Latest Mark Lemmon Stories
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Climate change on Earth is always a big topic. Climate change on Mars could be even bigger. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120502/DC99584LOGO ) NASA's top scientists - including a Texas A&M University researcher - hope to find out how Mars' climate has evolved over billions of years, and answers could come soon in the mission involving Curiosity, a Volkswagen-sized rover that is headed toward the Red...
A new Mars movie clip gives us a rover's-eye view of a bluish Martian sunset, while another clip shows the silhouette of the moon Phobos passing in front of the sun.America's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, carefully guided by researchers with an artistic sense, has recorded images used in the simulated movies.These holiday treats from the rover's panoramic camera, or Pancam, offer travel fans a view akin to standing on Mars and watching the sky."These visualizations of an alien sunset...
In its six-and-a-half years on Mars, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity had never seen a dust devil before this month, despite some systematic searches in past years and the fact that its twin rover, Spirit, has seen dozens of dust devils at its location halfway around the planet.A tall column of swirling dust appears in a routine image that Opportunity took with its panoramic camera on July 15. The rover took the image in the drive direction, east-southeastward, right after a drive of...
U.S. scientists say data from the Phoenix Mars Lander suggests parts of Mars resemble Earth, including landscape, history of water and weather conditions.Professor Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University has been involved with Mars missions for years and he says NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander -- which touched down in May 2008 -- keeps revealing secrets about the planet.Phoenix landed in a place that has access to Martian ice, which is exciting by itself, Lemmon said. Phoenix was designed to...
Two robots the size of golf carts were given 90 days to squeeze as much science as possible from the barren, dust-swept terrain of Mars. After that, scientists expected nothing more from them than death. Nearly four years after their warranties expired, however, the Mars Explorations Rovers (MERs) "Spirit" and "Opportunity" continue to play productively in the red dirt. Spirit celebrates its fourth anniversary of Martian work on Jan. 4, the day it landed in...
