Mars News & Features

20 Years After Landing: How NASA’s Twin Rovers Changed Mars Science

6 min read

This month marks the 20th anniversary of Spirit and Opportunity’s landing on Mars, part of a mission whose legacy will extend far into the future. In January 2004, twin NASA rovers named Spirit and Opportunity touched down on opposite sides…

Article3 months ago
This image was taken by Left Navigation Camera onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4030.

Sols 4032-4034: How Rocks Say Don’t Touch

4 min read

As we climb through the terrain, which is beautiful to look at with its steep topography, we are on the lookout for all the differences in the rocks.

Article5 months ago

Autonomous Systems Help NASA’s Perseverance Do More Science on Mars

7 min read

A computer pilot helps NASA’s six-wheeled geologist as it searches for rock samples that could be brought to Earth for deeper investigation. In about a third of the time it would have taken other NASA Mars rovers, Perseverance recently navigated…

Article7 months ago

Why – and How – NASA Gives a Name to Every Spot It Studies on Mars

5 min read

Martian maps are full of monikers recognizing places on Earth, explorers, and even cartoon characters. NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently investigating rock outcrops alongside the rim of Mars’ Belva Crater. Some 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) away, NASA’s Curiosity rover recently drilled…

Article11 months ago

Why – and How – NASA Gives a Name to Every Spot It Studies on Mars

5 min read

Martian maps are full of monikers recognizing places on Earth, explorers, and even cartoon characters.

Article11 months ago

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Gets a Major Software Upgrade

4 min read

The update brings loads of improvements, the most significant being new driving capabilities.

Article1 year ago

Before You Can Drive, First You Have to Fly – S4E9

53 min read

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts Subscribe via Google Play Subscribe via SoundCloud Subscribe via RSS Feed Transcript (music) NASA Launch Control: T-minus 15 seconds… Narrator: When a Mars rover is on top of a rocket, ready to leave Earth, it is not simply…

Article2 years ago

How to Drive a Mars Rover – S4E8

37 min read

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts Subscribe via Google Play Subscribe via SoundCloud Subscribe via RSS Feed Transcript Vandi Verma: Hi, I’m Vandi Verma. I’m the chief engineer of Mars Perseverance robotic operations, and the deputy section manager of the Mobility and Robotic Systems…

Article2 years ago
This image shows members of the Curiosity science team jump out of their seats and cheer when they hear that the Curiosity rover has successfully landed on the Martian surface.

Sols 3553-3554: 10 (Earth) Years Later

3 min read

Tosol we uplinked a two-sol plan as Curiosity continues to navigate "Paraitepuy Pass."

Article2 years ago

NASA Marks 25 Years Since Pathfinder Touched Down on Mars

7 min read

When a daring team of engineers put a lander and the first rover on the Red Planet a quarter century ago, they changed how the world explores. On a July evening in 1997, Jennifer Trosper drove home from work at…

Article2 years ago