NASA’s expensive Mars exploration Curiosity rover is finally doing what it was created to do: rove. Following a successful wheel test, the probe moved forward. Photo Gallery: Curiosity Rover Makes First Tracks on Mars article tells that Curiosity beamed back some incredible images of its tracks, which tell scientists that the soil is firm, great for mobility, and won’t cause the rover to sink much. Curiosity also pulled out its big scientific guns, firing a laser beam at several rocks in the vicinity.
Yes, the Mars rover cost $2bn – but it’s far from a waste of money. Landing Curiosity on Mars was Way Harder and Way Less Expensive than the Olympics. Curiosity rover is about the size of a small SUV and weighs almost 900 kg. It uses scoops, cameras, drills, a powerful rock-vaporizing infrared laser, and 75 kilograms of scientific instruments to perform its investigation. Curiosity is very much based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. Wind River’s VxWorks real-time operating system serves as the software platform for all functionality. Seeing the successful commencement of the Curiosity mission – powered by COTS – is certainly a cause for celebration amongst engineers.
Plan Make Your Own LEGO Curiosity Rover for fun? Stephen Pakbaz designed a custom Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory Rover set, complete with PDF build instructions and parts lists. LEGO Cusoo pages have another model of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, named Curiosity designed by a Mechanical Engineer who worked on the actual Curiosity. A LEGO Digital Designer model and step-by-step .pdf instructions of the Curiosity rover are now freely available.
Rovio sticks some Martian action into Angry Birds Space and has released the following funny advertisement video that features Curiosity rover and Angry Birds.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/14/nasa-taps-lockheed-to-bring-back-a-piece-of-mars/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/15/martian-wheel-control-algorithms-gain-traction/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://boingboing.net/2022/02/25/mars-perseverance-rover-captured-this-image-of-a-metal-drill-bit-lying-on-the-planets-surface.html?utm_content=bufferb27f5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Mars lost its magnetic field — and then its oceans
https://bigthink.com/hard-science/mars-lost-oceans-magnetic-field/
Chemical changes inside Mars’ core caused it to lose its magnetic field. This, in turn, caused it to lose its oceans. But how?
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://newatlas.com/space/exomars-rover-mission-delay-esa-russia-ukraine-war/
Tomi Engdahl says:
European Space Agency suspends Mars rover launch on Russian rocket
By Tereza Pultarova published about 13 hours ago
https://www.space.com/europe-suspends-exomars-mars-rover-launch-russia
The ExoMars rover’s launch, already delayed from 2018, was scheduled for September 2022.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/space/perseverance-reveals-the-speed-of-sound-on-mars/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microphone on Mars rover ‘reveals two speeds of sound’
https://www.avinteractive.com/markets/public-sector-and-defence/microphone-mars-rover-reveals-two-speeds-sound-06-04-2022/
A microphone on a SuperCam on a NASA Mars rover has been used to measure variations in the speed of sound by frequency in the thin Martian atmosphere.
Scientists found that the speed of sound on Mars varies with pitch (or frequency). On Earth, sounds typically travels at 767 mph (343 metres per second). But on Mars, low-pitched sounds travel at about 537mph (240 metres per second) while higher-pitched sounds move at 559 mph (250 meters per second).
Another effect of the thin atmosphere that was uncovered was that sounds only carry a short distance on Mars and higher-pitched tones hardly carry at all. On Earth, sound might drop off after about 213 feet (65 metres). But on Mars, sound falters at just 26 feet (8 metres) with high-pitched sound lost completely at that distance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sound on Mars Has a ‘Unique’ And Extremely Trippy Property, Recordings Reveal
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dyp9pa/sound-on-mars-has-a-unique-and-extremely-trippy-property-recordings-reveal?utm_medium=social&utm_source=vice_facebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/04/11/mothballing-rosalind-how-to-put-a-space-mission-in-storage/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/05/12/can-you-help-nasa-build-a-mars-sim-in-vr/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Perseverance Found Some Unexpected Trash On Mars
A fragment of its descent module was spotted far away from the landing site, with no clear idea of how it got there.
https://www.iflscience.com/perseverance-found-some-unexpected-trash-on-mars-64087
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mars probe running Windows 98 receives software update after two decades
By Will McCurdy published about 9 hours ago
Windows 98 lives on in space
https://www.techradar.com/news/mars-probe-running-windows-98-receives-software-update-after-two-decades
Patch management for the latest versions of Windows might the concern of most of us located here on Earth, but meanwhile, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft has received the first update to its Window 98-based system in 19 years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Mars Express spacecraft is finally getting a Windows 98 upgrade https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/24/23181715/mars-express-marsis-windows-98-upgrade-esa
n Engineers at the European Space Agency (ESA) are getting ready for a Windows 98 upgrade on an orbiter circling Mars.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/mars-orbiter-is-about-to-upgrade-from-windows-98-64225
Tomi Engdahl says:
Do Martians Love Spaghetti? New Image From Perseverance Has People Speculating
Let us eat the mysterious Italian debris.
