Mars

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We'll Ride Nuke to Mars: Russia
 We'll Ride Nuke to Mars: Russia 
Oct 30, 2009 12:33 PM CDT

We'll Ride Nuke to Mars: Russia

Space program plans elusive nuclear spaceship by 2012

(Newser) - The Russians are planning to ride a $600 million nuclear-powered spaceship to Mars, and they say they may begin construction by 2012. “It’s a very serious project, and we need to find the money,” president Dmitry Medvedev says. Small nuclear reactors and batteries have long powered satellites,...

Send Astronauts to Mars —and Leave Them There

Why a one-way ticket is the best way to the red planet

(Newser) - The most feasible way to get humans on Mars is to offer retirement-age astronauts one-way tickets to live out their last days on the red planet. Say what? It's not as crazy as it sounds, writes scientist Lawrence Krauss in the New York Times, who believes his plan would solve...

NASA Cooks Up New Chow for Mars Mission

(Newser) - Of all the hurdles NASA must overcome in order to reach its goal of getting humans to Mars by 2030, keeping the astronauts fed may be one of the most challenging, the Los Angeles Times reports. The agency’s food scientist must devise meals that are light and nutritious and...

Forget Space, Fix Earth Instead
 Forget Space, Fix Earth Instead 
OPINION
Jul 20, 2009 2:45 PM CDT

Forget Space, Fix Earth Instead

Pareene asks why bother 'getting Americans boldly from one place to another place?'

(Newser) - On today’s 40th anniversary of the moon landing, President Obama should again show bravery and determination by not indulging in more space exploration, Alex Pareene urges for Gawker. NASA has $100 billion earmarked to replace the shuttles, in order to do what? Go “back to the damn moon,...

'Giant Leap' Was a 'Knee in NASA's Groin'
 'Giant Leap' Was a 
 'Knee in NASA's Groin'
OPINION
Jul 19, 2009 11:00 AM CDT

'Giant Leap' Was a 'Knee in NASA's Groin'

Ever since 1969, hope for a 'bridge to the stars' has faded

(Newser) - The US took a “giant leap” landing on the moon in 1969, but NASA's greatest moment of triumph was also "a real knee in the groin" for the space agency, writes Tom Wolfe in the New York Times. At the time, we thought we’d build “a...

Buzz: Forget Moon, Let's Go to Mars
 Buzz: Forget 
 Moon, Let's 
 Go to Mars 
OPINION
Jul 16, 2009 1:26 AM CDT

Buzz: Forget Moon, Let's Go to Mars

(Newser) - America should boldly turn its space program toward colonizing Mars instead of trying to retrace the dusty footprints that he and Neil Armstrong made on the Moon 40 years ago, Buzz Aldrin writes in the Washington Post on the anniversary of Apollo 11's launch. NASA's attempt to resume lunar exploration...

New Images May Show Ancient Martian Lake

(Newser) - New images suggest Mars had a sizable lake on its surface billions of years ago, further evidence that the planet had a watery past. Images snapped by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal a 30-mile-long canyon where water once flowed and beach remnants surrounding a basin. Dubbed the Shalbatana lake for...

Ladies, Mars Wants You to Have a Fling

'Naughty' new candy bar has really, really, really suggestive ads

(Newser) - Mars has introduced its first new candy bar in 20 years—and a racy marketing campaign to go along with it, NPR reports. The Fling is a "chocolate finger" of meringue and truffle painted with a "shimmering" chocolate coating, and both the 85-calorie size and the very pink,...

UFO Watchers Abuzz Over Mars 'Skull'

(Newser) - UFO watchers are speculating online that a NASA image of a Martian landscape may show an alien skull, reports the Telegraph. "There appears to be a narrow pointed small mouth, so this creature most likely is a carnivore," noted one. An image that looked surprisingly like a skull...

Mock Mars Mission Blasts Off
 Mock Mars Mission Blasts Off 
Mar 31, 2009 12:26 PM CDT

Mock Mars Mission Blasts Off

Experimenters will spend 105 days locked in fake spaceship

(Newser) - Europe launched its first shot at a manned mission to the Red Planet today—by locking six scientists in a tiny capsule in Moscow for 105 days to simulate the voyage, the BBC reports. The volunteers, who can leave the experiment but score $20000 if they make it, will perform...

