Ten Years at Mars with NASA’s MAVEN Mission - YouTube - NASA Goddard - planetary science/physics

Among MAVEN's findings are:1.The solar wind erodes Mars' atmosphere.Note:Ions are atoms or molecules that bear one or more positive or negative electrical charges.2.MAVEN observed the first proton aurora.3.MAVEN traced high altitude winds that were shaped by geological features.4.MAVEN discovered Mars' electrical current system.4.MAVEN observed a solar storm sending a lot of charged particles crashing into Mars,resulting in spectacular auroras.*Information by NASA Goddard and edited by Andrew Taylor*Credit:NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt,Maryland

Planets, Harvest Moon and Zodiacal Light in Sept. 2023 skywatching - NASA

Wow! Mars helicopter Ingenuity takes off and spins in Perseverance rover view of flight

In the end,they saw each other.

Lockheed Martin developing nuclear thermal propulsion engine for trips to Mars

BWX Technologies Inc (BWXT),Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Sending a Swarm of Small Satellites Into Orbit on This Week @NASA – July 21,2023

Watch: First Mars live stream shows planet closer than ever | USA TODAY - Mars Express Mission,ESA - 2 June 2023 - Programme starts at 1:57

Mars helicopter Ingenuity spots Perseverance rover during flight 51 - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech

NASA’s Curiosity Views First ‘Sun Rays’ on Mars - Beautiful sunset photos provide clues - Click on photos for best views

NASA’s Curiosity Views First ‘Sun Rays’ on Mars: The veteran rover captured a dazzling sunset at the start of a new cloud-imaging campaign.

NASA Selects Blue Origin to Launch Mars’ Magnetosphere Study Mission

NASA Selects Blue Origin to Launch Mars’ Magnetosphere Study Mission: NASA has awarded Blue Origin, LLC of Kent, Washington, a task order to provide launch service for the agency’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission as part of the agency's Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract.

Megatsunami swept over Mars after devastating asteroid strike - Astronomy magazine - planetary science/astrobiology

Megatsunami swept over Mars after devastating asteroid strike: Mars' 68-mile-wide (110 km) Pohl Crater was carved out by an asteroid much like the giant Chicxulub impactor that heralded the end of the dinosaurs.

NASA Hosts National Space Council Meeting, Vice President Chairs Event

NASA Hosts National Space Council Meeting, Vice President Chairs Event: Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted the importance of climate, human spaceflight, and STEM education during the Biden-Harris Administration’s second National Space Council meeting Friday, held at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Caught in a Solar Storm on the Way to Mars - Sky&Telescope

Caught in a Solar Storm on the Way to Mars: A chance alignment between Earth and a Mars-bound spacecraft has given us a rare glimpse at the motions of high-energy particles from the Sun.

NASA Picks New Crew to Simulate Trip to Mars Moon - HERA

NASA Picks New Crew to Simulate Trip to Mars Moon: A new crew will enter HERA, a tiny habitat at the Johnson Space Center, for a 45-day mock space mission that allows NASA to study how humans adapt to isolation.

X-37B: NASA Experiments Prepare for Mars Journey

On its current mission,launched on 17 May 2017 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, the US Space Force X-37B,a small, highly classified space plane,will deploy the US Air Force Academy's FalconSAT-8 satellite,used for technology demos and to train cadets in space operations.FalconSAT-8 also contains two NASA experiments related to the Journey to Mars.The studies will examine the effects of the harsh outer space environment, especially cosmic radiation,on materials samples and seeds.The Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS) will expose a plate of quarter-sized materials samples to help spacecraft designers choose optimal materials for specific aerospace applications, such as thermal protection for antennas and other space hardware.Data from the samples testing will increase the lifespan and improve the operations of future spacecraft and systems needed for the Journey to Mars, NASA said.METIS took over from a previous ISS experiment, the Materials on ISS Experiment (MISSE),in 2015 aboard the X-37B.*
The new seeds experiment will evaluate the effects of ambient space radiation on seeds for food plants.This is crucial for deep space explorers who may need to grow some of their own food.The X-37B reportedly facilitates exposure to different radiation types than are possible on the ISS,which is locked in a particular orbit.*

