Johns Hopkins University (JHU) continues to pad its space community résumé with their interactive map, “The map of the observable Universe”, that takes viewers on a 13.7-billion-year-old tour of the cosmos from the present to the moments after the Big Bang. While JHU is responsible for creating the site, additional contributions were made by NASA, the European Space Agency, the National Science Foundation, and the Sloan Foundation.
We begin the new Outward Bound series by discussing the Colonization of Mars, and survey all the colonizing and terraforming options from the early settlement days to the far future and a Green Mars. We will also look at alternatives to terraforming which might make more sense for Mars, like bioforming the people to the environment, rather than terraforming it to our environment. Visit our Website: Join the Facebook Group: Support the Channel on Patreon: Visit the sub-reddit: Listen or Download the audio of this episode from Soundcloud: Cover Art by Jakub Grygier: Graphics Team: Edward Nardella Jarred Eagley Justin Dixon Katie Byrne Kris Holland of Mafic Stufios: www.maficstudios.com Misho Yordanov Murat Mamkegh Pierre Demet Sergio Botero Stefan Blandin Script Editing: Andy Popescu Connor Hogan Edward Nardella Eustratius Graham Gregory Leal Jefferson Eagley Luca de Rosa Mark Warburton Michael Gusevsky Mitch Armstrong MolbOrg Naomi Kern Philip Baldock Sigmund Kopperud Steve Cardon Tiffany Penner Music: Markus Junnikkala, "Hail the Victorious Dead" Dan McLeod, "Vacuum" AJ Prasad, "Staring Through" Markus Junnikkala, "A Memory of Earth" Caption author (Korean) 신동화
What happens if Elon Musk's plans don't work out as promised? Is colonizing Mars a dead concept without Starship? Well, NASA and others have been planning to colonize Mars for some time. Here's the fundamentals of their plan! #mars #nasa #marsmission Please support my Channel!! DISCORD MEMBERSHIP, EXCLUSIVE CONTENT AND EARLY RELEASES PLUS 15% OFF MERCH! Support the Angry Astronnaut on patreon Support the angry astronaut with cash app Support the Angry Astronnaut on Pay Pal Follow me on twitter PLEASE SUPPORT: Mars Tharsis Region, Olympus mons, Konrads Kosmos Episode 15 / @fragomatik / @hazegrayart
Recorded live at the 2023 Humans to Mars Summit in Washington D.C. Explore More at Moderator: Dr. Bhavya Lal (NASA | Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy) Dr. Tabitha Dodson (DARPA | DRACO Program Manager) Anthony Calomino (NASA | STMD, Space Nuclear Technology Portfolio Manager)
Some believe Mars is calling humanity to our next home. But the real “red planet” is a trickster, strikingly beautiful yet sweetly sinister. Even as a growing armada of instruments arrives, this small cold world continues to conceal its secrets. Settlers beware; Mars may not be what you imagine. The technological means to cross space and bring this small world back to life is just now coming within our grasp. But Mars is likely to change Humanity as much as we change it.
MARS INFO GRAPHIC HIGHLIGHTS THE PROBLEMS OF LIVING ON MARS
Part 2 is here on Isaac Arthurs channel: Mars isn't the recent obsession that you might think if you listen to Elon Musk and NASA, in fact, NASA had solid plans to go by 1982 using plans drawn up by Werner Von Braun. In this collaboration with Isaac Arthurs SFIA channel, we look at the Mars missions that were planned for the past and those which are proposed for the future. To see Part 2 go to This video is sponsored by Brillant Curious Droid Presented by Paul Shillito Written and Researched by Paul Shillito Images and Footage NASA, www.masch-artdesign.com Mark Wade www.astronautix.com Chris P. Bacon/KS, Isaac Arthur SFIA New Worlds by Sergey Cheremisinov Sirius by Sergey Cheremisinov Night Snowfall by Sergey Cheremisinov Lombus: Timeslip Brandon Liew: Floating through space Music by Sergey Cheremisinov
We explore the history and future of missions to Mars Visit our sponsor, Brilliant: You can see part 1 here: For years following the Moon landings it seemed liked Mars would be our next step and sooner than later, but the costs and risks discouraged interest for around a decade after that. We pick up from part 1 when renewed interest arose and examine many of the more recent plans and what options they give us for manned missions to the Red Planet in the next decade. Visit the sub-reddit Sign up to my weekly email newsletter: Support us at:Support us at: Follow us on Tumblr: More stories at Universe Today website Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: Instagram - Script Editing Gregory Leal Matthew Acker Sigmund Kopperud Graphics Team: Edward Nardella Jeremy Jozwik Jarred Eagley Justin Dixon Jeremy Jozwik Katie Byrne Kris Holland/Mafic Studios: Luuk Warringa Misho Yordanov Murat Mamkegh Nick Talmers Nieuwoudt Pierre Demet Sergio Botero Stefan Blandin Music Supervisor Luca De Rosa Music composed & performed by: Miguel Johnson, "The Alien Within" (instrumental feat. Tom Cook) "Re-Genesis" "A Planet Found" "Preparing for War II" "Deep Space" "Pleiades Sonata" "Battle of 3303" "Time for War" "VIctory" (featuring Jeff Murray) Caption author (Korean) D Shin
The first real images of Mars. For several hundred years we have been looking at the red planet with great curiosity. The earth-like celestial body is the fourth in the solar system and the closest neighbour of the earth. The planet has a diameter that is only half as large as that of Earth. But its weight is only a tenth of that of the Earth. This is due to its low density and results in a relatively low attraction force. Despite its distance of at least 56 million kilometers, Mars seems to be within reach. Subscribe for more! ► Credit: NASA, ESA, ESO, SpaceX, Wikipedia, Shutterstock, ... TheSimplySpace - on the trail of the mysteries of the universe Planets with hot ice? Celestial bodies larger than their own sun? What is relic radiation and what is dark matter exactly? Astronomers do an exciting job. Like adventurers, they are on the trail of the secrets of the universe and discover the strangest phenomena. Many phenomena in the universe can be explained, but most of them cannot. Researchers agree that there was a Big Bang around 13.8 billion years ago. But what was before? Nobody knows. Are you curious about the universe and want to accompany the astrophysicists of this world on their exciting knowledge tours? TheSimplySpace's videos explain the latest research from NASA and others in an informative and entertaining way. Be there, subscribe to TheSimplySpace and join in the discussion! #TheSimplySpaceEN
Information on Nasa's mars mission page<
Inside Planet Mars (Infographic) By Karl Tate, SPACE.com Infographics Artist | November 15, 2010 02:22pm ET - See more at: The planet Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and named after the Roman God of War
and is also called the 'Red Planet.' Mars has a thin atmosphere and surface features similar to Earth.
- See more at:
Uploaded on Jun 8, 2011 Media Fusion has a long history of creating animation to demonstrate mission capabilities for NASA.
This animation features the Ares I and Ares V as a part of the Constellation program.
That program has now evolved into the Space Launch System (SLS).
Media Fusion continues to support NASA and has created many animations visualizing the future of SLS.
Category Film & Animation License Standard YouTube License
Keep exploring at Get started for free, the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription.At brilliant.org If you’ve been watching along here for quite some time, you will know that the team and I have been releasing some deep dive videos that look into the complexity of long duration crewed spaceflight. The primary concerns of course being the health of astronauts aboard these missions. To do all of this stuff right and protect those squishy fragile human bodies on board, it is going to take a lot of equipment. That also means a lot of mass. Well, here we explore Unleashing the Power of the Mars Cycler. Would SpaceX Starship to play a huge part? Almost certainly if SpaceX's dreams of low mass to orbit become reality. What if I told you, that once we get all this up to the required speed for the journey, that was it. A reusable station taking trip after trip, only needing tiny course corrections from time to time? Well, with a nod to Buzz Aldrin, may I present to you the Atomic Powered, Shielded, Spinning Starship Mars Cycler! The Hidden Threat to Our Astronauts - Marcus House Artificial Gravity is Critical for Mars Exploration & Beyond - Marcus House Mars cycler architecture utilizing low-thrust propulsion (PDF) A Mars Cycler Architecture Utilizing Low-Thrust Propulsion Dennis Chamberland - Departing Earth Forever (Book Two - Alien Worlds, explores similar topics) 👕Like this shirt? Pick it up on any product you like here. Mars Here We Come - Light Mars Here We Come - Dark 🎁 Marcus House Merch You can support me on: Patreon - Join my Discord Follow/Subscribe on Twitter - The production crew: GameplayReviewUK, TiagoCruz, Mr Pleasant, Virtu Support from the below is always massively appreciated: 📷 NASASpaceFlight - / @nasaspaceflight 📷 RGVAerialPhotography - / @rgvaerialphotogr... 📷 Greg Scott - 📷 Starship Gazer - 📷 Cosmic Perspective - / @cosmicperspective 📷 LabPadre - / @labpadre 📷 Epic Spaceflight - / @epicspaceflight 3D artist magicians: ✨ Tony Bela - Ryan Hansen Space ✨ Erc X - ✨ Corey - ✨ Alex Svan - ✨ DeepSpaceCourier - ✨ SpaceXvision - ✨ SpaceXvision - ✨ Matt Ryan - ✨ TijnM_3DAnimations - ✨ Christian Debney - ✨ Evan Karen - / @evankaren ✨ 3D Daniel - Set models: Starship, & Crew Dragon by - Moon/Mars Mova Globes - Mini venting Starship/SLS - Saturn V - LEGO - Space Shuttle - LEGO - #spacex #starship #elonmusk
Karl Tate, SPACE.com Infographics Artist
Karl's association with SPACE.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics.
