Mars Rover – Astronomy Now

Mars 2020 rover moved to Cape Canaveral for July launch preparations

14 February 2020 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, designed to collect soil samples for eventual return to Earth, is now in Cape Canaveral for final launch preparations.

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover passes first driving test on road to red planet

21 December 2019 Astronomy Now

In another major milestone on the road to launch next year, NASA’s Mars 2020 rover passed its first weight-on-wheels driving test with flying colours.

Curiosity snaps a selfie at Mount Sharp drill site

24 October 2019 Astronomy Now

The Curiosity Mars rover snaps a 57-image composite selfie while exploring the Glen Etive region of Mount Sharp where it drilled and collected two samples for chemical analysis.

NASA helicopter attached to agency’s Mars 2020 rover

29 August 2019 Astronomy Now

An experimental helicopter has been attached to NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, a pathfinder that could pave the way for more advanced aircraft on future missions.

Mars 2020 rover on track for launch next July

31 July 2019 Stephen Clark

The launch of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is less than a year away, and the steady pace of work inside the craft’s pristine assembly hall in California is keeping the mission on schedule for liftoff from Cape Canaveral next July, despite growing costs, according to mission managers.

Mars 2020 rover ready to rock (hunt) and roll

21 June 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover now has the wheels it will need to explore Jezero Crater when it lands in 2021. Says a proud engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory: “Now that’s a Mars rover.”

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover coming together at JPL

13 May 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is taking shape at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where engineers are integrating key components.

A parting panorama from the Opportunity Mars rover

18 March 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Mars Opportunity Rover was completing a 360-degree panorama of its surroundings on the inner slope of Endeavour Crater when a global dust storm silenced the spacecraft after nearly 15 years of operation on the red planet. The final panorama is made up of 354 images stitched together for a fitting farewell vista.

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.

Ageing Mars rover halts research, powers down in heavy dust storm

12 June 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover is powered down. science operations on hold, in a bid to weather a huge dust storm that is blocking the sunlight needed to re-charge the robot’s batteries and keep it from freezing.