Browse Archive

  • image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows gullies near the edge of Hale crater on southern Mars.

    Thousands of New Images Show Mars in High Resolution

    09.02.09 - Thousands of newly released images from more than 1,500 telescopic observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show a wide range of gullies, dunes, craters, geological layering and other features on the Red Planet.

  • artist's concept of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Orbiter in Safe Mode Increases Communication Rate

    08.28.09 - Engineers for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter project have stepped up the communication rate being received from the orbiter as an early step in the process of determining why the spacecraft spontaneously rebooted its computer on Aug. 26

  • artist's concept of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Mars Orbiter Puts Itself in Safe Mode Again

    08.26.09 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter put itself into a safe mode Wednesday morning, Aug. 26, for the fourth time this year, while maintaining spacecraft health and communications.

  • full-circle view from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit

    Free Spirit: Dust Storm Passing Over Spirit

    08.25.09 - The amount of electricity generated by the solar panels on Spirit has been declining for the past several Martian days, or sols, as a regional dust storm moved southward and blocked some of the sunshine at Spirit's location.

  • Today marks the 2,000th Martian day, or sol, of what was initially planned as a 90-sol mission on Mars for NASA's Spirit rover.

    Spirit Hits 2,000

    08.18.09 - Today marks the 2,000th Martian day, or sol, of what was initially planned as a 90-sol mission on Mars for NASA's Spirit rover.

  • Test Mars Exploration Rovers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Free Spirit: Second Test Rover Added to Driving Experiments

    08.21.09 - A second, lighter-weight test rover has entered the testing setup at JPL where rover team members are assessing strategy for getting Spirit out of soft soil where it is embedded on Mars.

  • This view of a rock called Block Island, the largest meteorite yet found on Mars.

    Mars Meteorite Yields Clues About Planet's Past

    08.10.09 - NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity is investigating a metallic meteorite the size of a large watermelon that is providing researchers more details about the Red Planet's environmental history.

  • In this image from Aug. 12, 2009, rover team members are moving a board used in getting the setup ready for the next test.

    Free Spirit: Planned Rover Test to Run a Week or More

    08.13.09 - Mars rover team members are planning a long-duration experiment with the test rover at JPL beginning next week.

  • This image of Victoria Crater in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Mars Orbiter Shows Angled View of Martian Crater

    08.12.09 - The high-resolution camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has returned a dramatic oblique view of the Martian crater that a rover explored for two years.

  • artist's concept of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Science Operations Resume

    08.10.09 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been restored to full operations, making intensive science observations of Mars, four days after it unexpectedly switched to its backup computer.

  • artist's concept of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Orbiter Safe After Computer Swap

    08.07.09 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in safe mode, a precautionary standby status, and in communications with Earth after unexpectedly switching to its backup computer on Thurs. Aug. 6.

  • Panelists reviewed results to date from testing possible maneuvers to use in driving NASA's Mars Rover Spirit

    Free Spirit: More Testing Before Driving on Mars

    08.07.09 - A review on Aug. 6 of test results to date yielded a decision to conduct further checkouts in an augmented testing set-up on Earth.

  • Block Island Close-up

    Possible Meteorite Imaged by Opportunity Rover

    07.31.09 - The Opportunity rover has eyed an odd-shaped, dark rock, about 0.6 meters (2 feet) across on the surface of Mars, which may be a meteorite.

  • In this view from behind a test rover, the rear wheels of the rover are turned toward the left, and the left-front wheel is turned toward the the right.

    Tests on Earth Help Rover on Mars: Live Webcast, Chat

    07.21.09 - A live videocast and chat from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will give viewers a chance to ask questions of rover team members working to get Spirit rolling again.

  • The panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit was taking exposures with different color filters during the 1,919th Martian day.

    Mars Dust Devil Has Colorful Effect in Image Series

    07.14.09 - Scientists have combined a trio of shots taken seconds apart through different colored filters to create a special-effects portrait of a moving dust devil on Mars.

  • Mars

    NASA, ESA Establish a Mars Exploration Joint Initiative

    07.08.09 - The Mars Exploration Joint Initiative will provide a framework for the two agencies to define and implement their scientific, programmatic and technological goals at Mars.

  • Pastel colors swirl across Mars

    NASA's Mars Odyssey Alters Orbit to Study Warmer Ground

    06.22.09 - NASA's long-lived Mars Odyssey spacecraft has completed an eight-month adjustment of its orbit.

  • artist's concept of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Mars Orbiter Resumes Science Observations

    06.09.09 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is examining Mars again with its scientific instruments after successfully transitioning out of a precautionary standby mode triggered by an unexpected June 3 rebooting of its computer.

  • artist's concept of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Rebooting Resembles February Event

    06.04.09 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in safe mode and in communications with Earth after an unexpected rebooting of its computer.

  • view of Mars Science Lab model on Photosynth

    NASA Releases 3-D Views of Space Station, Rover

    05.07.09 - NASA released an interactive, 3-D photographic collection of the International Space Station and a model of the next Mars rover.