Mars
Hardware, storefront and ecosystem news for Mars.
Latest coverage
NASA’s Perseverance is about to out-drive every rover that ever reached Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover is set to break the record for the longest distance driven by any vehicle on another world, surpassing the mark set by the Opportunity rover. Perseverance has achieved this milestone primarily through its advanced auto-navigation system, which allows it to drive autonomously for most of its journey on Mars. This technology, enabled by a more modern processor compared to its predecessor Curiosity, allows Perseverance to cover ground more efficiently and expand the scope of its scientific investigations in Jezero Crater.
Ten Months of Polar Night, 12 Crew Members, and a Result That Undercuts Mars Assumptions
Research conducted at Antarctica's Concordia Station during a ten-month overwintering period found that increased social interaction among 12 crew members correlated with rising conflict and diminished performance, challenging the assumption that companionship always fixes loneliness. The study utilized proximity sensors to objectively track interactions, revealing that prolonged closeness in confined environments can become a stressor and that crew members tended to cluster by language or nationality, potentially fostering social divides. These findings have implications for planning long-duration space missions to Mars and the Moon, highlighting the psychological weight of habitat design and crew scheduling over traditional team-building.
NASA shares beautiful timelapse of the Psyche spacecraft's view over Mars
NASA has shared a time-lapse video from the Psyche spacecraft, capturing its view as it passed by Mars. The spacecraft is on its journey to explore the asteroid it is named after.
Robot watch: The weirdest things the clankers did this month including moonwalking themselves to death, losing a fight to a step, and drowning by the dozens in Sydney Harbour
This article rounds up notable robot malfunctions and failures from May, including robots losing fights to stairs, moonwalking to their demise, and a fleet of Waymo vehicles driving into water. It also touches on the Curiosity rover getting stuck on Mars and a drone show mishap where 89 drones fell into Sydney Harbour.
NASA shares Psyche spacecraft's photos of Mars
NASA has released photographs captured by the Psyche spacecraft during its flyby of Mars. These images offer a new perspective on the Red Planet from the deep space probe.
AGRONOM Announced: Build Your Efficient Robotic Home on Mars
MindEdges and Skystone Games have announced AGRONOM, an automation farming game set on Mars. Players will build a Martian homestead, blending the mechanical depth of games like Satisfactory and Factorio with Eastern European traditions. The game challenges players to optimize production chains while creating a cozy, personalized settlement.
NASA's Curiosity Rover found promising organic chemicals on Mars
NASA's Curiosity rover has detected over 20 organic molecules, including complex compounds like naphthalene and benzothiophene, preserved in 3.5-billion-year-old Martian sandstones. This discovery, made using a novel wet chemistry experiment, adds to the evidence that the foundational elements of life may have existed on ancient Mars and that organic material can survive for billions of years.
A comet gets destroyed by the sun, data centers endanger the Potomac River, and more science news
This week in science news, a comet was observed exploding into dust as it made a close approach to the sun, and NASA and ESA shared images of the event. The nonprofit American Rivers named the Potomac River the most endangered in the US, citing sewage pollution from aging infrastructure and a surge in data center development. Additionally, the European Space Agency shared new images of Mars showing changes in volcanic ash distribution over the last 50 years.
NASA restarts work to support Europe's uncrewed trip to Mars after years of setbacks
NASA has resumed work to support the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover mission to Mars, with a planned launch no earlier than 2028 via a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. This partnership involves NASA providing launch assistance and specific hardware, while ESA supplies the rover and lander. The mission, aimed at searching for signs of ancient life, has faced numerous delays since its conception in 2001 due to budget constraints, technical issues, and geopolitical events.