NASA to Reboot Mars Orbiter
 NASA to Reboot Mars Orbiter 
Mar 5, 2009 1:59 PM CST

NASA to Reboot Mars Orbiter

Orbiter's systems vulnerable to space radiation exposure

(Newser) - The Odyssey, NASA’s Mars orbiter, must reboot its computer systems, a risky move necessary to ensure continued functionality, Space.com reports. The reboot, slated for next week, should clear out the damaging effects of continued exposure to space radiation on the Odyssey’s memory system. The orbiter’s last...

NASA Rover on Strike
 NASA Rover on Strike 
Jan 29, 2009 3:49 AM CST

NASA Rover on Strike

Mars Spirit fails to report for work

(Newser) - NASA engineers are perplexed by a rebellious streak that has developed in its Martian roving robot, Spirit. It was expected to last just 90 days when it landed on Mars five years ago, but the robot has continued to send back data. This past weekend, however, Spirit failed to report...

Leave Space to Robots
 Leave Space to Robots
OPINION
Jan 24, 2009 2:58 AM CST

Leave Space to Robots

President Obama would be well-served by removing costly manned exploration goals

(Newser) - Barack Obama is poised to chart a new direction for America’s exploration of the final frontier, writes the Economist. While George W. Bush supported continuing manned space exploration in the tradition of the previous century, Obama is considering scrapping some of NASA’s planned upgrades to the space shuttle...

Methane Hints at Life on Mars
 Methane Hints at Life on Mars 
Jan 15, 2009 4:38 PM CST

Methane Hints at Life on Mars

Gas released in high concentrations could be from bacteria

(Newser) - The discovery of high methane concentrations on Mars may hint that underground life exists on the red planet, the Houston Chronicle reports. Scientists funded by NASA and other institutions, using Earth-based telescopes, have found plumes of methane in such high concentrations they believe bacteria, which can also produce the gas...

Built for 90 Days, Mars Rovers Mark 5 Years

Spirit, Opportunity brave adversity, and they're not done yet

(Newser) - NASA’s twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity are celebrating their fifth birthdays on Mars after surviving more than 20 times their expected lifespan, Space.com reports. The two probes were each built for a 90-day trek across the Red Planet but have survived computer glitches and blistering weather conditions. “...

New Rover Won't Hit Mars Until 2011

(Newser) - NASA is delaying the launch of its next Mars rover, which is significantly larger and more complex than previous models, until 2011, Space.com reports. The Mars Science Laboratory was set to arrive on the red planet next year, but problems with crucial mechanical components mean it will miss its...

Mars Lander Falls Silent
 Mars Lander Falls Silent 
Nov 10, 2008 5:11 PM CST

Mars Lander Falls Silent

Phoenix lacks the solar power to continue its mission

(Newser) - The Martian autumn has cut power to NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, ending its mission of scientific discovery, NASA reports. As anticipated, shorter days and increasingly overcast skies are preventing sufficient solar energy from reaching the lander’s power cells. It has already collected data for 2 months longer than...

It's Snowing on Mars
 It's Snowing on Mars 
Sep 30, 2008 4:27 AM CDT

It's Snowing on Mars

Phoenix lander can't tell whether wet stuff is reaching ground

(Newser) - Snow has been falling nightly in the Mars atmosphere for about a month now, giving scientists more reason to believe that life may have once existed in the red planet's polar regions. Lasers onboard the Phoenix lander have tracked icy snow falling for a mile from clouds drifting 2.5...

Kraft, Mars, Cadbury Hit by Chinese Tainting Scandal

Melamine concerns prompt recall, probe

(Newser) - Kraft and Mars are investigating claims by the Indonesian government that products including Oreos, M&Ms, and Snickers imported from China are tainted with melamine, PerthNow reports. The company notes that the products tested melamine-free elsewhere in Asia, and suggests that they could be counterfeit. Still, the firms are supporting...

Mission Accomplished on Mars
 Mission Accomplished on Mars
ANALYSIS
Aug 29, 2008 5:32 PM CDT

Mission Accomplished on Mars

Time is up, but Phoenix keeps digging

(Newser) - Time's almost up for NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander: With its 90-day mission complete, the $480 million project will continue testing soil samples until the punishing winter puts it out of commission. Wired recaps Phoenix triumphs with an interactive timeline, from its flawless landing at Mars' north pole to its groundbreaking...

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