Starting in 2010, Karl has been TechMediaNetwork's infographics specialist across all editorial properties.
Before joining SPACE.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating
news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.
He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University.
To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Karl on Google+.
Space Radiation Threat to Astronauts Explained (Infographic)
Published on Jun 22, 2017 No one under 20 has experienced a day without NASA at Mars. The Pathfinder mission, carrying the Sojourner rover, landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. In the 20 years since Pathfinder's touchdown, eight other NASA landers and orbiters have arrived successfully, and not a day has passed without the United States having at least one active robot on Mars or in orbit around Mars. Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube Licen
NASA's Mission to Mars Planning Guide
NASA is developing the capabilities needed to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s �
goals outlined in the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2010 and in the U.S. National Space Policy, also issued in 2010.
Mars is a rich destination for scientific discovery and robotic and human exploration as we expand our presence into the solar system.
Its formation and evolution are comparable to Earth, helping us learn more about our own planet�s history and future.
Mars had conditions suitable for life in its past.
Follow our progress at NASA EXPLORATION and Mars Mission" NASA's Orion Flight Test and the Journey to Mars Image Credit: NASA
Early Spring Dust Storms at the North Pole of Mars. Early spring typically brings dust storms to northern polar Mars.
As the north polar cap begins to thaw, the temperature difference between the cold frost region and recently thawed surface results
in swirling winds. The choppy dust clouds of several dust storms are visible in this mosaic of images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft
in 2002. The white polar cap is frozen carbon dioxide. (NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems)
Maybe you can�t climb on a rocketship to Mars, at least yet, but at the least you can get your desire for exploration out through other means.
Today(11-28-2014), take comfort that humanity is sending 90,000 messages in the Red Planet�s direction. That�s right, the non-profit
Uwingu plans to transmit these missives today around 3 p.m. EST (8 p.m. UTC).
Published on Jun 20, 2015 A remarkable artefact has been found on the red planet by the Mars Curiosity Rover. Due to the size of the object about the scale of a small car i would theorize that the artefact is either the capstone of a much larger pyramid possibly buried deep beneath the surface or perhaps a marker stone. Raw Image: Visit My Blog:
On July 7, 2003, NASA launched its second Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, aboard a Delta II launch vehicle. Opportunity and its twin rover Spirit landed on Mars in 2004 to begin missions planned to last three months. Both rovers far exceeded those plans. Spirit worked for six years
The series of nine images making up this animation were taken by the rear Hazard-Avoidance Camera (rear Hazcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover as the rover drove over a dune spanning "Dingo Gap" on Mars. The Hazcam, mounted low on the vehicle's chassis, provides a wide-angle view. Curiosity made this 23-foot (7 meter) drive during the 535th Martian day, or sol, of its work on Mars (Feb. 6, 2014). At the start of the drive, the rover's right-front wheel was already at the crest of the 3-foot-tall (1-meter-tall) dune, with the rover still pointed uphill. By the last three images in the series, the rover was headed downhill. › See animation The light-toned dome on the right side of the horizon is part of Mount Sharp. This drive was westward. The rover's long-term destination on the lower slope of Mount Sharp is still farther west and south from the rover's current location. Dingo Gap provided an entryway into a valley to the west. The valley appealed to the rover team as a driving route because its terrain includes fewer sharp rocks than alternative routes considered. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Last Updated: July 3, 2015 Editor: Tony Greicius
The Opportunity rover captured this analemma showing the Sun’s movements over one Martian year.
Images taken every third sol (Martian day) between July, 16, 2006 and June 2, 2008.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ASU/TAMU
new map of Mars' gravity made with three NASA spacecraft is the most detailed to date,
providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet.
The map was derived using Doppler and range tracking data collected by NASA's Deep Space Network
from three NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars: Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Possible Methane Sources and Sinks This illustration portrays possible ways that methane might be added to Mars' atmosphere (sources)
and removed from the atmosphere (sinks). NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has detected fluctuations in methane concentration
in the atmosphere, implying both types of activity occur in the modern environment of Mars.
Methane Measurements by NASA's Curiosity in Mars' Gale Crater This graphic shows tenfold spiking in the abundance of methane in the Martian atmosphere surrounding
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, as detected by a series of measurements made with the Tunable Laser Spectrometer
(TLS) instrument in the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory suite.
Published on May 9, 2016 Start your free trial site today at - Use offer code "THOUGHTY" for 10% off! Colonising mars is the next big step for mankind. But is life on Mars actually possible? What will we need to do and how long will it take? SUBSCRIBE - New Vids Mon & Thurs: : Ask a Question on Thoughty2.com Support me on Patreon: Thoughty2 Facebook: Thoughty2 Twitter: Thoughty2 Merchandise: With Special Thanks To: Misha A-Wilson, Katrina Brogan, Michelle & Aaron Finn, Jeff Lee, Kent Zacherl, Steve Bradshaw, Lisa Pimlett, Matthew Russell, Saverius Caption author (Dutch) RojtirLaaknivII Category Education License Standard YouTube License
Image taken by the Viking 1 orbiter in June 1976, showing Mars thin atmosphere and dusty, red surface. Credits: NASA/Viking 1
Artist’s rendering of a solar storm hitting Mars and stripping ions from the planet’s upper atmosphere. Credits: NASA/GSFC
Published on Apr 24, 2014 Why live on Earth when you can live on Mars? Well you can't. Mars is a completely hostile environment to human life. And yet, if we want to expand into the Solar System, we'll need to live on this planet. Here's how we'll do it. Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube License
Artist impression of a Mars settlement with cutaway view. Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
Published on Jul 21, 2014 If we really want to live on Mars, we're going to need to do a complete renovation. We'll need to thicken the atmosphere, warm the planet, and get the liquid water flowing. What'll it take? Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube License
Streamed live on Jun 5, 2017 Get closer to Mars! Using pioneering technology, the Museum uses NASA’s current Mars data to showcase never-before-seen details of the red planet. Join Carter Emmart for a new look at the Martian landscape, beyond the reach of rovers. The content is rendered using the open-source Astrovisualization framework OpenSpace , The Git Hub Location The Hayden Planetarium Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube License
Matt Damon stars as NASA astronaut Mark Watney in ‘The Martian.’ Credit: 20th Century Fox
The Martian Mission guide pdf
Orbital diagram of the Movie the Martian
Scene from ‘The Martian’ starring Matt Damon as NASA astronaut Mark Watney contemplating
magnificent panoramic vista while stranded alone on Mars. Credits: 20th Century Fox See real Martian maps and flyover video from DLR and NSA below Story/imagery updated
Real topographic map of the area of Mars covered in ‘The Martian.’ Follow the path of Mark Watney’s
fictional endeavors from the Ares 3 landing site at Acidalia Planitia to NASA’s real Mars Pathfinder lander
at the mouths of Ares Vallis and Tiu Valles and back, and finally to the Ares 4 landing site at Schiaparelli
Crater. Credit: DLR/ESA/NASA
Mark Watney arrives at the NASA’s 1997 Pathfinder lander to gather communications gear in a
scene from “The Martian.” People and technology from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory aid fictional
astronaut Mark Watney during his epic survival story in “The Martian.”
Credits: 20th Century Fox
This May 2015 image from the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows
a location on Mars associated with the best-selling novel and Hollywood movie, “The Martian.”
It is in a region called Acidalia Planitia, at the landing site for the science-fiction tale’s Ares 3 mission.
For the story’s central character, Acidalia Planitia is within driving distance from where NASA’s Mars Pathfinder,
with its Sojourner rover, landed in 1997.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
A new proposal for sending craft to Mars could save money and offer more flexible launch windows. Credit: NASA
In the coming decades, a number of missions are planned for Mars, which include proposals to send astronauts there for the first time. This presents numerous logistical and technical challenges, ranging from the sheer distance to the need for increased protection against radiation. At the same time, there is also the difficulty of landing on the Red Planet, or what is referred to as the “Mars Curse“.
Artist’s illustration of a spacecraft using retropropulsion to steer. Credit: NASA.
Artists impression of the Schiaparelli test lander descending through the Martian atmosphere at high speed. Credit: ESA
References Universe today article Wikipeda article on the mars Curse NASA MARS MISSION LOG Sign up to my weekly email newsletter: Support us at:Support us at: More stories at Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: Google+ - Instagram - Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com Karla Thompson - @karlaii Chad Weber - Chloe Cain - Instagram: @chloegwen2001 Created by: Fraser Cain and Jason Harmer Edited by: Chad Weber Music: Left Spine Down - “X-Ray”
Elon Musk. Credit: SpaceX. Truly a man for all seasons, Elon Musk�s next big thing is to build an internet for when people start arriving on Mars.
Published on May 29, 2014 Meet SpaceX's Dragon V2 spacecraft, the next generation spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to Earth orbit and beyond. Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube License
An artist's illustration of the Falcon Heavy rocket being rolled on to the launch pad. Image: SpaceX #REDDRAGON
SpaceX Red Dragon spacecraft launches to Mars on SpaceX Falcon Heavy as soon as 2018 in this artists comcept.
