Mars ROVER to roam the planet.

NASA on Friday said it will move forward with a super-sized rover to Mars next year. The space agency plans to work on a Mars Science Laboratory to roam the planet. The rover will be nuclear powered.

The new six-wheel rover is the size of an SUV. It is powered by nuclear energy. However, the space agency needs more funding to complete the $2 billion project. Mission specialists hope to begin the first mission for the new rover to Mars next fall.

NASA on Friday said it will move forward with a super-sized rover to Mars next year. The space agency plans to work on a Mars Science Laboratory to roam the planet. The rover will be nuclear powered. The new six-wheel rover is the size of an SUV. It is powered by nuclear energy. However, the space agency needs more funding to complete the $2 billion project. Mission specialists hope to begin the first mission for the new rover to Mars next fall. By: Sara Smith Oct 11, 2008 11:48 AM GMT NASA on Friday announced that it needs more funding to resolve problems with its next Mars mission. The planned mission will launch next year. The space agency hopes that the U.S. Congress will find the extra funds needed. “If we’re going to launch in 2009 or 2011, additional budget resources are going to be necessary,” Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA headquarters, said in a statement. The mission will launch a Mars Science Laboratory to Mars. The new super-sized rover is nuclear-powered. NASA managers are already meeting to go over the progress of the mission. There are budget concerns over the new mission as the project’s costs continue to escalate. NASA has poured $1.5 billion into the project so far. The space agency says the final price tag is expected to be $2 billion. NASA’s Mars Science Lab will roam the Martian planet and study rocks. The study will determine if the Red Planet could support microbial life. The new rover will have a cargo of instruments that can probe rocks and soil. It has the technology to study rocks in finer detail than previous missions including a laser that can zap boulders from a distance. The new rover has six wheels and is the size of an average SUV.

Phoenix Lander Gathers Martian Snow

 

NASA scientists say that snow is falling on Mars. The Phoenix Lander collected data presented the findings. Phoenix is now on its fifth month of space exploration on Mars.

The Mars Phoenix Lander has detected snow from the Martian atmosphere. The snow fell from clouds about 3 miles above the lander’s ground position. Scientists say the snow is melting before it hits the ground
Sep 30, 2008 15:25 PM GMT

NASA scientists say that the Phoenix Lander has captured snow falling from the Martian clouds. However, the snow vaporizes before reaching the Martian soil. The new findings were presented at a press conference on Monday.

“In the second half of the mission we saw frost, ground fog, and clouds. This is now occurring every night,” Jim Whiteway, lead scientist for the Phoenix Meteorological Station, said.

Whiteway said instruments on the spacecraft recorded rising temperatures and humidity in the two months leading up to the Martian summer in July. The temperatures have been falling ever since.

The recent discovery is another indication that water is on Mars. The team used laser instruments to study the Martian atmosphere. During the mission, the instruments detected snow. The snow was nearly 3 miles above the current Phoenix position.

Phoenix will now search for signs of snow on the ground. The lander is now on its fifth month of space exploration on Mars. It first arrived on the Martian surface on May 25. Several missions have found signs of water-ice in the soil.

The lander is currently on the planet’s northern polar region. It has collected and analyzed soil samples that unveil snow minerals.