Spaceflight Milestone Unfolds as Europe Delivers ESA Orion Service Module

A major milestone in NASA's Orion Program is unfolding as of this writing.The ESA Orion Service Module,designed to provide power,propulsion and life support systems to the Orion crew module,has taken off aboard a hulking Antonov AN 25 aircraft on a transatlantic flight from Bremen,Germany to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,Florida.The 5 November 2018 takeoff was marked by a ceremony on 2 November in Bremen participated in by NASA Astronaut Randy Bresnik,a veteran of the International Space Station.NASA will hold a reception event on 16 November.*
The ESM will undergo final testing and integration with other Orion components,including the new Space Launch System rocket,at NASA facilities in Florida and Ohio.This is to prepare for the uncrewed deep space test flight called Exploration Mission-1,similar to the unmanned test flight the Saturn V rocket made during the Apollo Program.EM-1 is being managed for a launch date of December 2019;yet reviewing possible manufacturing and production schedule risks,such as some hurricane damage that was sustained,June 2020 is currently posted by NASA as the fallback date for the mission.
EM-1 will test the complex navigation procedures and critical systems for sending astronauts farther from Earth than ever before,to a high lunar orbit and eventually Mars,beginning with EM-2 in 2023.On these distant missions,NASA's Deep Space Network will be used for crew communications for the first time.*
Corporate participants in the ESA Orion Service Module project include Airbus Space and Defence;Thales Alenia Space,a subsidiary of Italy's Leonardo S.p.A.;and Orion Program lead contractor Lockheed Martin.*
Airbus Space and Defence (Euronext:EAD);Leonardo S.p.A. (OTCMKTS:FINMF);Lockheed Martin (LMT)

NASA Solicits Industry for Gateway Project - commercial and international effort

On 21 June 2018,NASA issued a draft solicitation by way of a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for proposals for the first element of the Gateway project.The Gateway is basically a small space station,most recently referred to as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway.Built with commercial and international partners,it will support robotic and human exploration of the Moon and beyond,including Mars,in accordance with Space Policy Directive 1.*
The draft solicitation seeks proposals for the first element of the Gateway,which is to be a high power,solar electric propulsion (SEP) spacecraft to maintain the Gateway's position in space and move it between lunar orbits as needed,NASA said.It will also power the Gateway's controls and communications.Industry's response to the draft will facilitate the issuance of a final solicitation later this summer.The current target date for the launch of this power and propulsion element by a commercial rocket is 2022.
In addition to the draft,an Industry Day has been scheduled for 10 July 2018 at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland,Ohio.
The SEP spacecraft is to enable the high rate,reliable communications between Earth and deep space that are critical for deep space spacewalks and human exploration of celestial bodies such as the Moon and Mars.*
Since 2016,companies have been developing prospective habitation elements for deep space exploration in the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) programme.Five of the firms are developing complete Gateway concepts.*
Jason Crusan is director for Advanced Exploration Systems at NASA headquarters in Washington.

Excitement Builds as NASA's Mars InSight Mission Stacked and Ready for Launch

On Saturday 5 May 2018,the first ever launch of a NASA planetary science probe from the West Coast will occur at Vandenberg Air Force Base,California.The Mars InSight spacecraft was transported to Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg on 23 April and hoisted to the top of a  United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket,where it was carefully positioned,attached and tested by engineers and technicians.*
Mars InSight is headed for the Elysium Planitia region of Mars' Northern Hemisphere,where it is slated to land on 26 November 2018.Launch is scheduled for 7:05 am Eastern/4:05 am Pacific with a two hour launch window.
The spacecraft was designed and built by Lockheed Martin,with mission management by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.Major contributions were also made by the French Centre Nationale d'Etude Spatiales and German DLR space agencies.InSight is intended to study the deep interior of Mars by taking its temperature with a burrowing instrument and listening for seismic events known as marsquakes.The data will enable the development of a map of the Martian interior,thus illuminating how Mars and,by extrapolation,other rocky planets such as Earth may have formed.*
Wind and atmospheric pressure and temperature will also be measured by InSight's sensors.At the same time,the seismometer on InSight can provide data on the many meteorites that penetrate the thin Martian atmosphere.Overall,it promises to be a highly informative mission,building up the knowledge base for crewed missions in the 2030s.*
In addition to InSight,the Atlas V will also be carrying the first ever CubeSats to venture into deep space,a technology experiment called Mars Cube One (MarCO).MarCO is actually a mini-spacecraft with two satellites that will test new communications and navigation capabilities for deep space missions,possibly including InSight itself.*
West Coast residents from Bakersfield,California south to Rosarito,Mexico may be able to view the spacecraft rising up and heading south.*
ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT),Boeing (BA)