Credit: SpaceX #REDDRAGON
This artist’s illustration of the Falcon Heavy shows the rocket in flight prior to releasing its two side boosters. Image: SpaceX #REDDRAGON
ARTIST CONCEPT: The Falcon Heavy Launches through "MAXQ" on it's way to mars. Credit: SpaceX #REDDRAGON
Artists concept for sending SpaceX Red Dragon spacecraft to Mars as early as 2018.
Credit: SpaceX #REDDRAGON
Artist conception of Spacex' Re Dragon capsule de-accelerating to a landing on mars #REDDRAGON
Artist Conception: Putting such a large spacecraft on Mars is unprecedented for a nation or company. #REDDRAGON
Artists concept for sending SpaceX Red Dragon spacecraft to land propulsively on Mars as early as 2018.
Credit: SpaceX #REDDRAGON
Artists concept for sending SpaceX Red Dragon spacecraft to land propulsively on Mars as early as 2018.
Credit: SpaceX #REDDRAGON
Published on May 5, 2016 Manned Mission to Mars by SpaceX. Mars Colonization, how soon and what'll take to Colonize Mars. NASA has its own plans, ESA too, however it is SpaceX and Elon Musk that is edging ahead with visionary ideas
and hopes to reach Mars by 2028 with permanent base established there.
To that end, SpaceX is keen on getting the right technologies in place to achieve Manned mission to Mars by 2028.
Mars Colonial Transporter and Falcon Heavy will play a vital role in putting essential stuff in to the orbit
and on their way to Mars. SpaceX is developing Mars Colonial Transporter and Elon Musk plans to unveil concept and news
around whole Mars mission in September, so stay tuned. Tune used in this video is: Wedding Invitation, Music by Jason Farham, #REDDRAGON
The founder of SpaceX said a planned interplanetary transport system would be downsized so it could carry out a range of tasks that would then pay for future Mars missions. Credit: AFP/Peter Parks
Artist’s impression of the ITS (BFR) conducting a service run to the ISS. Credit: SpaceX
Artists’ impression of Moon Base Alpha, SpaceX’s envisioned lunar outpost, which would be supplied with the BFR. Credit: SpaceX
Animation showing the proposed growth of a colony on Mars (click to see animation). Credit: SpaceX
Elon's proposed base on the way!
This week (early oct 2017) at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, Australia, SpaceX CEO and Lead Designer Elon Musk will provide an update to his 2016 presentation regarding the long-term technical challenges that need to be solved to support the creation of a permanent, self-sustaining human presence on Mars.. Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube License
Artist concept of a �Living� Mars. Credit: Kevin Gill
While scientists believe that at one time, billions of years ago, Mars had an atmosphere similar to Earth�s
and was covered with flowing water, the reality today is quite different. In fact, the surface of Mars is so hostile that a vacation in
Antarctica would seem pleasant by comparison.
Artist's conception of a terraformed Mars. Credit: Ittiz/Wikimedia Commons
Cyanobacteria Spirulina Credit:
If we really want to live on Mars, we're going to need to do a complete renovation. We'll need to thicken the atmosphere, warm the planet, and get the liquid water flowing. What'll it take?
Mars Express' view of Meridiani Planum. Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
Artist’s impression of a global view of Mars, centered on the Meridiani Planum region. Credit: Air and Space Museum/Smithsonian Institution
Artist’s impression of the Mars Express rover, showing radar returns from its MARSIS instrument. Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL/KU/Smithsonian
A subsurface view of Miyamoto crater in Meridiani Planum from the MARSIS radar sounder. . Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL/KU/Smithsonian
???????? ????? - ???????? Curiosity: 739-?? ??????????? ????
Revealed by India�s Mars Orbiter Mission
Olympus Mons, Tharsis Bulge trio of volcanoes, and Valles Marineris from ISRO�s Mars Orbiter Mission.
Note the clouds and south polar ice cap. Credit: ISRO
Published on Oct 20, 2014
Among the most interesting landforms on Mars are features referred to as �chaotic terrain�.
Dozens or even hundreds of isolated mountains up to 2000 m high are scattered in these extensive regions.
Seen from orbit, they form a bizarre, chaotic pattern. Such terrains are found over a large area to both the west and east of Valles Marineris,
the largest canyon in the Solar System. Hydraotes Chaos, showcased in this video, is a typical example of this type of landscape.
The data used to generate these images and the simulated flyover were acquired with the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA�s Mars Express orbiter.
In Episode 2 Symbols of an Alien Sky: The Lightning Scarred Planet, Mars,
David Talbott takes the viewer on an odyssey across the surface of Mars. Exploring feature after feature of the planet,
he finds that only electric arcs could produce the observed patterns. The high resolution images reveal massive channels and gouges,
great mounds, and crater chains, none finding an explanation in traditional geology but all matching the scars from electric discharge
experiments in the laboratory. As a scientific follow-up to Symbols of an Alien Sky, this documentary provides a definitive answer to the question:
was Mars carved from pole to pole by intense interplanetary discharge?
The science team leading NASA's long-lived Opportunity rover mission is honoring the pioneering solo nonstop
trans-Atlantic flight of aviator Charles Lindbergh by
assigning key features of the Mars mountain top crater
area the rover is now exploring with names related to the historic flight.
Opportunity is now studying an elongated crater called "Spirit of St. Louis” and an unparalleled rock spire within
the crater called “Lindbergh Mound
Morning clouds fill Coprates Chasma on Mars in this Nov. 25, 2015,
image from the THEMIS camera on NASA’s Mars Odyssey. No orbiter systematically observed Mars in morning sunlight before 2015.
The clouds appear blue because ice particles in them scatter blue light more strongly than other colors.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University - See more at:
credit:space.com
Sand-laden jets shoot into the Martian polar sky in this artist’s view.
THEMIS images and data led scientists to discover these jets were the source of
mysterious dark makings that appeared every spring on the south polar cap of Mars.
Image Credit: Arizona State University/Ron Miller - See more at:
HiRISE images of the Martian landscape, showing outgassing and the formation of dark fans and “spiders”. Credit: NASA/JPL
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been surveying strange "spider-like" surface features on Mars for years,
and now citizen scientists are helping the orbiter hone in on areas that require further investigation.
These prominent surface features are found near Mars' south pole, and are believed to be linked to seasonal changes.
The planet's polar ice caps thaw bottom-side first in the spring, causing carbon dioxide to build up and carve deep channels
in the terrain, according to a statement from NASA.
Images of dark spots (left) and fans (right) observed on top of the Martian south polar cap taken in southern spring. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS
This colorful image of Martian bedrock, punctuated in the center by dunes, is courtesy of the HiRise camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
HiRise captured this image of unusual textures on the floor of the Gale Crater, the same crater where the Curiosity rover is working. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
This color-enhanced image of a fresh Martian crater was captured by the HiRise camera. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
These odd ridges are still a mystery. Were they formed by glaciers? Oceans? Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
What is this? A vast area of Martian rice paddies? Lizard skin? Nope, just an area of intersecting sand dunes. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
This double impact crater was caused by a meteorite that split into two before hitting Mars. Notice how the eroding force of the wind has shaped each crater the same, smoothing one edge and creating dunes in the same place. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
These gullies are on the dunes of Russell Crater on Mars. This image was taken during winter, and the frozen carbon dioxide on the shaded slopes. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
This image of the Russell Crater, an area of study for HiRise, shows the area covered in dunes, with some frost visible in the lower left. The larger, darker markings are dust devil tracks. Image: By NASA/JPL/University of Arizona – HiRISE, Public Domain,
These delicate dune features formed inside the Valles Mariners, the massive canyon system on Mars. Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Layered deposits in Uzboi Vallis on Mars, as seen by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.
A FICTIVE FLIGHT ABOVE REAL MARS from Jan Fröjdman on Vimeo.
The anaglyph images of Mars taken by the HiRISE camera holds information about the topography of Mars surface. There are hundreds of high-resolution images of this type. This gives the opportunity to create different studies in 3D. In this film I have chosen some locations and processed the images into panning video clips. There is a feeling that you are flying above Mars looking down watching interesting locations on the planet. And there are really great places on Mars! I would love to see images taken by a landscape photographer on Mars, especially from the polar regions. But I'm afraid I won't see that kind of images during my lifetime.
It has really been time-consuming making these panning clips. In my 3D-process I have manually hand-picked reference points on the anaglyph image pairs. For this film I have chosen more than 33.000 reference points! It took me 3 months of calendar time working with the project every now and then.
The colors in this film are false because the anaglyph images are based on grayscale images. I have therefore color graded the clips. But I have tried to be moderate doing this. The light regions in the clips are yellowish and the dark regions bluish. The clips from the polar regions (the last clips in the film) have a white-blue tone.There are a lot of opinions and studies of what the natural colors on Mars might be. But the dark regions of dust often seems to have a bluish tone. Please study this issue on e.g sites by NASA.
This film is not scientific. As a space enthusiast I have just tried to visualize the planet my way.
The video begins with a nearby approach to Mars moon Phobos.
Some of the anaglyphs used can be seen on my blog, please visit:
Please watch the film in 2K if possible for greater details.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Referenses and locations on Mars: PSP_007769, ESP_018859, ESP_012435, ESP_034285, ESP_011648, ESP_045091, ESP_020878, ESP_045634, ESP_037704, ESP_046725, ESP_037705, ESP_018548, ESP_016641, ESP_027236, ESP_011729, ESP_045571, ESP_047503, ESP_023464, ESP_013049
More to see and to contact:
A 13-kilometer (8-mile) diameter crater being infilled by the Medusae Fossae Formation. Credit: High Resolution Stereo Camera/European Space Agency.
