Last week, NASA released a video on Facebook that gave humans of Earth the opportunity to view Mars right from the planet’s surface. It was a fun way to experience a planet that, let’s face it, you’ll never step foot on, but it was a perfect demonstration of what virtual reality can do. NASA released the same video this week on YouTube, but this time it’s in 4K. Prepare to melt your...
Any picture sent back to Earth via NASA’s Curiosity rover is a little miracle. But the explorer’s newest image is probably its best yet. The wide-angle selfie gives us an excellent look at the current conditions on Mars, and, yeah, it’s looking dry. Look at how dusty NASA’s rover is; like some sort of chameleon robot trying to assimilate to the Red Planet. You’re fooling nobody,...
NASA's industrious Curiosity Rover has identified another drilling target, called Bonanza King, which rests at the northeastern end of what the agency refers to as the "Hidden Valley." If the rock, which NASA says looks like a "pale paving stone," passes engineers' evaluation, Curiosity will proceed to drill into stone in an effort to further uncover the mysteries below. The original...
After journeying outside of NASA's designated safe zone, Curiosity has stumbled across a meteorite, dubbed "Lebanon," that's about 7 feet wide. This is the first meteorite discovery by Curiosity, and a great opportunity for the rover to study the space rock up close; NASA said the meteorite is made up entirely of iron, with a smaller companion, "Lebanon B," nearby. NASA says the...
Curiosity's first year on Mars has been an eventful one. Since triumphantly landing on the Martian planet last year, we've seen the rover dig, roam and even break down a few times—all and all a successful first twelve months. It's probably accomplished more than some people have over a 52-week period. But the sad reality is that the curios craft is spending its birthday on Mars all...
Some of today's brightest individuals have aspirations beyond mere mortal boundaries. And steps are already being taken to shuttle mankind places we never imagined going. But even though Curiosity can safely explore the parched surface of Mars, it might not quite be so simple for someone to one-up Neil Armstrong and set foot on the Martian planet. According to NASA, citing data...
NASA's Mars Curiosity has again drilled into the barren Martian planet, puncturing a section 2.6-inches deep. The rock, known as Cumberland, gave NASA researchers the opportunity to remove a powdered sample that will then be delivered to Curiosity's onboard analyzing instruments. NASA previously drilled into Mars back in February. When NASA analyzed Curiosity's first sample, results...
NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover snapped a few photos that could indicate there was once “vigorous” water flow on the Red Planet. If you saw the evidence unlabeled, presented without context, you’d think both were snapped here on Earth. The resemblance is striking, and scientists believe the composition of the rocks is clear affirmation that water — or at least some form of liquid — at one...
This isn’t the plot of a movie, or even Science Fiction: NASA’s Curiosity rover is locked and loaded, and ready to start vaporizing the very planet it landed on earlier this month. According to Space.com, the 1-ton robot is set to zap a Martian rock on Saturday with its on-board laser — a step toward determining “whether the environment [is] favorable for microbial life.” Once the...