Simulating Mars in Hawaii:NASA and Partners Develop New Tools for Human Exploration Missions

NASA and its international and domestic academic partners have simulated a Mars mission on a Kilauea lava field in Hawaii.The Kilauea Iki crater where the latest study was held is similar to basalt-rich landscapes on Mars.The project is called the Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains,or BASALT.During the exercise,biologists,geologists and geochemists worked together to understand the lifeforms,such as bacteria,that grow on these rocks and the factors allowing them to thrive.This may help scientists choose the best sites to target for signs of life-current or past-on Mars.According to Darlene Lim,a scientist at NASA Ames Research Center,California:
It is a unique integration of science,operations and technology research in service of future human spaceflight.*
The 2017 field tests took place from 1-21 November and were a follow-on to two previous iterations of BASALT.The team thoroughly evaluated scientific methods,exploration procedures and new versions of software tools for planning explorer timelines,based on previous research.Innovative tools that allow multiple users to see and explore the Martian landscape were tested by collaborators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory,California.This project is working to identify;design;test;and build the tools humans will need when they first set foot on Mars and begin to study a new world.*
Besides the NASA centres,researchers from the University of Edinburgh,Scotland,and McMaster and York Universities in Canada,participated along with US universities such as Cornell University,New York and Arizona State University.Astronaut Stan Love from the Johnson Space Center in Houston was one of the two researchers wearing 45-pound explorer packs carrying technology for relaying information to Mission Control "back on Earth."These two researchers tested navigation and data transmission tools and operated with communications delays and bandwidth limitations future space travelers will experience on Mars.

NASA's Revolutionary Discoveries On Mars and What They Mean for Manned Exploration

In the past,Mars was basically regarded as a vast red desert with little likelihood of ever having hosted life,let alone presently harbouring it.Now,though,recent observations of Mars by the HiRISE,or High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment,aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,have changed the picture drastically.A number of scientists gave a press briefing Monday morning on the epochal findings,including Jim Green,Director of Planetary Science at NASA headquarters in Washington;Michael Meyer,Lead Scientist,NASA Mars Exploratory Program;Lujendra Ojha,Georgia Institute of Technology,Atlanta;Mary Beth Wilhelm,NASA Ames Research Center,Moffett Field,California and Georgia Tech;and Alfred McEwen,Principal Investigator,HiRISE,Univrsity of Arizona,Tucson.Also contributing to the NASA Science Update was John Grunsfeld,5-time NASA Astronaut and Associate Administrator.
The scientists indicated that we're starting to put together a much more interesting,dynamic and complex picture of Mars.Our journey to Mars is a science-led mission right now,but it's even more important to send planetary biologists and geologists to Mars.It really is a fascinating planet that once had salty seas,freshwater lakes and snowy peaks,with a water cycle like earth's.Did life arise on Mars once,and can we find out did any survive?Is there life on Mars today?The new data suggests it would be possible there is life today on Mars.Three billion years ago,Mars had an extensive atmosphere;a huge ocean up to a mile deep;but something happened.Mars suffered a major climate change and lost its surface water,yet Mars soils are moist and hydrated,full of water,and there is much more humidity in its atmosphere than was previously believed.Mars is not the dry,arid planet that we thought.Under certain circumstances,liquid water has been found on Mars,the HiRISE data show,in a feature known as Recurring Slope Lineae,which are dark streaks that form in late spring,grow through the summer and disappear in the fall.The broader distribution and more expansive latitudes of the RSL than expected are evidence of flowing water on Mars,as revealed by multiple spacecraft and observations,as set forth in the new article "RSL:Spectral Evidence for Hydrated Salts in RSL on Mars" in Nature Geoscience 28 September 2015.*
An animated sequence of the RSL cycle was shown at the update.HiRISE has observed this in the last four years or so.The RSL form at different times and temperatures and latitudes on Mars.They are seeps of water and seep through the surface layer and darken it.The seeps have been noted in three regions:
1.the southern mid-latitudes;
2.Valles Marineris;
3.Acidalia Planitia.
They occur in craters.The key evidence was missing until now:their chemical identity.This has been ascertained by the CRISM instrument on the MRO.It can observe the surface in various wavelengths;the interaction of light with the surface material indicates if there is any evidence of flowing water.We found that salt crystals composed of salt and chlorine when hydrated show the presence of molecular water in their crystal structure;molecular water is trapped inside the salt structure.The source of the water is either RSLs or some other processes-regardless,these crystals are formed by contemporary flowing water on Mars.These hydrated salts in the slopes means contemporary flowing water is forming them.Pure liquid water is highly unstable on the surface of Mars;but salty water doesn't evaporate as quickly until there is a higher temperature.*
RSLs are formed by flowing liquid briny water on the surface of Mars.The broader implications are:
more habitable conditions on the surface of Mars than previously thought.Further astrobiological and chemical analysis may show the water to be an important resource for human explorers on Mars,decreasing the cost of manned expeditions as a source of drinking water and oxygen.In principal,you could even make solid rocket fuel from the hydrated salt.
On earth,everywhere we find water,there is life.We now have great opportunities to be in the right locations to investigate that.We now are at a point technologically to go there,ask the question,and answer it.With HiRISE,we can make a better,more methodical search for life.Is there an aquifer network on Mars?It's very likely there is life in the Martian subsurface,microbial life.A number of upcoming NASA and ESA/Russia missions will help with our search.*
Mars is looking more and more habitable;the resources are there.A very methodical approach and rigorous scientific program will enable the setting of parameters and the design of manned missions.It is more feasible for missions than ever before.These are huge steps for us to plan the right resources to support human explorers in the future,NASA believes.

