In 2013, NASA’s Curiosity Rover detected a spike of methane gas in the Martian atmosphere. It was particularly exciting news at the time because methane is often a chemical byproduct of living organisms on Earth. On the other hand, methane can also be produced by geological processes, and so the discovery doesn’t automatically mean that life exists on the red planet. A significant discovery like this one should have been confirmed with a second source shortly after being detected, but for whatever reason, that wasn’t the case. Fortunately, researchers are now picking up the slack nearly six years later. A new paper has been published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience after a team of researchers used data from the ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft to validate the Curiosity Rover’s 2013 findings. Image Credit: Spacecraft image credit: ESA/ATG medialab; Mars: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin “In general, we did not detect any methane, aside from one definite detection of about 15 parts per billion by volume of methane in the atmosphere, which turned out to be a day after Curiosity reported a spike of about six parts per billion,” elucidated study lead author Marco Giuranna. “Although parts per billion in general means a relatively small amount, it is quite remarkable for Mars—our measurement corresponds to an average of about 46 tons of methane that was present in the area of 49,000 square kilometers observed from our orbit.” Related: NASA brings tightening MAVEN's orbit around Mars in preparation for the Mars 2020 rover As it turns out, methane gas doesn’t tend to last very long in the Martian atmosphere, and with that in mind, the methane that Curiosity detected in 2013 must have been produced somewhat recently. While this much is clear to planetary scientists, one blistering question remains: where did Mars’ methane actually come from? The newly-published paper doesn’t reveal a definitive source of the methane gas on Mars, which isn’t particularly surprising given the lack of answers concerning the matter. On the other hand, it’s the first independent confirmation that Curiosity’s methane detection was anything but a fluke. Given the circumstances, researchers can’t do much apart from speculate about its source. “Our new Mars Express data, taken one day after Curiosity’s recording, change the interpretation of where the methane originated from, especially when considering global atmospheric circulation patterns together with the local geology,” Giuranna added. “Based on geological evidence and the amount of methane that we measured, we think that the source is unlikely to be located within the crater.” Related: An inside look at the progress being made on the Mars 2020 rover Upon doing some additional probing into the source of the methane, the researchers found that it may have originated East of Gale Crater. There, a bevy of geological faults exist; these may have ruptured permafrost in the area, freeing any methane gas that might’ve been trapped inside of it in the process. The novel idea is merely hypothetical, of course. Without more data, it’s challenging to discern exactly where the methane gas on Mars came from. On the other hand, space agencies are ramping up Martian exploration as we speak, and it’s hoped that some of these missions could provide the insight we need for solving such mysteries. With that in mind, it should be interesting to see what we’ll learn as planetary scientists continue their search. Source: ESA via The Guardian, Nature Geoscience

If we ever put astronauts on Mars, we’ll need to be careful in doing so, planning every little detail for their safety. Not only is it unexplored territory, but Mars is barren, dry, and lifeless because of the planet’s poor atmosphere and weak magnetic field, both of which need to be just right to sustain life. Image Credit: Aynur_zakirov/Pixabay Lacking a robust atmosphere and a strong magnetic field like the Earth has, Mars is bombarded by significantly more solar radiation from our Sun, but also from cosmic radiation from sources all over the universe. This means the planet is more dangerous and astronauts will need artificial protection against this radiation. The concerns are considered in a new study published in Scientific Reports, in which researchers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas say astronauts on Mars will have almost double the risk than originally thought of developing cancer while exploring the high-radiation environment. They came to this conclusion after studying tumors in lab mice in a non-targeted model. They found that the cancerous cells can actually impose a domino effect on surrounding cells, a key detail that has been left out of many other major studies in the field. Related: SpaceX is already testing its Raptor engine, perfect for traveling to Mars Moreover, the radiation can also impact other parts of an astronaut’s health that are necessary for normal bodily functions like their circulatory and central nervous systems, just to name a couple. “Exploring Mars will require missions of 900 days or longer and includes more than one year in deep space where exposures to all energies of galactic cosmic ray heavy ions are unavoidable,” Francis Cucinotta, a scientist at UNLV, explained. “Current levels of radiation shielding would, at best, modestly decrease the exposure risks.” It’s possible to compensate for some of these health issues with daily medication and radiation shielding, but it’s still worth some additional research to ensure we get the data right the first time. Related: NASA is being rushed to come up with a Mars habitation prototype by 2018 After all, radiation shielding only helps take care of some of the radiation that astronauts will face; not all. This means they’re exposed to heavier ions like that of iron and titanium, which can significantly damage cells and DNA, leaving mutations to run rampant. Related: Here's why Mars has a blue sunset despite being a red planet “Galactic cosmic ray exposure can devastate a cell’s nucleus and cause mutations that can result in cancers,” Cucinotta continued. “We learned the damaged cells send signals to the surrounding, unaffected cells and likely modify the tissues’ microenvironments. Those signals seem to inspire the healthy cells to mutate, thereby causing additional tumors or cancers.” In order to ensure that our astronauts will be safe and can return home without significant health problems, the researchers call for more extensive health research into how cosmic rays will affect human tissues. This will be a difficult process considering we have absolutely no data yet and our willpower to go to Mars within just a few more decades continues to grow; nevertheless, we can’t ethically put humans in a potentially-dangerous environment without the proper gear and a proper understanding of long-term effects. It should be interesting to see how NASA intends to deal with these complications and whether or not we’ll actually still be going to Mars considering the health drawbacks that continue to be unveiled. Source: University of Nevada, Las Vegas

