Mars News and Discussions

[caltrek]

Future Mars Helicopters Could Explore Lava Tubes
by Matt Williams
January 19, 2024

Introduction:

(Universe Today) The exploration of Mars continues, with many nations sending robotic missions to search for evidence of past life and learn more about the evolution of the planet’s geology and climate. As of the penning of the article, there are ten missions exploring the Red Planet, a combination of orbiters, landers, rovers, and one helicopter (Ingenuity). Looking to the future, NASA and other space agencies are eyeing concepts that will allow them to explore farther into the Red Planet, including previously inaccessible places. In particular, there is considerable interest in exploring the stable lava tubes that run beneath the Martian surface.

These tubes may be a treasure trove of scientific discoveries, containing water ice, organic molecules, and maybe even life! Even crewed mission proposals recommend establishing habitats within these tubes, where astronauts would be sheltered from radiation, dust storms, and the extreme conditions on the surface. In a recent study from the University Politehnica Bucuresti (UPB), a team of engineers described how an autonomous Martian Inspection Drone (MID) inspired by the Inginuity helicopter could locate, enter, and study these lava tubes in detail.

Read more of the Universe Today article here: https://www.universetoday.com/165166/f ... e-165166

For a Science Direct paper on the subject: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ ... ss_sd_all

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NASA Reestablishes Communication With Ingenuity Mars Helicopter
The drone dropped out at the end of its last flight, but NASA was able to reconnect a few days later.
By Ryan Whitwam January 23, 2024

It was a scary 48 hours for the team overseeing NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter. The flying drone dropped out of contact during a flight on Jan. 18, and it remained offline for two days, raising fears that the seemingly unstoppable robot had finally succumbed to the harsh Martian conditions. This story has a happy ending, though, as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports that it has reestablished communication with Ingenuity.

The problems began during Ingenuity's 72nd flight. It was supposed to be a quick up-and-down test, aiming to suss out any possible glitches after the 71st flight ended early due to an unspecified error. Ingenuity reached its prescribed 39-foot (12-meter) altitude for flight 72, but the drone suddenly lost contact during the descent.

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

[wjfox]

After Three Years on Mars, NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends

Jan. 25, 2024

NASA’s history-making Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has ended its mission at the Red Planet after surpassing expectations and making dozens more flights than planned. While the helicopter remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, imagery of its Jan. 18 flight sent to Earth this week indicates one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing and it is no longer capable of flight.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/after-thr ... ssion-ends

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Confirmation of ancient lake on Mars offers hope that Perseverance rover's soil and rock samples hold traces of life
https://phys.org/news/2024-01-ancient-l ... rover.html
by University of California, Los Angeles

If life ever existed on Mars, the Perseverance rover's verification of lake sediments at the base of the Jezero crater reinforces the hope that traces might be found in the crater.

In new research published in the journal Science Advances, a team led by UCLA and The University of Oslo shows that at some point, the crater filled with water, depositing layers of sediments on the crater floor. The lake subsequently shrank and sediments carried by the river that fed it formed an enormous delta. As the lake dissipated over time, the sediments in the crater were eroded, forming the geologic features visible on the surface today.

The periods of deposition and erosion took place over eons of environmental changes, the radar indicates, confirming that inferences about the Jezero crater's geologic history based on Mars images obtained from space are accurate.

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[firestar464]

Testing shows some bacteria could survive under Mars conditions

https://phys.org/news/2024-02-bacteria- ... tions.html

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Astronomers: Mars Was Once Covered With Active Volcanoes
More than 60 volcanoes once recycled and transformed the Red Planet’s rocky crust.
By Adrianna Nine February 14, 2024

Mars might be geologically quiet today, but it once teemed with tectonic and volcanic movement. New research shows that Mars’ ancient surface was studded with 63 volcanoes, each responsible for morphing the Red Planet’s rocky geography. The discovery ultimately transforms researchers’ understanding of Mars’ mysterious past and offers a rare peek into early planetary evolution.

According to a paper published Monday in Nature Astronomy, geoscientists and astronomers from the United States and China used data from the old Mars Global Surveyor, the Mars Odyssey Orbiter, and the ultra-powerful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to map Mars’ ancient volcanic landscape. The “diverse volcanism” they discovered consisted of four feature types: caldera complexes, pyroclastic shields, stratovolcanoes, and volcanic domes. While caldera complexes are known as destructional volcanic features due to their hallmark surface collapse and the absence of raised rims, volcanic domes meanwhile possess a tell-tale convex shape. Pyroclastic shields and stratovolcanoes possess a more classic “volcano shape,” with valleys etched into their flanks by erosion.

https://www.extremetech.com/science/ast ... -volcanoes

[firestar464]

earth, is that you?

[caltrek]

Astronomers: Mars Was Once Covered With Active Volcanoes
More than 60 volcanoes once recycled and transformed the Red Planet’s rocky crust.
By Adrianna Nine February 14, 2024

...

https://www.extremetech.com/science/ast ... -volcanoes

Science Alert also had an article on this same subject: https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-v ... lost-past

Both articles review a study the results of which were published in Nature Astronomy which can be read here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-023-02191-7

[weatheriscool]

Three years later, the search for life on Mars continues
https://phys.org/news/2024-02-years-life-mars.html
by Michael Miller, University of Cincinnati

In the three years since NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on Mars, the NASA science team has made the daily task of investigating the red planet seem almost mundane.

The rover and its helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity, have captured stunning images of Mars and collected 23 unique rock core samples along 17 miles of an ancient river delta.

One science team member, University of Cincinnati Associate Professor Andy Czaja, said he sometimes has to remind himself that the project is anything but ordinary.

"This is so cool. I'm exploring another planet," he said. Czaja teaches in the Department of Geosciences in UC's College of Arts and Sciences. He is a paleobiologist and astrobiologist helping NASA look for evidence of ancient life on Mars using a rover outfitted with custom geoscience and imaging tools with three of his UC graduate students, Andrea Corpolongo, Brianna Orrill, and Sam Hall.

Three years into the mission, the rover has performed like a champ, he said.

"Perseverance has excelled. It's been fantastic. It has such capable instrumentation for doing geology work. It's able to explore distant objects with its zoom lens cameras and can focus on tiny objects at incredible resolution," Czaja said.