Mars – Page 18 – Astronomy Now

Mars rover finds meteorite

6 November 2016 Astronomy Now

The dark, smooth-surfaced object at the centre of this image taken by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover was examined with laser pulses and confirmed to be an iron-nickel meteorite.

See the crescent Moon meet Mars in the evening sky of 6 November

4 November 2016 Ade Ashford

Sunday 6 November marks exactly 24 weeks since planet Mars was at opposition in the summer sky. It is also the date when you can see the Red Planet close to the six-day-old waxing crescent Moon low in the southern sky an hour after sunset in the British Isles and Western Europe.

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.

Last data from Schiaparelli Mars lander hold clues to what went wrong

21 October 2016 Stephen Clark

The first sign of trouble from Europe’s Schiaparelli lander came around the time the probe was supposed to jettison its parachute and fire thrusters to brake for touchdown on the vast equatorial plains of Mars, officials said Thursday.

ESA celebrates ExoMars orbiter success, keeps vigil for lost lander

19 October 2016 Stephen Clark

A European-built orbiter designed to seek out the source of methane on Mars slipped into orbit around the red planet Wednesday after a seven-month interplanetary journey, but mission control lost contact with an experimental landing probe just before touchdown.

Live coverage: ExoMars orbiter safely arrives at Mars, lander’s fate uncertain

19 October 2016 Stephen Clark

Live coverage of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander arriving at Mars. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

Schiaparelli’s descent to Mars in real time

17 October 2016 Astronomy Now

A realtime animation of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Schiaparelli module entering and descending through the atmosphere to land on Mars.

European Mars lander released from ExoMars mothership

17 October 2016 Stephen Clark

A saucer-shaped entry, descent and landing demonstrator separated from Europe’s ExoMars orbiter Sunday, beginning a three-day approach aiming to become the first European-built craft to set down on the red planet and return data.

How Martian moon Phobos became the ‘Death Star’

13 October 2016 Astronomy Now

The dominant feature on the surface of Mars’ largest satellite, Phobos, is Stickney — a 9-kilometre-wide mega crater that spans nearly half the moon. The crater lends Phobos a physical resemblance to the planet-destroying Death Star in the film “Star Wars.” But over the decades, understanding the formation of such a massive crater has proven elusive for researchers.