Spotlight on Mars

For a behind-the-scenes view of Mars exploration, we hope you enjoy our spotlight stories. See also our press releases.

28-August-2008	A Tribute to Mars Exploration
	As Americans celebrate Labor Day 2008, six flags stand in silent salute to the U.S. workforce on Mars. Three of the flags are on spacecraft still exploring Mars. Those include NASA's twin rovers and the Phoenix lander. One of the flags, on Mars Pathfinder, landed July 4, 1997. Two, on the Viking spacecraft, arrived in 1976, the year of the U.S. bicentennial. Read More...
23-May-2008	Getting By with a Little Help from Friends
	When NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander prepares for landing on May 25, 2008, it won't be alone. Three spacecraft in orbit will serve as a welcome committee. Read More...
21-May-2008	Watching Seasons Pass on Mars
	Just as migrating birds herald the changing seasons on Earth, sand dunes show seasonal change on the fourth rock from the Sun. From a distance, crescent-shaped dunes near the north pole of Mars can even resemble birds in flight. Read More...
12-May-2008	Third-Generation Mars Rover Dwarfs Predecessors
	Mars rovers appear to be shrinking with age! The biggest, baddest, newest rover being built is the Mars Science Laboratory rover (right). It's the size of a small sport-utility vehicle. Still exploring Mars four years after landing are the dune-buggy-sized rovers Spirit and Opportunity (left). The first-generation rover, Sojourner, is the size of a microwave oven. Read More...
09-May-2008	Intense Testing Paved Phoenix Road to Mars
	When NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander descends to the surface of the Red Planet on May 25, few will be watching as closely as those who have spent years planning, analyzing and conducting tests to prepare for the dramatic and nerve-wracking event. Read More...
21-Apr-2008	Martian Eyes Are Watching
	The next set of "eyes" to journey to Mars are already busy observing people and objects on Earth. Keen vision will be essential to keeping the Mars Science Laboratory rover, a vehicle the size of a small SUV, out of trouble amid the red planet's cliffs, sand, and boulders. Read More...
20-Apr-2008	Wanted:  Space-Age Dust Removal
	If Mars had an on-line Web site for ads, one of them might say something like this: "Wanted: Gentle space-age dust removal system to clean solar cells without leaving grit behind. Please direct inquiries to NASA." Read More...
16-Apr-2008	To Follow the Water on Mars, Look for Fins!
	Though they're not attached to creatures of the deep, fins made of rock poke up above the surface and suggest past water on Mars. NASA's Opportunity rover took images of a thin fin on the edge of a rock in "Victoria Crater." The fin was rich in hematite, a mineral that often forms in the presence of water. Read More...
15-Apr-2008	Like Martian Water for Chocolate
	If you smacked a frozen chocolate bar on a table, it would break into bite-size pieces resembling the terrain in this Martian crater. To a planetary scientist, this pattern is a tantalizing clue that the ground once contained water ice. When the frozen terrain cracked, in some places the ice melted into flows chock full of sediment. Perhaps the ground is still filled with layers of near-surface ice. Read More...
09-Apr-2008	Spot-on Science!
	Instead of taking spots out, NASA's Mars rovers put spots in! While driving backward down the north rim of "Home Plate," Spirit used its robotic arm to clear away grit from flat rocks under its wheels. Upon taking a second look, Spirit discovered not only spots but stripes. Read More...
02-Apr-2008	No Speed Limit on Mars
	It's a good thing there's no speed limit on Mars, because the next parachute to fly to the red planet deploys faster than you can legally drive on a California freeway! Read More...
24-Mar-2008	Watching Martian Clouds Go By
	Opportunity turned its rover eyes skyward to observe clouds drifting overhead that look like cirrus clouds on Earth -- featherlike formations composed mostly of ice crystals. Read More...
18-Mar-2008	A Woman's Place Is... in Space!
	Nowadays it's not unusual to find a woman at the helm -- leading a corporation, commanding a space shuttle, or even operating a rover on Mars, but it's rare to have a supermajority of women in some technical fields. Read More...
11-Mar-2008	Keeping Time to a New Rover Beat
	Engineers worked late on March 7th, "keeping time" with an aggressive schedule for building the Mars Science Laboratory rover. Getting into a new rhythm of hard work to come, the mission team was upbeat as they kicked off a mission phase called ATLO (Assembly, Testing, and Launch Operations). Read More...
07-Mar-2008	Big Wheels Cross The Finish Line...for Now!
	NASA's next mission to Mars gets rolling, as engineers on the mobility team cross a finish line of their own. Read More...
09-Jan-2008	Out of Bounds
	Steep terrain can be a hindrance on Mars as well as Earth. NASA's Mars rover Opportunity recently encountered a band of darker rocks inside "Victoria Crater" that increased in steepness. Read More...