NASA is targeting 7:50 a.m. EDT on Thursday, July 30, 2020, for the launch of its Mars 2020 Perseverance rover on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/watch-launch-newest-mars-rover-perseverance-july30-2020…
Tag: helicopter
Hoax That Fooled Armed Protesters Was Created By a Socialist Troll on Food Stamps
Remember that anonymous online hoaxster who urged hundreds of armed protesters to counter a non-existent flag-burning event at America’s historic Civil War battefield at Gettysburg? An investigation by the Washington Post reveals that the hoaxster had in fact been a “lifelong Democrat” before instead registering in 2015 with the Socialist Party — and that he now collects food stamps:
Adam Rahuba, a…
Six things to know about the Ingenuity Mars helicopter
When NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida later this summer, an innovative experiment will ride along: the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. Ingenuity may weigh only about 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms), but it has some outsize ambitions. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-07-ingenuity-mars-helicopter.html…
How NASA’s Mars helicopter will reach the red planet’s surface
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will travel with the Perseverance rover through 314 million miles (505 million kilometers) of interplanetary space to get to Mars. But for the team working on the first experimental flight test on another planet, engineering the final 5 inches (13 centimeters) of the journey has been among the most challenging of all. To safely navigate those 5…
Mars Is About To Have Its ‘Wright Brothers Moment’
As part of NASA’s next mission to Mars, leaving Earth this summer, the space agency will attempt to do something that has never been done before: fly a helicopter through the rarefied atmosphere of Mars. The New York Times reports: If it works, the small helicopter, named Ingenuity, will open a new way for future robotic explorers to get a bird’s-eye…
‘Into the Wild’ Bus Removed From Alaska Backcountry For Public Safety
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: An abandoned bus in the Alaska backcountry, popularized by the book “Into the Wild” and movie of the same name, was removed Thursday, state officials said. The decision prioritizes public safety, Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige said. The bus has long attracted adventurers to an area without cellphone service and marked…
Alabama student names NASA’s first Mars helicopter
An Alabama high school student named NASA’s first Mars helicopter that will be deployed to the red planet later this summer. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-04-alabama-student-nasa-mars-helicopter.html…
It’s been 50 years since Apollo 13’s safe return to Earth
After an explosion damaged their spacecraft, the Apollo 13 astronauts – on their way to the moon – were in dire peril. Read about the human ingenuity that led the Apollo 13 mission to a safe and successful conclusion. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/apollo-13-safe-return-to-earth-anniversary…
Mars helicopter attached to NASA’s Perseverance rover
With the launch period of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover opening in 14 weeks, final preparations of the spacecraft continue at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the past week, the assembly, test and launch operations team completed important milestones, fueling the descent stage—also known as the sky crane—and attaching the Mars Helicopter, which will be the first aircraft in…
The man who wanted to fly on Mars: The story of Mars Helicopter’s chief engineer
The Mars Helicopter is riding to the Red Planet this summer with NASA’s Perseverance rover. The helicopter’s chief engineer, Bob Balaram, shares the saga of how it came into being. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-04-mars-story-helicopter-chief.html…