Perspective view of Medusa Fossae looking south-east. Copyright: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
An isolated hill in the Medusae Fossae Formation. The effect of wind erosion on this hill is evident by its streamlined shape. Credit: High Resolution Stereo Camera/European Space Agency
According to Ojha and Lewis’ study, the eruption that created the Medusa Fossae Formation would have covered Mars in a global ocean. Image: ESO/M. Kornmesser, via N. Risinger
Image Credit : NASA Video Credit : NASA/JPL-Caltech Category People & Blogs
Mars is a sandy planet and the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has given us tons of beautiful pictures of Martian sand dunes. But Mars’ dunes are much different than dunes here on Earth. Their movement is governed by different factors than Earth dunes. The movement of sand dunes on Mars is of interests to scientists. How far the winds move them, and where they’re deposited, are some of the important questions. The study of all dune processes contribute to atmospheric and sedimentary science.
The Victoria Crater on Mars. NASA’s MRO has been delighting us with images of dune-filled craters for years now. HiRISE images from the MRO allowed the authors to study Martian dunes and how they move. Image Credit: – By NASA/JPL/University of Arizona Public Domain,
The Syrtis Major region on Mars is one of the three areas on Mars with the largest dune movement. Image Credit: By NASA – via en:Image: Syrtis Major MC-13.jpg, Public Domain,
The Hellespontus Montes is one of the three areas with the largest sand movement. Image Credit: By European Space Agency – Perspective view of Hellespontus Montes, CC BY-SA 3.0-igo,
The team concluded that large transitions in geological formations shapes Martian sand dune migration. It’s aided by temperature changes near albedo features like Syrtis Major.
Mars is well-known for being a dry and arid place, where dusty red sand dunes are prevalent and water exists almost entirely in the form of ice and permafrost. An upside to this, however, is the fact that these conditions are the reason why Mars’ many surface features are so well preserved. And as missions like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have shown, this allows for some pretty interesting finds.
Black and white image of the olivine-rich dunes in the Copernicus Crater, taken by the HiRISE instrument on the MRO. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
The dark features here look like raindrops, but are actually sand dunes. This spot was targeted by CRISM because the dunes are rich in the mineral olivine. (Audio by Tre Gibbs. Enhanced color images are 1 km across.)
From some viewpoints, Mars is kind of like a skeleton of Earth. We can see that it had volcanoes, oceans, and rivers, but the volcanoes no longer fume and the water is all gone. A new image from the ESA’s Mars Express drives the point home.
A topographic image of Nirgal Vallis. Blue and purple are lower elevation that red and yellow. Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Scientists think that during an ancient flood, water from Nirgal Vallis (bottom left) flowed in Uzbol Vallis and was stopped by the rim of Holden Crater. Eventually, the rim burst open and Holden Crater was turned into a lake. – Image Credit: By Jim Secosky modified NASA image. NASA/USGS Public Domain,
A perspective view of Nirgal Vallis. Notice the rounded, circular ends of the tributaries, called amphitheatre-headed valleys. Image Credit: Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
A close-up THEMIS image of a part of Nirgal Vallis. The stubby, rounded shapes are typical of groundwater sapping.
Time lapse movies of a physical experiment of gulleys developing from seepage on Mars. From the Earth Surface Dynamics paper: Groundwater seepage landscapes from local or distal sources in experiments and on Mars W. A. Marra1, S. J. McLelland2, D. R. Parsons2, B. J. Murphy2, E. Hauber3, and M. G. Kleinhans1 1Faculty of Geosciences, Universiteit Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands 2Department of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK 3Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Planetenforschung, Rutherfordstraße 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany Abstract. Theater-headed valleys can form due to groundwater sapping, but these valleys could also be the result of knick-point (waterfall) erosion generated by overland flow. This morphological ambiguity hampers the interpretation of such valleys on Mars, especially due to insufficient knowledge of material properties, but the climate implications are quite different. Instead of single-valley morphology, metrics of the entire landscape may provide diagnostic insight in the formative hydrological conditions. However, flow patterns and the resulting landscapes are different for different sources of groundwater and poorly understood. We aim to increase our understanding of the formation of the entire landscapes by sapping from different sources of groundwater and to provide a framework of landscape metrics of such systems to aid interpretation of such landscapes. We study sapping from local and distal sources of groundwater in sandbox experiments and combine our results with previous experiments. Key results are that groundwater piracy acts on distally-fed valleys, which results in a sparsely dissected landscape of many small and a few large valleys while locally-fed valleys result in a densely dissected landscape. In addition, distally-fed valleys grow into the direction of the groundwater source while locally-fed channels grow in a broad range of directions and have a strong tendency to bifurcate, particularly on flat horizontal surfaces. As an example, we apply these results to two Martian cases. The valleys of Louros Valles show properties of sapping by a local source and Nirgal Vallis shows evidence of a distal source, which is likely groundwater from Tharsis. Citation: Marra, W. A., McLelland, S. J., Parsons, D. R., Murphy, B. J., Hauber, E., and Kleinhans, M. G.: Groundwater seepage landscapes from local or distal sources in experiments and on Mars, Earth Surf. Dynam. Discuss., 3, 129-171, doi:10.5194/esurfd-3-129-2015, 2015.
Along with an almost 1.8-billion-pixel panorama that doesn’t feature the rover, NASA’s Curiosity captured a 650-million-pixel panorama that features the rover itself. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada guides this tour of the rover's view of the Martian surface. This panorama showcases "Glen Torridon," a region on the side of Mount Sharp that Curiosity is exploring. The panorama was taken between Nov. 24 and Dec. 1, 2019, when the Curiosity team was out for the Thanksgiving holiday. Since the rover would be sitting still with few other tasks to do while it waited for the team to return and provide its next commands, the rover had a rare chance to image its surroundings several days in a row without moving. Composed of more than 1,000 images and carefully assembled over the ensuing months, the larger version of this composite contains nearly 1.8 billion pixels of Martian landscape. Explore more in this 360 video: For more about the mission, visit
NASA/JPL-Caltech Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury. In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the "Red Planet". The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars's surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane are similar. Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The smooth Borealis basin in the Northern Hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact feature. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Mars trojan. Mars has been explored by several uncrewed spacecraft. Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to visit Mars; launched by NASA on 28 November 1964, it made its closest approach to the planet on 15 July 1965. Mariner 4 detected the weak Martian radiation belt, measured at about 0.1% that of Earth, and captured the first images of another planet from deep space. The Soviet Mars 3 mission included a lander, which achieved a soft landing in December 1971; however, contact was lost seconds after touchdown. On 20 July 1976, Viking 1 performed the first successful landing on the Martian surface. On 4 July 1997, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft landed on Mars and on 5 July released its rover, Sojourner, the first robotic rover to operate on Mars. The Mars Express orbiter, the first European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft to visit Mars, arrived in orbit on 25 December 2003. In January 2004, NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, named Spirit and Opportunity, both landed on Mars; Spirit operated until 22 March 2010 and Opportunity lasted until 10 June 2018. NASA landed its Curiosity rover on August 6, 2012, as a part of its Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission to investigate Martian climate and geology. On 24 September 2014, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) became the fourth space agency to visit Mars when its maiden interplanetary mission, the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft, arrived in orbit. The United Arab Emirates became the fifth to successfully undertake a mission to Mars, having inserted an orbiter in to the Martian atmosphere on 9 February 2021. NASA's Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter successfully landed on Mars on 18 February 2021. Ingenuity successfully completed the first powered controlled flight by an aircraft on any planet besides Earth on 19 April 2021, taking off vertically, hovering and landing on Mars. There are investigations assessing the past habitability of Mars, as well as the possibility of extant life. Astrobiology missions are planned, such as the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover. Liquid water on the surface of Mars cannot exist due to low atmospheric pressure, which is less than 1% of the atmospheric pressure on Earth, except at the lowest elevations for short periods. The two polar ice caps appear to be made largely of water. The volume of water ice in the south polar ice cap, if melted, would be sufficient to cover the planetary surface to a depth of 11 metres (36 ft). In November 2016, NASA reported finding a large amount of underground ice in the Utopia Planitia region. The volume of water detected has been estimated to be equivalent to the volume of water in Lake Superior. Mars can easily be seen from Earth with the naked eye, as can its reddish coloring. Its apparent magnitude reaches −2.94, which is surpassed only by Venus, the Moon and the Sun. Optical ground-based telescopes are typically limited to resolving features about 300 kilometres (190 mi) across when Earth and Mars are closest because of Earth's atmosphere. Mars is approximately half the diameter of Earth, with a surface area only slightly less than the total area of Earth's dry land. Mars is less dense than Earth, having about 15% of Earth's volume and 11% of Earth's mass, resulting in about 38% of Earth's surface gravity. The red-orange appearance of the Martian surface is caused by iron(III) oxide, or rust. It can look like butterscotch;[63] other common surface colors include golden, brown, tan, and greenish, depending on the minerals present. Like Earth, Mars has differentiated into a dense metallic core overlaid by less dense materials. Scientists determined the core is at least partially liquid. Current models of its interior imply a core with a radius of about 1,794 ± 65 kilometres.
In a way, Mars looks like a dusty, dead, dry, boring planet. But science says otherwise. Science says that Mars used to be wet and warm, with an atmosphere. And science says that it was wet and warm for billions of years, easily long enough for life to appear and develop.