One thing NASA wants to do within just a few more decades it put mankind on Mars. Whether they’re settle there permanently, or just for several years remains to be seen, but it goes without saying that this is going to be a major push for technological advancements. Image Credit: ChadoNihi/Pixabay Mankind has never stepped foot on another planet before, and although we’ve gone to the Moon, another planet is significantly different because it’s so much further away. This makes things more difficult because it’s hard to get the visitor to and from the planet, as well as to send and receive supplies. On the other hand, one other thing that serves as a problem for the astronauts is that once they leave the Earth’s atmosphere, they’re no longer protected from cosmic radiation. Astronauts that visit the International Space Station may see more cosmic radiation than those of us here on the surface of the Earth do, but they’re still technically in the atmosphere, which continues to provide them with some protection. On the other hand, when astronauts went and visited the Moon, they were exposed to a very high amount of cosmic radiation because they literally left the Earth’s atmosphere. Such conditions are expected to be similar or even worse when astronauts visit Mars, because the trip to Mars could take about six months, which means prolonged exposure to such radiation. While NASA can do their best to shield the traveling spacecraft from cosmic radiation with special types of armor, they will also need to shield their astronauts from cosmic radiation when they settle on the red planet, as Mars doesn’t have a very robust atmosphere like the Earth does, and a new idea suggests that igloo-like ice domes might be the answer. Image Credit: Clouds Architecture Office, NASA Langley Research Center, Space Exploration Architecture According to scientists at NASA’s Langley Research Center, creating ice domes could be viable because there’s supposedly already water ice trapped in the surface of Mars and we would just need to send lightweight construction materials to the red planet for construction. Walls of ice also have a high tolerance for radiation, and so it would work good as a shield. Such a dome would have transparent layers so that sunlight could pierce the walls and provide astronauts inside with a comfortable living space, but the thick ice walls would prevent cosmic radiation from harming the astronauts that reside inside all while helping to shield astronauts from other hazards, such as dust storms. "The materials that make up the Ice Home will have to withstand many years of use in the harsh Martian environment, including ultraviolet radiation, charged-particle radiation, possibly some atomic oxygen, perchlorates, as well as dust storms – although not as fierce as in the movie 'The Martian'," said Langley researcher Sheila Ann Thibeault. The dome would be pretty large, being a double-story living space for visitors with all of the ammenities you'd expect a house for a human being to have. Image Credit: NASA Langley/ Clouds AO/SEArch Because of the limited amounts of water in Mars’ surface, it would take a while for NASA to pump enough water out to fill the dome’s walls. According to NASA, it would be possible to pump approximately 1 cubic meter of water each day, which means it could take up to 400 days to fill the entire proposed structure. The timeframe could, of course, be sped up if water can be extracted in larger quantities much faster. That said, construction would have to begin a significant amount of time before astronauts ever arrived at the red planet, which means robotics might play a big role in assembly. While these domes are still just proposals at this point in time, they provide a good alternative to underground caves and other similar, potentially unsafe conditions. It will provide more light for the astronauts, which is potentially better than living in a dark cave, and since the unit can be placed anywhere, no one has to hope that a convenient cave exists somewhere where astronauts will want to explore. Mars exploration by humans rather than robots is expected to take place within just a few more decades, so it should be very interesting to see how our space experts are going to tackle this challenging task. Source: Popular Science, Space Exploration Architecture

As mankind gets ever-so-closer to putting boots down on Mars’ surface, there are a lot of challenges that need to be overcome. So far, inflatable habitation modules and 3D printing both offer a lot of promise for packing a ton of supplies into a small volume of storage to make it possible to have a livable camp on the red planet, but there is still more to it than that. Anyone who gets sent to Mars will be there for a really long time. It won’t be like the International Space Station where they go up for a few months and then come right back. So sustainability is very important. One of the things necessary to sustain life is food, and one of the best ways to produce sustainable food is with plants. Image Credit: Joep Frissel/AFP/Getty Images A recent experiment carried out by Dutch scientists sought to find out whether or not plants grown in Mars-like conditions were safe to eat. Soil mixes, created by NASA, were produced to simulate as closely as possible the soil conditions found on the red planet and ten kinds of plants will be planted in the study. So far, the findings were positive for four of the plant types, illustrating that plants of various kinds, whether vegetables or cereals, would grow alright in Martian soil, and would be safe to eat. Among the types of plants tested were peas, radishes rye and tomatoes. “These remarkable results are very promising,” said senior ecologist Wieger Wamelink. “We can actually eat the radishes, peas, rye and tomatoes, and I am very curious what they will taste like.” Still to be tested are six more types of plants that could behave differently, which include potatoes. One of the major things scientists look for were dangerous levels of heavy metals in the plants that could pose health problems to anyone to ate them. Mars has higher concentrations of cadmium, copper, and lead than Earth does, and these metals could make the food inedible. “It’s important to test as many crops as possible, to make sure that settlers on Mars have access to a broad variety of different food sources,” said Wamelink. The experiment comes a few months after Inernational Space Station astronauts grew lettuce on the space station and then proceeded to eat the product, showing it was safe to eat. We’re still decades away from having the technology needed to send mankind to Mars, but getting a head start on research is the only sure fire way we’re ever going to get there. At least now we know we should be able to plant crops on the red planet in climate-controlled areas and have sustainable edible food. Source: The Guardian

InSight has been on the red planet for over three years, collecting data on its seismic events. However, a layer of dust accumulated on the rover’s solar panels impedes the machine’s ability to create power, and NASA will end the mission in July. The agency expects to completely shut down the rover by the end of the year. InSight stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport. It launched in May 2018 and, in the time since, has detected over 1,313 seismic events, known as “marsquakes.” The mission is supported by European partners, including the German Aerospace Center and the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES). Most recently, the rover detected a magnitude 5 marsquake on May 4, the largest quake recorded on the planet—the largest previously recorded was a 4.2 magnitude on August 25, 2021. While a magnitude 5 earthquake might not be anything to write home about on Earth, it was the “upper limit” of what NASA had hoped to record on Mars. However, the big quake spelled the beginning of the end for InSight. On May 7, NASA reported that the rover’s energy levels fell below the safe threshold, which triggered the rover’s survival mode, stopping all operations that aren’t vital to the rover’s function. InSight initially landed in the Elysium Planitia region, a flat portion of Mars that allowed the rover to deploy its sensitive seismic equipment to detect marsquakes from anywhere on the planet. The area is now entering the winter season, and with it comes more dust in the air— and consequently less sunlight. The extra dust covering the solar panels isn’t helping, either. The only way to save the rover would be a significant, dust-clearing event such as a dust devil with high winds, NASA says, but right now, scientists are just trying to make the most of the remaining power and collect as much data as they can. The good news: InSight achieved the goals of its original mission at the end of 2020, and the mission was extended to December 2022. Additionally, data provided by InSight gave NASA scientists a better understanding of the planet’s structure, including its larger-than-expected core. All the rover’s energy is being diverted to its seismometer, still listening for quakes as its lights slowly dim. While it will still be able to take the occasional picture come summertime, by December, NASA expects the rover to go silent altogether. Sources: Science News, NASA

NASA’s Curiosity rover rolls about the red planet’s surface always looking for things out of the ordinary that might be of interest to NASA. It attempts to search for life forms, as well as learn more about the composition of the red planet. Curiosity is easily one of NASA’s most important red planet observation tools at this point in time, at least until the Mars 2020 rover can make its way over there. Recently, however, Curiosity found something rather peculiar. It looks like a metallic alien egg straight out of science fiction movies, but NASA says it’s probably just a meteorite made of dense materials, including metals. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The object was first discovered on October 27th by the mast camera on the Curiosity rover, and it’s quite an interesting find actually. Curiosity rover’s ChemCam, which is capable of using lasers to determine what something is made out of, fired its lasers at the rock several times. This essentially excites the electrons and emits certain light wavelengths; the type of wavelengths of light that get emitted are the key to what elements are present in the object. ChemCam found traces of iron, nickel, and phosphorous among other still-undetermined elements. “Iron meteorites provide records of many different asteroids that broke up, with fragments of their cores ending up on Earth and on Mars,” said Horton Newsom of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque and a Curiosity ChemCam team member. “Mars may have sampled a different population of asteroids than Earth has.” The findings reveal that this may be a piece of a once-molten core of an asteroid. It must have broken up at some point in time in space, probably due to some kind of space-based collision, and then this little guy ended up on the red planet as a result. Curiosity will continue to explore the area to see if any more samples like this can be found. In addition, the rover will be looking for any signs of life in the Murray formation it’s currently driving around. With NASA’s interest in one day retiring the International Space Station to put mankind on Mars, it’s important to think ahead and really understand the Martian environment before we make any big leaps. Source: Space.com

