Stowaway Molecules Could Taint Mars Results

Thousands converge to watch

(AP) - The world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer is on its way to Mars. NASA today launched the six-wheeled, one-armed robotic rover, nicknamed Curiosity. An unmanned rocket blasted off with the spacecraft from Cape Canaveral. The journey to Mars will take 8 1/2 months and cover 354 million miles. Thousands of NASA guests converged on Kennedy Space Center for the launch. More»

Can planet sustain life? Curiosity will search for clues

(NEWSER) - It’s “a Mars scientist's dream machine”: NASA is getting ready to launch its largest-ever Mars rover on Saturday. It’s not just big—it’s “the largest and most complex piece of equipment ever placed on the surface of another planet,” the agency’s Mars boss tells the AP . Curiosity, as the 7-foot-high rover is called, is equipped with a jackhammer and laser arm to break through rocks as it probes Martian soil. More»

NASA, ESA discuss combining missions

(NEWSER) - American and European space agencies trying to reconcile their Mars ambitions with their budgets are stepping up cooperation. NASA and ESA had planned to send two rovers to Mars for a tandem mission in 2018, but they're now considering combining functions and sending a single rover. America's Max-C rover is still in the early planning stages while the Europeans were ready to start building their ExoMars rover, the BBC notes. More»

Spirit has been in a sand trap since April

(NEWSER) - Help is on the way, rover. NASA will attempt to free the Mars rover Spirit from its sand-trap prison on Monday. The plucky machine got stuck in April—“the equivalent of falling through the ice over a frozen pond," says a NASA official. Spirit has been exploring Mars for 6 years now, far longer than planned, but the dirt trap may be its final stop. More»

(NEWSER) - NASA is delaying the launch of its next Mars rover, which is significantly larger and more complex than previous models, until 2011, Space.com reports. The Mars Science Laboratory was set to arrive on the red planet next year, but problems with crucial mechanical components mean it will miss its tight launch window. “We're really only a few months behind schedule, not two years behind schedule,” said the director of the exploration program. More»