Latest Mars rover Stories

NASA mission controllers have not heard from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit since March 22, and the rover is facing its toughest challenge yet -- trying to survive the harsh Martian winter.The rover team anticipated Spirit would go into a low-power "hibernation" mode since the rover was not able to get to a favorable slope for its fourth Martian winter, which runs from May through November. The low angle of sunlight during these months limits the power generated from the rover's...

WASHINGTON, July 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA mission controllers have not heard from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit since March 22, and the rover is facing its toughest challenge yet - trying to survive the harsh Martian winter. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The rover team anticipated Spirit would go into a low-power "hibernation" mode since the rover was not able to get to a favorable...

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...

We've Got Wheels! Six of them! And these wheels aren't meant for the concrete roadways, bustling freeways, or sleepy highways"”they're destined for off-roading on Mars.The Curiosity rover team just installed six shiny aluminum wheels on the rover, giving the rover its "legs." Unlike previous missions that used air bags for landing on the Martian surface, Curiosity is touching down wheels first!The rover, which is about the size of an SUV, has wheels that are 50 centimeters (20 inches) in...

NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity, is sitting pretty on a set of spiffy new wheels that would be the envy of any car show on Earth.The wheels and a suspension system were added this week by spacecraft technicians and engineers. These new and important touches are a key step in assembling and testing the flight system in advance of a planned 2011 launch.Curiosity, centerpiece of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, is a six-wheeler and uses a rocker-bogie suspension system like its smaller...

Mars rover team members have begun informally naming features around the rim of Endeavour Crater, as they develop plans to investigate that destination when NASA's Opportunity rover arrives there after many more months of driving.A new, super-resolution view of a portion of Endeavour's rim reveals details that were not discernible in earlier images from the rover. Several high points along the rim can be correlated with points discernible from orbit.Super-resolution is an imaging technique...

NASA scientists are scouting out four potential stomping grounds for a new rover, as the Phoenix Mars lander was officially declared dead in late May. The new Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is set for launch in November 2011.  The new robot lab, known as Curiosity, is expected to determine whether Mars is or was ever habitable to microbial life. "We will either land in Disneyland or in the parking lot next to Disneyland," said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity deputy project scientist at...

Engineers with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are running diverse trials with a test version of the radar system that will enable NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission to put the Curiosity rover onto the Martian surface in August 2012.One set of tests conducted over a desert lakebed at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., in May 2010 used flights with a helicopter simulating specific descent paths anticipated for Martian sites.During the final stage of...

The concept of a wind-powered vehicle that can be used to explore the surface of Mars "“ a so-called "tumbleweed rover" that would roll over the surface of Mars like a tumbleweed "“ has been around for more than 10 years, but so far there has been no consensus on exactly what that vehicle should look like. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a computer model that allows engineers to test the attributes of different vehicle designs. This will allow...

Planners of NASA's next Mars mission have selected a flight schedule that will use favorable positions for two currently orbiting NASA Mars orbiters to obtain maximum information during descent and landing.Continuing analysis of the geometry and communications options for the arrival at Mars have led planners for the Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity, to choose an Earth-to-Mars trajectory that schedules launch between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18, 2011. Landing will take place between Aug. 6 and...