Mars

You've heard of helicopters on Earth, but have you heard of them in space? NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which is on Mars, has completed it's 69th trip above the surface of Mars.The helicopter made its first arrival on Mars in February 2012, and since then, it's spent 125.5 minutes flying above Mars. Out of these flights, Ingenuity has flown 10.5 miles across the surface, with altitudes as high as 80 feet. When it was first launched, NASA never thought any of this was possible. Originally, they expected the aircraft to only last for 5 flights.During these flights, the Ingenuity craft also takes photos, as you can see above. These photos are sent back to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( JPL ), where they are used for research purposes.Now that NASA knows the craft is capable of...

In February 2021, NASA's Perseverance Rover landed on Mars. On Mars, the main objective is astrobiology, which includes the search of ancient microbial life. The rover is characterizing the planet's geology and past climate, and is the first rover to collect martian rock. Now, NASA is celebrating the rovers 1,000 days on the planet.The Perseverance Rover recently completed its exploration of the ancient river delta, that holds evidence of a lake that filed Jezero Crater billions of years ago. As of today, the rover has collected a total of 23 samples, revealing the history of this region on Mars.One sample is called "Lefroy Bay", which contains a large quantity of fine-grained silica, a material know to preserve fossils on Earth. Another sample called "Otis Peak" has a signific...

The latest discovery from the Curiosity rover showcases a breathtaking mosaic capturing the vibrant colors and lighting variations on the Martian surface during morning and afternoon. On April 8, before departing the Marker Band Valley, the robotic explorer utilized its black-and-white navigation cameras to create panoramic views. One panorama was taken at 9:20 a.m. local Mars time, while the other was taken at 3:40 p.m.These black-and-white panoramas demonstrate the striking differences in the landscape between the two times of day. To enhance the visual experience, a team at NASA added color to the images during post-processing. The blue hues represent the morning lighting, while the yellow tones signify the afternoon.Doug Ellison, the Curiosity engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion ...

Recent images taken by NASA's Perseverance rover suggest rivers once existed on mars, in the form of waterways that once flowed into the Jezero Crater.Researchers believe these findings could possibly aid in the search for signs of life, that could possibly be preserved in Martian rock.The Perseverance Rover is currently exploring a fan-shaped pile of sedimentary rock that stands 820 feet (250 meters) tall, and features layers that seem to have formed by flowing water. Scientists are trying to determine whether the water flowed in relatively shallow streams, or in a more powerful river system.Images taken by Perseverance's Mastcam-Z instrument reveal coarse sediment grains and cobbles, indicating the presence of river that once carried a significant amount of debris.Libb...