Mars

Man and woman, preferably married, wanted for expedition to Mars

28 Feb 2013

A nonprofit foundation wants to recruit a man and a woman – possibly a married couple – for a bare-bones, 501-day journey to Mars and back that would start in less than five years, project...

Short Science, February 24, 2013

24 Feb 2013

Nasa's Curiosity rover has scooped up a sample from the interior of a Martian rock and found that the powdery soil just beneath the planet's rust-coloured exterior was actually a light grey colour...

Mars rover ready to analyse rock powder

21 Feb 2013

Nasa’s Mars rover Curiosity, dispatched to learn if the planet ever had ingredients for life, drilled its first bit of powder from inside a potentially water-formed ancient rock, scientists said...

Curiosity Mars rover collects historic first bedrock sample

10 Feb 2013

Using a drill at the end of its robotic arm, Curiosity bore a hole 6.4cm deep into the rock, generating powder for evaluation, Nasa said in a statement.

Short Science, January 13, 2013

13 Jan 2013

A state-of-the-art computer-assisted autopsy system that is increasingly being used in European hospitals may eventually mean there is no such thing as a "perfect murder". The "virtopsy" is now...

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Recruits sought for a one-way voyage to Mars

In 1990's Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger had a simple directive to himself: "Get your ass to Mars." Now a Dutch company is promising to help real-world adventurers do just that.

Meteorite may hold clues to why Mars turned cold and dry

A fist-sized meteorite nicknamed "Black Beauty" could unlock vital clues to the evolution of Mars from the warm and wet place it once was to its current cold and dry state, the US space agency...

New Nasa rover may bring Martian soil back to earth

Nasa officials have announced plans to build a new rover that would join Curiosity and Opportunity on the red planet's surface in 2020, potentially to collect soil or rock samples that could later...

SPACE EXPLORATION

Nasa to send new rover to Mars in 2020

Nasa plans to send a new rover to Mars in 2020 as it prepares for a manned mission to the Red Planet, the US space agency said.

SPACE

Curiosity finds Mars rock similar to Hawaiian stone

When scientists selected a rock to test the Mars rover Curiosity's laser, they expected it to contain the same minerals as rocks found elsewhere on the red planet, but learned instead it was more...

SPACE

Nasa’s Mars rover finds rock with earth-like chemistry

When scientists selected a rock to test the Mars rover Curiosity’s laser, they expected it to contain the same minerals as rocks found elsewhere on the Red Planet, but learned instead it was more...