Living on Mars: are there lessons from the terrible conditions of prisons?: I have been researching the possibility of living on Mars for several years. But it took an invitation to give a talk about space at HMP Erlestoke in England – a category C men’s prison – to make me realise that there are …
Fish and chips on Mars: our research shows how colonists could produce their own food: sciencepics/Shutterstock Humans can’t help being fascinated by space. And that interest seems to be making the possibility of moving humanity to another planet, like Mars or the Moon, more distinct, with Nasa hoping to set up colonies in the next …
The longstanding mystery of Mars’ moons – and the mission that could solve it: NASA The two small moons of Mars, Phobos (about 22km in diameter) and Deimos (about 13km in diameter), have been puzzling scientists for decades, with their origin remaining a matter of debate. Some have proposed that they may be made up …
Roman temple thought to be dedicated to Mars could actually have been used to worship many gods – expert explains: In April, archaeologists excavating at La Chapelle-des-Fougeretz, in Britanny, France, announced that they had discovered a large Roman temple, dating between the late first century BC and fourth century AD. They speculated that it had …
Note de l’éditeur : Article retiré 14 Mars 2023: Nous avons récemment dépublié un article intitulé “Médicament : voici comment distinguer le vrai du faux”. L’article contenait du matériel plagié, en violation de nos normes éditoriales. Ce fait a été porté à notre attention après la publication de l’article. : The Conversation – Articles (AFRICA) …
What does Mars sound like? Rover microphone has recorded the red planet’s dust devils: A towering dust devil casts a serpentine shadow over the Martian surface. NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona A dust devil looks a bit like a tornado, but is weaker and rarely lasts more than about a minute. It is a twisting column of …
Mars: how we discovered two huge, unusual impact craters – and the secrets they unveil: InSight's dusty solar panel. NASA/JPL Most of the worlds of our Solar System are pockmarked with impact craters. These bear testament to the violence of the early days of the Sun, when asteroids, comets and entire planets routinely collided with …
Our Mars rover mission was suspended because of the Ukraine war – here’s what we’re hoping for next: Oxia Planum on Mars – where the rover was set to land. Nasa Just a few months ago, we were confidently expecting to launch our rover, Rosalind Franklin, to Mars in September as part of the ExoMars mission, …
A ‘doorway’ on Mars? How we see things in space that aren’t there: A panorama stitched together from about 100 individual Curiosity images. The 'door' is circled, and is tiny and hard to see at this scale. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Enthusiasts lit up social media recently with images of what appeared to be a “doorway” into a …
Long list of unfinished business mars South Africa’s Freedom Day: 27 April 1994: South Africans vote in the nation's first free and democratic general election. Photo by Brooks Kraft LLC/Sygma via Getty Images On 27 April 1994, South Africans from all walks of life voted in the first democratic elections. This was after many years …
Asteroids, the Moon and Mars: space missions to look forward to in 2022: The rocket boosters for the Space Launch System that will launch Nasa's Artemis I mission to the Moon. NASA/Kim Shiflett Astronomers ended 2021 on a high with the launch on December 25 of the James Webb Space Telescope, a joint mission between …
Mars InSight: mission unveils surprising secrets of red planet’s interior – new research: The Mars InSight lander. NASA/JPL-Caltech, CC BY-SA We may have walked on the Moon and sent probes across the solar system, but we know very little about what’s going on inside other planets. Now, for the first time, we have been able …
Mushrooms on Mars? Five unproven claims that alien life exists: Mushroom-like structures on Mars. Nasa A recent study claims to have found evidence for mushroom-like life forms on the surface of Mars. As it happens, these particular features are well known and were discovered by cameras aboard Nasa’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, shortly after it …
Landing on Mars: the historical missions that failed and the ones that made it: IPGP/Nicolas Sarter, CC BY-SA 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. On May 19, China’s National …
Open source on Mars, in smartwatches, 3D printed art, and more: April was full of exciting news in the world of open source. Keep reading for some of the more interesting tidbits, including Linux out of this world… on Mars. 12,000 open source contributors help a helicopter fly on Mars Linux had a big moment on …
The Chinese Mars lander: how Zhurong will attempt to touch down on the red planet: For the first few months of 2021, the Martian atmosphere was buzzing with new visitors from Earth. First, it was the UAE Space Agency’s Hope probe, followed by the Chinese Tianwen-1 entering orbit. More recently Nasa landed the biggest-ever rover …
Mars: how Ingenuity helicopter made the first flight on another planet: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter hovers over the Martian surface. NASA Imagine that you are flying a model helicopter or a drone. You are there with the auto controls. You switch them on. The rotors start to turn, gradually increasing their spin. You watch, then …
Astronauts on Mars missions could suffer cognitive and emotional problems – new research: The brain is deeply affected by the change of gravity. Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Human space missions to Mars are the next great leap in space exploration, with Nasa targeting the 2030s as a reasonable time frame for taking the first humans there. But boarding …