NASA bench-tested their new deep space travel rocket engine last week, an RS-25 engine, which would be perfect for future missions that might transport human beings to Mars. The RS-25 rocket engine burned for a total of 500 seconds on March 10th, where it unleashed hellish flames and demonstrated its strong engine thrust. This kind of engine would be affixed to NASA’s SLS rocket for deep space travel missions in the future. “What a great moment for NASA and Stennis,” said Rick Gilbrech, director of NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. “We have exciting days ahead with a return to deep space and a journey to Mars, and this test is a very big step in that direction.” These engines are remnants from an older time. Once used to carry the Space Shuttle and its passengers to and from space, they are a tried and true method of getting mankind to space, and are very reliable. For future space missions, these engines will roar at 109% capacity and give the SLS rocket 2 million pounds of total thrust power. “Not only does this test mark an important step towards proving our existing design for SLS’s first flight,” said Steve Wofford, engines manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the SLS Program is managed for the agency, “but it’s also a great feeling that this engine that has carried so many astronauts into space before is being prepared to take astronauts to space once again on SLS’s first crewed flight.” NASA is now working on new controllers for the engine that will help it function as needed for future deep space travel missions. These controllers will be untested, unlike the ol’ reliable engines, so there will be more testing periods to come to ensure that the controllers can be relied on as much as the engines can be. NASA has a long-standing interest in sending mankind to explore and live on Mars, where astronauts could settle permanently in 3D-printed habitation developments. Although we’re still far from that point in time, getting the technology ready is a great way to prepare for all situations and ensure that everything is safe when the time comes. It looks like we're already one step closer to sending the first of mankind to visit Mars, but it'll still be decades before that day comes. Source: NASA

Back in December, a critical component of the Mars-based Curiosity rover’s drill stopped working. In particular, two drilling stabilizers used to keep the mechanism straight during the drilling process wouldn’t deploy correctly, compelling NASA engineers to explore new techniques for drilling into Martian rocks without them. But while the debacle may have seemed troubling at first glance, it now appears that it was just a minor setback. A statement released by NASA just this week reveals how Curiosity moved forward with a new free-handed drilling process and yielded spectacular results. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The new drilling technique bypasses the inoperable drilling stabilizers entirely by fully-extending the drill bit beyond them and utilizing pressure sensors embedded within the rover’s drilling arm to monitor drilling depth and force. Citing the statement, this technique enabled Curiosity to penetrate at least two inches into a rock dubbed ‘Duluth’ on the Martian surface. "The team used tremendous ingenuity to devise a new drilling technique and implement it on another planet," said Curiosity Deputy Project Manager Steve Lee of JPL. "Those are two vital inches of innovation from 60 million miles away. We’re thrilled that the result was so successful." Related: The Curiosity rover's wheels are beginning to break down The result of the drilling attempt is a fine dust that the Curiosity rover can perform chemical and mineralogical analyses on to discern their makeup. The findings could help planetary scientists develop a more robust understanding of Mars’ composition and habitability, among other things. "We've been developing this new drilling technique for over a year, but our job isn't done once a sample has been collected on Mars," explained Tom Green, a JPL engineer who was closely-affiliated with the development of the new drilling technique. "With each new test, we closely examine the data to look for improvements we can make and then head back to our testbed to iterate on the process." Related: Here's what the Curiosity rover looks like from the perspective of a Mars-orbiting satellite It should be fascinating to see what scientists will find from the analyses and whether the drilling technique will work just as well in other Martian environments. Only time will tell... Source: NASA

A protein abundantly present in the blood plasma of astronauts is perfect for building shelters in outer space, say researchers at the University of Manchester. In the future, space voyagers can mix their bodily fluids with extraterrestrial soil to form a biocomposite material with compressive strengths comparable to concrete. One of the most significant challenges with establishing life on Mars is the cost—ferrying a single brick from Earth to Mars costs over $2 million. As a result, scientists have taken an out-of-the-box approach to developing cost-effective building materials for shelters and other structures for new arrivals on the Red Planet. The ideal components would be materials that future space crews would already have access to when they arrive. In a study published in Materials Today Bio, a team of researchers describes AstroCrete, a strong, concrete-like substance made by mixing dust with human serum albumin. This blood protein, produced by the liver, shuttles vitamins, enzymes, and other essential substances around the body. The addition of urea (a metabolic waste product excreted in tears, urine, and sweat) makes AstroCrete 300 percent more robust, giving it about twice the compressive strength of earthly concrete. This impressive durability results from a chemical reaction that occurs when blood proteins denature outside the body, forming structural bonds known as "beta sheets" which are capable of holding materials together at a molecular level. AstroCrete is a novel solution to a long-standing interplanetary travel problem, says Aled Roberts, a lead researcher from the University of Manchester. The team's novel technology could pave the way for future construction projects on distant planets. According to Roberts' calculations, a crew of six astronauts could produce more than 500 kilograms of AstroCrete over two years—which could hold sandbags containing Martian soil together to form housing pods. In addition, this so-called biocomposite can also potentially be 3D-printed into more intricate structures. Interestingly, the use of blood in architecture is far from a new concept. As early as medieval times, animal blood was used as a binder for mortar. "It is exciting that a major challenge of the space age may have found its solution based on inspirations from medieval technology," said Roberts.

