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Mars 2020 Rover Spun Up For Center Of Gravity Determination

Mars 2020 Rover

Engineers took NASA's Mars 2020 for a spin on Aug. 29, 2019. The 2,300-pound (1,040-kilogram) Martian vehicle was rotated clockwise and counterclockwise at about 1 revolution per minute on what is called a spin table in the clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

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Avalanche Season On Mars

Avalanche on Mars

Every spring the sun shines on the side of the stack of layers at the North Pole of Mars known as the north polar layered deposits. The warmth destabilizes the ice and blocks break loose.

The Formation Of The Martian Moons

Almost all the planets of our solar system have moons. Each planetary system has however unique characteristics.

New Insight Into How Much Atmosphere Mars Lost

A key tracer used to estimate how much atmosphere Mars lost can change depending on the time of day and the surface temperature on the Red Planet, according to new observations by NASA-funded scientists.

Mars Helicopter Attached to Mars 2020 Rover

Engineers attached NASA's Mars Helicopter, which will be the first aircraft to fly on another planet, to the belly of the Mars 2020 rover today in the High Bay 1 clean room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Scientists Explore Australia's Outback As A Testbed for Mars

This week, scientists from NASA's upcoming Mars 2020 mission joined their counterparts from the joint European-Russian ExoMars mission in an expedition to the Australian Outback, one of the most remote, arid regions on the planet

All Instruments Installed Onboard The Rosalind Franklin Rover

The full suite of scientific instruments, including cameras that will give us our eyes on Mars, the drill that will retrieve pristine soil samples from below the surface, and the onboard laboratory that will seek out signs of life are all installed on the ExoMars rover.

A Step Closer to Solving the Methane Mystery on Mars

Scientists have taken an important step towards revealing the mysterious source of methane on Mars, by refining estimates of the gas in the planet's atmosphere.

Mars Express Examines Terra Cimmeria

ESA's Mars Express has captured the cosmic contrast of Terra Cimmeria, a region in the southern highlands of Mars marked by impact craters, water-carved valleys, and sand and dust in numerous chocolate and caramel hues.

New Views From Gale Crater By Mars Curiosity

It has traveled a total of 13 miles (21 kilometers) and ascended 1,207 feet (368 meters) to its current location. Along the way, Curiosity discovered Mars had the conditions to support microbial life in the ancient past, among other things.

Dust Storms Swirl At The North Pole of Mars

ESA's Mars Express has been keeping an eye on local and regional dust storms brewing at the north pole of the Red Planet over the last month, watching as they disperse towards the equator.

Mars 2020 Rover Gets Its Wheels

In this image, taken on June 13, 2019, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, install the starboard legs and wheels -- otherwise known as the mobility suspension -- on the Mars 2020 rover.

A Fresh Impact Crater On Mars

An impressionist painting? No, it's a new impact crater that has appeared on the surface of Mars, formed at most between September 2016 and February 2019.

Meteors Help Martian Clouds Form

How did the Red Planet get all of its clouds? CU Boulder researchers may have discovered the secret: just add meteors.

The Mast Is Raised for NASA's Mars 2020 Rover

In this image, taken on June 5, 2019, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, take a moment after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars 2020 rover in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room.

Mars Helicopter Testing Enters Final Phase

NASA's Mars Helicopter flight demonstration project has passed a number of key tests with flying colors. In 2021, the small, autonomous helicopter will be the first vehicle in history to attempt to establish the viability of heavier-than-air vehicles flying on another planet.