Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut and the second person to set foot on the moon, may be 87, but he's keeping his mind focused on the next space frontier. For decades now, he's thought about how to get astronauts to Mars, becoming more vocal about his...
Read More »NASA plans to make a telescope out of the Sun
As NASA astronomers peer further and further into space, they require ever larger and more powerful telescopes to do so. That's why one team of researchers from the Jet Propulsion Lab have proposed using the biggest object in our solar system, the Su...
Read More »NASA tests life-detecting tools for Mars in the Atacama Desert
NASA wanted to find out whether the Mars 2020 rover can truly drill for samples and look for signs of life at the same time. So, a team of scientists spent the whole February testing tools using a practice rover called the KREX-2 in one of the driest...
Read More »Watch NASA’s Mars rocket tests in 360-degree video
NASA will eventually use the Space Launch System to send humans to Mars -- it might even carry a crew the very first time it launches. Unfortunately the world's most powerful rocket is a tad behind schedule (it was originally supposed to launch this...
Read More »Experiment suggests potatoes really will grow on Mars
It looks like Mark Watney, the fictional, stranded astronaut in The Martian, was right about one thing. Potatoes can grow on Mars. The International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima placed a special potato inside a sealed container that simulates Mars tem...
Read More »Alien faces on Mars? My search through NASA images – CNET
Join the hunt for alien-looking rock formations as CNET's Amanda Kooser scours the Mars image archives, and comes away with a new appreciation for the Red Planet.
Read More »NASA picks three potential drill sites for Mars 2020
When the Mars 2020 rover reaches the red planet, it will quickly begin drilling for samples from its surface. NASA hasn't picked the exact drill site yet, but it has narrowed its choices down to three during a workshop with scientists in Monrovia, Ca...
Read More »These Boots Keep Astronauts From Tripping Over Their Own Feet
Because those space suits are even clumsier than you'd imagine. The post These Boots Keep Astronauts From Tripping Over Their Own Feet appeared first on WIRED .
Read More »NASA really isn’t sure why ancient Mars was wet
The scientific community accepts that once upon a time, Mars was partially covered by water. New data from NASA's Curiosity rover indicates that a lake was present on the red planet billions of years ago, but this doesn't make much sense because at t...
Read More »Bill Nye and Buzz Aldrin do a little turn on the catwalk
Never in a million years did I think I'd see Bill Nye and Buzz Aldrin walk a runway together, but that's exactly what happened. Both were part of designer Nick Graham's Fall 2017 fashion show in New York City, where he revealed his new "Life on Mars:...
Read More »Put People on Mars by 2033—for the Good of the Nation
Opinion: A former Boeing exec, US astronaut, and ex-director of NASA Ames argue that the US must prioritize putting humans on Mars. The post Put People on Mars by 2033—for the Good of the Nation appeared first on WIRED .
Read More »Donut-shaped ice shelters could shield astronauts on Mars
Since future astronauts might be spending months at a time on Mars, their sturdy shelters must reliably insulate inhabitants from extreme outer temperatures and the cosmic radiation filtering through the planet's thin atmosphere. Some have proposed c...
Read More »ESA will fund ExoMars 2020 despite Schiaparelli’s demise
The ExoMars mission will live on despite the Schiaparelli's lander unfortunate mishap. At a meeting in Switzerland, European Space Agency's member countries have agreed to set aside €436 million ($464 million) to make ExoMars 2020 a reality. Tha...
Read More »ICYMI: Crowdsourcing the space poop problem
Today on In Case You Missed It: NASA and HeroX are asking for help from the public to try to create a bathroom that can be used for up to six days, inside space suits. Previously astronauts have worn diapers during missions in space suits, but tha...
Read More »Mars hides a gigantic ice sheet that may help astronauts
As a rule, the truly large deposits of ice on Mars are at the poles... right? No. Researchers using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's ground-penetrating radar have discovered that the planet's Utopia Planitia basin is hiding a thick (260 to 560 fee...
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