Mars News and Discussions

[caltrek]

Going to the Moon or Mars Next? NASA and Congress Are Not Seeing Eye-To-Eye
by Dr. Alfredo Carpineti
February 14, 2025

Introduction:

(IFL Science) If everything goes according to plan, in just over two years we should see humans back on the Moon. That has been the goal of NASA over the last several years, a goal that seems now a lot more uncertain than previously thought.

There is the problem of Starship – the vehicle from Elon Musk’s SpaceX – which is needed to ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the lunar surface and back, but continues to explode in tests.

Musk also doesn’t think that the Moon should be a priority, calling it a "distraction" on X (Twitter). That might be a SpaceX-specific focus, as Musk has been promising that Starship will take humans to Mars. For example, in 2016, Musk stated that the first human on Mars would get there in 2024. Musk is incredibly influential in the Trump administration, and it is unclear if his influence extends to dictating NASA’s strategy.

Trump also mentioned Mars in his inaugural speech: “we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.” This has left many people concerned about NASA’s actual plan as well as worried about Trump’s intentions. "Manifest destiny" is an extremely controversial figure of speech given it is a "racial doctrine of white supremacy", with the term being used in expropriating lands from Native Americans as well as the US seizing control of Hawai'i and the Philippines.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/going-to-th ... e-78068

caltrek's comment: I think a lot of the draconian cuts of federal spending pushed by Musk are so that resources can be diverted to his vision of exploring and colonizing Mars.

[firestar464]

One gets the feeling that he wants to replace NASA with SpaceX

[firestar464]

NASA rover discovers liquid water 'ripples' carved into Mars rock — and it could rewrite the Red Planet's history

https://www.livescience.com/space/mars/ ... ts-history

[caltrek]

NASA’s Europa Clipper Uses Mars to Go the Distance
February 25, 2025

Introduction:

(Jet Propulsion Laboratory) The orbiter bound for Jupiter’s moon Europa will investigate whether the moon is habitable, but it first will get the help of Mars’ gravitational force to get to deep space.

On March 1, NASA’s Europa Clipper will streak just 550 miles (884 kilometers) above the surface of Mars for what’s known as a gravity assist — a maneuver to bend the spacecraft’s trajectory and position it for a critical leg of its long voyage to the Jupiter system. The close flyby offers a bonus opportunity for mission scientists, who will test their radar instrument and thermal imager.

Europa Clipper will be closest to the Red Planet at 12:57 p.m. EST, approaching it at about 15.2 miles per second (24.5 kilometers per second) relative to the Sun. For about 12 hours prior and 12 hours after that time, the spacecraft will use the gravitational pull of Mars to pump the brakes and reshape its orbit around the Sun. As the orbiter leaves Mars behind, it will be traveling at a speed of about 14 miles per second (22.5 kilometers per second).

The flyby sets up Europa Clipper for its second gravity assist — a close encounter with Earth in December 2026 that will act as a slingshot and give the spacecraft a velocity boost. After that, it’s a straightforward trek to the outer solar system; the probe is set to arrive at Jupiter’s orbit in April 2030.
This animation depicts NASA’s Europa Clipper as it flies by the Red Planet. The spacecraft will use the planet’s gravity to bend its path slightly, setting up the next leg of its long journey to investigate Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.

Read more here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-eu ... istance/

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech


This animation depicts NASA’s Europa Clipper as it flies by the Red Planet.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Hera asteroid mission takes stunning images of Mars’s moon Deimos

13 March 2025

[...]

Hera came as near as 5000 kilometres to the surface of Mars, receiving a gravity boost that will fling it onwards to Dimorphos. The manoeuvre shortened its journey time by many months and saved it fuel.

While it was so close to Mars, it was also able to turn on a trio of sensors and take several detailed photographs of the planet and Deimos in the same frame. A black and white camera with a resolution of 1020 by 1020 pixels was used to capture the images, as well as an infrared camera and a hyperspectral imager that can sense a range of colours beyond the limits of the human eye.

Hera was moving at 9 kilometres per second relative to Mars and was able to image the 12.4-kilometre-long Deimos from just 1000 kilometres away. It could also photograph the side of the moon that is tidally locked away from Mars, which is less commonly captured.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/24 ... on-deimos/

[weatheriscool]

Musk says Starship to depart for Mars at end of 2026

Starship (pictured during a test flight) -- the world's largest and most powerful rocket -- is key to Elon Musk's long-term vision of colonizing Mars.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Saturday its massive Starship rocket would leave for Mars at the end of 2026 with Tesla humanoid robot Optimus onboard, adding that human landings could follow "as soon as 2029."

"Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus. If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely," Musk said on his X social network.

Musk, who is also the Tesla CEO, brought out the company's Optimus robots at an event last year.

He said the dancing robots would one day be able to do menial tasks, as well as offer friendship, and expected them to retail for $20,000 to $30,000.

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-musk-star ... -mars.html

[caltrek]

A Step Towards Life on Mars? Lichens Survive Martian Simulation in New Study
April 1, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that certain lichen species can survive Mars-like conditions, including exposure to ionising radiation, while maintaining a metabolically active state.

Published in the open-access journal IMA Fungus, a new study highlights the potential for lichens to survive and function on the Martian surface, challenging previous assumptions about the uninhabitable nature of Mars, and offering insights for astrobiology and space exploration.

Lichens are not a single organism, but a symbiotic association between a fungus and algae and/or cyanobacteria known for their extreme tolerance to harsh environments such as Earth's deserts and polar regions. In this study, the fungal partner in lichen symbiosis remained metabolically active when exposed to Mars-like atmospheric conditions in darkness, including X-ray radiation levels expected on Mars over one year of strong solar activity.

The research focuses on two lichen species, Diploschistes muscorum and Cetraria aculeata, selected for their differing traits, exposing them to Mars-like conditions for five hours in a simulation of the planet’s atmospheric composition, pressure, temperature fluctuations, and X-ray radiation.

The findings suggest that lichens, particularly D. muscorum, could potentially survive on Mars despite the high doses of X-ray radiation associated with solar flares and energetic particles reaching the planet’s surface. These results challenge the assumption that ionising radiation is an insurmountable barrier to life on Mars and set the stage for further research on the potential for extraterrestrial microbial and symbiotic survival

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1079008

For a presentation of study results as published in IMA Fungus ::https://imafungus.pensoft.net/article/145477/

[caltrek]

A New Graduate Project Plans to Make Martian Water Drinkable
by Andy Tomaswick
April 5, 2025

Introduction:

(Universe Today) Mars exploration technology has seen a lot of recent successes. MOXIE successfully made oxygen from the atmosphere, while Ingenuity soared above the red planet 72 times. However, to date, no one has ever achieved one thing that will be absolutely critical to any long-term presence on Mars - making drinkable water. There have been plenty of ideas on how to do that. Still, NASA recently started funding a Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) graduate student named Lydia Ellen Tonani-Penha to look into the problem under their Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO) funding program. Her Project Tethys will examine ways to purify the frozen or liquid brine that Mars is infused with.

Ms. Tonani-Penha, along with Dr. Robert Hyers, the chair of WPI's mechanical engineering department, presented her project plan in an abstract at the 56th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas last month. In it, she lays out a five-point plan to assess and tackle the challenge of purifying Martian water to make it ready for human consumption.

First up is a literature review. Plenty of research has been done into the composition of Martian regolith and methods to cleanse it of the particularly toxic slurry it is mixed with. Perchlorates have been a bugbear of Mars exploration enthusiasts for good reason. They permeate almost every part of the Martian surface and are extraordinarily toxic to all known life forms. Removing them is possible but troublesome and energy-intensive. One of Tethys' primary objectives is to develop a more effective way of doing so.

Prototyping would be the next step. Ms. Tonani-Penha plans to build a prototype system that will be tested with Martian simulants—and maybe some added frozen water brine—to mimic conditions in the northern hemisphere, where sub-surface frozen water is relatively common. Other factors, such as the heat transfer and electrical conductance properties of the regolith, will also factor into the prototype build.

Read more here: https://www.universetoday.com/articles ... inkable

[caltrek]

[firestar464]

Molten Martian core could explain red planet's magnetic quirks

https://phys.org/news/2025-04-molten-ma ... lanet.html

[weatheriscool]

Curiosity rover finds large carbon deposits on Mars
https://phys.org/news/2025-04-curiosity ... osits.html
by University of Calgary

Research from NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence of a carbon cycle on ancient Mars, bringing scientists closer to an answer on whether the red planet was ever capable of supporting life.

