Mars Sample Return (MSR) is a highly complex and ambitious program of national importance. As noted by the MSR Independent Review Board (IRB), it is one of the most technically […]
Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
Posted inMars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
Perseverance Rover Will Peer Beneath Mars's Surface
The agency’s newest rover will use the first ground-penetrating radar instrument on the Martian surface to help search for signs of past microbial life. After touching down on the Red […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Discovery Transforms Understanding Of Hydrogen Depletion At The Seafloor
The discovery of hydrothermal vents – where volcanoes at the seafloor produce hot fluid exceeding 350 degrees Celsius, or 662 degrees Fahrenheit, fundamentally changed our understanding about Earth and life […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
Volatile Sample Return in the Solar System
We advocate for the realization of volatile sample return from various destinations including: small bodies, the Moon, Mars, ocean worlds/satellites, and plumes. As part of recent mission studies (e.g., Comet […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Hundreds Of Hydrothermal Chimneys Discovered On The Seafloor Off The Pacific Northwest
At the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) northwest of Washington State, the seafloor is ripping apart. Magma beneath the seafloor heats water […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
BRUIE Aquatic Rover Goes for a Drive Under the Ice
A little robotic explorer will be rolling into Antarctica this month to perform a gymnastic feat — driving upside down under sea ice.
Posted inExploration Gear & Tech, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Saturn, Titan
NASA Is Designing Shapeshifting Robots for Saturn’s Moons
Mini robots that can roll, fly, float and swim, then morph into a single machine? Together they form Shapeshifter, a developing concept for a transformational vehicle to explore treacherous, distant […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Deimos, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Panspermia, Phobos, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
Microbial Contamination: Sample Return from Mars Moons: Departure of Microbes From Mars’ Surface
Potential microbial contamination of Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, which can be brought about by transportation of Mars ejecta produced by meteoroid impacts on the Martian surface, has been comprehensively […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Deimos, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Phobos, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
Microbial Contamination: Sample Return From Mars Moons: The Fate of Microbes on Martian Moons
This paper presents a case study of microbe transportation in the Mars-satellites system. We examined the spatial distribution of potential impact-transported microbes on the Martian moons using impact physics by […]
Posted inMars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving
Strategic Investments in Instrumentation and Facilities for Extraterrestrial Sample Curation and Analysis
NASA’s investment in new instruments to analyze extraterrestrial samples is insufficient to provide for replacement of existing instruments, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and […]