Mars May Have Had Oxygen-Rich Past
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Oxford University scientists reported in the journal Nature that Mars may have had an oxygen-rich atmosphere four billion years ago. The team examined differences between Martian...
Latest Mars Stories
[ Watch the Video: Dry Ice Moves on Mars ] April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Hunks of dry ice – carbon dioxide – may glide down Martian sand dunes like miniature hovercraft, riding on cushions of gas and plowing furrows as they go, according to new research from NASA. The research team suggests that this process could explain an enigmatic class of gullies seen on Martian sand dunes, coming to this conclusion by examining images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance...
PASADENA, Calif., June 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA research indicates hunks of frozen carbon dioxide -- dry ice -- may glide down some Martian sand dunes on cushions of gas similar to miniature hovercraft, plowing furrows as they go. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Researchers deduced this process could explain one enigmatic class of gullies seen on Martian sand dunes by examining images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and...
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online NASA’s Opportunity rover has discovered new evidence that Mars was once a planet capable of supporting life – a rock which appears to be rich in clays formed in non-acidic water, the US space agency announced Friday. According to Kenneth Chang of the New York Times, the rock discovered by the older of the two currently operational Mars rovers is approximately the size of a human forearm. The rover used its X-ray...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The European Space Agency (ESA) said that a new image taken by its Mars Express orbiter shows off flood events that took place on the Red Planet. The flooding events that took place at Kasei Valles carved out an impressive channel system on Mars that stretches nearly 580,000 square miles. The mosaic taken by Mars Express comprises of 67 images taken with the spacecraft's high-resolution stereo camera. Kasei Valles is one of the...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online The most convincing evidence yet that the frigid deserts of Mars were once a habitable environment crossed by flowing water are presented by pebbles and sand scattered near an ancient Martian river network. The findings of this study, led by scientists at NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, were published in the journal Science. The research team says that the discovery of sand grains and small stones that bear the telltale...
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA will host a media teleconference at 11:30 a.m. PDT (2:30 p.m. EDT), Wednesday, June 5 to provide an update about the Mars Science Laboratory mission and activities of the Curiosity rover. The briefing participants will be: -- Jim Erickson, Mars Science Laboratory project manager, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. -- Joy Crisp, Mars Science Laboratory deputy project scientist, JPL -- Joe Melko, Mars Science Laboratory sampling...
MARS, Pa., June 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TruStar Energy is excited to announce the completion of a time-fill CNG fueling station for Mars, Pennsylvania-based Vogel Disposal Services, Inc. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130516/LA15327LOGO) This is the first compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station for Vogel Disposal, one of the largest independent haulers in Western Pennsylvania, with a fleet of over 300 vehicles. "Moving to CNG was the right thing to do for us," said...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft currently orbiting around the Red Planet has helped develop new global maps. ESA released the new Mars Express global maps on the 10th anniversary of the launch of the spacecraft. The maps trace the history of water and volcanic activity on the Red Planet, and also help identify sites of special interest for next generation Mars explorers. The maps were built from ten...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Another piece of evidence has emerged that gives more weight to the argument that the Red Planet could have had a wet history. NASA's Curiosity rover currently roving around on Mars has snapped images of gravel and pebbles. Researchers writing in the journal Science say that the shapes and sizes of these rounded pebbles clearly show that there has been flowing water on Mars. Curiosity's stereo camera took photos of a few areas with...
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- MARS Advertising is proud to announce its support of the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (NFFSN). As a sponsor, MARS is directly contributing to the operations of the NFFSN, whose ongoing efforts include many important initiatives of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, including the recently announced Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP). The PYFP is a voluntary program that includes a...
Latest Mars Reference Libraries
Hematite (AE) or haematite (BE) is the mineral form of Iron (III) oxide, (Fe2O3), one of several iron oxides. The ore sometimes contains slight amounts of titanium. When shaped into ornaments, it is often called black diamond. Hematite is a very common mineral, coloured black to steel or silver-gray, brown to reddish brown, or red. It is mined as the main ore of iron. Varieties include Bloodstone, Iron Rose, Kidney Ore, Martite, Paint Ore, Specularite (Specular Hematite), Rainbow Hematite...
Terraforming -- Terraforming (literally, "Earth-shaping") is the process of modifying a planet, moon or other body to a more habitable atmosphere, temperature or ecology. The term was first used in a science fiction novel, 'Seetee Shock' (1940?) by Jack Williamson, but the actual concept is older than that. An example in fiction is 'First and Last Men' by Olaf Stapledon in which Venus is modified, after a long and destructive war with the original inhabitants, who naturally object to the...
Extraterrestrial Life -- Extraterrestrial life is life beyond planet Earth (apart from humans travelling in space, and living organisms they bring along or send). There are many questions about extraterrestrial life, including: -- Does it exist? -- Where? -- What kind? -- Could there be non-carbon based life forms, e.g. life forms based on other elements like silicon (See Carbon chauvinism)? -- How does life differ depending on the type of structure (unicellular life,...
Drake Equation -- The Drake equation (also known as the Green Bank equation) is a famous result in the speculative fields of xenobiology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. This equation was devised by Dr. Frank Drake in the 1960s in an attempt to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy with which we might come in contact. The main purpose of the equation is to allow scientists to quantify the uncertainty of the factors which determine the number...
Olympus Mons -- Olympus Mons is the tallest mountain in the solar system, at 25 km. Located on Mars, and officially called by its Latin name Olympus Mons. It is named for the mountain on Earth. Olympus Mons is an apparently extinct shield volcano, the result of highly fluid magma flowing out of volcanic vents over a long period of time, and is much wider than it is tall; the average slope of Olympus Mons' flanks is very gradual. The Hawaiian islands are an example of similar shield...
