Watch NASA engineers put a Mars lander's legs to the test
Sturdy legs are needed to absorb the impact of the heaviest spacecraft to ever touch down on the Red Planet.
Sturdy legs are needed to absorb the impact of the heaviest spacecraft to ever touch down on the Red Planet.
Space Exploration
Aug 10, 2023
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NASA's InSight lander recorded a magnitude 4 marsquake last Dec. 24, but scientists learned only later the cause of that quake: a meteoroid strike estimated to be one of the biggest seen on Mars since NASA began exploring ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 28, 2022
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People have been exploring the surface of Mars for over 50 years. According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, nations have sent 18 human-made objects to Mars over 14 separate missions. Many of these missions ...
Space Exploration
Sep 21, 2022
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NASA's InSight lander successfully touched down on Mars on 26 November 2018. Seventy Martian days later, the seismometer—called SEIS—deployed on the surface of Mars began recording the Red Planet's tremors. It has registered ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 9, 2022
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Following a thorough evaluation, NASA has extended the planetary science missions of eight of its spacecraft due to their scientific productivity and potential to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the solar system ...
Space Exploration
Apr 26, 2022
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NASA's InSight lander is stable and sending health data from Mars to Earth after going into safe mode Friday, Jan. 7, following a large, regional dust storm that reduced the sunlight reaching its solar panels. In safe mode, ...
Space Exploration
Jan 12, 2022
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Engineers are developing the crucial hardware needed for a series of daring space missions that will be carried out in the coming decade.
Planetary Sciences
Dec 13, 2021
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Over the last two decades, scientists have found ice in many locations on Mars. Most Martian ice has been observed from orbital satellites like NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. But determining the grain size and dust content ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 23, 2021
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The team behind NASA's InSight Mars lander has come up with an innovative way to boost the spacecraft's energy at a time when its power levels have been falling. The lander's robotic arm trickled sand near one solar panel, ...
Space Exploration
Jun 3, 2021
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China's rover Zhurong, named after the mythological fire god, successfully touched down on Mars on May 14—the first time that China has successfully landed a rover on the red planet.
Space Exploration
May 21, 2021
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