https://www.iflscience.com/new-image-from-perseverance-has-people-speculating-if-there-are-italians-on-mars-64480
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/10/28/mini-mars-rover-runs-on-pi-pico-w/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Onko tässä Nasan Mars-laskeutujan viimeinen kuva? Koskettava päivitys sai monet kyyneliin https://www.is.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000009279096.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Perseverance Has Dropped Its First Sample Cannister On The Martian Soil
This is the first of several drop-offs that will one day be taken back to Earth.
https://www.iflscience.com/perseverance-has-dropped-its-first-sample-cannister-on-the-martian-soil-66780
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/04/18/nasas-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-completes-50th-flight/
Tomi Engdahl says:
You think patching Windows is a pain? Try patching a Mars rover millions of miles away
Just uploading the patch alone took 10 days.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/you-think-patching-windows-is-a-pain-try-patching-a-mars-rover-142-million-miles-away/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/02/nasas-curiosity-mars-rover-gets-a-major-software-upgrade/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Simulated ET To Phone Home From Mars This Afternoon
https://hackaday.com/2023/05/24/simulated-et-to-phone-home-from-mars-this-afternoon/
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA MARS ROVER APPEARS TO HAVE FOUND REMNANTS OF ANCIENT RAGING RIVER
https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-rover-ancient-raging-river
Tomi Engdahl says:
SCIENTISTS DETECT RADIOACTIVE HEAT SOURCE INSIDE MARS
https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-detect-radioactive-heat-source-inside-mars
THE PLANET IS COVERED IN A SURPRISINGLY THICK ARMOR.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-mars-rock-hole-donut
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-helicopter-contact-loss
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/08/07/when-the-sojourner-mars-rover-nearly-ran-lisp/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/we-may-have-found-life-on-mars-50-years-ago-then-killed-it-70279?fbclid=IwAR3PQ2B6v9nV_J72zg9PaQt4tbCDkbXw-VSs8X1u72I15nXmnRnVYV-mxOo
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/14/rocker-bogie-suspension-the-beloved-solution-to-extra-planetary-rovers/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This could be more evidence of water (and life) on Mars.
CHINA’S MARS ROVER DETECTED POLYGONS UNDER THE PLANET’S SURFACE
https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-mars-polygons
THIS COULD BE MORE EVIDENCE OF WATER (AND LIFE) ON MARS.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Transitions Into Stationary Testbed
https://hackaday.com/2024/04/19/nasas-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-transitions-into-stationary-testbed/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vast reservoirs found on Mars, scientists say
https://www.independent.co.uk/space/mars-water-life-reservoirs-liquid-b2595279.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3hZpuHwzlv2QrqehmPRyZSISK3ccU4ga6didsgYS1M47tkrWA4HOhUVWs_aem_U394uwzfspHStFOuNhXjwA#Echobox=1723489921
There appear to be huge reservoirs under Mars, scientists have said.
Evidence suggests that there are vast lakes of liquid water under the surface of the red planet, according to a new study.
There could be enough water in the underground reservoirs to create oceans on the surface of Mars, the researchers suggest.
But the experts say the reservoir is unlikely to be of much use to anyone trying to tap into it to supply a future Mars colony.
It is located in tiny cracks and pores in rock in the middle of the Martian crust, between 11.5 and 20 kilometres below the surface. Even on Earth, drilling a hole a kilometre deep is a challenge.
Scientists on Earth have sent many probes and landers to Mars to find out what happened to the water that was on the planet some three billion years ago, as well as when it happened and whether life exists or used to exist on the planet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Marsista löytyi vettä
Löydös on merkittävä, sillä planeetta on ollut aavikon peittämä jo kolmen miljardin vuoden ajan.
https://www.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/a/e788dc1d-2bef-4ace-ae84-61bf6c3568f2
Tutkijat ovat löytäneet vettä syvältä Marsin kivikuoresta, uutisoi BBC. Löydöstä havainnollistava data on saatu Nasan vuonna 2018 planeetalle laskeutuneelta Insight -laskeutuja-alukselta.
Reservoir of liquid water found deep in Martian rocks
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxl849j77ko
Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars – deep in the rocky outer crust of the planet.
