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SpaceX Starship Flight 7 Test Gets FAA Launch Licence, Preparing for 2025
SpaceX has received the FAA’s launch licence for Starship Flight 7, marking another milestone in their quest for a fully reusable rocket system. After extensive engine tests, SpaceX is preparing for the test in early 2025. The flight will aim to improve key systems such as booster recovery and ocean splashdown. Designed for lunar and Martian miss...
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NASA's Curiosity Rover Explores Mars' Texoli Butte Amid New Challenges
NASA's Curiosity Rover is navigating the northern end of Texoli Butte on Mars, uncovering ancient sedimentary layers. Recent challenges forced the rover to stop its drive earlier than planned, delaying some imaging tasks. Despite this, scientific efforts continued, focusing on "Avalon," a dark bedrock vein, long-range imaging, and environmental obs...
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NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Captured with Dust Layers by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
NASA’s retired InSight Mars lander has been spotted by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in a recent image taken on October 23, 2024. The image, captured using the HiRISE camera, shows dust accumulation on InSight’s solar panels, now matching the reddish-brown Martian surface. This observation provides insights into wind patterns and dust m...
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Trump Nominates Jared Isaacman as Next NASA Administrator
Jared Isaacman, billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut, has been nominated by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as the next NASA administrator. Isaacman, who founded Shift4 Payments and commanded SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission and Polaris Dawn, brings a unique mix of business success and space exploration experience. His nomination reflect...
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China's Tianwen-3 Mars Sample Return Mission Targets 2031 Ahead of NASA, ESA
China's Tianwen-3 mission aims to return Martian rock samples to Earth by 2031, setting a benchmark in space exploration. Scheduled for launch in 2028, the mission will employ cutting-edge technologies, including a lander, ascent vehicle, rover, and helicopter, to gather samples from regions like Utopia Planitia and Chryse Planitia. These areas wer...
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NASA Eyes Innovative Strategies for Mars Exploration Success by 2044
NASA has detailed a 20-year strategy for Mars exploration in a report calling for innovative approaches, cost-efficient missions, and global partnerships. The plan addresses core scientific questions, including Mars’ habitability and signs of life, and focuses on developing advanced technology to access challenging terrains. Public engagement and...
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NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter May Become Weather Station for 20 Years on Mars
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, designed for five test flights, surpassed expectations with 72 missions before a crash ended its flight capabilities. Despite the damage, its sensors and systems remain functional, allowing it to act as a weather station. Communication with the helicopter relies on the Perseverance rover, which is moving farther away,...
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NASA Investigates Ingenuity’s Last Flight, Explains Why it Crashed on its 72nd Flight
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, initially planned for five flights, completed 72 missions, ending its journey on January 18, 2024. Its final flight encountered navigation challenges over Jezero Crater's featureless terrain, leading to rotor blade damage. Despite being grounded, Ingenuity continues contributing data to Mars research. NASA is now...
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Mars Dust Storms May Be Predictable Based on Surface Heating Patterns
A new study suggests warm days on Mars often precede dust storms, with researchers analysing data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The findings show 78% of storms correlate with increased solar heating, particularly in northern regions of the planet. Scientists have developed an algorithm predicting certain storm types with 64% confidence, ...
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Space Exploration Highlights 2024: Lunar Missions, Mars Discoveries, and More
2024 saw significant space exploration advancements. Japan's SLIM mission exceeded expectations, while NASA’s Perseverance found evidence of ancient life on Mars. The Europa Clipper launched to investigate subsurface oceans on Jupiter's moon Europa, promising new discoveries by 2030.
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NASA’s Curiosity Rover Set to Target Spiderweb-Like 'Boxworks Deposits' on Mars' Surface
NASA’s Curiosity rover is set to explore Martian "spiderweb" formations, known as boxwork, which may reveal secrets about the planet’s ancient watery past. These unique structures, first observed decades ago, could help scientists understand Mars' history of water and the potential for past life. The rover’s investigation aims to study minera...
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NASA Europa Clipper Advances Toward Jupiter’s Moon, Instruments Successfully Deployed
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, launched in October 2024, is journeying toward Jupiter’s moon Europa to study its icy surface and hidden ocean. Currently over 13 million miles from Earth, the spacecraft has successfully deployed its solar arrays, magnetometer boom, and radar antennas. It will use a gravity assist from Mars in March 2025 to ad...
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NASA’s Curiosity Rover Concludes Sulphur Study in Gediz Vallis; Mars Journey Continues
NASA’s Curiosity rover has completed its study of Mars’ Gediz Vallis channel, capturing key images of the sulphur deposits discovered within. The rover's next mission will explore a unique geological formation called the Boxwork. Located in the foothills of Mount Sharp, Gediz Vallis is important for understanding the transition from Mars’ wet...
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NASA’s Viking Mission May Have Destroyed Martian Life with Water Experiments
In 1975, NASA’s Viking mission tested Martian soil for microbial life using liquid water. A recent theory suggests this approach may have destroyed microbes adapted to Mars' dry, salt-driven conditions. Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch proposes revisiting our assumptions about life on Mars and prioritising methods suited to its hyperarid enviro...
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SpaceX Plans To Develop 'Marslink' Network To Provide Internet On Mars
SpaceX has introduced a Marslink concept, a satellite-based communication network around Mars, to support interplanetary data exchange for future Mars missions. NASA reviewed this and other proposals, including Blue Origin's Blue Ring orbital tug and Lockheed Martin's MAVEN-based network. The Marslink network would build on SpaceX’s Starlink tech...