HiRise captured this image of unusual textures on the floor of the Gale Crater, where the Curiosity rover is working. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Simulated view of Gale Crater Lake on Mars. This illustration depicts a lake of water partially filling Mars’ Gale Crater, receiving runoff from snow melting on the crater’s northern rim. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS
Layers at the base of Mt. Sharp. These visible layers in Gale Crater show the chapters of the geological history of Mars in this image from NASA’s Curiosity rover. The image shows the base of Mount Sharp, the rover’s eventual science destination, and was taken with Curiosity’s Mast Camera on Aug. 23, 2012. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
Curiosity extends its robotic arm and conducts sample drilling at the “Buckskin” rock target at the bright toned “Lion” outcrop at the base of Mount Sharp on Mars, seen at right. The eroded rim of Gale Crater is in the distant background at left, in this composite multisol mosaic of NavCam raw images taken to Sol 1059, July 30, 2015. NavCam camera raw images are stitched and colorized. Inset: MAHLI color camera up close image of the full depth drill hole at the “Buckskin” rock target on Sol 1060. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/Marco Di Lorenzo Ken Kramer's website
Curiosity’s Traverse Map Through Sol 1717. This map shows the route driven by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity through the 1717 Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission on Mars (June 05, 2017). The base image from the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera (HiRISE) in NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
This graphic shows tenfold spiking in the abundance of methane in the Martian atmosphere surrounding NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, as detected by a series of measurements made with the Tunable Laser Spectrometer instrument in the rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars laboratory suite. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
These rounded pebbles got their shapes after rolling around in a long-ago river in Gale Crater. They were discovered by Curiosity at the Hottah site. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
by KEN KREMER on JUNE 1, 2015
Looking back 1000 Sols on the Red Planet NASA’s Martian Curiosity rover looks backs to 1000 Sols of science and exploration on the surface of the Red Planet.
Robot wheel tracks lead back through valley dunes. Gale Crater rim seen in the distant hazy background. Sol 997 (May 28, 2015)
Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ Ken Kremer/
Opportunity’s view (annotated) on the day the NASA rover exceeded the distance of a marathon
on the surface of Mars on March 24, 2015, Sol 3968 with features named in honor of Charles Lindbergh’s
historic solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. Rover stands at Spirit of Saint Louis Crater
near mountaintop at Marathon Valley overlook and Martian cliffs at Endeavour crater holding deposits
of water altered clay minerals. This navcam camera photo mosaic was assembled from images taken on Sol 3968
(March 24, 2015) and colorized."Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo
Opportunity at Spirit of Saint Louis crater scanning into Marathon Valley and Endeavour crater
from current location on Mars in April 2015 in this photo mosaic. The crater, featuring an odd mound
of rocks now named Lingbergh Mound, is the gateway to Marathon Valley and exposures of water altered clay minerals.
This navcam camera photo mosaic was assembled from images taken on Sol 3987 (April 12, 2015) and colorized.
"Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo
by KEN KREMER on SEPTEMBER 12, 2015
Large-scale crossbedding in the sandstone of this ridge on a lower slope of Mars’ Mount Sharp
is typical of windblown sand dunes that have petrified. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its Mastcam
to capture this vista on Aug. 27, 2015, Sol 1087. Similarly textured sandstone is common in the U.S. Southwest.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity looks toward fabulous canyons and buttes at the base of Mount Sharp
from the Stimson sand dunes on Mars on Sol 1100, Sept. 10 2015 in this photo mosaic stitched from
Mastcam color camera raw images.
"Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo
by KEN KREMER on OCTOBER 14, 2015
This self-portrait of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the “Big Sky” site,
where its drill collected the mission’s fifth taste of Mount Sharp, at lower left corner.
The scene combines images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on Sol 1126 (Oct. 6, 2015).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
See below navcam drilling photo mosaic at Big Sky
NASA Curiosity rover reaches out with robotic arm to drill into cross-bedded sandstone rock at ‘Big Sky’
target on Sol 1119, Sept. 29, 2015, in this photo mosaic stitched from navcam camera raw images and colorized.
Big Sky is located in the Stimson unit on the lower slopes of Mount Sharp inside Gale Crater.
"Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo
TThis Martian “postcard” comes after Mars Curiosity drilled its eighth hole on the Red Planet. This composite image
looking toward the higher regions of Mount Sharp was taken on September 9, 2015, by NASA’s Curiosity rover.
In the foreground — about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the rover — is a long ridge teeming with hematite, an iron oxide.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
TThe Mars rover Curiosity on the road to Hematite Ridge. Credit: NASA/JPl-Caltech/MSSS/Seán Doran.
The Mars rover Curiosity on the road to Hematite Ridge. Credit: NASA/JPl-Caltech/MSSS/Seán Doran. Please note that Curiosity doesn’t actually move this fast, as in the video it is going about 8 kph, whereas in reality, the rover travels at a top speed of about .16 kph. But still, this is just fantastic! “As much as I enjoy looking at the images from Mars, it is difficult to get a real sense of the scene as there is no obvious Earthly scale cue,” Seán told Universe Today via email. “No trees, plants, buildings or humans. So, I decided to put Curiosity into her own photographs to help us relate to them.”
Mosaic image of the Curiosity rover on Mars, which recently turned up more evidence that supports the idea that the planet was once habitability. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
MRO image of Gale Crater illustrating the landing location and trek of the Rover Curiosity. Credits: NASA/JPL, illustration, T.Reyes
Image of Mount Sharp taken by the Curiosity rover on Aug. 23rd, 2012. The layers at the base of Mt. Sharp show the geological history of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
If the Curiosity rover was paranoid, would it feel like it was being watched? Well, it is being watched, by its brother in orbit, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The MRO watched Curiosity as it travelled through the ‘Clay-Bearing Unit‘ in Gale Crater, during June and July, 2019.
Curiosity is working it’s way up Mt. Sharp, the prominent feature in Gale Crater. It’s leaving the clay-bearing unit behind and making its way to the sulfur-bearing unit. After exploring that region, it will continue its ascent and explore the oxygen-bearing unit. Each of these units, or regions, represents a different geological time period in Mars’ history.
‘Teal Ridge’ is one of the features Curiosity encountered while it explored the ‘Clay Bearing Unit’ in Gale Crater. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The InSight lander as imaged by the HiRISE camera on the MRO. InSight, of course, is not a rover, so there’s no tracks.
InSight’s SEIS instrument with its protective dome-shaped cover. The cover is clearly visible in the MRO image. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Left, an illustration of the ExoMars rover. Right, an illustration of the Mars 2020 rover. Image Credit: (Left: ESA/ATG medialab) (Right: NASA.)
Curiosity explores Red Planet paradise at Namib Dune during Christmas 2015 - backdropped by Mount Sharp.
Curiosity took first ever self-portrait with Mastcam color camera after arriving at the lee face of Namib Dune.
This photo mosaic shows a portion of the full self portrait and is stitched from Mastcam color camera raw images taken on Sol 1197, Dec. 19, 2015.
Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/Marco Di Lorenzo
Curiosity drives around the dark Namib sand dunes for first in-place study of an active sand dune anywhere beyond Earth.
This colorized photo mosaic is stitched from Mastcam camera raw images taken on Sol 1192, Dec. 13, 2015.
Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Curiosity observes dark dunes up close after arriving in the vicinity of Namib Dune at base of Mount Sharp
to study sand movements over time. This photo mosaic is stitched from Mastcam camera raw images taken on Sol 1190, Dec. 11, 2015.
Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Curiosity approaches the dark Bagnold Dunes backdropped by towering Mount Sharp, for first in-place study of an active sand dune
anywhere other than Earth. This colorized photo mosaic is stitched from navcam camera raw images taken on Sol 1169, Nov. 19, 2015.
Credit: NASA/JPL/ Marco Di Lorenzo/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
The rippled surface of the first Martian sand dune ever studied up close fills this Nov. 27, 2015, view of “High Dune”
from the Mast Camera on NASA’s Curiosity rover. This site is part of the “Bagnold Dunes” field of active dark dunes along the northwestern flank
of Mount Sharp. The raw images for this mosaic were taken on Nov. 27, 2015, Sol 1176.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity approaches the dark Bagnold Dunes for first in-place study of an active sand dune anywhere other than Earth.
This photo mosaic is stitched from navcam camera raw images taken on Sol 1168, Nov. 18, 2015.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Ken Kremer/
Curiosity’s Traverse Map Through Sol 1196. This map shows the route driven by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity through Sol 1196, December, 18, 2015.
Numbering of the dots along the line indicate the sol number of each drive. North is up. The scale bar is 1 kilometer (~0.62 mile).
From Sol 1194 to Sol 1196, Curiosity had driven a straight line distance of about 97.41 feet (29.69 meters).
The base image from the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera (HiRISE) in NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
NASA’s Opportunity rover discovers a beautiful Martian dust devil moving across the floor of Endeavour crater
as wheel tracks show robots path today exploring the steepest ever slopes of the 13 year long mission,
in search of water altered minerals at Knudsen Ridge inside Marathon Valley on 1 April 2016.
This navcam camera photo mosaic was assembled from raw images taken on Sol 4332 (1 April 2016) and colorized.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ Ken Kremer/
A shadow and tracks of NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity appear in this March 22, 2016,
image, which has been rotated 13.5 degrees to adjust for the tilt of the rover.
