Mars

Engineers assess short circuit on Mars rover

5 March 2015 Stephen Clark

A short circuit that halted movement of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is not expected to keep the mobile robot stationary for long, but engineers want to know whether the problem will restrict some future science operations.

Planets Venus and Uranus in close conjunction

4 March 2015 Ade Ashford

On Wednesday, March 4th, planets Venus and Mars will be easy naked-eye objects in the western sky at dusk, but in a telescope you’ll have the added bonus of spotting gas giant Uranus very close to Venus.

Curiosity rover drills rock sample at Mount Sharp

28 February 2015 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has used its drill to collect sample powder from inside a rock target called “Telegraph Peak.” Examining rock samples like these will help scientists understand how the ancient wet environment of Mars dried up.

Curiosity rover takes ‘selfie’ at Mojave Site on Mount Sharp

25 February 2015 Astronomy Now

A new ‘selfie’ from Curiosity shows the NASA Mars rover at work at the “Mojave” site, where its drill collected the mission’s second taste of Mount Sharp.

Mystery plumes in Martian atmosphere baffle scientists

17 February 2015 Astronomy Now

Research just published in Nature describes two bright, extremely high-altitude plumes observed on Mars by amateur astronomers in March and April 2012, but attempts at explaining the phenomena defy our current understanding of the Martian upper atmosphere.

Venus and Mars get close in the evening sky

13 February 2015 Ade Ashford

Observers with a clear western horizon from the middle to the third week of February can enjoy the closing gap between planets Mars and Venus in the early evening sky.

Ageing Mars rover could be shut down

4 February 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, working well past their expected lifetimes, could be shut down in fiscal year 2016 as the agency tries to balance funding for older missions and development of modernised new space probes, officials said Monday.