Written by Guy Webster
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, CA – NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is driving toward a flat rock with pale veins that may hold clues to a wet history on the Red Planet. If the rock meets rover engineers’ approval when Curiosity rolls up to it in coming days, it will become the first to be drilled for a sample during the Mars Science Laboratory mission.
The size of a car, Curiosity is inside Mars’ Gale Crater investigating whether the planet ever offered an environment favorable for microbial life. Curiosity landed in the crater five months ago to begin its two-year prime mission.
 This view shows the patch of veined, flat-lying rock selected as the first drilling site for NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
«Read the rest of this article»
NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity ready to complete First Martian Marathon
July 19, 2012 |
Written by Dauna Coulter
Science at NASA
Washington, D.C. – With all the fanfare about Mars rover Curiosity landing on the Red Planet in August 2012, it’s easy to forget that there’s already a rover on Mars—an older, smaller cousin set to accomplish a feat unprecedented in the history of Solar System exploration.
Mars rover Opportunity is on track to complete the first extraterrestrial marathon.
«Read the rest of this article»
|