Mars,Science and Industry,part 3

Discovery-guided people will be on their own on Mars,adapting because of light-time communication delays,said Dr.William Gerstenmaier,NASA Human Exploration and Operations Associate Administrator,at the Humans 2 Mars summit at George Washington University in April 2014.It's a kind of exploration we've never done before.We will always be able to adapt better than our robots,asking queations.Science has given us the questions to ask.Mars has never disappointed.It's a discovery engine,so let's keep going.*
Life-support systems must last for months on Mars,not 84 hours like the Apollo missions.It will take some time to get those technologies and breakthroughs ready.The space station is the proving ground-that's the key.The life-support system will be wrung out and tested on the station.We're testing not only the technologies,but looking at the requirements,such as radiation exposure:how much of a risk is acceptable?*
We do a lot of autonommous procedures on the station now,added Dr.Michael Gazarik,Associate Administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate.We will not reduce all the risk to zero,but to a reasonable level.*
Exploration is going and coming back.I think we're talking about pioneering,as moving human presence off the earth and into the solar system.It will take a combination of government,international partners and industry.It's got to be the whole of the agency and the international community pulling together,Dr.Gerstenmaier continued.The private sector has worked on engine development and water generators on the ISS.We've got to continue to look at that.
Solar electric propulsion is for entry,descent and landing on Mars.That is exclusively government.Companies can build their own labs in space,inspired by the ISS.A crew-tended module around the Moon will help us get ready for Mars,and there can be pre-positioning of equipment around Mars.The Chinese will be a key player somewhere along the line.
Eighty percent of the deep space software will be on Exploration Flight Test-1 in December,the Orion heat shield test mission.Modest investments are being made in nuclear thermal propulsion,which is generally considered the best system for reaching Mars.Solar electric propulsion is best for the Moon deep space mission and is championed by industry.
Multiple and pre-positioned modules can be used for habitation and descent to Mars.It will be done more over a number of years.It's not a single mission.It will be done in a sustainable,affordable way,Dr.Gerstenmaier explained.*
Lockheed Martin(LMT),Boeing(BA),Alliant Techsystems(ATK),Honeywell(HON),Cobham PLC(LSE:COB),Rockwell Collins(COL),Orbital Sciences(ORB)