Huge amounts of water — enough to cause catastrophic floods — gushed out of fissures onto the surface of Mars relatively recently, scientists who analyzed photographs of the red planet said on Wednesday. The deluge washed the equivalent of one and a quarter times the water found in Lake Erie onto the surface of the planet near its equator, carving out a series of tear-shaped mesas, the team at the University of Arizona reported. And it was an unusual torrent, spurting from underground much like lava, the scientists report in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
February 12th, 2002
Strange cloud puzzles Mars scientists Ananova
Astronomers have found a large spiral cloud above a giant Martian volcano. A passing probe took a picture but scientists aren’t sure how long it has been there. They say the cloud is probably made up of fine dust grains and it is spiraling because of wind patterns in the volcano crater. Similar clouds were seen for several days in the same area but research teams say they don’t know if it was a single cloud that persisted or one that grew each afternoon.
February 9th, 2002
Mars machine lands professional engineers team on top Purdue News Service
The sky was the limit for the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers’ “Mission to Mars” today as they captured first place in the 20th annual Theta Tau Fraternity’s Rube Goldberg Machine Contest at Purdue University. Drawing inspiration collected from trips to science museums and watching the Learning Channel, the 10-member team hoisted the U.S. flag over a simulated mini-Martian landscape to the strains of “Thus Spake Zarathustra” and Lenny Kravitz’s “Fly Away.”
February 6th, 2002
From Mir to Mars: Cosmonaut and space scientist to speak Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium
On Feb. 19, Cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and Dr. Alexander Martynov, former director of ballistics for the Russian Mission Control Centre, will speak on their experiences “From Mir to Mars.” The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in the University of Washington Electrical Engineering Building, Room 105. Admission is free and open to the public. The lecture is sponsored by Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium. Both men will be available to sign autographs after the lecture.
January 17th, 2002
The Planetary Society Asks the Public to Speak Up About NASA Missions The Planetary Society
Think NASA’s on the right track or do you think the agency needs a change of direction? The Planetary Society seeks public input for the Planetary Decadal Survey being conducted by the National Research Council. At NASA’s request, the National Research Council is conducting a planetary science community assessment of the priorities for U.S. planetary research programs for the next 10 years. The Planetary Society has been asked to assist this “decadal survey” by seeking input from the general public about planetary exploration. Respondents can access the survey questionnaire online. But hurry, the deadline for completing the form is January 31, 2002.
January 16th, 2002
Europe Shapes Future Moon, Mars Exploration Plan
European advanced planners are sketching out a master plan for stepping out into space, beyond the International Space Station. The European Space Agency (ESA) has given the go-ahead to start a new European long-term initiative for robotic and human exploration of the solar system. Tagged the Aurora program, the call-to-action agenda includes dispatching robotic and human space missions to bodies elsewhere in the solar system. In particular, the effort puts at high premium those celestial objects that hold promise for traces of life. The first year in a three-year “preparatory period” for Aurora is now underway, a time period dedicated to hammering out relevant technologies and types of future missions.
January 3rd, 2002
Canadians aim for spot on NASA’s mission to Mars Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Space Agency is vying to contribute robotic expertise for NASA’s upcoming mission to Mars. Scientists want to satisfy their curiosity by looking for signs of life on the Red Planet. Since Viking first landed on the planet 25 years ago, American, Russian, Japanese and European missions have all tried to learn from Mars. “Mars is really the next big frontier to get to and the international community will go to Mars with or without Canada,” says Alain Berinstain of the Canadian Space Agency. “So it’s up to us to decide where this fits into our priorities.”
December 23rd, 2001
Red Planet missions far from science fiction Denver Post
With the 2001 Mars Odyssey settling into orbit, scientists and engineers feel free to dream of the next missions to the Red Planet. As NASA scientist Stephen Saunders exclaimed after Odyssey was captured in orbit on Oct. 23: “Well, Mars, we’re back.” If a slate of sci-fi-sounding scenarios is an indication, Mars science is back in a big way and Coloradans are involved up to their phasers. They see gliders flying into the Valles Marineris – the so-called “Grand Canyon of Mars.” They envision a “mother ship” seeding Mars with robotic weather stations. They want to “CAT scan” the Martian atmosphere and use hot-water jets to drill into the planet’s layered polar ice cap. Solar-heated balloons that inflate by themselves, an airplane that works in Mars’ carbon dioxide atmosphere and a small, hopping robot – called “frogbot” – are being tested by NASA.
December 7th, 2001
Sky’s the Limit The Cleburne Times-Review
After years of summers spent at archaeological digs in search of past civilizations, Cleburne High School (CHS) senior Susan Smith has helped plan for a future on Mars as a member of the 2001 Texas Aerospace Scholars program. Susan’s plans for summer vacation changed last spring when she was selected to represent State Congressional District 22 in the second annual Texas Aerospace Scholars Program which brings the top high school science students in the state together to work on space-related projects. The honorees are divided into teams and sent to Houston for a week of study and learning at the Johnson Space Center.
November 16th, 2001
ESA to Clear Launch of Russian Rockets from Space Center in Guiana Interfax
The ministerial council of the European Space Agency (ESA) will endorse a license for Russia to launch Soyuz rockets from the Kuru space port (French Guiana) tentatively in March 2002, the ESA Russian office chief Alain Fournier-Sicre has reported to Interfax.