-
SpaceX Starship Flight 7 Test Gets FAA Launch Licence, Preparing for 2025
SpaceX has received the FAA’s launch licence for Starship Flight 7, marking another milestone in their quest for a fully reusable rocket system. After extensive engine tests, SpaceX is preparing for the test in early 2025. The flight will aim to improve key systems such as booster recovery and ocean splashdown. Designed for lunar and Martian miss...
-
NASA's Curiosity Rover Explores Mars' Texoli Butte Amid New Challenges
NASA's Curiosity Rover is navigating the northern end of Texoli Butte on Mars, uncovering ancient sedimentary layers. Recent challenges forced the rover to stop its drive earlier than planned, delaying some imaging tasks. Despite this, scientific efforts continued, focusing on "Avalon," a dark bedrock vein, long-range imaging, and environmental obs...
-
NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Captured with Dust Layers by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
NASA’s retired InSight Mars lander has been spotted by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in a recent image taken on October 23, 2024. The image, captured using the HiRISE camera, shows dust accumulation on InSight’s solar panels, now matching the reddish-brown Martian surface. This observation provides insights into wind patterns and dust m...
-
Trump Nominates Jared Isaacman as Next NASA Administrator
Jared Isaacman, billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut, has been nominated by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as the next NASA administrator. Isaacman, who founded Shift4 Payments and commanded SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission and Polaris Dawn, brings a unique mix of business success and space exploration experience. His nomination reflect...
-
China's Tianwen-3 Mars Sample Return Mission Targets 2031 Ahead of NASA, ESA
China's Tianwen-3 mission aims to return Martian rock samples to Earth by 2031, setting a benchmark in space exploration. Scheduled for launch in 2028, the mission will employ cutting-edge technologies, including a lander, ascent vehicle, rover, and helicopter, to gather samples from regions like Utopia Planitia and Chryse Planitia. These areas wer...
-
NASA Eyes Innovative Strategies for Mars Exploration Success by 2044
NASA has detailed a 20-year strategy for Mars exploration in a report calling for innovative approaches, cost-efficient missions, and global partnerships. The plan addresses core scientific questions, including Mars’ habitability and signs of life, and focuses on developing advanced technology to access challenging terrains. Public engagement and...
-
NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter May Become Weather Station for 20 Years on Mars
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, designed for five test flights, surpassed expectations with 72 missions before a crash ended its flight capabilities. Despite the damage, its sensors and systems remain functional, allowing it to act as a weather station. Communication with the helicopter relies on the Perseverance rover, which is moving farther away,...
-
NASA Investigates Ingenuity’s Last Flight, Explains Why it Crashed on its 72nd Flight
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, initially planned for five flights, completed 72 missions, ending its journey on January 18, 2024. Its final flight encountered navigation challenges over Jezero Crater's featureless terrain, leading to rotor blade damage. Despite being grounded, Ingenuity continues contributing data to Mars research. NASA is now...
-
Mars Dust Storms May Be Predictable Based on Surface Heating Patterns
A new study suggests warm days on Mars often precede dust storms, with researchers analysing data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The findings show 78% of storms correlate with increased solar heating, particularly in northern regions of the planet. Scientists have developed an algorithm predicting certain storm types with 64% confidence, ...
-
Space Exploration Highlights 2024: Lunar Missions, Mars Discoveries, and More
2024 saw significant space exploration advancements. Japan's SLIM mission exceeded expectations, while NASA’s Perseverance found evidence of ancient life on Mars. The Europa Clipper launched to investigate subsurface oceans on Jupiter's moon Europa, promising new discoveries by 2030.
-
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Set to Target Spiderweb-Like 'Boxworks Deposits' on Mars' Surface
NASA’s Curiosity rover is set to explore Martian "spiderweb" formations, known as boxwork, which may reveal secrets about the planet’s ancient watery past. These unique structures, first observed decades ago, could help scientists understand Mars' history of water and the potential for past life. The rover’s investigation aims to study minera...
-
NASA Europa Clipper Advances Toward Jupiter’s Moon, Instruments Successfully Deployed
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, launched in October 2024, is journeying toward Jupiter’s moon Europa to study its icy surface and hidden ocean. Currently over 13 million miles from Earth, the spacecraft has successfully deployed its solar arrays, magnetometer boom, and radar antennas. It will use a gravity assist from Mars in March 2025 to ad...
-
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Concludes Sulphur Study in Gediz Vallis; Mars Journey Continues
NASA’s Curiosity rover has completed its study of Mars’ Gediz Vallis channel, capturing key images of the sulphur deposits discovered within. The rover's next mission will explore a unique geological formation called the Boxwork. Located in the foothills of Mount Sharp, Gediz Vallis is important for understanding the transition from Mars’ wet...
-
NASA’s Viking Mission May Have Destroyed Martian Life with Water Experiments
In 1975, NASA’s Viking mission tested Martian soil for microbial life using liquid water. A recent theory suggests this approach may have destroyed microbes adapted to Mars' dry, salt-driven conditions. Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch proposes revisiting our assumptions about life on Mars and prioritising methods suited to its hyperarid enviro...
-
SpaceX Plans To Develop 'Marslink' Network To Provide Internet On Mars
SpaceX has introduced a Marslink concept, a satellite-based communication network around Mars, to support interplanetary data exchange for future Mars missions. NASA reviewed this and other proposals, including Blue Origin's Blue Ring orbital tug and Lockheed Martin's MAVEN-based network. The Marslink network would build on SpaceX’s Starlink tech...
