Clapway Archives » MarsNews.com

July 27th, 2015

NASA Launches a New Space Camp Aimed at Recruiting for Future Mars Expeditions Clapway

Space camp was an idea that always seemed more like a farfetched dream than a place a child might actually go visit, but new reports indicate NASA is looking to bring a new ground-breaking space camp in hopes of fueling interest among candidates who may go on to become part of future Mars expeditions.

NASA has seen a declining budget and support for years, despite all of the new discoveries and technologies the world has benefited from. One element of this new space camp is to drum up some additional interest in the program through the country’s future leaders.

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Posted by tourdemars to: Budget, Humans To Mars

March 31st, 2015

Mars Mission: Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator Clapway

There is a mission to Mars underway at the moment, and NASA is proudly sending off its Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator starting at 12PM EST today.

The purpose for this send-off will be to test the craft’s spin rate through what they call a “spin table test.” This will help them determine how effective their system is and to make sure everything is working properly so that a soft landing will be possible when it does go on its Mars Mission.

The plan is to send the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator on its Mars Mission in June of this year.

During this live streamed event, the public will have access to everything that is going on and there will also be experts available to answer any questions people may have about the project and about the spacecraft.

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Posted by tourdemars to: Technology

March 10th, 2015

Mars Rover Opportunity Finds New Type Of Rock Clapway

Mars rover Opportunity is stopping to investigate some oddly shaped rocks that have a composition never seen on Mars before. The blocky outcrops were spotted when Opportunity climbed an overlook to survey “Marathon Valley”, the current location of the mission of exploration. Matt Golombeck of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) explained the detour: “We drove to the edge of a plateau to look down in the valley, and we found these big, dark-gray blocks along the ridgeline. We checked one and found its composition is different from any ever measured before on Mars. So, whoa! Let’s study these more before moving on.”
Spectrometer analysis indicates that the first of the two rocks has a relatively higher concentration of aluminum and silicon. According to Steve Squyres, Mars Exploration Rover (MER) principal investigator of Cornell University, it seems to be a new type of rock, unlike any other found so far on Mars.

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Posted by tourdemars to: Mars Exploration Rovers