Since landing on Mars on February 18, NASA’s Perseverance rover has sent back some amazing images from around its landing site, Jezero Crater, a 30-mile wide impact depression just north of the Red Planet’s equator. BBC shares a selection of the pictures sent from the mission, “as Perseverance hunts for signs of past microbial life, seeks to characterize the planet’s geology…
Tag: Geology
What’s the coldest Earth has ever been?
Our planet’s history includes episodes of cold so extreme that glaciers reached sea level in equatorial regions. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/whats-coldest-earth-has-ever-been…
Dark streaks on Mars may be caused by salts and melting ice
Researchers at the SETI Institute say that unusual dark streaks on sun-facing slopes on Mars, debated about for years, may be small landslides caused by a combination of salts and melting ice just below the surface. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-dark-streaks-melting-ice-recurring-slope-lineae…
Mars atmosphere shedding charged particles onto Phobos?
New research suggests that particles escaping from Mars’ atmosphere have been accumulating on the surface of the planet’s largest moon Phobos for billions of years. They could provide important new details about the history of both worlds. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-atmosphere-history-phobos-soil…
UAE’s Hope mission to Mars arrives today: How to watch
The Emirates Mars Mission “Hope” is a United Arab Emirates Space Agency uncrewed mission to Mars. It’s slated to enter Mars orbit on February 9, 2021. It’ll be followed on February 10 by China’s Tianwen-1 mission and, on February 18, by NASA’s Perseverance mission. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/missions-to-mars-uae-hope-china-tianwen-1…
Hey, kids! Meet the new Hot Wheels Mars rover!
Mattel, maker of Hot Wheels, has just released a new Hot Wheels Mars Perseverance Rover to celebrate the landing of the NASA Perseverance rover on Mars on February 18. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/hot-wheels-mars-perseverance-rover-mattel…
Mystery of Martian glaciers revealed
In a new paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academies of ScienceS (PNAS), planetary geologist Joe Levy, assistant professor of geology at Colgate University, reveals a groundbreaking new analysis of the mysterious glaciers of Mars. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-mystery-martian-glaciers-revealed.html…
InSight and Juno Keep on Trucking
NASA’s InSight lander on Mars and the Juno orbiter at Jupiter have new leases on life. From a report: The spacecraft are expected to continue gathering data about their respective planetary targets during their newly extended missions, allowing scientists to learn more about seismic activity on Mars and turn their attention to the moons of Jupiter. Juno’s mission has been extended…
Meet PitRanger: Tiny rover designed to probe the lunar underworld
Researchers have been busily building a prototype of a 33-pound (15 kg) lunar mini-robot, set to be the key instrument in a future mission aimed at capturing high-definition images of moon pits. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/meet-pitranger-a-tiny-rover-to-probe-lunar-underworld…
Why geology must abandon fossil fuels and embrace sustainability
Geologist have often served fossil fuel exploration – now is the time for them to focus on climate change and other sustainable development goals instead, says Christopher Jackson Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24833124-100-why-geology-must-abandon-fossil-fuels-and-embrace-sustainability/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…