The hillside descends to the left into “Marathon Valley.” The floor of Endeavour Crater is seen beneath the underside of a solar panel.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Opportunity rover images current worksite at Knudsen Ridge on Sol 4228
where the robot is grinding into rock targets inside Marathon Valley during 12th Anniversary
of touchdown on Mars in Jan. 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ Ken Kremer/
NASA’s Opportunity rover peers outwards across to the vast expense of Endeavour Crater
from current location descending along steep walled Marathon Valley in early November 2015.
Marathon Valley holds significant deposits of water altered clay minerals holding clues to the planets watery past.
Shadow of Pancam Mast assembly and robots deck visible at right. This navcam camera photo mosaic was assembled
from images taken on Sol 4181 (Oct. 29, 2015) and colorized.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ Ken Kremer/
12 Year Traverse Map for NASA’s Opportunity rover from 2004 to 2016.
This map shows the entire path the rover has driven during almost 12 years and more than a
marathon runners distance on Mars for over 4332 Sols, or Martian days, since landing inside Eagle Crater on Jan 24, 2004 –
to current location at the western rim of Endeavour Crater and descending into Marathon Valley. Rover surpassed Marathon
distance on Sol 3968 and marked 11th Martian anniversary on Sol 3911. Opportunity discovered clay minerals at Esperance –
indicative of a habitable zone – and is currently searching for more at Marathon Valley.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ Ken Kremer/
This March 21, 2016, image from the navigation camera on NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity
shows streaks of dust or sand on the vehicle’s rear solar panel after a series of drives during
which the rover was pointed steeply uphill. The tilt and jostling of the drives affected material on the rover deck.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A shadow and tracks of NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity appear in this March 22, 2016,
colorized hazcam camera image, which has been rotated 13.5 degrees to adjust for the tilt of the rover.
The hillside descends to the left into “Marathon Valley.” The floor of Endeavour Crater is seen beneath the underside of a solar panel.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ Ken Kremer/
Composite hazcam camera image (left) shows the robotic arm in motion as NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity
places the tool turret on the target named “Private John Potts” on Sol 4234 to brush away obscuring dust.
Rover is actively working on the southern side of “Marathon Valley” which slices through western rim of Endeavour Crater.
On Sol 4259 (Jan. 16, 2016), Opportunity completed grinds with the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) to exposure rock interior
for elemental analysis, as seen in mosaic (right) of four up close images taken by Microscopic Imager (MI).
Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ Ken Kremer/
13 Year Traverse Map for NASA’s Opportunity rover from 2004 to 2016. This map shows the entire 43 kilometer (27 mi) path the rover has driven on the Red Planet during nearly 13 years and more than a marathon runners distance for some 4600 Sols, or Martian days, since landing inside Eagle Crater on Jan 24, 2004 – to current location at the western rim of Endeavour Crater. After descending down Marathon Valley and after studying Spirit Mound, the rover is now ascending back uphill on the way to a Martian water carved gully. Rover surpassed Marathon distance on Sol 3968 after reaching 11th Martian anniversary on Sol 3911. Opportunity discovered clay minerals at Esperance – indicative of a habitable zone – and searched for more at Marathon Valley Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ASU/Marco Di Lorenzo/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded the dawn of the rover's 4,999th Martian day, or sol, with its Panoramic Camera (Pancam) on Feb. 15, 2018, yielding this processed, approximately true-color scene. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ./Texas A&M
Mosaic view looking down from inside the upper end of “Perseverance Valley” on the inner slope of Endeavour Crater’s western rim. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Marco Di Lorenzo/Ken Kremer/
Textured rows on the ground in this portion of “Perseverance Valley” are under investigation by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Stone stripes on the side of a volcanic cone on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which are made of small rock fragments that are aligned downhill. These are formed when freeze-thaw cycles lift them out of the finer-grained regolith and move them to the sides, forming stone stripes. Credits: Washington University in St. Louis/NASA
This artist concept depicts the process of orbital insertion of NASA�s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft.
Image Credit: NASA/GSFC
NASA�s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is nearing its scheduled Sept. 21 insertion into Martian orbit
after completing a 10-month interplanetary journey of 442 million miles.
Flight Controllers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado, will be responsible for the health and safety
of the spacecraft throughout the process. The spacecraft�s mission timeline will place the spacecraft in orbit at approximately 9:50 p.m. EDT.
On September 21st, NASA's next spacecraft - MAVEN - arrives at Mars, beginning its mission to study the atmosphere of Mars.
In order to get into orbit around Mars, MAVEN has to change its velocity by more than 4,300 kph.
One of the cool first missions for MAVEN was totally unexpected. It's going to image Comet Siding Springs,
which will pass only 130,000 km from Mars. In fact, Mars is going to pass right through the coma of the comet.
This animation depicts MAVEN orbiting Mars. Image credit: NASA
After a 10-month journey, confirmation of successful orbit insertion was received from MAVEN data observed at the
Lockheed Martin operations center in Littleton, Colorado, as well as from tracking data monitored at NASA�s
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) navigation facility in Pasadena, California. The telemetry and tracking data were received
by NASA�s Deep Space Network antenna station in Canberra, Australia.
A new ScienceCast video presents MAVEN's first observations of the Martian atmosphere.(see below)
Published on Oct 8, 2014 Visit for more. NASA's MAVEN spacecraft has reached Mars and it is beaming back "First Light" images
of the Red Planet's upper atmosphere. The data could help researchers understand what transformed Mars from a hospitable planet billions of years ago into a desiccated wasteland today. Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube License
India�s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is closing in on the Red Planet and the
Mars Orbit Insertion engine firing when it arrives on September 24, 2014
after its 10 month interplanetary journey. Credit ISRO
Trans Mars Injection (TMI), carried out on Dec 01, 2013 at 00:49 hrs (IST) moved the spacecraft
into the Mars Transfer Trajectory (MTT). With TMI the Earth orbiting phase of the spacecraft ended
and the spacecraft is now on a course to encounter Mars after a journey of about 10 months around the Sun.
Credit: ISRO
ISRO�s Mars Orbiter Mission � The plan of action for Mars Orbit Insertion on September 24. Credit ISRO
MOM counts as India�s first interplanetary voyager and the nation�s first manmade object to orbit the 4th rock from our Sun � if all goes well.
The LAM was last fired over nine months ago on December 01, 2013 to inject MOM into a ten month long interplanetary Trans Mars Trajectory.
ISRO�s Mars Orbiter Mission captures the limb of Mars with the Mars Color Camera from an altitude of 8449 km
soon after achieving orbit on Sept. 23/24, 2014 . Credit: ISRO
India�s maiden interplanetary voyager, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has transmitted a breathtaking new image eyeing
the limb of Mars and its atmosphere against the blackness of space.
Posted by Sean Adl-Tabatabai in Sci/Environment
- See more at: http://yournewswire.com/nuclear-explosion-style-mushroom-cloud-photographed-on-mars/#sthash.IWOtJJsl.dpuf
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have photographed what looks like a giant mushroom cloud on Mars. Techmalak.com reports: Taken by the onboard Mars Colour Camera (MCC), these images have been quickly uploaded to the ISRO�s website, with a great amount of detail. Advertisement The large mushroom cloud was sighted in the Valles Marineris Canyon, which is located along the equator of the planet, - See more at:
Published on Mar 9, 2016 NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has clocked more than a decade of service at the Red Planet
and has yielded scientific discoveries and magnificent views of a distant world.
These images taken by MRO's HiRISE camera are not in true color because they include infrared information
in order to be optimized for geological science.
For more info about MRO go to: Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube License
Artist�s conception of a Mars Exploration Rover, which included Opportunity and Spirit. Credit: NASA
The Opportunity Mars rover is busy on its wheels as it moves towards �Marathon Valley�,
a location that could include clay minerals � a sign of past water in the region. After successfully passing 41 kilometers (25.47 miles)
in total driving a few weeks ago, the rover is closing out its 11th year on Mars with guided and unguided drives towards that destination.
This evenly layered rock photographed by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA�s Curiosity Mars Rover on Aug. 7, 2014,
shows a pattern typical of a lake-floor sedimentary deposit not far from where flowing water entered a lake. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
What is now a mountain, was once a lake. That�s the conclusion of the Curiosity Mars rover science team
after studying data and imagery from the rover, which indicates that the mountain the rover is now climbing in Gale Crater �
Aeolis Mons, or Mount Sharp � was built by sediments deposited in a large lake bed over tens of millions of years.
Artist rendition of how the �lake� at Gale Crater on Mars may have looked millions of years ago. Credit and copyright: Kevin Gill.
What is now a mountain, was once a lake. That�s the conclusion of the Curiosity Mars rover science team
after studying data and imagery from the rover, which indicates that the mountain the rover is now climbing in Gale Crater
� Aeolis Mons, or Mount Sharp � was built by sediments deposited in a large lake bed over tens of millions of years.
by KEN KREMER on OCTOBER 11, 2015
A view from the “Kimberley” formation on Mars taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover. The strata in the foreground
dip towards the base of Mount Sharp, indicating flow of water toward a basin that existed before the larger bulk of the mountain formed.
This image was taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Curiosity on Sol 580 of the mission and has been “white balanced”
to adjust for the lighting on Mars make the sky appear light blue.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity rover panorama of Mount Sharp captured on June 6, 2014 (Sol 651) during traverse inside Gale Crater.
