Recent tectonics on Mars

These prominent trenches were formed by faults that pulled the planet’s surface apart less than 10 million years ago.

Source: m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Recent_tectonics_on_Mars

HP Mars Home Planet premieres virtual reality experience

HP Inc. and a global community of creators unveiled a virtual reality (VR) simulation of what life on Mars could look like for a human population of one

Source: www.designworldonline.com/hp-mars-home-planet-premieres-virtual-reality-experience/

Martian atmosphere behaves as one

New research using a decade of data from ESA’s Mars Express has found clear signs of the complex martian atmosphere acting as a single, interconnected system, with processes occurring at low and mid levels significantly affecting those seen higher up.

Source: m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Martian_atmosphere_behaves_as_one

NASA May Have Discovered and Then Destroyed Organics on Mars in 1976

Over 40 years ago, a NASA mission may have accidentally destroyed what would have been the first discovery of organic molecules on Mars, according to a report from New Scientist.

Source: www.space.com/41140-mars-lander-may-have-burned-organics.html

How to get to Mars without going mad | Cosmos

How to get to Mars without going mad | Cosmos

Research highlights the psychological dangers of long-haul space flights. Andrew Masterson reports.

Source: cosmosmagazine.com/space/how-to-get-to-mars-without-going-mad

Australian company’s small step may help NASA’s giant leap on Mars

Australian company’s small step may help NASA’s giant leap on Mars

A Gold Coast-based company may help NASA extract water on Mars, after striking an agreement with the space agency that is believed to be an Australian first.

NASA will assist Gilmour Space Technologies to develop and build a Mars rover designed to extract water from the red planet.

As part of the agreement, they will test the rover on a mock Mars environment, built at the NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The Pimpama-based company said it was the first private enterprise in Australia to sign a Space Act Agreement with NASA.

A spokeswoman from NASA said the lessons Gilmour learnt by testing at the Kennedy Space Centre might help them refine their design, but the space agency was not part of the project.

Gilmour Space Technologies has already created a prototype rover in partnership with university students in Singapore, where the company also has a base.

It uses microwave technology to melt ice that is mixed with Martian soil where the rover then collects the steam and condenses it into water.

“Essentially that is a rover with the intentions of extracting the hydrogen from the Regolith, which is a fancy word for Martian soil to extract water,” Mr Gilmour said.

Source: www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-20/australian-company-may-help-nasa-build-mars-rover/9465716?pfmredir=sm

Europe’s Mars rover takes shape

So, here it is. Europe’s Mars rover. Or rather, a copy of it.

This is what they call the Structural Thermal Model, or STM. It is one of three rovers that will be built as part of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars 2020 mission to search for life on the Red Planet. And, no, we’re not sending all three to the Red Planet.

The STM is used to prove the design. It will go through a tough testing regime to check the rover that does launch to Mars – the “flight model” – will be able to cope with whatever is thrown at it.

What’s the third robot for? It stays on Earth and is used to troubleshoot any problems. If mission control needs to re-write a piece of software to overcome some glitch on the flight rover, the patch will be trialled first on the “engineering model” before being sent up to the Red Plane

More here: www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43832868

Newly Released Images of Mars by NASA Will Change the Way You See the Planet

If it’s quiet solitude and beauty you seek, there is no better place than the surface of Mars. Mars has earned its moniker as the red planet, but the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) can transform the subtle differences of soils into a rainbow of colours.

Source: www.thescinewsreporter.com/2018/03/newly-released-mars-images-by-nasa-will.html

Rare Metals On Mars And Earth Implicate Colossal Impacts – Astrobiology Magazine

Elements found in the mantles of Earth and Mars could be indicative of giant impacts early in the histories of both planets.

Source: www.astrobio.net/mars/rare-metals-mars-earth-implicate-colossal-impacts/

SpaceX is Getting Serious About Its Future BFR Launchpad to Mars

Start in Texas, end on Mars.

When SpaceX does begin sending people to Mars, the last part of Earth they see from the ground — perhaps ever if it’s a one-way trip — will likely be the company’s private spaceport in Boca Chica Village, Texas. And it looks like the company is gearing up to get the facility operational before the end of the year.

More: www.inverse.com/article/41868-spacex-elon-musk-bfr-launch-site

NASA planetary protection officer suggests loosening limits on exploring Mars for life

Plans for human arrival could open up robotic exploration of “special regions”

Source: www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/nasa-planetary-protection-officer-suggests-loosening-limits-exploring-mars-life

Russia plans several Moon, Mars missions in near future

Moscow (XNA) Jan 29, 2014 – Russia plans to launch several Moon and Mars missions in the next few years, Victor Khartov, head of the Lavochkin aerospace company, said Tuesday. In 2015, we plan the Luna-Glob mission, Kh

Source: www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_plans_several_Moon_Mars_missions_in_near_future_999.html

Strange stuff on Mars.

Mysterious Mars Rock Looks Like ‘Jelly Donut,’ Defies Explanation (Photos)

A mystery Mars rock in front of the Opportunity rover may look like a ‘jelly donut,’ but it is far stranger than anything ever seen on the Martian surface, scientists say.

Source: www.space.com/24356-mars-rock-mystery-opportunity-rover-photos.html