NASA sent the Perseverance rover to Mars loaded with cutting-edge technology, one piece of which is a robotic helicopter called Ingenuity. On April 19, 2021, its first successful flight made Ingenuity the first aircraft to complete a controlled, powered flight on a planet other than Earth. It's been on a few flights since, and executed its fifth flight on Mars on May 8, 2021, when it traveled from Wright Brothers Field to an airfield 423 feet (129 meters) to the south on a one-way flight. Once it got to the airfield, it rose to a new height of ten meters, capturing high-resolution images before descending to touch down. The flight lasted 108 seconds. "We bid adieu to our first Martian home, Wright Brothers Field, with grateful thanks for the support it provided to the historic first flights of a planetary rotorcraft," said Bob Balaram, chief engineer for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at JPL. "No matter where we go from here, we will always carry with us a reminder of how much those two bicycle builders from Dayton meant to us during our pursuit of the first flight on another world." Now, the craft's capabilities will be tested more. It may be tasked with making aerial observations of locations that the rover can't reach. This could be a great help to future mission planning. The helicopter will also face bigger risks. "The fifth flight of the Mars Helicopter is another great achievement for the agency," said Bob Pearce, associate administrator for NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. "The continuing success of Ingenuity proves the value of bringing together the strengths of diverse skill sets from across the agency to create the future, like flying an aircraft on another planet!" NASA is interested in learning more about how next-generation helicopters can aid future missions to Mars. For now, it will await instructions from Perseverance, which transmits directions from mission control. The Perseverance rover is now headed south too, where it will begin to gather samples and carry out scientific operations. For now, the rover won't stray too far from the helicopter, and mission control can use Ingenuity if they want. "The plan forward is to fly Ingenuity in a manner that does not reduce the pace of Perseverance science operations," said Balaram. "We may get a couple more flights in over the next few weeks, and then the agency will evaluate how we're doing. We have already been able to gather all the flight performance data that we originally came here to collect. Now, this new operations demo gives us an opportunity to further expand our knowledge of flying machines on other planets." Sources: Phys.org via Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Part I of this article explained how a team from MIT has come up with a revolutionary new weight and cost-saving plan for a manned mission to Mars in which ships would be launched from Earth with just enough fuel to get them into orbit, and then rendezvous with the fuel they needed to complete the journey. The raw materials for the fuel would be robotically mined on the Moon, then processed into fuel, and launched toward its rendezvous with the Mars-bound ships. The MIT team’s plan is based on the PhD thesis of Takuto Ishimatsu, a current postdoc at MIT. So far, NASA has employed two main strategies for supplying missions with resources: The first is a carry-along approach, in which everything the mission requires: all vehicles, provisions, and fuel are launched at the same time in the same vehicle. This was the approach NASA used for the Apollo missions. The second is a "resupply strategy," in which resources are replenished on a regular basis the way they are with regular flights to the International Space Station. These models have worked fairly well for missions to the Moon and the ISS, but if we’re going further into space, to Mars or beyond, sending everything up in one launch is prohibitively expensive, and resupply missions simply would not be plausible. As Olivier de Weck, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics and of engineering systems at MIT and Ishimatsu put it, "As budgets are constrained and destinations are far away from home, a well-planned logistics strategy becomes imperative." This new approach that the MIT team advocates is referred to in the space exploration community as "in-situ resource utilization”. Simply put, it is the idea that resources such as fuel, water, and oxygen, can, in many cases, be collected and produced along the way during space missions. In this scheme materials produced in space can supplant those that would otherwise be transported from Earth. Any place there is water ice, for example, could be mined to produce all four of these vital consumables. "There's a pretty high degree of confidence that these resources are available," says de Weck. "Assuming you can extract these resources, what do you do with it? Almost nobody has looked at that question." The main body of Ishimatsu’s work on the project was the theoretical development of a network flow model which explored various routes to Mars, comparing NASA’s standard direct carry-along flight to a flight with a series of refueling pit stops along the way. Ishimatsu was trying to find the smallest amount of mass that could be launched from Earth to accomplish a Mars mission. Remarkably, even when he factored in the mass of launching a fuel-producing plant and spare tankers that would need to be pre-deployed, he found that the "in-situ resource utilization” model required far less mass to be launched from Earth. Of course, when you look at pictures of a skyscraper-sized Saturn 5 rocket, keep in mind that, when loaded, 97 percent of the mass was propellant. The MIT team’s vision extends far beyond a single mission to Mars. ”Our ultimate goal,” says Ishimatsu, “is to colonize Mars and to establish a permanent, self-sustainable human presence there. … However, equally importantly, I believe that we need to 'pave a road' in space so that we can travel between planetary bodies in an affordable way.” de Weck adds that (their plan) …suggests that the moon could play a major role in getting us to Mars repeatedly and sustainably. …People have hinted at that before, but we think this is the first definitive paper that shows mathematically why that's the right answer.” Source: phys.org

When planetary scientists deploy space missions to explore other worlds in search of alien life, they often look for signatures that are known to exist here on Earth, such as the presence of methane gas, which tends to be a common byproduct of many living organisms. Image Credit: NASA NASA’s Curiosity rover detected a significant methane gas spike in the red planet’s atmosphere in 2013, which was just recently validated with the help of the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft. But as it would seem, Curiosity has made yet another significant methane detection just this past week, and it should come as no surprise to anyone that the finding is captivating the attention of planetary scientists. Related: The Curiosity Rover's metallic wheels are beginning to break down One thing to note about methane gas is that it doesn’t last long in the Martian atmosphere because of the red planet’s weak magnetic field. Cosmic radiation, most of which originates from our Sun as solar wind, breaks the gas apart at the molecular level. With that in mind, any methane that the Curiosity rover detects must be somewhat fresh. For what it’s worth, however, living organisms aren’t the only source of methane gas in the solar system. Specific geothermal processes can also produce methane gas, and so while its discovery is indeed exciting, more research is necessary if we’re to understand where it came from and whether Mars plays host to any living organisms – microbial or otherwise. Related: NASA's upcoming Mars 2020 rover will sport 20/20 vision to explore the red planet in more detail NASA had originally planned for the Curiosity rover to conduct specialized scientific experiments on Mars over the weekend, but due to the latest findings, the American space agency has instead ordered the rover to spend more time analyzing the nearby methane gas in an attempt to uncover where it’s coming from. Results from the latest observations should be available sometime next week. Whether the methane is being produced by living organisms or some geothermal chemical reaction deep within the planet, discerning its source will help lay this longstanding mystery to rest once and for all. With that in mind, it should be interesting to see what the results of the latest experiments bring to the table. Source: New York Times

