Australian scientists are planning to build a “space station” in the remote Outback to simulate the conditions that future human explorers could face on Mars. Mars Society Australia says the station will be the final step in a worldwide experiment which has seen similar projects set up in the Canadian Arctic, the Utah desert and Iceland.
February 3rd, 2002
One day there will be Parklife on Mars IOL
Fans of British pop band Blur always thought their music was out of this world. Now it really will be. A musical sequence recorded by the mega-selling foursome will herald the arrival of a British space probe on Mars. The track will be beamed back to Earth when the probe, Beagle 2, lands on the Red Planet in December 2003. It is part of the European Space Agency’s Mars Express mission to find proof of life on Mars.
January 22nd, 2002
Bug eyes to give man sight on Mars IOL
Aircraft weighing as little as a chocolate bar could one day be darting over the surface of Mars with the agility of dragonflies and the eyes of bees. Australia-based scientists say they have developed navigational and flight control devices based on research into several types of insects. The resulting sensors are so small they can be placed on “microflyers” weighing just 75 grams. The team of researchers at the Australian National University won over Nasa during a test flight of a prototype last week and the US space agency has agreed to help finance further work.