Mars – Page 15 – Astronomy Now

See the old crescent Moon meet Venus at dawn on 18 October

17 October 2017 Ade Ashford

Observers in the British Isles and Western Europe should look low to the east about an hour before sunrise on Wednesday, 18 October to see the slim crescent of a very old Moon close to the brightest planet, Venus. Mars is also nearby for the keen-eyed among you, but don’t leave it too late or the growing twilight will drown out the Red Planet.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover climbing toward ridge top

18 September 2017 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has begun the steep ascent of an iron-oxide-bearing ridge that’s grabbed scientists’ attention since before the car-sized rover’s 2012 landing.

See the old crescent Moon join the morning planet parade on 18 September

15 September 2017 Ade Ashford

Observers in Western Europe should look to the east an hour before sunrise on Monday, 18 September to see not only dazzling Venus and the old crescent Moon in the same binocular field of view, but planets Mars and Mercury against the stars of Leo too.

See Mercury meet Regulus and Mars near Venus an hour before sunrise

6 September 2017 Ade Ashford

Observers in the UK and Western Europe should find an observing location offering an unobscured eastern horizon an hour before sunrise on Sunday, 10 September to see innermost planet Mercury just 0.6 degrees from Regulus, the brightest star in Leo. Conspicuous planet Venus is your convenient celestial guide to finding Regulus, Mercury and Mars.

NASA studies mission to return samples from Mars by end of 2020s

29 August 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA is examining options to launch a robotic mission as soon as 2026 to pick up rock specimens from the surface of Mars and bring them back to Earth, moving forward the timeline for a sample return mission as the agency postpones plans for a new Mars reconnaissance and data relay orbiter.

Panorama above ‘Perseverance Valley’ on Mars

21 July 2017 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded a panoramic view before entering the upper end of a fluid-carved valley that descends the inner slope of a large crater’s rim.

NASA marks 20 years of continuous Mars exploration

4 July 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Mars Pathfinder probe dropped to the surface of Mars for an airbag-cushioned landing 20 years ago Tuesday, bouncing 15 times across an ancient flood plain before deploying a mobile robot to usher in two decades of uninterrupted Martian exploration.

Mars rover Opportunity on walkabout near crater rim

28 June 2017 Astronomy Now

NASA’s senior Mars rover, Opportunity, is examining rocks at the edge of Endeavour Crater for signs that they may have been either transported by a flood or eroded in place by wind.

Martian crater provides reminder of Apollo moonwalk

19 June 2017 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity passed near a young crater this spring during the 45th anniversary of Apollo 16’s trip to Earth’s moon, prompting a connection between two missions.

Probe into crash of ESA lander recommends more checks on ExoMars descent craft

24 May 2017 Stephen Clark

Investigators who studied the crash of the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander on Mars last year have recommended more stringent testing and computer modeling before the launch of a joint European-Russian landing craft in 2020 to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that doomed the probe’s descent through the Martian atmosphere.