Curiosity is just one mankind’s many robotic explorers that has been sent to Mars to help observe the planet’s surface with the goal of unlocking the planet’s past and finding out more about whether or not it can support alien life. While we’ve come up blank with much of the search for life, NASA has been confident of what they say is evidence of flowing water on Mars, and they also think Mars might have enough water trapped in its surface to use for a human habitation dome for when we finally send mankind there. On the other hand, a curious picture sent in by the Curiosity rover shows what appears to be cracked mud, possibly even more evidence that water once existed on the red planet. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS According to NASA, the cracked slab, which measures about 3 feet across, may be remnants of mud that existed nearly 3 billion years ago and cracked from the heat. There are polygonal patterns on its surface that look a lot like the same cracked mud you’d expect to see right here on Earth in places like Arizona, where the ground often dries up and cracks from the extreme heat in the Summer. “Mud cracks are the most likely scenario here,” said Curiosity science team member Nathan Stein. “Even from a distance, we could see a pattern of four- and five-sided polygons that don't look like fractures we've seen previously with Curiosity. It looks like what you'd see beside the road where muddy ground has dried and cracked.” Without much surprise, NASA sent Curiosity in to investigate further, and found two specific kinds of cracks in the slab: 1) a type of crack that fills with windblown sand; and 2) a type of crack that’s caused by accumulating sediments via running water that create pressure from hardening. “If these are indeed mud cracks, they fit well with the context of what we're seeing in the section of Mount Sharp Curiosity has been climbing for many months,” said Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. “The ancient lakes varied in depth and extent over time, and sometimes disappeared. We're seeing more evidence of dry intervals between what had been mostly a record of long-lived lakes.” Scientists have also reportedly found evidence of rough flowing waters, consistent with what could have been river-like activity in the region. Curiosity Rover has learned a wealth of possible useful information from this site, but it’s now moving on to a new spot where we can learn more about the red planet. It should be interesting to see if we spot any more of these incredible, mind-boggling discoveries. Thanks to a recent software update, Curiosity can now automatically target things on the planet without any human intervention, which is incredibly helpful. Source: Phys.org

In a rare event this week, sky gazers will be able to see three aligned planets in the Eastern skies at night amongst the stars. The planets Mars, Jupiter, and Venus will be visible in the skies with a pair of binoculars, but those with good eyesight can probably see the planets with the naked eye. The trio of planets will be the brightest things in the sky, being that they’re the closest things to Earth and that they’re reflecting the Sun’s light right back at us. The awesome sight has not been seen in the skies for two years, and experts say that it won’t happen again until January of 2021. This morning, the three planets were the closest together that they will be all week long. Throughout the week, they will continue to drift apart, but they’ll be visible in the night skies until October 29th. Below, you can see a photograph snapped of the three planets in the skies taken by Instagram user yyaanneettaa: The planets are best viewed in the morning, approximately an hour before the sun rises. At this time, the skies are still plenty dark enough to see the planets. When you get outside, you’ll want to look towards the East while the sky is clear, which is where you’ll have the best chance of seeing the planets converge together in a triangular group. Although the planets appear close together from our planet, they’re actually incredibly far from one another; millions of miles. Jupiter and Mars come after the Earth in terms of relativity to the Sun, while Venus is actually before the Earth in terms of relativity to the Sun. This won’t be the only interesting sight visible in the skies this month. On Halloween night, sky-gazers with telescopes will be able to watch a huge asteroid dubbed 2015 TB145 pass closely to the Earth approximately 1.3 Lunar distances away. A sight like this won’t be visible again until 2027. Source: BBC

Last week, the European Space Agency had a giant face-palm moment after their Trace Gas Orbiter ejected the Schiaparelli Mars lander and it failed to land on the red planet safely. Rather than coming to a soft landing on the Martian surface, it’s believed due to loss of communication just before the time of expected touchdown that the landing equipment didn’t do its job properly and the lander probably crashed into the surface and was destroyed on impact. Now, new imagery released by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) at a low resolution of 6 meters per pixel appears to show the final resting place for Schiaparelli by way of a new marking on the planet’s surface that wasn’t there prior to the attempted landing. Image Credit: ESA/MRO Clearly seen in the before/after GIF above, you can see a black dot appear inside the bounding box near the top left, which is believed to be the Schiaparelli lander itself. Looking carefully, one can also see a bright white spot on the bottom right of the bounding box, which is believed to be the lander’s 12-m parachute. As you might be wondering why the Schiaparelli lander looks bigger than the parachute, well the ESA says there’s a logical explanation. The lander fell from the air at anywhere from 2-4 kilometers up, which meant it would have impacted the surface at a rate of speed of around 300 km/h. At this speed, it would have done a considerable amount of damage to the Martian surface, kicking up debris and disturbing the uniform bright surface. What you’re seeing is a miniature crater dug by the impact. There is even speculation that the lander may have exploded after having such a hard impact on the surface. As early as next week, the MRO’s highest resolution camera (HiRISE) will get a chance to scan these parts of Mars and get a clearer, closer look at the supposed Schiaparelli landing site. Despite the mishap with the Schiaparelli lander, part two of the mission to put the Mars 2020 rover on the red planet is still a go. Perhaps this time around, the payload will have better luck landing. Source: ESA

Sending astronauts to visit the Martian surface is a big deal, and we need to make sure we're prepared before moving forward with such an immense goal. One of the ways we can do that is by studying our performance in simulated Martian environments before moving forward to the real thing. The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) mission did just that. Participants were closed inside of a habitation module in the middle of nowhere for eight months, and they pretended to live just as they would if they were actually left to their own devices on Mars. Among the things inhabitants needed to do was provide their own food, keep the living space clean, and get along with fellow roommates. Participants even dressed up in special hazmat suits before venturing outside of the habitation module. As HI-SEAS participant Joshua Ehrlich points out, there's more to the experiment than meets the eye. It taught him valuable lessons that apply to various aspects of life. Communicating with others and getting along despite differences are just some examples of skills he picked up along the way.

Some of the special features of NASA's Perseverance Rover involve performing some scientific experiments. One of its missions is to try to find evidence of microbial life that may have once existed on Mars. As a first step, it has to collect a sample of Martian rock and perform a geological analysis. Future missions will hopefully transport that material back to Earth as well. Perseverance touched down on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021, in Jezero Crater. On June 1, it started to explore a 1.5-square-mile (4-square-kilometer) area in the crater that scientists suspect contains exposed bedrock, some of which may be Mars' oldest. Perseverance will focus on an area called the "Cratered Floor Fractured Rough." It will take Perseverance much longer to gather a sample than Neil Armstrong did; when he walked on the Moon, he spent a little over three and a half minutes picking up the first Moon sample. The rover is expected to take about eleven days to take its first sample, because it has to get the instructions from Earth, hundreds of millions of miles away. Perseverance will use the Sampling and Caching System to retrieve the sample by drilling into the planet's surface. It will be collected in a coring bit, and images will be taken so the NASA team knows exactly where the location is taken. A second sample will be taken from a different place in the same general area. The researchers want to get a "geological twin" sample so a detailed examination will take place on site. "On the geologic double, first we use an abrading bit to scrape off the top layers of rock and dust to expose fresh, unweathered surfaces, blow it clean with our Gas Dust Removal Tool, and then get up close and personal with our turret-mounted proximity science instruments SHERLOC [Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals], PIXL [Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry], and WATSON [Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering]," said science campaign co-lead Vivian Sun, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "Not every sample Perseverance is collecting will be done in the quest for ancient life, and we don't expect this first sample to provide definitive proof one way or the other," noted Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley of Caltech. The researchers expect that this work will tell us more about the geology of Mars. "While the rocks located in this geologic unit are not great time capsules for organics, we believe they have been around since the formation of Jezero Crater and incredibly valuable to fill gaps in our geologic understanding of this region, things we'll desperately need to know if we find life once existed on Mars," added Farley. Sources: Phys.org via NASA

NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover has been on the red planet for three Earth years, collecting information and giving scientists information to analyze so that more information about the planet can be revealed. Scientists are particularly interested in the history of the planet, whether or not there is any form of life on the planet, and also what kinds of elements there are on the planet compared to the elements here on Earth. NASA puts the Curiosity Rover on specific rock targets throughout the planet where they want the robotic vehicle to travel to and take samples of the rock. Every time it gets to a mission checkpoint and successfully drills, NASA intends to have the Curiosity Rover take a selfie so that we can see it doing its job in this foreign environment. The latest selfie to be taken, shown above, was on August 5th at ‘Buckskin,’ which is the name of the seventh rock that the Curiosity Rover has drilled into as a part of its mission. The Curiosity Rover has taken selfies in the past, but what’s different about this particular selfie is that the Curiosity Rover has managed to take it at a low angle, which gives the selfie a much more life-like stance in the photograph. The Curiosity Rover takes images of itself by extending a camera far enough away to take a picture, much like the all-too-common “selfie sticks” that people use with their Go-Pro cameras. In other words, this is like eye-candy for all the Mars aficionados out there. The two silver/gray spots in the ground ahead of the Mars Curiosity Rover in the photograph are remnants of where the Curiosity Rover did its drilling. Fortunately, there weren't any problems with the Curiosity Rover short circuiting, like there have been in the past, as NASA noted in a statement: "We were pleased to see no repeat of the short circuit during the Buckskin drilling and sample transfer," said Steven Lee, deputy project manager for Curiosity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "It could come back, but we have made changes in fault protection to continue safely drilling even in the presence of small shorts. We also improved drill percuss circuit telemetry to gain more diagnostic information from any future occurrences." NASA will learn about the samples when the Curiosity Rover uses its on-board instruments to analyze the samples taken from the ground. For the time being, the Curiosity Rover will continue along its path, moving forward, and continuing to take samples from other locations on the red planet. Source: NASA

Space has the ultimate element of surprise: we never know what we will learn from it next. Space and the potential for life other than our own has fascinated cultures worldwide, with no end in sight. The main question: is there life outside our planet? A Martian meteorite studied by a collective of researchers from Munich and the Carnegie Institution for Science may have an answer for us. Eleven years ago, one of five Martian meteorites ever observed falling to earth landed in Morocco, scattering pieces within a thirty-mile radius of where it landed, including the nearby village of Tissint, Morocco. The last one witnessed to land was in Nigeria in 1964. The Tissint Meteorite ejected from the surface of mars over 700,000 years ago. It holds materials from all three major components of the red planet: the atmosphere, the interior, and the surface of the red planet. Meteorites like this one have offered scientists an extraordinary chance to study the surface of one planet thought to have once held or have the potential in the future to host life. This sample is particularly special because it was collected soon after landing on earth, leaving minimal chances for contamination, and is considered a pristine Martian sample. The sampling of groundmass, a glassy pocket fragment selected for volatile analysis, was tested to measure the amount of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen levels, as well as many other elements. Tests were performed to understand its composition fully. Martian meteorites are predominately igneous materials. The Tissint meteorite is comprised of an olivine shergottite (basaltic rocks) and other composite matter highly similar to the meteorite found in Antarctica. Its unique composition shows high-pressure stages of seven minerals and two mineral glasses in an uneven pattern that is indicative of high shock-metamorphism. This meteorite is exceptional because it has allowed scientists to begin to understand the mineral formation process of Mars and the diversity of organic molecules on the red planet. Researchers were able to compile the most in-depth archive of organic compounds in Martian materials. During the analysis, they found a distinct organic magnesium compound not previously recorded on Mars. This find can offer new information on the red planet's high-temperature geochemistry. Understanding these concepts and learning more about the organic compounds associated with life as we know it will allow for further clues on the biological processes and fundamental reactions responsible for forming life. The Tissint meteorite is currently on show at the Natural History Museum in London, which has a meteorite collection that was started in 1802. Since then, the Natural History Museum of London has amassed over 2000 specimens. Sources: Eurekalert, Science, BBC, NHM Image Credit: Tissint meteorite photograph courtesy of Kurt Kracher, Natural History Museum Vienna.

In 2003, European Space Agency (ESA) scientists were overly excited about the landing of the Beagle 2 probe on the Martian surface, but the excitement came to an end after the probe landed and we weren’t getting any signals back from it. Unfortunately, the probe failed. At the time, we thought Beagle 2 made a crash landing on the red planet’s surface, but images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)’s HiRISE camera last year suggest that Beagle 2 made a perfect landing after all, as no real damage could be discerned. The landing was stopped with both parachutes and special airbag cushions, which combined with the lighter gravity on Mars, allowed the probe to bounce safely across the Martian surface, following atmospheric injection, before finally reaching a standstill. What really caused the probe to stop relaying data to Earth? It turns out that the explanation might be simpler than we think. Researchers from both De Montfort University and the University of Leicester have collaborated to generate computer models of the landing to try to explain what happened. “The visual comparison between the real and simulated images could then begin to identify which landing configuration (1, 2, 3 or 4 deployed solar panels) was the best fit,” the researchers said in a statement. “This was originally a proof of principle project. However, we are delighted to say that we have gone way beyond this original plan to reach this exciting conclusion that Beagle 2 did not crash but landed and probably deployed most of its panels. Hopefully these results help to solve a long held mystery and will benefit any future missions to Mars.” Beagle 2, like many other spacecraft and space probes relies on solar cells to gather the power it needs to perform its tasks. Although a crash landing most likely didn’t occur, the solar panels in the probe itself may have been defective, preventing it from collecting and generating the power it needed to operate. At the time, it was thought that only two of the probe’s four solar panels were able to activate successfully, which wasn’t enough to power the probe’s instruments and equipment, but the images seem to suggest that perhaps three, or even all four were activated. On the other hand, just because they were activated, that doesn’t mean they were deployed properly. At least one of those solar panels may have been deployed incorrectly, which would have prevented sunlight from getting to it and powering the probe so it could communicate with Earth. Because Beagle 2 didn’t crash land, that means the probe is probably still in very good condition on the Martian surface, not in pieces as we originally thought. But, it's still kaput. The ESA is now focusing on new missions to Mars rather than wasting time on old ones that failed. Despite the recent mishap with the Schiaparelli lander crashing on the surface rather than landing safely, it’s hoped that the Mars 2020 rover will have a more successful attempt at exploring the red planet’s surface and planet conditions when it launches by the expected date of 2020. Source: University of Leicester

