Mars
MarCO shows interplanetary cubesats possible but not easy
NASA’s MarCO mission showed that interplanetary cubesat missions, while possible, are anything but easy.
Tianwen-1 launches for Mars, marking dawn of Chinese interplanetary exploration
China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission launched successfully Thursday, initiating a phase of deep space and interplanetary exploration.
China raises the stakes with second Mars attempt
China’s first attempt to reach Mars never left Earth orbit. It’s finally ready to try again, this time with bigger goals.
Long March 5 rolled out for July 23 launch of China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission
China is preparing to launch its Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter and rover next week with the rollout of the mission’s Long March 5 launch vehicle.
The UAE’s hope for success at Mars, and at home
A Mars mission is all the more difficult for a country with little spaceflight experience. Yet, the United Arab Emirates is willing to try.
Rocket arrives as China targets July for Tianwen-1 Mars mission launch
China is gearing up to launch its Tianwen-1 Mars mission following the delivery of a Long March 5 launch vehicle to Wenchang launch center.
InSight mole making slow progress into Martian surface
An instrument on NASA’s InSight Mars lander that has struggled for more than a year to make its way into the Martian surface is now making steady, but slow progress with the help of the lander’s robotic arm.
China’s Mars mission named Tianwen-1, appears on track for July launch
China has named its first independent interplanetary mission Tianwen-1, with the combined Mars orbiter and rover spacecraft apparently proceeding towards launch in July.
Scientists warn proposed cuts put Mars science program at risk
Scientists involved with several ongoing Mars missions are warning that a budget proposal that would end one mission and curtail operations of others could disrupt NASA’s broader Mars exploration architecture.
UAE Mars mission to ship to launch site
A Mars orbiter developed by the United Arab Emirates will ship to its launch site in Japan this week, its launch preparations affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Overstressed” NASA Mars exploration budget threatens missions
Cost overruns on a major rover mission and proposals for both sample return missions and a new orbiter are straining NASA’s Mars exploration program and threatening the future of two ongoing missions.
Op-ed | H.R. 5666 will launch the U.S. in the wrong direction
In his Feb. 3 SpaceNews opinion piece, Louis Friedman argues that the NASA authorization bill that recently cleared a House space subcommittee is best direction for America in space. The bill, H.R. 5666, would require the United States to abandon the moon after a flags and footprints lunar landing (while effectively preventing commercial firms from participating). We could not disagree more.
InSight to try to push mole into Martian surface
Engineers plan to use the robotic arm on its InSight Mars lander to push a heat flow probe into the surface, acknowledging that they have “few alternatives” if that effort fails.
Rocket nears spaceport for Chinese space station test launch
The first flight model of a rocket designed to launch modules for a Chinese space station is set to arrive at Wenchang spaceport for a crucial test mission.