Note rover wheel tracks at left. She will eventually ascend the mountain at the ‘Murray Buttes’ at right later this year.
Assembled from Mastcam color camera raw images and stitched by Marco Di Lorenzo and Ken Kremer.
"Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo
An image taken at the “Hidden Valley” site, en-route to Mount Sharp, by NASA’s Curiosity rover. A variety of mudstone strata in the area
indicate a lakebed deposit, with river- and stream-related deposits nearby. This image was taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam)
on Curiosity on Sol 703.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity’s Panoramic view of Mount Remarkable at ‘The Kimberley Waypoint’ where rover conducted 3rd drilling campaign
inside Gale Crater on Mars. The navcam raw images were taken on Sol 603, April 17, 2014, stitched and colorized.
"Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo. Featured on APOD – Astronomy Picture of the Day on May 7, 2014
NASA’s Curiosity rover looks back to ramp with potential 4th drill site target at ‘Bonanza King’ rock outcrop in ‘Hidden Valley’
in this photo mosaic view captured on Aug. 6, 2014, Sol 711. Inset shows results of brushing on Aug. 17, Sol 722,
that revealed gray patch beneath red dust. Note the rover’s partial selfie, valley walls, deep wheel tracks in the sand dunes and distant rim
of Gale crater beyond the ramp. Navcam camera raw images stitched and colorized.
"Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo.
The web site of The Mars Reconnaissance Web Site"
Seasonal flows spotted by HiRISE on northwestern slopes in Hale Crater. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)
As the midsummer Sun beats down on the southern mountains of Mars, bringing daytime temperatures soaring up to a balmy 25�C (77�F),
some of their slopes become darkened with long, rusty stains that may be the result of water seeping out from just below the surface.
It has been proposed that in Gale Crater, where the Curiosity rover landed in August 2012, lakes developed to various depths
after the large central mound (informally referred to as Mt. Sharp) had evolved to a form close to its current topography.
New estimates of water ice on Mars suggest there may be large reservoirs of underground ice at non-polar latitudes.
Credit: Feldman et al., 2011
Sunset photographed from Gale Crater by the Mars Curiosity rover on April 15, 2015.
The four images shown in sequence here were taken over a span of 6 minutes, 51 seconds
using the left eye of the rover’s Mastcam. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity extends robotic arm and conducts test drill at “Buckskin” rock target at bright toned
“Lion” outcrop on the lower region of Mount Sharp on Mars, seen at right. Gale Crater eroded rim seen
in the distant background at left, in this composite multisol mosaic of navcam raw images taken to Sol 1059, July 30, 2015.
Navcam camera raw images stitched and colorized."Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzoo
by KEN KREMER on AUGUST 4, 2015
Curiosity extends robotic arm and conducts sample drilling at “Buckskin”
rock target at bright toned “Lion” outcrop at the base of Mount Sharp on Mars,
seen at right, during August 2015. Gale Crater eroded rim seen in the distant background at left,
in this composite multisol mosaic of navcam raw images taken to Sol 1059, July 30, 2015.
Navcam camera raw images stitched and colorized.
Inset: MAHLI color camera up close image of full depth drill hole at “Buckskin” rock target on Sol 1060.
"Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Marco Di Lorenzo
Space news August 26, 2015
NASA's MSL Curiosity Rover used its Mastcam instrument on Sol 1081 of its mission, creating these images of Mount Sharp and Gale Crater.
Assembled into a 360 panorama by yours truly. Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
Colour-coded topographic view of the Colles Nili region, showing the relative heights and depths of terrain. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin
Artist’s impression of the Mars Express spacecraft in orbit. Credit: ESA/Medialab
At this pit on Mars, the steep slope at the northern edge (toward the top of the image) exposes a cross-section of a thick sheet of underground water ice. The image is from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, with an enhanced-color central swath between grayscale on each side. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS
A cross-section of underground ice is exposed at the steep slope that appears bright blue in this enhanced-color view from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The scene is about 550 yards wide. The scarp drops about 140 yards from the level ground in the upper third of the image. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS
Artist�s conception of MAVEN observing the �Christmas Lights Aurora� on Mars. (University of Colorado)
Just a day after skywatchers at mid- to upper-latitudes around the world were treated to a particularly energetic display
of auroras on the night of March 17, 2015 as a result of an intense geomagnetic storm, researchers announced findings from NASA�s
MAVEN mission of auroral action observed on Mars � although in energetic ultraviolet wavelengths rather than visible light.
by Bob King on May 13, 2015
Using its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS), MAVEN recorded numerous auroras in December 2014.
The map shows that the aurora was widespread in the northern hemisphere, not tied to any geographic location.
The aurora was seen in all observations during a 5-day period.
Credit: University of Colorado
by KEN KREMER on SEPTEMBER 28, 2015
These dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill on Mars are inferred to have been
formed by contemporary flowing water. Recently, planetary scientists detected hydrated salts on these slopes at Hale crater,
corroborating their original hypothesis that the streaks are indeed formed by liquid water. The blue color seen upslope of the dark streaks
are thought not to be related to their formation, but instead are from the presence of the mineral pyroxene.
The image is produced by draping an orthorectified (Infrared-Red-Blue/Green(IRB))
false color image (ESP_030570_1440) on a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the same site produced by High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment
(University of Arizona). Vertical exaggeration is 1.5. Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Dark narrow streaks called recurring slope lineae emanating out of the walls of Garni crater on Mars.
The dark streaks here are up to few hundred meters in length. They are hypothesized to be formed by flow of briny liquid water on Mars.
The image is produced by draping an orthorectified (RED) image (ESP_031059_1685) on a Digital Terrain Model (DTM)
of the same site produced by High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (University of Arizona).
Vertical exaggeration is 1.5. Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
The dark, narrow streaks flowing downhill on Mars at sites such as this portion of Horowitz Crater are inferred
to be formed by seasonal flow of water on modern-day Mars. The streaks are roughly the length of a football field.
These dark features on the slopes are called “recurring slope lineae” or RSL.
The imaging and topographical information in this processed view come from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment
(HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Streaks that appear and vanish on steep slopes are evidence of liquid water
on Mars NASA SAYS.The streaks of highly salted water lengthen in warm months and fade in cooler months.
Credit NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.
Striations exposed on the surface between Martian sand dunes (one pictured at top) in Lucaya Crater indicate fluctuating levels of salty groundwater. At “a” we see possible cross beds which are tilted layers of sand within larger layers deposited by wind or water. At b, dark and light strata are similar to that exposed in the dune at top and resemble the striations seen in the Namib Desert on Earth. The photo was taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in infrared, red and blue light. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A valley lined with sand dunes crosses the southern floor of the 21-mile-wide Lucaya Crater, located at latitude 11° south and longitude 52° east on Mars. Striations found between the dunes may have been created by recent water flows. The box shows the area pictured in the close up above. The 3.7-mile-long valley measures between 2,000 and 2,600 feet wide. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech with additions by the author(Bob King)
Compare these cemented arctuate striations between dunes near Walvis Bay, Namibia with those in Lucaya Crater’s valley in the earlier image. White arrows highlight particularly prominent examples. Photos in (b) and (c) were taken from the ground. The excavated pit in (c) shows that the dipping sediment layers below the surface match the protruding layers on the surface. Alternating light and dark layers have different salt composition and grain size. Credit: Google Earth (left) and Dr Mary Bourke, Trinity College Dublin
MOLA topographic data, colorized to show the maximum (1,100?m) and minimum (700?m) level of an ancient sea. Credit: NASA/Joseph R. Michalski (et al.)/Nature Communications
The Eridania basin of southern Mars is believed to have held a sea about 3.7 billion years ago, with seafloor deposits likely resulting from underwater hydrothermal activity. Credit: NASA
Illustrates showing the origin of some deposits in the Eridania basin of southern Mars resulting from seafloor hydrothermal activity more than 3 billion years ago. Credit: NASA
A scale model compares the volume of water contained in lakes and seas on the Earth and Mars to the estimated volume of water contained in an ancient Eridania sea. Credit: JJoseph R. Michalski (et al.)/Nature Communications
In the past, glaciers may have existed on the surface of Mars, providing meltwater during the summer to create the features we see today. Credit: NASA/Caltech/JPL/UTA/UA/MSSS/ESA/DLR Eric M. De Jong, Ali Safaeinili, Jason Craig, Mike Stetson, Koji Kuramura, John W. Holt
Extensive valley networks spidering through the southern highlands of Mars suggest that the planet was once warmer and wetter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University
Nanedi Valles, a roughly 800-kilometre valley extending southwest-northeast and lying in the region of Xanthe Terra, southwest of Chryse Planitia. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
Was Mars warm and watery (i.e. a blue planet?) or an ice ball that occasionally experienced melting? Credit: Kevin Gill
These dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill on Mars are inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water. However, a new study by planetary scientists indicates that these may actually be the result of dry flows. Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
This inner slope of a Martian crater has several of the seasonal dark streaks called “recurrent slope lineae,” or RSL, which were caputred by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS
Dark, narrow streaks flowing downhill on Mars at sites like the Horowitz Crater are inferred to be due to seasonal flows of water. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter investigating Martian water cycle. Credit: NASA/JPL/Corby Waste
This low-angle self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the site from which it reached down to drill into a rock target called "Buckskin" on lower Mount Sharp. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
MRO image of Gale Crater illustrating the landing location and trek of the Rover Curiosity since it landed in 2012. Credits: NASA/JPL, illustration, T.Reyes
Simulated view of Gale Crater Lake on Mars. This illustration depicts a lake of water partially filling Mars’ Gale Crater, receiving runoff from snow melting on the crater’s northern rim. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS
NASA discusses new science results from NASA's Mars Curiosity rover. The media and public are invited to ask questions. Michelle Thaller, assistant director of science for communications, in NASA's Planetary Science Division will host the chat. Participants include: Paul Mahaffy, director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland Jen Eigenbrode, research scientist at Goddard Chris Webster, senior research fellow, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California Ashwin Vasavada, Mars Science Laboratory project scientist, JPL The public can send questions on social media by using #askNASA. For information about NASA's Curiosity rover, visit: All chats are moderated. Inappropriate language or posts that harass other individuals will be removed. Be courteous Use respectful language Protect your private information No spam, sexually explicit or discriminatory material Stay on topic
An atmospheric drama has been playing out on Mars lately. Up until now, the main actor has been methane, and its unusual, spiking behaviour. But now Oxygen is taking the stage, and performing some theatrics of its own.
