selling it for $20 a kilo. Credit: UCF

When it comes time to begin conducting regular crewed missions to Mars, and perhaps even establishing a permanent outpost there, astronauts and potential Martian settlers will have to know how to work with the local environment. Remember that scene in The Martian where astronaut Mark Whatney (Matt Damon) is forced to grow his own food in a plot of Martian soil? Well, it will be much like that, except with a lot more mouths to feed.

Naturally, knowing if this can be done requires a great deal of research and experimentation. To assist these efforts, a team of astrophysicists from the University of Central Florida (UCF) recently developed a scientifically based, standardized method for creating Martian and asteroid soil simulants. This imitation Martian dirt, which goes for $20 a kilogram (about $10 a pound), will help researchers determine what it takes to grow crops on the Red Planet.

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Posted on by Evan Gough

A Tiny Motor on Curiosity was one of the First Instruments to Notice the Global Martian Dust Storm

A tiny electric motor on the Curiosity rover was one of the first instruments to notice a global Martian dust storm. The storm completely obscured the surface of Mars. Images from May 28 and July 1. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
A tiny electric motor on the Curiosity rover was one of the first instruments to notice a global Martian dust storm. The storm completely obscured the surface of Mars. Images from May 28 and July 1. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

A tiny electric motor on the Curiosity rover played a role in identifying a global Martian dust storm. The storm completely enveloped the planet between May and July, 2018. It was the biggest storm since 2007.

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Posted on by Matt Williams

NASA Spots Opportunity as the Dust Storm Clears. Still No Word From Her Though

NASA's Opportunity rover appears as a blip in the center of this square. This image taken by HiRISE, a high-resolution camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the dust storm over Perseverance Valley has substantially cleared. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

A new image produced by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has located the Opportunity rover on Mars. As expected, the rover was spotted on the  slopes of the Perseverance Valley, where it went into hibernation mode about 100 days ago when the planet-covering dust storm darkened skies above the region.

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Posted on by Evan Gough

Astronauts Could Use the ScanMars Device to Search for Water on Mars

Analogue astronauts have tested a ground-penetrating radar named ScanMars at a Mar-like area in Oman. Image: OEWF – Austrian Space Forum
Analogue astronauts have tested a ground-penetrating radar named ScanMars at a Mar-like area in Oman. Image: OEWF – Austrian Space Forum

There’s solid evidence for the existence of water on Mars, at least in frozen form at the planet’s poles. And a more recent study confirms the existence of liquid water at the south pole. But visitors to Mars will need to know the exact location of usable water deposits at other Martian locations. A ground-penetrating radar called ScanMars may be up to the task.

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Posted on by Matt Williams

Was This Huge River Delta on Mars the Place Where its Oceans Finally Disappeared?

NASA image of the Martian surface, showing a rock formation that was the result of interactions with water. Credit: NASA.

For some time, scientists have known that Mars was once a much warmer and wetter environment than it is today. However, between 4.2 and 3.7 billion years ago, its atmosphere was slowly stripped away, which turned the surface into the cold and desiccated place we know today. Even after multiple missions have confirmed the presence of ancient lake beds and rivers, there are still unanswered questions about how much water Mars once had.

One of the most important unanswered questions is whether or not large seas or an ocean ever existed in the northern lowlands. According to a new study by an international team of scientists, the Hypanis Valles ancient river system is actually the remains of a river delta. The presence of this geological feature is an indication that this river system once emptied into an ancient Martian sea in Mars’ northern hemisphere.

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