Blog Archive

New Details on the 2020 Mars Rover

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/01/10 10:23 CST | 7 comments

The 2020 Rover will achieve its cost-savings by using $200 million of existing hardware left over from the Curiosity mission, said the Director of the Planetary Science division within NASA.

Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Zeroes In on Clay Minerals and We Look Back on 2012

Posted by A.J.S. Rayl on 2013/01/08 07:16 CST | 4 comments

Despite the lull of the holidays, the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission recorded one of the expedition's best months ever in December as Opportunity and her team confirmed the location of the smectite clay minerals on Matijevic Hill, effectively grabbing the scientific brass ring they came hoping to find at Endeavour Crater.

Curiosity's soil scoop, ready for action (sol 51)

Curiosity's Scoop Campaign, a Summary

Posted by Stephen Kuhn on 2013/01/08 09:30 CST | 4 comments

Stephen Kuhn is the CHIMRA and the scoop systems lead on the Curiosity rover. He explains what the team was doing at Rocknest, and why it took so long!

Planetary Society Weekly Hangout, Thu Jan 3 1200PT/2000UT: Jim Bell

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/01/02 12:32 CST | 3 comments

Join Emily Lakdawalla and Casey Dreier for a chat with Jim Bell, a scientist who wears many hats. He's the team lead for the Pancam color cameras on the Spirit and Opportunity rovers; he's a member of the Curiosity science team; and he's the esteemed President of the Planetary Society's Board of Directors. We'll talk about the great science being done by both Curiosity and Opportunity, and about what's in store for the future.

Mount Sharp / Aeolis Mons, Curiosity sol 45 Mastcam-100 panorama

Who is the photographer behind Mars rover photos? Answer from Mark Lemmon

Posted by Mark Lemmon on 2012/12/21 11:10 CST | 2 comments

A Mars imaging scientist answers the question: who is the "photographer" behind images returned from Mars?

Planetary Radio Live Celebrates Curiosity/Truly Haute Cuisine!

Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2012/12/20 04:06 CST

Listen to or watch the webcast recorded Saturday, December 15th with MSL Project Manager Richard Cook and Project Scientist John Grotzinger. Bonus: enjoy a neat little French animation.