Curiosity

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NASA So Cool, It Has Own LMFAO Spoof

Of course, the coolest kids work for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

(Newser) - They sport mohawks. President Obama called them cool . And now they're the subject of an MTV-worthy video. The polo-shirted crew at California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory found quick fame after Curiosity's victorious landing, following its famed seven minutes of terror on Aug. 5, in part "because they...

Rover to Zap Martian Rock Tonight

NASA's 'curiosity' will test one of its tools

(Newser) - Ready, set, fire. The NASA Mars rover Curiosity is preparing for its first laser target practice—zapping a Martian rock 10 feet away tonight. Since landing in an ancient crater Aug. 5, the car-size Curiosity has been getting a full health checkup. Scientists said yesterday they have chosen a generic-looking...

Mars Rover Gets 'Brain Transplant'

Will allow Curiosity to start driving

(Newser) - Mars rover Curiosity has gotten a new brain. NASA scientists just spent four days changing Curiosity's software, swapping out programs it needed for its complicated landing on Mars and replacing them with software that will enable it to drive, operate its robot arm, and analyze soil samples, reports NASA...

Obama Tells NASA: I've Considered Getting a Mohawk

NASA's Bobak Ferdowski inspires amusing riff from the prez

(Newser) - President Obama had mohawks and Martians on his mind today when he called NASA to congratulate them on Curiosity's safe (and serendipitous ) touchdown on Mars, Huffington Post reports. "I understand there's a special Mohawk Guy that's working on the mission," said Obama, referring to...

'Insane Coincidence' Confirmed on Mars

Curiosity did snap photo of its own ride

(Newser) - Yep, the "insane coincidence" on Mars really happened. Moments after landing on Sunday, the Curiosity rover snapped a photo of its own ride crashing on the Martian landscape, the Los Angeles Times reports. The blink-and-it's-gone lucky shot was confirmed by a member of Curiosity's scientific team in...

Curiosity Sends Back 1st Color Panorama

360-degree compilation photo shows Gale Crater

(Newser) - The photo-snapping rover Curiosity returned another postcard from Mars yesterday—the first 360-degree color panorama of Gale Crater. Scientists admired the sweeping vista—red dust, dark sand dunes, and tan-hued rocks. In the distance was the base of Mount Sharp, a three-mile-high mountain rising from the crater floor, where the...

Mars Rover Landed in 'Area 51' ... Kind Of

NASA has dubbed landing region 'Yellowknife'

(Newser) - Cue the tinfoil hats. Area 51 is the Nevada military base famous among conspiracy buffs for its alleged alien secrets, but the Mars probe Curiosity landed in a part of the Red Planet called ... Quad 51. Coincidence? Well, yes, it's totally a coincidence, reports Florida Today . The Gale Crater...

Rover Spies &#39;Earth-Like&#39; Scene
 Rover Spies 'Earth-Like' Scene 

Rover Spies 'Earth-Like' Scene

Gale Crater reminiscent of Mojave Desert: scientists

(Newser) - Curiosity may have landed in a Martian crater, but it could just as easily be somewhere in California, say scientists who have studied the photos and video it has beamed back to Earth. With mountains visible in the distance—through the hanging haze—the scene from the Gale Crater looks...

Curiosity Sends Back First Color Photo

Martian rover's key camera 'working and awesome,' team says

(Newser) - NASA's Curiosity rover is feeding scientists with a steady stream of images, including the first one in color. The color photo shows the north wall and rim of the ancient crater where the rover made its amazing landing earlier this week, Reuters reports. The image, which appears fuzzy because...

Mars Rover Sends Back First Video

Curiosity captures landing, images of Martian surface

(Newser) - NASA has released a rover's-eye view of Curiosity's nail-biting landing on Mars yesterday. The video, which captures a minute of what engineers described as "seven minutes of terror," begins as the rover's heat shield falls away, and ends with dust being kicked up as Curiosity...

Mars Rover Coming in for a Landing

 Mars Touchdown Confirmed 
UPDATED

Mars Touchdown Confirmed

Curiosity beaming pics after '7 minutes of terror'

(Newser) - The Curiosity rover landed safely on Mars early this morning, prompting whoops of joy and relief in NASA's mission control center, reports the New York Times . The rover quickly beamed back a picture of its own shadow cast on the surface of the Red Planet. "Touchdown confirmed. We...

NASA Bites Nails: '7 Minutes of Terror' Loom on Mars

Curiosity to land at 1:31am ET ... hopefully

(Newser) - Olympic feats have ruled the press over the last week, but a scientific feat may be the one stealing headlines tomorrow. The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal are among just a few news outlets previewing the upcoming "seven minutes of terror"—that's how NASA officials are...

NASA Enlists Shatner to Explain Risky Mars Landing

Rover Curiosity arrives late tomorrow

(Newser) - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is scheduled to touch down tomorrow night on a two-year mission, and who better than Captain Kirk to explain all? The space agency has William Shatner detail what it expects to happen, including the Hollywood-esque "seven minutes of terror" that precedes the landing, reports...

If Obama Budget Passes, It's Bye-Bye Mars

Budget cuts could eliminate much of Mars program from NASA's plans

(Newser) - For 20 years, NASA has basically been obsessed with Mars. This summer, NASA's most high-tech rover will land near the Martian equator. And 2016 and 2018 missions have already been planned, with the intention of bringing home rocks from the red planet. But those two future excursions may not...

Mars Rover 'Curiosity' Launches

Thousands converge to watch

(Newser) - The world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer is on its way to Mars. NASA today launched the six-wheeled, one-armed robotic rover, nicknamed Curiosity. An unmanned rocket blasted off with the spacecraft from Cape Canaveral. The journey to Mars will take 8 1/2 months and cover 354 million miles. Thousands of NASA...

NASA Preps Biggest-Ever Mars Rover

Can planet sustain life? Curiosity will search for clues

(Newser) - It’s “a Mars scientist's dream machine”: NASA is getting ready to launch its largest-ever Mars rover on Saturday. It’s not just big—it’s “the largest and most complex piece of equipment ever placed on the surface of another planet,” the agency’s Mars...

US, EU May Launch Single Mars Rover

NASA, ESA discuss combining missions

(Newser) - American and European space agencies trying to reconcile their Mars ambitions with their budgets are stepping up cooperation. NASA and ESA had planned to send two rovers to Mars for a tandem mission in 2018, but they're now considering combining functions and sending a single rover. America's Max-C rover is...

Stories 41 - 57 | << Prev