After several days of growing speculation NASA has scheduled an announcement at NASA Headquarters regarding discoveries made by the Mars Exploration Rovers
February 26th, 2004
Spirit rover on its way to Mars crater
The Mars rover Spirit will go on a two-week trip through rocky terrain to reach the border of a crater named Bonneville, NASA announced Thursday. The crater is 150 meters (492 feet) long and about 15 meters (49 feet) deep and offers a window into Mars’ geology, said Ray Arvidson, assistant chief of scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
February 26th, 2004
Mars Rocks! Eclectic Music Moves Rover Mission
You won’t find the following playlist on any radio station. Only a Martian would mix ABBA with R. Kelly, Beyonc
February 25th, 2004
Power Drain Threatening Mars Rover Lifespan
Engineers must replace software in the Mars rover Opportunity to stop a power-draining malfunction that could cut short the robot geologist’s life on the Red Planet, a NASA official said on Wednesday. A switch that operates an onboard heater has been stuck in the “on” position since shortly after the golf cart-sized rover landed at the Meridiani Planum near Mars’ equator on Jan. 24, 2004.
February 25th, 2004
Mars rock food for thought The Scotsman
NASA scientists are baffled by new microscopic photographs of a Martian rock taken by the United States space agency Opportunity rover. The images, which have been posted on a NASA website, show the highly detailed surface of a rock dubbed El Capitan that has been undergoing examination by the robot geologist. However, unlike its towering namesake in Yosemite National Park in California, the rock is probably about as high as a street curb.
February 24th, 2004
Meanwhile, on Mars: Spirit rover is halfway to crater
The most closely watched, and likely the slowest, road trip in history hit its halfway mark Tuesday as NASA’s Spirit rover continued its drive to a nearby Martian crater. Spirit added another 100 feet in its travels Tuesday; it has about 400 feet to go before it reaches the “Bonneville” crater. Scientists hope to drive the rover below the crater’s rim to examine deeper layers of rock. In recent days, the rover has investigated a 3-inch-deep trench dug with its own wheels and taken readings of its surroundings within Mars’ Connecticut-sized Gusev Crater region.
February 24th, 2004
NASA Rover Seeks Signs of Martian Water
NASA’s Opportunity rover drilled into a rocky outcrop on Mars Tuesday as scientists prepared to examine the stone to learn whether it was formed under watery conditions that may have been favorable to life. The wheeled robot used its rock-abrasion tool to grind 0.16 inch into the surface of a rock dubbed “El Capitan,” project manager Richard Cook said.
February 24th, 2004
The Mars rover Spirit got moving again Thursday after an interruption caused by cold, and controllers figured out how to drive its twin, Opportunity, so that it won
February 23rd, 2004
Mars Rover Discoveries Point to Planet’s Origins
NASA scientists are excitedly speculating that discoveries made by a Mars rover over the weekend will help them finally unravel whether water played a role in the Red Planet’s geologic history, a science team member said on Monday. Scientists were poring over data and microscopic images returned to Earth by the rover Opportunity, which spent the weekend examining a multilayered rock nicknamed El Capitan embedded in the side of the small crater where Opportunity landed on Jan. 24.
February 23rd, 2004
Into the Briny Deep – Perhaps Astrobiology Magazine
Opportunity has been getting the lion’s share of the attention in recent weeks, because its twin sister Spirit has been engaged mostly in long-distance driving. But it may be about to steal the spotlight. For several sols, Spirit has been working its way towards nearby Bonneville crater. But even before it gets there, the mobile robot may make a critical discovery. It may find evidence of liquid water on Mars.