Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Video provides thrilling bird’s eye view of Mars landing

22 February 2021 Astronomy Now

The Perseverance Mars rover’s thrilling descent to the floor of Jezero Crater was captured in stunning first-of-its-kind video.

Perseverance Mars rover lands on Mars, beams back dramatic photos

19 February 2021 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars, the first step in a joint U.S.-European mission to bring samples back to Earth.

Scientists spot buried remnants of polar ice sheets on Mars

22 May 2019 Astronomy Now

Researchers have found remnants of ancient ice sheets buried up to a mile below Mars’ northern polar cap, a record of seasonal climate change on the red planet.

Mars orbiter photographs still-silent Opportunity rover

25 September 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the Opportunity rover on the surface of the red planet where it remains out of contact with Earth in the wake of a global dust storm in June.

Mars orbiter sees bedrock on the floor of an ancient crater

2 May 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captures a spectacular enhanced colour image of an ancient crater on the red planet showing rippling sand dunes and eroded bedrock.

Martian dust storms may play role in atmosphere loss

29 January 2018 Astronomy Now

Periodic global dust storms on Mars may play a role in the ongoing loss of the planet’s atmosphere, according to data collected by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.

Scientists suggest streaks on Martian hillsides are dry flows

26 November 2017 Stephen Clark

Intermittent flows that appear on steep slopes on Mars are likely formed by flowing sand, and not water as some scientists previously suspected, according to a new study.

First aerial colour photo of Mars rover’s “hole-in-one” landing site

3 May 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA has released the first high-resolution aerial colour image of the Opportunity rover’s landing site on a sprawling Martian plain, where the airbag-cushioned robot fortuitously rolled into a Eagle Crater in January 2004, putting its scientific instruments face-to-face with a block of sedimentary rock that gave ground teams confirmation Mars was once a warmer, wetter, and habitable planet.

New images resolve finer details of Mars lander’s crash site

28 October 2016 Stephen Clark

Imagery captured by a sharp-eyed camera aboard a NASA orbiter shows where Europe’s Schiaparelli lander cratered on Mars last week, exploding into fine bits of shrapnel and debris after after an apparent software problem doomed the mission, officials said Thursday.

Mars orbiter locates Schiaparelli lander’s crash site

21 October 2016 Stephen Clark

Views from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter released Friday show the crash site where Europe’s experimental Schiaparelli lander fell to the red planet’s surface from a height of several miles, leaving a distinct dark patch on the Martian landscape.