Mars Express Returns First Data; Nozomi Cruises On; Opportunity Corrects Trajectory
January 29th, 2003
Using an Earth Wind Tunnel to Test a Parachute Bound for Mars The Planetary Society
In May and June of this year, NASA will launch two Mars Exploration Rover (MER) spacecraft to the Red Planet. The process of getting these rovers ready for launch involves a complicated series of tests, trials and tribulations – all designed to insure a successful mission. One such test was completed on January 15, when engineers used the world’s largest wind tunnel and an explosive mortar charge to successfully test MER’s final flight-ready parachute design.
October 15th, 2002
Students to Join NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover-2003 Team The Planetary Society
Ever since the first spacecraft rocketed beyond Earth, children around the world have dreamed of exploring space. The LEGO Company and The Planetary Society, the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the exploration of our solar system, are about to make that dream come true. These organizations have partnered with NASA to sponsor an ambitious program that allows children to play an integral, hands-on role in NASA’s upcoming Mars Exploration Rover-2003 mission, which is set to explore Mars in early 2004. This joint initiative, called Red Rover Goes to Mars, provides an exciting opportunity for students to participate in a robotic planetary exploration mission. The project was announced today in Houston at a Student Press Conference held at the World Space Congress. The Red Rover Goes to Mars project allows students to compete for the opportunity to work directly with the Mars Exploration Rover-2003 mission. The project also provides actual hardware-DVDs containing millions of names-attached to the two NASA spacecraft.
March 14th, 2002
MARIE is Back! Space Radiation More Intense Than Believed The Planetary Society
The Martian Radiation Environment Experiment – acronymically known as MARIE — is back online and collecting more data. As the radiation monitor was fired up, MARIE’s scientists reported Tuesday at the 33rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference that the data she returned last year reveals that space radiation is even more intense than their models had indicated. MARIE – which is on board the Mars Odyssey orbiter — is designed to collect and characterize aspects of space radiation both on the way to the Red Planet and in the Martian orbit. Her goal is to predict the radiation doses that would be encountered by future astronauts. “What MARIE allows us is the ability to see any source of radiation – background, solar – outside the vicinity of Earth’s magnetic and atmospheric system,” elaborates Roger G. Gibbs, Odyssey’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
March 11th, 2002
Planetary Society’s Student Nanoexperiments Will Help Future Astronauts on Mars The Planetary Society
Smaller than a dime yet big enough to study another world, two student-designed nanoexperiments to investigate conditions on Mars for future human explorers will debut in a presentation at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, March 11-15, 2002. Students Lucas M
January 17th, 2002
The Planetary Society Asks the Public to Speak Up About NASA Missions The Planetary Society
Think NASA’s on the right track or do you think the agency needs a change of direction? The Planetary Society seeks public input for the Planetary Decadal Survey being conducted by the National Research Council. At NASA’s request, the National Research Council is conducting a planetary science community assessment of the priorities for U.S. planetary research programs for the next 10 years. The Planetary Society has been asked to assist this “decadal survey” by seeking input from the general public about planetary exploration. Respondents can access the survey questionnaire online. But hurry, the deadline for completing the form is January 31, 2002.
June 7th, 2001
The Cosmos 1 Update The Planetary Society
The spacecraft for the suborbital test flight of our Cosmos 1 solar sail is now repaired and ready for launch. We’re on track for the orbital test flight late this year, but we will of course re-evaluate the schedule when we have the results of the suborbital test. The spacecraft is now ready to go, but we still have to wait for the Russian navy to assign a time slot for the submarine launch. We had been hoping for a June slot, but it looks as though the soonest the navy will be ready for us is mid-July. We hope to be able to announce a firm launch date by the end of this month.
January 5th, 2001
Choosing Martian Landing Sites The Planetary Society
In late 2003 and early 2004, the surface of Mars will be invaded by not just one but three mechanical ambassadors from Earth. The Beagle 2 lander, the United Kingdom’s contribution to the European Mars Express mission, is set to land on Mars in December, 2003. NASA’s two spacecraft will follow close behind. Mars Exploration Rover One (MER 1) is scheduled to arrive at the red planet on January 4, 2004. Its twin, MER 2, is scheduled for landing on February 8, 2004. Deciding exactly where these spacecraft will land has provided some interesting challenges.
January 2nd, 2001
The Planetary Society Announces for 2001, a Space Art Odyssey The Planetary Society
Mars has beckoned for centuries, inspiring mythology, science fiction and now an International Space Art Contest. The Planetary Society invites participants of all ages worldwide to draw what Mars would look like if one were standing on the planet’s surface. The contest is held in conjunction with The Planetary Society’s Red Rover Goes to Mars Training Mission where Student Scientists are to select a suitable landing site on Mars to which Earth might one day send a Mars sample return mission. Art contest entrants must depict what such a landing site on Mars for a robotic spacecraft might look like at ground level — both now and a century hence. “The art contest reminds us that planetary exploration isn’t just for ‘rocket scientists.’ People of all ages who are imaginative and artistically inclined can participate,” said Linda Kelly, Education Manager of the Red Rover Goes to Mars project.
July 18th, 2000
Which Will It Be: a Mars Science Orbiter or a Mars Geological Rover? ! The Planetary Society
A decision is expected within a few days on whether NASA will conduct a 2003 orbiter or lander mission at Mars. JPL has presented a mission concept for each. The orbiter would provide high resolution mapping of large areas on Mars – data crucial to selecting future landing sites. The lander would actually be a large rover mission, capable of traverses of more than one kilometer, and be NASA’s first landing mission since the 1996-97 Pathfinder mission.