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NASA's Mars 2020 rover and helicopter are nearly ready for launch
Ahead of next week’s launch window opening --wherein NASA will have from July 30th to August 15th to get the mission underway -- The Space Foundation sat down with NASA leadership to discuss the goals, challenges and opportunities afforded by NASA’s ninth mission to the surface of Mars. This time NASA plans to send its most capable rover to date, Perseverance, Zurbuchen continued.
UAE successfully launches its Hope Probe on a mission to Mars
The UAE’s Mars-bound Hope mission has successfully launched from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center aboard a Mitsubishi H-2A rocket. About an hour after liftoff, the Hope Probe separated from the rocket to rapturous applause from controllers and engineers at the UAE Space Agency.
Watch the UAE launch its first Mars mission at 5:58PM ET
The UAE is launching its first mission to Mars at 5:58PM Eastern, and you can watch it live.
NASA-backed project could automatically fix 3D printing for Moon bases
NASA has chosen a project that could automatically fix 3D printing for Moon bases, helping colonies reduce their dependence on Earth.
NASA wants to protect Moon and Mars from human contamination
NASA wants to make sure we don’t unknowingly take organisms or other contaminants from Earth to other worlds (and vice-versa) when humans start exploring space beyond Low Earth Orbit. In a tweet, NASA Administrator Jim Brindestine has announced that the agency has updated its policies to reflect that commitment ahead of the upcoming Artemis missions. “We will protect scientific discoveries and the Earth’s environment, while enabling dynamic human exploration and commercial innovation on the Moon and Mars,” he wrote.
Curiosity rover starts its 'summer trip' to next Martian destination
The Curiosity rover’s next stop is Mount Sharp’s “sulfate-bearing unit.”
NASA delays Mars rover launch until at least July 30th
NASA and ULA have postponed the Mars Perseverance rover's launch until July 30th due to launch vehicle delays.
SpaceX plans seaborne spaceports for Mars missions and hypersonic flights
SpaceX is hiring for planned spaceports that would launch Mars and Moon missions, not to mention hypersonic flights here on Earth.
NASA's Mars helicopter is ready for the red planet
NASA is done attaching the Mars helicopter to the Perseverance rover.
NASA reveals the next company to deliver expedition tech to the Moon
Masten Space Systems will deliver scientific kit to the Moon ahead of astronauts' arrivals in 2024.
The company behind the robotic arms that help us explore Mars
Despite best efforts, we're still decades if not generations away from regularly living and working off-planet -- whether that's in LEO habitation rings, moon bases, or on the Martian surface. Until humans can colonize space ourselves, we must rely on robotic orbitals, landers and rovers to physically interact with the galaxy around us. As Lucy Condakchian, General Manager of Robotics at Maxar, noted to an assembled audience at TechCrunch Sessions on Tuesday, actually touching the stars is still no easy feat.
The next Mars rover will be named 'Perseverance'
During a live webcast on Wednesday, NASA administrators unveiled the official name of the upcoming Mars 2020 Rover mission. Say hello to Perseverance.
Explore Mars with a 1.8-billion-pixel panorama from the Curiosity rover
NASA's Curiosity rover has sent the highest-resolution panorama of Mars ever taken back to Earth. Now, you can explore the Martian surface by zooming in on the giant 2GB image or cruising around in a 360-degree video that NASA shared on YouTube.
NASA accepts applications for astronauts for the first time in four years
Want to be one of the earlier astronauts to return to the Moon or explore Mars? You now have your chance. NASA has started taking applications for its next round of astronauts, some of them likely to be part of future Moon and Mars expeditions. You'll have until the very end of the month (March 31st at 11:59PM Eastern) to apply, although time isn't the main constraint here -- qualifying is.
NASA wants students' help designing tech for the Moon and Mars
NASA is enlisting whatever help it can get to make sure its crewed Moon and Mars missions go smoothly, and that might include help from schools. The agency is running a new round of its Moon to Mars Exploration Systems and Habitation Academic Innovation Challenge (M2M X-Hab if you want a much shorter name) that encourages university students to study and develop spacefaring tech. The challenge will reward work on habitation, vehicles, robotic advance missions, "foundational systems" (think autonomous mission tech and remote manufacturing) and human spaceflight architecture focused on the lunar Gateway.
SpaceX approved to build Starship factory and research hub in LA
SpaceX has been given the final go ahead to build its Starship manufacturing plant in the Port of Los Angeles. Authorities granted the company a permit for the facility by a unanimous 12-0 vote, allowing Elon Musk and his team to push on with the development of technology designed to take humans to the moon and Mars.
The Hayden Planetarium’s new show celebrates unmanned space probes
The astronomy I learned as a kid was pretty limited — the Earth revolves around the Sun and, of course, the whole "My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" thing. Of course, that expression no longer applies because our understanding of the solar system is a lot more nuanced these days. Not just because we're adults now, but because the entire field has been revolutionized by probes, plumbing the depths of distant bodies and returning that data to us over decades. That deeper understanding of our solar system is at the heart of the American Museum of Natural History's new space show, Worlds Beyond Earth, but its unsung hero is the technology that made it possible.
NASA finds 'water ice' just below the surface of Mars
To explore the solar system beyond our planet, one important factor is the ability to locate water which can be used for drinking and for creating rocket fuel. To assist in the hunt for water on neighboring Mars, NASA has released a "treasure map" of potential ice locations on the red planet.
NASA's InSight lander can finally dig a hole for its Mars heat probe
NASA's InSight lander was supposed be digging a hole so a probe (above) could measure the heat escaping from Mars' interior, but it hasn't made much progress since work got started in February -- it hadn't even finished burying itself. At last, it's making some headway. The agency has revealed that the probe, nicknamed "the mole," is finally digging in earnest thanks to a new strategy. The arm had been stymied by unusually rough soil, but the team found it could get the necessary friction by having InSight press its robotic arm against the probe.
Virgin Orbit plans to send cubesats to Mars as early as 2022
Virgin Orbit plans to be the first private company to send cubesats to Mars. Today, it announced a partnership with the Polish satellite company SatRevolution and a dozen Polish universities to design a series of small-satellite missions to the Red Planet. The first cubesat could launch as early as 2022.

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