Future hunts for past or present life on Mars, hauling back to Earth samples of martian rock and soil, as well as setting the stage for a human voyage to the red planet is taking on a decidedly European look. European Space Agency (ESA) officials are taking steps to shift into high gear the building of the ExoMars robotic rover mission. The lander would be launched in 2011, likely onboard a Soyuz Fregat 2b booster from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
March 8th, 2005
Bringing Mars back to Earth icWales
The Aurora mission first includes a return capsule to be launched in 2011 and put into orbit around Mars. Two years later, a second spacecraft carrying a descent module and ascent vehicle will be launched on a similar trajectory. During its final approach to Mars, the descent module and ascent vehicle will be released and make a controlled landing on the planet. Carrying its precious samples, the ascent vehicle will later lift off from the surface, then rendezvous with the first craft. After receiving the canister loaded with Martian rocks, it will return to Earth.
November 25th, 2004
Future Robots May “Hop” Across Mars Universe Today
NASA’s Spirit Rover has just completed a long hard slog across difficult Martian terrain to reach the Columbia hills. The short journey of just a couple of kilometres has taken Spirit months. Imagine if it could thoroughly analyze an area and then just pick up and fly somewhere new? NASA is considering a proposal from Pioneer Astronautics, which envisions a vehicle that could land on Mars, refuel with local materials, and then fly hundreds of kilometres to explore; repeating this process over and over again – the Martian Gashopper Aircraft.
November 11th, 2004
Mars answers spur questions Rocky Mountain News
Five spacecraft are circling Mars and creeping across its ruddy surface, looking for traces of long-gone waters and signs that the cold, arid planet may once have been hospitable to life. The robotic martian invasion – three orbiters and two six-wheeled rovers – has already uncovered strong evidence that water once flowed on Mars and is now locked in subsurface ice. But big questions about water on Mars remain. When did it flow? How long did it last? How much was there? Where did it come from? Where did it go? Perhaps the most tantalizing question: Were there long-lived watery environments where microbial life could have gained a foothold?
October 8th, 2004
Sopping salts could reveal history of water on Mars Indiana University
Epsom-like salts believed to be common on Mars may be a major source of water there, say geologists at Indiana University Bloomington and Los Alamos National Laboratory. In their report in this week’s Nature, the scientists also speculate that the salts will provide a chemical record of water on the Red Planet.
“The Mars Odyssey orbiter recently showed that there may be as much as 10 percent water hidden in the Martian near-surface,” said David Bish, Haydn Murray Chair of Applied Clay Mineralogy at IU and a co-author of the report. “We were able to show that under Mars-like conditions, magnesium sulfate salts can contain a great deal of water. Our findings also suggest that the kinds of sulfates we find on Mars could give us a lot of insight into the history of water and mineral formation there.”
October 8th, 2004
Russia to Send Spacecraft to Mars Moon in 2009 MosNews
Russia is planning to launch a spacecraft to one of Mars
October 1st, 2004
UK aims to be major space player
The UK is almost certainly going back to Mars and is set to become a major player in Europe’s efforts to explore the Solar System.
Science minister Lord Sainsbury says the country will pay the
August 3rd, 2004
Life on Mars Likely, Scientist Claims
Those twin robots hard at work on Mars have transmitted teasing views that reinforce the prospect that microbial life may exist on the red planet. Results from NASA