News From Space!

NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended

 http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/jul/HQ_08_195_Phoenix_water.html

Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the Moon, has issued a stark warning that America must invest now in the space agency Nasa, or surrender leadership of space exploration to Russia and China.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2211940/Buzz-Aldrin-Invest-in-Nasa-to-beat-the-Chinese-to-Mars.html

LOS ANGELES - Scientists believe NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander exposed bits of ice while digging in the soil of the Martian arctic in recent days.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_sc/phoenix_mars

The first images from the icy North Pole of Mars have begun streaming back to Earth from the Phoenix Lander.  NASA reports:

Phoenix Raw Image

This is a raw, or unprocessed, image taken by the Phoenix lander on Mars, May 25, 2008. This is a screen grab taken from NASA TV.

Phoenix Lands at Martian Arctic Site
NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars today to begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander’s robotic arm.
›  Post-mission briefing begins: 12 a.m. May 26 p.m. Eastern, NASA TV on the Web

Video report here. Discussion here and here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

The Phoenix lander has touched down on the surface of Mars! NASA reports:

Mars Phoenix Lander Update — Touchdown

Above, an artist concept of the Phoenix lander on Mars.

A signal has been detected from Phoenix indicating that the lander is on the surface of Mars.

Pre-landing release: May 25, 3:15 p.m.
›  Landing coverage begins: 6:30 p.m. Eastern, NASA TV on the Web

On the Phoenix Blog: Landing Day
05.25.08 — With a day left before entry, descent, and landing, Phoenix is in good health, and today teams are focusing on whether we need a final trajectory correction maneuver tonight.
Go to blog, post your comments

Phoenix on NASA TV
May 25, NASA TV coverage begins 6:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. Pacific)
May 25, First possible landing confirmation 7:53 p.m. (4:53 p.m. Pacific)
May 26, Post-landing briefing, 12 a.m.
›  NASA TV on the Web
›  Schedule of landing events
›  Landing Press Kit (3Mb)

Video report here. Discussion here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV. More info at JPL and the University of Arizona.

July 4th marks the 10th anniversary of the landing of Mars Pathfinder. The unmanned NASA probe landed on the surface of the Red Planet in 1997. The rover returned over 16000 images and was considered a huge success. What’s next for Mars?

The European Space Agency (ESA) is seeking volunteers for a simulated human trip to Mars, in which six crew spend 17 months in an isolation tank.

Not busy for the next 500 days? Sign up at http://www.spaceflight.esa.int/callforcandidates/.

BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China and Russia will mount a joint effort to explore Mars and one of its moons in 2009, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday following an agreement to boost cooperation between the two ambitious space powers.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/03/28/china.russia.space.reut/