A couple of specific spots on the red planet in our Solar System, Mars, might just foster zones of interest after scientists deemed them potentially capable of supporting small microbial life forms. A number of depressions in the planet’s surface were reportedly caused by a volcano at some point in the planet’s past, but because they’re situated on a volcano, there would undoubtedly be remnants of life-centric chemicals and minerals in the area. So, what does that mean? According to researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, this might just be the very next place we should begin our search for life on Mars. Image Credit: Joseph Levy/NASA “We were drawn to this site because it looked like it could host some of the key ingredients for habitability — water, heat and nutrients,” said lead author Joseph Levy, a research associate at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. The researchers reportedly discovered the depressions back in 2009 via photos taken with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, but it wasn’t until recently that the team actually had the ability to study them more thoroughly. The team used stereoscopic imaging technology to come up with more details about how these dishes in the surface were created and their findings were published in the journal Icarus. These images gave the researchers better 3D images and could help them determine how they were formed, and more importantly, whether or not volcanoes were involved. “The big contribution of the study was that we were able to measure not just their shape and appearance, but also how much material was lost to form the depressions. That 3-D view lets us test this idea of volcanic or impact,” Levy said. The conclusion was that one of the depressions had evidence of being created by a volcano, while the other had evidence of being created by an impact. The one that was created by volcanic activity is getting a lot more attention, however. Lacking the surrounding debris that are consistent with an impact zone, and having a funnel-like shape where material would have slowly sloped downwards as it melted due to the volcano, this depression could have all the activity necessary to support simple life forms. Fostering important things like liquid water and chemical nutrients, this is the kind of breeding ground, even if sub-surface, where we might expect to find otherworldly life. The researchers also note we shouldn't rule out the impact zone either, as it's in close proximity to the volcanic one and likely shares a lot of the same chemical compositions. It should be interesting to see what future findings about these depressions reveal. With the Mars 2020 rover soon heading to the red planet, we’ll have even more surface-dwelling robots on Mars that could help us in the search for extraterrestrial life. Perhaps one will get a mission to explore these parts. Source: University of Texas at Austin

NASA uses parachute systems throughout the solar system to ensure spacecraft land safely on other planetary bodies. One of the most prominent examples is Mars, which NASA has already sent several missions to for scientific study. Developing a parachute for a place like Mars is a bit different than it is here on Earth. The differences in atmospheric density and makeup mean that NASA needs to design its Martian parachutes differently than they would for Earth’s atmosphere. Naturally, NASA can’t afford to send test parachutes to Mars every time it begins a new Martian mission, but high up in the Earth’s atmosphere, the conditions aren’t too different from what we’d expect on Mars. Given the circumstances, NASA sends test parachutes for Mars high up into Earth’s atmosphere and takes measurements as they fall through the sweet spot akin to Mars’s atmosphere. From here, they tweak the design of the parachute and go from there. Test payloads deployed with rockets enable NASA to develop many parachute types for various payload weights; this improves the efficiency and reliability of the space agency’s interplanetary parachute systems.

It turns out that the interior of Mars exhibits seismic waves just like the Earth, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using seismic data collected by NASA’s InSight lander, the researchers were not only able to take direct measurements of the Martian core but also confirmed the Martian core is entirely comprised of liquid iron-alloy with large amounts of oxygen and sulfur, as well. This in stark contrast to the Earth, which has a solid inner core and a liquid outer core and holds the potential to help scientists better understand the geological differences between Earth and Mars along with the formation and evolution of the Red Planet. Artist’s rendition of seismic wave paths traveling through the Martian core. (Credit: NASA/JPL and Nicholas Schmerr) “In 1906, scientists first discovered the Earth’s core by observing how seismic waves from earthquakes were affected by traveling through it,” said Dr. Vedran Lekic, who is an associate professor of geology at the University of Maryland (UMD), and a co-author on the study. “More than a hundred years later, we’re applying our knowledge of seismic waves to Mars. With InSight, we’re finally discovering what’s at the center of Mars and what makes Mars so similar yet distinct from Earth.” For the study, the researchers examined the timing of seismic waves traveling through the interior of Mars from two different seismic events on Mars, one of a marsquake origin and the other from a large impact. They then used data from other Martian seismic and geophysical events to determine the core of Mars is entirely liquid. The researchers also determined that the density of the Martian core is far less than of the Earth's, meaning the two planets had two completely different formation paths. They came to this conclusion by examining the chemical composition of Mars’ core, specifically the light elements like oxygen and sulfur, which the researchers identified were present in much larger amounts than on Earth. The large amounts of lighter elements could help explain why Mars currently does not possess a magnetic field, which is also in stark contrast to the Earth. The magnetic field helps shield the Earth from harmful solar radiation and allowing our planet to be far more habitable than Mars, which is inhospitable to life, said Dr. Nicholas Schmerr, who is an associate professor of geology at UMD, and a co-author on the study. “Even though the InSight mission ended in December 2022 after four years of seismic monitoring, we're still analyzing the data that was collected,” said Dr. Lekic. “InSight will continue to influence how we understand the formation and evolution of Mars and other planets for years to come.” What new discoveries will scientists make about Mars and its seismic activity in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! Sources: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Maryland As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

In case you missed it, NASA launched the InSight mission to Mars from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 5th. It was the first interplanetary mission to launch from the West coast of the United States, and it's sure to provide NASA with valuable information about Mars. In this video, you can experience footage of the Atlas V rocket as it blasts off from the launch pad. InSight won't arrive at Mars until November of this year, but when it gets there, we can expect to learn some brilliant details about the planet's internal activity. NASA hopes to study Marsquake activity, internal planetary temperature, and orbital wobble, among other things.

Going to Mars is something we Earthlings have wanted to do for centuries. By some estimates, we’ve had the necessary technology since the Apollo era. In fact, NASA planners intended to build on the Apollo system, making it bigger and more powerful, in order to reach the red planet. So why didn’t we go? Why don’t we have a Martian colony today? Cost. Even with all of our current space technology, a mission to Mars would be horrendously expensive. Interestingly, the most expensive part of space travel, by far, is getting things off of the Earth, into orbit. The going rate is about 10,000 dollars per pound. The heaviest part of all space craft is fuel. And the further you want to go, the less efficient rockets become, because more distance means more fuel. But getting that fuel into orbit requires more fuel. See the problem? A team from MIT has been looking into this problem, and they may have come up with a solution. What if you could find a way to not have to carry all of that fuel off the Earth, into orbit. What if you could pick up the fuel you needed for a trip to Mars along the way? The MIT team proposes that missions to Mars and other deep space destinations could launch from Earth with just enough fuel to get into orbit. This would allow for a 68 percent reduction in launch weight, and therefore massively cut the cost of a mission. Where, you may be wondering, could the ship launched from Earth get enough fuel to make it into deep space? Over the past few years, lunar probes and satellites have discovered that some craters on the Moon contain water ice. This ice can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, the two elements needed for rocket fuel. Additionally, recent NASA research has shown that lunar regolith, that powdery soil on the moon, is comprised largely of elements that can also be processed into rocket fuel. NASA is currently developing technologies that would allow them to mine both of these resources and transform them into rocket fuel robotically. Taking all of these elements into consideration, the MIT team proposes that, once in Earth orbit, space ships could rendezvous with robotic tanker ships, that had been filled with fuel on the moon and then launched toward their rendezvous with the ship from Earth. Olivier de Weck, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics and of engineering systems at MIT, says, "This is completely against the established common wisdom of how to go to Mars, which is a straight shot … (in which you) carry everything with you. …The idea of taking a detour into the lunar system (is) very unintuitive. But from an optimal network and big-picture view, this could be very affordable in the long term, because you don't have to ship everything from Earth.” Source: Phys.org

