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    Mars’ Surface Revealed in Unprecedented Detail

    April 26, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Beagle-2 landing site. Credit: Yu Tao and Jan-Peter Muller, UCL

    Beagle-2 landing site. Credit: Yu Tao and Jan-Peter Muller, UCL

    The surface of Mars – including the location of Beagle-2 – has been shown in unprecedented detail by UCL scientists using a revolutionary image stacking and matching technique. Exciting pictures of the Beagle-2 lander, the ancient lakebeds discovered by NASA’s Curiosity rover, NASA’s MER-A rover tracks and Home Plate’s rocks have been released by the UCL researchers who stacked and matched images taken from orbit, to reveal objects at a resolution up to 5X greater than previously achieved.

    Called Super-Resolution Restoration (SRR) it could be used to search for other artefacts from past failed landings as well as identify safe landing locations for future rover missions...

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    Engine Test Marks Major Milestone on NASA’s journey to Mars

    March 12, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    NASA engineers conduct a successfully test firing of RS-25 rocket engine No. 2059 on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis. The hot fire marks the first test of an RS-25 flight engine for NASA’s new Space Launch System vehicle. Credit: NASA/SSC

    NASA engineers conduct a successfully test firing of RS-25 rocket engine No. 2059 on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis. The hot fire marks the first test of an RS-25 flight engine for NASA’s new Space Launch System vehicle. Credit: NASA/SSC

     
    NASA successfully tested the first deep space RS-25 rocket engine for 500s Mar 10, clearing a major milestone toward the next great era of space exploration. The next time rocket engine No. 2059 fires for that length of time, it will be carrying humans on their first deep-space mission in more than 45 years.

    The hot fire marked the first test of an RS-25 flight engine for NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS), being built to carry humans on future deep-space missions, including an asteroid and Mars. 4 RS-25 engines will power the SLS core stage.

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    Launching humans to Mars may not Require a Full Tank of Gas

    October 18, 2015, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Cartoon illustration. Credit: Christine Daniloff/MIT

    Cartoon illustration. Credit: Christine Daniloff/MIT

    Fueling up on the moon could lighten cargo by 68% on the journey to Mars. Previous studies have suggested that lunar soil and water ice in certain craters of the moon may be mined and converted to fuel.

    The group developed a model to determine the best route to Mars, assuming availability of resources and fuel-generating infrastructure on the moon. They found the most mass-efficient path involves launching a crew from Earth with just enough fuel to get into orbit around Earth. A fuel-producing plant on the surface of the moon would then launch tankers of fuel into space, where they would enter gravitational orbit...

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    Climate Models used to Explain Formation of Mars Valley Networks

    October 14, 2015, Categories  Astronomy/Space, Environment/Geology

    The Colorado River canyon, just above Grand Canyon (left), and Nanedi Vallis on Mars (right) pictured at the same scale shows how both canyons were formed by rivers that appear to have been approximately the same width. The river channel on Earth looks darker because it is filled with water, whereas Nanedi Vallis has been dry for billions of years. Credit: Sonny Harman/Penn State

    The Colorado River canyon, just above Grand Canyon (left), and Nanedi Vallis on Mars (right) pictured at the same scale shows how both canyons were formed by rivers that appear to have been approximately the same width. The river channel on Earth looks darker because it is filled with water, whereas Nanedi Vallis has been dry for billions of years. Credit: Sonny Harman/Penn State

    The extensive valley networks on the surface of Mars were probably created by running water billions of years ago, but the source of that water is unknown. Now, researchers are using climate models to predict how greenhouse warming could be the source of the water.

    “Everyone is looking for life on Mars, and if Mars was habitable early on as indicated by flowing water, then the chances of there being some sort of l...

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