Lead author Dr. Ben Tutolo, Ph.D., an associate professor with the Department of Earth, Energy and Environment in the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary, is a participating scientist on the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover team.

The team is working to understand climate transitions and habitability on ancient Mars as Curiosity explores Gale Crater.

The paper, published in the journal Science, reveals that data from three of Curiosity's drill sites had siderite, an iron carbonate material, within sulfate-rich layers of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater.

[weatheriscool]

NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Signs of Former Mars Habitability
These minerals are an encouraging sign that scientists are on the right track.
By Adrianna Nine April 22, 2025

Scientists are eager to find out whether Mars was once capable of supporting life, and according to new Curiosity findings, they're on the right track. NASA's fourth Mars rover has found large carbon deposits within carbonate minerals, suggesting that both liquid water and an Earth-like carbon cycle once existed on the Red Planet. Further research involving the minerals could reveal just how much the Martian climate has transformed over time.

Thanks to its handy sample collection drill, or SCD, Curiosity has obtained dozens of rock samples from the Red Planet's surface. Scientists at NASA and institutional partners regularly study those samples in the hope of uncovering Martian secrets. This year, scientists in the United States and Canada analyzed samples from Gale Crater, a 96-mile-wide impact basin and bygone lake, to understand Mars' complicated climate.

https://www.extremetech.com/science/nas ... bitability

[weatheriscool]

New NASA Image Depicts Mars Rover's Lonely Journey From Above
It's the first image to capture Curiosity's tracks from orbit.
By Adrianna Nine April 29, 2025

A recent snapshot from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) offers a brand-new look at the Curiosity rover's Martian journey. Published Thursday, the image depicts Curiosity's snail-like tracks on the Red Planet's dusty terrain. The rover itself appears as a tiny dot at the bottom of the tracks, revealing just how long and lonely its trek really is.


The MRO's HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera captured the image on Feb. 28, 2025—Curiosity's 4,466th sol. At the time, Curiosity was making its way from the Gediz Vallis channel to the foothills of lower Mount Sharp, where a complex network of ridges might inform Mars' watery history. The rover is still making that journey, but it wasn't quite as far along by then, stunted by its 0.1 mile-per-hour maximum speed.

https://www.extremetech.com/science/new ... from-above

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

[caltrek]

A Decade After the Release of ‘The Martian’ and a Decade Out from the World it Envisions, a Planetary Scientist Checks in on Real-life Mars Exploration
by Dr. Ari Koeppel
May 22, 2025

Introduction:

(The Conversation) Andy Weir’s bestselling story “The Martian” predicts that by 2035 NASA will have landed humans on Mars three times, perfected return-to-Earth flight systems and collaborated with the China National Space Administration. We are now 10 years past the Hollywood adaptation’s 2015 release and 10 years shy of its fictional timeline. At this midpoint, Mars exploration looks a bit different than how it was portrayed in “The Martian,” with both more discoveries and more controversy.

As a planetary geologist who works with NASA missions to study Mars, I follow exploration science and policy closely. In 2010, the U.S. National Space Policy set goals for human missions to Mars in the 2030s. But in 2017, the White House Space Policy Directive 1 shifted NASA’s focus toward returning first to the Moon under what would become the Artemis program.

Although concepts for crewed missions to Mars have gained popularity, NASA’s actual plans for landing humans on Mars remain fragile. Notably, over the last 10 years, it has been robotic, rather than crewed, missions that have propelled discovery and the human imagination forward.

Robotic discoveries

Since 2015, satellites and rovers have reshaped scientists’ understanding of Mars. They have revealed countless insights into how its climate has changed over time.

As Earth’s neighbor, climate shifts on Mars also reflect solar system processes affecting Earth at a time when life was first taking hold. Thus, Mars has become a focal point for investigating the age old questions of “where do we come from?” and “are we alone?”

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/a-decade-a ... -255752

[weatheriscool]

I think with the idiotic move of Elon musk these past few years = no human mission to mars before 2035. With Trump gutting nasa it will almost certainly be china that does it.

[caltrek]

I think with the idiotic move of Elon musk these past few years = no human mission to mars before 2035. With Trump gutting nasa it will almost certainly be china that does it.

Weird in that at one point it seemed to be Musk who was most obsessed with reaching Mars.

[weatheriscool]