Latest Unmanned spacecraft Stories

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The first Martian rock NASA's Curiosity rover has reached out to touch presents a more varied composition than expected from previous missions. The rock also resembles some unusual rocks from Earth's interior. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The rover team used two instruments on Curiosity to study the chemical makeup of the football-size rock called "Jake Matijevic." The results support some...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online NASA announced during a teleconference on Thursday that one particular rock its newest rover Curiosity has reached out and touched has a more dynamic composition than expected. Engineers used two instruments on Curiosity to study the chemical makeup of the rock, known as "Jake Matijevic," which could help tell a story about unseen environments and planetary processes. "This rock is a close match in chemical composition to an...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online NASA has cleared the air, saying that the shiny object found in a picture taken of the surface of Mars isn't an alien, but a small piece of its very own Curiosity rover. Curiosity's scooping activities came to a halt when a shiny object appeared in an image taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam). While the Internet went wild with all sorts of speculation as to what the object might be, NASA has partly put an end to speculation by saying...

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) on Thursday, Oct. 11, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The Mars Science Laboratory is 63 days into a two-year mission to investigate whether conditions may have been favorable for microbial life. For teleconference dial-in information, reporters must...

[ Watch the Video: Curiosity's First Scoopful of Mars ] Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Curiosity dug up its first Martian soil over the weekend, collecting a scoopful of sand and powdery material at the "Rocknest" site. NASA confirmed the success of the rover's digging, and said that imaging verified collection of the sample. The collected material will be used for cleaning and interior surfaces of the rover's sample-handling mechanism, according to the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Curiosity rover is in a position on Mars where scientists and engineers can begin preparing the rover to take its first scoop of soil for analysis. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Curiosity is the centerpiece of the two-year Mars Science Laboratory mission. The rover's ability to put soil samples into analytical instruments is central to assessing whether its present location on Mars, called...

[ Watch the Video: Test Scooping for Mars Rover Curiosity ] Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online NASA announced today that its Curiosity rover is at a place on the Red Planet where it can scoop up its first soil for analysis. The rover is gearing up to show off its ability to put soil samples into analytical instruments, which is a crucial part of its mission to search for whether Mars has ever had conditions favorable for life. A mineral analysis could reveal past...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Curiosity Mars rover checked in on Mars Wednesday using the mobile application Foursquare. This marks the first check-in on another planet. Users on Foursquare can keep up with Curiosity as the rover checks in at key locations and posts photos and tips, all while exploring the Red Planet. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) "NASA is using Foursquare as a tool to share the rover's new locations...

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) Thursday, Oct. 4, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO ) Curiosity, also known as the Mars Science Laboratory, is 56 days into a two-year mission to investigate whether conditions may have been favorable for microbial life. For teleconference dial-in...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Curiosity, at 54-days deep into its mission on Mars, recently shot back an image to NASA taken of an interesting rock called "Bathurst Inlet." The Martian rock is dark gray, and appears so fine-grained that the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imagers (MAHLI) camera cannot depict grains or crystals in it. NASA said this means if there are any grains or crystals at all, they are smaller than about 80 microns in size. The space agency said some...