Did Mars once contain life, or even the building block for life? This is what NASA’s Perseverance (Percy) rover has been trying to determine ever since it landed in Jezero Crater, which has shown an overwhelming amount of evidence to have once been site to a massive lakebed. Now, NASA recently announced that Percy has collected its 24th rock sample on March 11th, nicknamed “Comet Geyser”, with this sample being unlike the first 23 in that evidence suggests it was submerged in standing water for an indeterminant amount of time when Mars had liquid water billions of years ago. Mosaic image of the drill holes where NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover extracted the “Comet Geyser” rock sample. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS) “To put it simply, this is the kind of rock we had hoped to find when we decided to investigate Jezero Crater,” said Dr. Ken Farley, who is a project scientist for Perseverance and a professor of geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. “Nearly all the minerals in the rock we just sampled were made in water; on Earth, water-deposited minerals are often good at trapping and preserving ancient organic material and biosignatures. The rock can even tell us about Mars climate conditions that were present when it was formed.” While this finding is certainly astounding, it will still be several more years until these samples are returned to Earth via NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, whose goal will be to land on Mars, collect the sample tubes that Percy has been dropping across the surface, and return them to Earth for more in-depth analysis. If successful, MSR will mark the first time Mars samples will be returned to Earth. How will this new rock sample help scientists better understand if life could have once existed on ancient Mars in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! As always, keep doing science & keep looking up! Sources: NASA JPL, NASA, NASA (1)

NASA’s upcoming InSight mission will be the first of any to go to Mars to investigate the deep subsurface of the red planet. The goal is to learn more about Mars' composition and the formation of terrestrial planets. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Originally planned to launch in March of 2016, technical difficulties resulted in delays, but engineers repaired those malfunctions and another golden opportunity to send InSight to its destination is coming up. NASA is now planning to launch the InSight probe by May of 2018 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The event will go down in history as the first time we use this launch pad for an interplanetary mission. In the meantime, InSight is being assembled and tested by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Colorado. Related: The science behind what a Mars trip would be like The next few months will give NASA extra time to prepare InSight's instruments and ensure their working order. Following the launch, InSight should reach Mars by November and land on its surface. InSight will yield valuable data about Mars when it drills almost 10 feet below the planet's surface. An onboard seismometer will detect and report ground movements known as ‘marsquakes’ while a heat probe will keep track of any heat that may emanate from the planet’s interior. NASA shared the following animation on YouTube five years ago that depicts how the InSight probe will initialize once it lands: Unlike the Earth, which is teeming with tectonic activity and sub-surface churning, Mars’ interior has remained relatively undisturbed for billions of years. The circumstances surrounding Mars give scientists a unique opportunity to learn more about rocky planet formation. But it’s not just the ground-based sensors that are important; a radio communicator built into InSight will also enable scientists to study the slight deviations known to exist in Mars' rotational patterns. InSight will join a plethora of other missions that are also unlocking the secrets of Mars, including two rovers, three orbiters, and the upcoming Mars 2020 rover mission that will explore the planet further for signs of life. Also read: New hotspot for potential past life found on Mars Source: NASA

When we think of going to Mars using a spacecraft with nuclear fusion engines, most of us think of science fiction, but according to Anthony Pancotti, who represents MSNW, the space-propulsion company, we are well on our way toward building just such an craft. The physics necessary for such a ship have already been demonstrated in laboratories, Pancotti pointed out, and by the 2030's he his team are expecting to have such a craft ready to take astronauts to Mars. "This is a reality, basically," Pancotti said during a presentation he gave last year with NASA's Future In-Space Operations working group. "Fusion occurs in the sun, and also in our labs." Using current chemical rockets, a round trip to Mars would take about 500 days. One major problem is that long-term exposure to the radiation and the weightlessness of zero-g would pose significant risks to astronauts' health. Though there are a number of possible solutions to these problems, such as creating artificial gravity and some sort of device that mimics the Earth's magnetic field, the most direct solution is to develop a much faster propulsion system. As NASA has a firm goal of a manned mission to Mars by the 2030's, it has created a program called the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program, or NIAC. This is the program that funds the fusion-rocket team Pancotti is a part of. The team is led by John Slough of the University of Washington. Slough's team is working around a model of a manned Mars mission that would last a total of 210 days. It would take 83 days to get to Mars, spend 30 days on the surface, and take 97 days to return to Earth."We feel we've defined ... a very good mission, and we're focused on the fusion device to fit this mission," Pancotti said. "Because nuclear fusion is an extremely efficient and powerful energy source, this mission could be accomplished in a single launch of the most powerful version of NASA's Space Launch System mega-rocket, which is currently being development. It would take perhaps nine launches to mount such an effort with chemical propulsion."How does fusion work? It occurs when the nuclei of two or more atoms combine, releasing energy. This happens inside the Sun and all other stars as they produce light. It's also the massive power behind hydrogen bombs. The fusion-driven rocket the team is working on would create a plasma using deuterium and tritium. These are "heavy" isotopes of hydrogen. Hydrogen in what we would consider its "normal" state contains no neutrons. Deuterium has one neutron. Tritium contains two.Bubbles of this plasma would be introduced into a chamber in which a magnetic field would collapse metal rings around them. This field would briefly create enough pressure to fuse the deuterium and tritium. The energy created by this fusion would vaporize and ionize the metal, which would be released through a nozzle and generate thrust. The energy required for this process would be provided by solar panels attached to the outside of the spacecraft."This is probably the most simple and straightforward, lowest-cost fusion propulsion system you can think of," Pancotti said. "The fundamental physics have been proven in the laboratory with hardware, and fusion yields. Neutrons, have been produced. So what I'm talking about is building a device with known physics and with a proven method."Though it could be said that all Slough's team has to do is build the device, the devil is, of course, in the details, and details take time. "We're in the lab," Pancotti said. "We're building the coils. We're showing the scaling, and we'll be producing the neutrons ... to show that fusion is occurring, and it's occurring at the scales required to build a fusion-driven rocket." (Source: Space.com)