Nearly three weeks after the Mars rover Opportunity encountered the first meteorite ever discovered on the surface of a foreign planet, its sibling, the Mars rover Spirit, stumbled upon a native Martian rock that scientists claim provides strong evidence of the existence of liquid water during the Martian past. The rover spent nearly 13 earth days drilling into the rock, analyzing its interior and taking pictures, despite reduced energy due to dust storms. The investigation of the rock, nicknamed Peace, revealed a large quantity of sulfate salt in the rock’s interior — a substance that may have been deposited by liquid water.
February 16th, 2005
New Rock Type Found at Mars
NASA’s Spirit rover found a new class of rock on Mars that provides additional clues to the planet’s watery past. The rock, named “Peace,” is an exposure of bedrock in the Columbia Hills within the Gusev Crater, where Spirit landed 13 months ago. Though appearing mundane in a black-and-white image, the rock is significant to scientists for what they’ve learned by digging into it and analyzing it with a suite of instruments. Peace contains more sulfate salt than any other rock Spirit has examined.
February 12th, 2005
The Martian Dust Bowl Astrobiology Magazine
After a year on Mars, the rovers have been covered with dust. Scientists believe one cannot understand today’s changes on Mars–its weather, temperature or water–without also accounting for dust. But the engineers trying to extend the lifetime of the rovers’ solar power are as concerned about the first year of dust.
February 8th, 2005
Panoramas show rovers
It’s been weeks since the Mars rovers marked their anniversaries on the Red Planet, but the happy returns are still being processed back on Earth. Over the past few days, the rover team has released jaw-dropping, true-color panoramas from Spirit as well as Opportunity. The Opportunity rover’s panorama shows the place where its heat shield crashed during the probe’s descent a little more than a year ago, making a light reddish mark on the brick-red plain called Meridiani Planum.
January 28th, 2005
NASA Rovers’ Adventures on Mars Continue
NASA lit a birthday candle today for its twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The Spirit rover begins its second year on Mars investigating puzzling rocks unlike any found earlier. The rovers successfully completed their three-month primary missions in April. They astound even their designers with how well they continue operating. The unanticipated longevity is allowing both rovers to reach additional destinations and to keep making discoveries. Spirit landed on Jan. 3 and Opportunity Jan. 24, 2004, respectively.
January 24th, 2005
Opportunity Rover As Seen From Orbit Malin Space Science Systems
The Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, landed on the red planet a year ago. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) cPROTO image (0.5 cm/pixel) is the only picture obtained thus far that shows the tracks made by the Opportunity rover. This is a sub-frame of MOC image R16-02188. It was acquired on 26 April 2004, during Opportunity’s 91st sol–the first day of the MER-B Extended Mission. At that time, Opportunity had recently completed exploration of nearby Fram Crater, and was enroute toward Endurance Crater, where it would eventually spend most of the rest of 2004. The rover itself can be seen in this image– an amazing accomplishment, considering that the MGS spacecraft was nearly 400 kilometers (nearly 250 miles) away at the time!
January 20th, 2005
Mars Rover’s Meteorite Discovery Triggers Questions
The discovery of an iron meteorite sitting on Mars by NASA
January 19th, 2005
NASA Rover Finds Meteorite on Mars Surface
In a stroke of luck, the NASA rover Opportunity has discovered a basketball-size metal meteorite sitting on the surface of Mars, the mission’s main scientist said Tuesday. Scientists believe the meteorite might lead to clues about how martian winds are reshaping the planet’s surface. Opportunity came upon the meteorite last week while performing other tasks. Tests confirmed it was a nickel-iron meteorite, said Steve Squyres, a Cornell University scientist who is the principal investigator for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers mission.
January 17th, 2005
Mars special: Celebrating a year of exploration New Scientist
IN SPACE, a year can be a long time. Back at the beginning of 2004, the idea that the Red Planet had once been covered with rivers, lakes and seas was just a theory. Now abundant evidence on the ground has turned it into established fact. A year ago it was scientific heresy even to talk of the possibility of life existing today on Mars. But with the proof of past water, plus evidence that there was methane in the air not so long ago, it is now a subject for serious discussion.
January 17th, 2005
Mars Rover Inspects Intriguing Rock
Scientists controlling the Opportunity Mars rover are taking an up-close look at an intriguing pitted rock on Mars, now dubbed “Heat Shield Rock”. A speculative view about the object is that the Mars robot has come across a meteorite. A detailed investigation of the rock is underway, work that should reveal the true nature of the object.