The findings come from a new analysis of data from Nasa’s Mars Insight Lander, which touched down on the planet back in 2018.
The lander carried a seismometer, which recorded four years’ of vibrations – Mars quakes – from deep inside the Red Planet.
Analysing those quakes – and exactly how the planet moves – revealed “seismic signals” of liquid water.
While there is water frozen at the Martian poles and evidence of vapour in the atmosphere, this is the first time liquid water has been found on the planet.
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Insight’s scientific mission ended in December 2022, after the lander sat quietly listening to “the pulse of Mars” for four years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
OUT OF THIS WORLD: Elon Musk has confirmed that SpaceX’s Starship will travel to Mars by the end of 2026, carrying Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, with it. If all goes well, Musk says, humans could reach the red planet by 2031. https://trib.al/bet2xOz
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tekoäly otti ohjat Marsissa – Perseverance-mönkijä ajeli itsenäisesti
Teknologia|Persevarancen päivittäisiä ajeluita ovat lähes viisi vuotta suunnitelleet ihmiset. Nyt on saatu apulaisia.
https://www.hs.fi/tiede/art-2000011793952.html
Lue tiivistelmä
Tekoäly suunnitteli Mars-mönkijä Perseverancen päiväreitit itsenäisesti joulukuussa yli 300 miljoonan kilometrin päässä Maasta.
Yhdysvaltain avaruushallinto Nasan Jet Propulsion -laboratorio toteutti kokeilun Anthropic-yhtiön tekoälymallilla.
Perseverancen päivittäisiä reittejä ovat tähän asti suunnitelleet ihmiset, mutta tekoäly voi helpottaa työtä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1At3pyxzLP/
Perseverance collected the samples. Congress just decided they’re not worth bringing home.
NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission — arguably the most ambitious planetary science project ever planned — is effectively dead. A spending bill approved by U.S. Congress explicitly states it “does not support the existing Mars Sample Return program,” cutting nearly all funding and redirecting just $110 million toward generic future Mars technologies.
This isn’t a pause. It’s a cancellation of a mission decades in the making. The Perseverance rover has already done its part, carefully collecting 33 sample tubes from Jezero Crater — a site chosen precisely because it once held a lake that could have supported microbial life. One rock, called Cheyava Falls, contains iron-rich minerals that on Earth are almost always associated with ancient biological activity. Those tubes are now sitting on Mars with no ride home.
The mission’s cost — originally ballooning to $11 billion before being redesigned down to roughly $6–7 billion — made it a political target. But the scientific loss is enormous. These are the most carefully selected extraterrestrial samples ever gathered, and they may contain the first direct evidence of life beyond Earth.
Meanwhile, China’s Tianwen-3 mission is on track to launch in 2028 and return its own Martian samples by 2031. It will collect fewer samples from a less scientifically promising site, but it will get there. If this is a race, the U.S. just stepped off the track.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-sample-return/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-mars-sample-return-is-dead-paving-the-way-for-china
Tomi Engdahl says:
Martian Fatty Acids
NASA Running Out of Non-Life Explanations for What Its Rover Found on Mars
Yet another tantalizing clue.
https://futurism.com/space/nasa-biological-explanations-rover-mars?fbclid=IwVERDUAQDkn5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR6wz5QJhR3Cps126DGXm53hi5GBCWLc_jGLUv3n25mU19uAmXUZvnNawXj4qg_aem_htr3bwtvguCOqpCiuhaSRw
Last year, NASA’s Curiosity rover made a fascinating discovery after boring into a suspected ancient lake bed on Mars: long-chain organic molecules, called alkanes, that could serve as a potential chemical relic of ancient life on the Red Planet.
The molecules, researchers suggested at the time, could have derived from fatty acids, which are common building blocks of cell membranes on Earth, once again strengthening the case that Mars could’ve been teeming with life billions of years ago.
In a paper published in the journal Astrobiology last week, a team led by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Alexander Pavlov argues that the presence of these molecules — despite the millions of years of destructive radiation that pummeled the Martian surface after it lost much of its atmosphere — “cannot be readily explained” by non-biological processes alone.
One theory is that carbon-rich dust particles and meteorites could have deposited these long-chain organic molecules on the surface, with the ancient Martian atmosphere allowing the organics to accumulate billions of years ago.
biological processes like the ones observed on Earth are still a leading theory, even after researchers’ best efforts to find a non-life explanation.
“We argue that such high concentrations of long-chain alkanes are inconsistent with a few known abiotic sources of organic molecules on ancient Mars,” they wrote.
“We agree with Carl Sagan’s claim that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and understand that any purported detection of life on Mars will necessarily be met with intense scrutiny,”