On January 3, 1999, NASA’s Mars Polar Lander roared away from Earth on a bold mission to explore a unique region of the red planet. The spacecraft was to gently set itself down near the border of Mars’ southern polar cap, the first ever spacecraft to study the distant world’s polar environment. After months of crossing interplanetary space, Mars Polar Lander was in the final minutes of slowing itself down, ready to make a self-controlled touch down. It was never heard from again. Nobody knows for sure exactly what occurred at journey’s end.
December 10th, 2003
Nuclear probe to journey to Jupiter’s moons New Scientist
Details of a proposed mission to Jupiter and its moons to search for hints of life have been announced by NASA scientists. The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) will be the first spacecraft to be powered by a uranium nuclear reactor. NASA plans to launch the vessel after 2011 to sniff out life or its potential toeholds on Jupiter and three of its moons. JIMO will also be the largest spacecraft ever sent to the outer Solar System, and the first in a series of nuclear-powered spacecraft that form “Project Prometheus,” a programme NASA initiated earlier in 2003.
December 9th, 2003
Nuclear probe to watch Jovian moons
NASA plans to dispatch a hulking nuclear-powered spacecraft to determine whether three of Jupiter
December 9th, 2003
Nuclear-powered spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s moons
NASA plans to dispatch a hulking nuclear-powered spacecraft to determine whether three of Jupiter’s icy, planet-sized moons have the potential to harbor life. The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, or Jimo, would spend monthlong stints circling the moons Callisto, Europa and Ganymede, which are believed to have vast oceans tucked beneath thick covers of ice.
December 4th, 2003
Mars: Not Because It is Easy Astrobiology Magazine
Two out of three missions to the red planet have failed. One reason there have been so many losses is that there have been so many attempts. “Mars is a favorite target,” says Dr. Firouz Naderi, manager of the Mars Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “We — the United States and former USSR — have been going to Mars for 40 years. The first time we flew by a planet, it was Mars. The first time we orbited a planet, it was Mars. The first time we landed on a planet it was Mars, and the first time we roved around the surface of a planet, it was Mars. We go there often.” Another reason is that getting to Mars is hard.
December 3rd, 2003
Membranes on Mars
The ideal technology for space travel would be simple, robust, reliable, lightweight, and volumetrically efficient. It would have no moving parts, which would make it less likely to break. It would be a passive technology, not requiring any energy from the outside. It would be small. It would be light. An ideal technology for space, says chemical engineer Doug Way, is the membrane. Well, OK, membranes can’t do everything. Membranes won’t boost us into space. And they won’t carry us to Mars. But membranes could solve some of the problems of traveling there. And once we arrive, they could help us get back.
November 23rd, 2003
Going to Mars? Don New Haven Register
Sooner or later, the United States will want to travel to Mars, if only because it
November 20th, 2003
Prometheus Nuclear Program Achieves Milestone
NASA’s Project Prometheus received a gentle nudge toward reality, courtesy of the first successful test of a High Power Electric Propulsion (HiPEP) ion engine. The event marked the first in a series of performance tests to demonstrate new high-velocity and high-power thrust needed for use in nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) spacecraft.
November 5th, 2003
NASA prepares K9 rover for mission to Mars Santa Cruz Sentinel
While it may be tough to teach an old dog new tricks, NASA scientists and engineers are finding it
November 3rd, 2003
Russia plans Mars nuclear station
They say that all the necessary technical drawings have now been completed, and – after a few minor niggles have been ironed out – all will be ready for the construction work to begin. The power plant should be up and running by 2030.