Meteorite impacts on Mars are up to 10 times more common than previously estimated, according to two new research papers. These describe the seismic shock waves from these impacts, which were detected by NASA’s now defunct Mars InSight lander. The new rate is staggering. The findings suggest that between 180 and 260 impacts occur on … Read more
For some planets, the meteorite bombardment never stops. A new analysis of data collected by a seismometer on Mars shows that space rocks are hitting the red planet much more often than we ever suspected. In fact, it looks like Mars is taking a real beating. Based on the number of nearby impact-related tremors detected … Read more
Recent findings from the InSight mission suggest that Mars experiences 280 to 360 significant meteorite impacts per year, far exceeding previous estimates based on satellite images. This seismic approach offers a new way to date the surfaces of Mars and other planets. Credit: NASA/JPL – Caltech Seismic signals indicate Mars is hit by about 300 … Read more
First meteor impact detected by NASA’s InSight mission; the image was taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using its High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona: https://science.nasa.gov/resource/insight-detects-an-impact-for-the-first-time/ An international team of researchers led by ETH Zurich and Imperial College London has made the first estimate of global meteorite impacts on Mars using … Read more
NASA’s Perseverance rover, known as Percy, is designed to explore Mars’ Jezero Crater as part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. It successfully landed on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021 and has been providing scientists with crucial information ever since. Recently, the rover attracted a lot of scientific attention because it discovered something truly … Read more
This infographic shows how much data and how many images NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter has collected in its 23-year operation around the Red Planet. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s longest-lived Mars robot is about to reach a new milestone on June 30: 100,000 trips around the Red Planet since its launch 23 years ago. During that … Read more
Landing rovers and helicopters on Mars is a challenge. It’s even more challenging if you don’t have enough information about the loads on the parachutes during the descent to the surface. Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, are experimenting with readily available, highly elastic sensors that can be attached to a … Read more
This image of NASA’s Perseverance rover collecting data on the wear of the “Valhalla Glades” was taken June 14 in the “Bright Angel” area of Jezero Crater by one of the rover’s forward hazard avoidance cameras. The WATSON camera on the SHERLOC instrument is closest to the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech After six months … Read more
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover stores rock and soil samples in sealed tubes on Earth’s surface for retrieval on future missions, as shown in this illustration. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Tucked away at every rock and soil sample collected by NASA‘s Perseverance rover is a potential boon for atmospheric scientists. NASA’s perseverance Mars Rover is collecting samples on … Read more
Astronauts who make the round trip to Mars may be rewarded with a unique badge of honor in the form of “cosmic kidney disease,” which is a lot less fun than it sounds. According to new research, the conditions experienced by interplanetary travelers can radically alter the structure and function of the kidneys, with long-term … Read more