Universe Today
• Evan Gough
NASA released a video featuring images and a time-lapse of Mars captured during the Psyche spacecraft’s flyby. The mission team also tested the spacecraft’s other instruments to verify they are functioning, using a Mars gravity-assist to gain speed and refine trajectory toward its eventual target.
Mars
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NASA released a video featuring images and a time-lapse of Mars captured during the Psyche spacecraft’s flyby. The mission team also tested the spacecraft’s other instruments to verify they are functioning, using a Mars gravity-assist to gain speed and refine trajectory toward its eventual target.
NASA has run tests of an advanced Mars rover prototype in California’s desert, using the field environment to validate designs aimed at avoiding entrapment in fine lunar or Martian dust. The prototype is intended to help scientists develop robots that can reason about conditions and navigate challenging terrain more reliably.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has detected large, complex carbon compounds in Jezero Crater rocks, building on earlier indications of a potential biosignature from the Bright Angel formation. The findings come from new analyses of unusual rock patterns and layered materials that could preserve microbial activity signals.
The Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) has introduced six new analog astronauts for a Mars mission simulation training program designed to be globally unique. The cohort expands OeWF’s long-duration, operationally relevant training pipeline for future Mars-analog mission execution and readiness-building.
Relativity Space plans to launch a Mars orbiter in 2028 as part of a new initiative to privately develop planetary missions. The move extends the company’s focus beyond launch and mission enabling into dedicated interplanetary spacecraft development and operations.
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NASA has ended the MAVEN mission, declaring the long-running Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft lost after months of failed contact. The $582 million orbiter suffered a problem on the far side of Mars late last year, following which it has remained unresponsive.
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Venturi Space plans a €250 million investment in France to build a 16,000 sq m technology center in Toulouse dedicated to designing and manufacturing critical technologies for lunar and Martian mobility. The facility will also serve as a production hub to assemble the company’s rovers.
A study on “Mars fungi” explores how Earth microbes could be used to make Martian regolith more suitable for growing food crops. The concept centers on using fungal action to condition the soil substrate so it can support a first self-sustaining harvest in a settlement scenario.
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Our Mars Exploration news feed is the go-to source for the latest discoveries, mission updates, and technological advancements related to the Red Planet. With a focus on the international efforts to explore Mars, from robotic rovers to plans for human colonization, our coverage tracks humanity's progress in uncovering the secrets of our celestial neighbor.
