Exploration Gear & Tech Archives

The Investigating Mars at Three Sites Campaign would visit three different locations on Mars. Source NASEM, A Science Strategy for the Human Exploration of Mars (The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2025), https://doi.org/10.17226/28594.

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Highlighting A Science Strategy For Human Exploration Of Mars

by Keith CowingMay 26, 2026May 26, 2026

A Science Strategy for Human Exploration of Mars, charts a bold, scientifically based blueprint for humanity’s greatest cosmic adventure—sending explorers to Mars to answer the universe’s most profound questions: Is […]

The Mars rover with its innovative wheels, which can ‘swim’ through sand, modelled on a desert lizard. (Image: Marco Schmidt / Universität Würzburg)

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

Innovative Mars Rovers Swim Through The Sand

by Keith CowingMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026

Some animals can move efficiently beneath granular surfaces. These include the sandfish (Scincus scincus), a lizard native to the Sahara: it can burrow into the sand and then literally ‘swim’ […]

Data processing overview: RGB imaging capture, data upload, data processing, and candidates human review process. -- astro-ph.EP

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A Cloud-Based Tool For Meteorite Recovery Using Drones And Machine Learning

by Keith CowingMay 21, 2026May 21, 2026

We present a cloud-based tool that uses drones and machine learning to help recover instrumentally observed meteorite falls.

Shinkai 6500 crewed submersible on the Schichiyo seamounts - The Nippon Foundation

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Water Planet Recon: Earth’s Largest Mission To Accelerate Species Discovery Reveals Extraordinary New Life Forms From Some Of Earth’s Most Extreme And Unexplored Environments

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026

Scientists have discovered 1,121 marine species in a single year, marking a significant step forward in efforts to document life in the world’s oceans. From the ‘Ghost Shark’ Chimaera, a […]

(a) Mastcam-Z image of the base of the delta with the Rockytop outcrop within the 6 m high scarp (sol 429, zcam08452) located at the base of the Tenby formation immediately overlying the Hogwallow Flats light-toned deposits. The white arrow indicates the fallen block where the SuperCam target Fourway has been analyzed. -- JGR Planets

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In Situ Carbonation of Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of Ultramafic Composition in Jezero Crater, Mars

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Over 3.5 years of exploration in Jezero Crater, the Perseverance rover has explored several geological units of diverse origins and natures, performing multi-technique remote analyses of the chemistry and mineralogy […]

Small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, NASA’s High Performance Spaceflight Computing processor packs the power of a full system-on-a-chip. This next-generation processor is made to survive deep space while delivering a massive leap in computational speed compared to current spacecraft technology. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: NASA’s Next-Gen Space Processor Undergoes Testing

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2026May 14, 2026

Editor’s note: for more than half a century we have been learning how to use the viewpoint from space to study our home world. The instruments we have developed often […]

NASA’s Perseverance looks down at a rocky outcrop nicknamed “Arethusa” and then appears to look into the camera in this animated selfie, which is composed of 61 images taken March 11, 2026, during the rover’s deepest push west beyond Jezero Crater. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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Perseverance Rover Snaps Selfie in Mars’ Western Frontier

by Keith CowingMay 13, 2026May 13, 2026

The agency’s six-wheeled geologist took a self-portrait during its survey of an ancient landscape that may predate the formation of Jezero Crater itself.

Sediment core sampling procedure adapted from the expedition’s press release (Schmidt Ocean Institute, SOI), licensed under CC BY 4.0 -- CAB

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New Sulfur-dependent Ecosystem In A Gas Vent In The Depths Of The Chilean Pacific

by Keith CowingMay 7, 2026May 7, 2026

Unlike most similar emanations described to date, this one shows no evidence of methane emission or consumption. The absence of this molecule and its abundance of sulfur make it a […]

NOAA Ocean Exploration’s recently released environmental DNA (eDNA) data help us better understand what lives in the deep ocean. Among these data is evidence of invertebrates, like Crossota millsae (the jellyfish seen here); fish; marine mammals; microbes; and more. While some of the organisms found in these data have been seen on previous expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, others, like Macropinna microstoma (barreleye fish), remain elusive. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration. Download largest version (jpg, 893.9 KB).

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Water World Genomics: Unlocking Ocean Secrets With eDNA

by Keith CowingMay 6, 2026May 6, 2026

Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of other worlds and understanding the processes whereby other biospheres arise and evolve, thought needs to be given to developing sensor […]