Seasonal oxygen variation in the Martian atmosphere at Gale Crater. Image Credit: Melissa Trainer/Dan Gallagher/NASA Goddard
The SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instrument suite. Image Credit: By NASA/GSFC/SAM By NASA/GSFC/SAM – Public Domain, WIKIPEDIA
Methane exists in Mars’ atmosphere, though only in exceedingly small concentrations. In the Gale Crater, it’s barely measurable, though MSL Curiosity has detected it at a concentration of 0.00000004% on average. SAM’s Tunable Laser Spectrometer can detect it, and has sensed an expected seasonal rise and fall. But what is so far unexplained is methane’s 60% increase in the summer months.
This image illustrates possible ways methane might get into Mars’ atmosphere and also be removed from it: microbes (left) under the surface that release the gas into the atmosphere, weathering of rock (right) and stored methane ice called a clathrate. Ultraviolet light can work on surface materials to produce methane as well as break it apart into other molecules (formaldehyde and methanol) to produce carbon dioxide. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SAM-GSFC/Univ. of Michigan
Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars
Credits: Melissa G. Trainer1 , Michael H. Wong2 , Timothy H. McConnochie3, Heather B. Franz1, Sushil K. Atreya2, Pamela G. Conrad4, Franck Lefèvre5, Paul R. Mahaffy1 , Charles A. Malespin1, Heidi L.K. Manning6, Javier Martín‐Torres7,8, Germán M. Martínez9,2, Christopher P. McKay10, Rafael Navarro‐González11 , Álvaro Vicente‐Retortillo2, Christopher R. Webster12, and María‐Paz Zorzano13,7
Artist’s rendering of a solar storm hitting Mars and stripping ions from the planet’s upper atmosphere.
Credits: NASA/GSFC
Billions of years ago, Mars was a very different world. Liquid water flowed in long rivers
that emptied into lakes and shallow seas. A thick atmosphere blanketed the planet and kept it warm.
Credit: NASA
Video caption: Created using data from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission,
this visualization shows how the solar wind strips ions from the Mars’ upper atmosphere into space.
Credits: NASA-GSFC/CU Boulder LASP/University of Iowa
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft celebrated one Earth year
in orbit around Mars on Sept. 21, 2015. MAVEN was launched to Mars on Nov. 18, 2013 from
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and successfully entered Mars’ orbit on Sept. 21, 2014.
Credit: NASA
MAVEN is NASA’s next Mars orbiter and is due to blastoff on Nov. 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
It will study the evolution of the Red Planet’s atmosphere and climate.
Universe Today visited MAVEN inside the clean room at the Kennedy Space Center. With solar panels unfurled,
this is exactly how MAVEN looks when flying through space and circling Mars.
Credit: Ken Kremer
NASA’s MAVEN Mars orbiter, chief scientist Prof. Bruce Jakosky of CU-Boulder and Ken Kremer of Universe Today
inside the clean room at the Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 27, 2013.
MAVEN launched to Mars on Nov. 18, 2013 from Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer
Image of a future mission to mars?
A critical step for mankind
Modified Spacex Capsule
Artist�s conception of the futuristic Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) entering the atmosphere of Mars. Credit: NASA
Assuming we can get humans all the way to Mars, how the heck do we land them on the Red Planet?
The challenge is the atmosphere of Mars is very thin, making parachutes tricky. Heavier payloads require unique ideas to get them on the surface
by ELIZABETH HOWELL on JANUARY 8, 2015
Olympus Mons from orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
We�ve seen volcanoes or geysers erupting on the moons of Io and Enceladus.
Volcanic remnants remain on Mars and the Moon. But it�s tough for rovers to get inside these challenging environments.BR> So NASA�s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is trying out a new robot here on Earth to one day, they hope, get inside volcanoes elsewhere
in the Solar System.
by MATT WILLIAMS on MAY 31, 2015
Artist illustration of a Mars Colony. Image credit: NASA
Building Proposals for Mars Colonization Image Credit: Found on futuristicnews.com
A sustainable outpost on the Red Planet may be humanity's only chance of survival, but challenges include growing food and overcoming insomnia CREDIT: NEW SCIENTIST
I’d always wanted to visit Mars. Instead I got Hawaii. There, about 8,200 feet above sea level on Mauna Loa, sits a geodesically domed… Plans Courtesy of Blue Planet Research Bryan Christie Design
Uploaded on Nov 10, 2009 Could global warming, a problem here on Earth, be the solution to making Mars a habitable planet? Expedition Week: Mars: Making the New Earth :National Geographic Channel
Mars-manned-mission vehicle (NASA Human Exploration of Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0) Feb 2009.
Credit: NASA
A few “fan-based” Mars Colonization Transport (MCT) design concepts, which Musk hopes to use
to ferry colonists to Mars 100 people at a time. Credit: Reddit
Is This Proof Of An Early Civilization?(June 2015)
In the latest news on space exploration, NASA’s Mars rover found what looks like the
image of a Great Pyramid found back on Earth. The images are part of a series of anomalies
found on the Red Planet. This May 7 “pyramid” image has stargazers believing that
intelligent life exists or once thrived on Mars.
June 25, 2015 As part of the British Interplanetary Society's annual conference on extraterrestrial liberty,
a diverse group of thinkers are contemplating how denizens of a future Martian colony could counteract
the emergence of a dictatorial leader. The gathering, which in year's past looked at how to construct a government in space,
aims to determine regulations and safeguards that would prevent the emergence of any would-be interstellar despot,
since violent opposition to such a scenario could prove to be calamitous for everyone.
This render shows what the Prandtl-m might look like on Mars. NASA
Artist's impression of the Mars Base Camp in orbit around Mars Credit: Lockheed Martin
Artist’s impression of Lockheed Martin’s proposed Mars Lander. Credit: Lockheed Martin
At no other time in history have we had the technology, the know-how, and the public enthusiasm to get humans to Mars. Orion is NASA’s spaceship that will take humans into deep space, but it needs to be a part of a larger system to go to Mars. Lockheed Martin’s concept is called Mars Base Camp and it’s our idea of how to send humanity’s first crewed mission to Mars in about a decade. The Mars Base Camp orbiting outpost could give scientists/astronauts the ability to operate rovers and drones on the surface in real time – helping us better understand the Red Planet and answer fundamental questions: Where did we come from? Where are we going? Are we alone? Category Film & Animation License
MARS BASE PROPOSAL FROM THE Planetary Society
Artist's concept for a possible colony on Mars, which the United Arab Emirates indicated it is committed to building by 2117. Credit: Ville Ericsson
Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre MBRSC
Published on May 6, 2015 For more information: Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube License
The "Mars 2117" project will develop an Emirati and international team of scientists to push the human exploration of Mars in years to come. HH Sheikh Mohammed
"Mars 2117" is a seed we are sowing today to reap the fruit of new generations led by a passion for science and advancing human knowledge. HH Sheikh Mohammed
which will serve as the center of its crewed activities on the Red Planet. Credit: NASA
Will SpaceX finally give us one? Image: NASA
Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
will require protection from long term exposure to the cancer causing space radiation environment.
Credit: NASA.
Von Braun had time to write Mars Projekt (1952).
Credit: Mars Project, Von Braun
Credit: m.earthtripper.com
below the side hatch that astronauts will use to get in and out of the spacecraft. Credit: NASA
Artist's illustration of a fission power system on the surface of Mars using four 10-kilowatt units. (Image: © NASA)
Information on Nuclear Reactor for Mars Outpost Could Be Ready to Fly by 2022
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.
At one time, Mars had a magnetic field similar to Earth, which prevented its atmosphere from being stripped away. Credit: NASA
Artist’s impression of the apparatus that would provide artificial magnetic shielding. Credit: Marco Peroni Ingegneria
Artist’s impression of the central core of the spaceship, around which the modules will be attached for transport. Credit: Marco Peroni Ingegneria
Artist’s impression of the spaceship that would transport the modular base to Mars. Credit: Marco Peroni Ingegneria
The scale model for the toroid-shaped electrical apparatus that would provide magnetic shielding to a Martian base. Credit: Marco Peroni Ingegneria
Artist’s impression of a single Martian module. Credit: Marco Peroni Ingegneria
Artist’s impression of the modular base’s layout. Credit: Marco Peroni Ingegneria
