geekosystem

We love photos from space as much as the next guy, but there are some pictures we probably never need to see. Like when one of NASA's Mars rovers leaves a distinctly phallic line of tracks in the dirt, inscribing what looks for all the world like the sort of crude drawing of a penis you can see on men's room walls the world over on the face of another planet. 

 

In 1971 , Russia put the first lander on Mars that survived its touchdown on the Red Planet, as Mars 3 was able to transmit data back from Mars to Earth -- for a grand total of nearly 15 seconds. After that amazing quarter of a minute, Mars 3 went dark for unknown reasons, and was never heard from again, becoming lost to the annals of space exploration. Now, though, a group of Russian Mars enthusiasts working with recent photos from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter think they've found the wreckage of the long lost lander.

The Curiosity Rover got its latest taste of Martian bedrock drilled from the planet's surface this week, and we are left to assume that it tasted like victory. Victory and sand, sure, but mostly victory. After penetrating the surface of the planet earlier this month, yesterday saw Curiosity ingest samples into its internal chemistry labs, meaning new analysis of previously untouched Martian soil is officially under way.

NASA has taken it upon itself to make sure we're not all getting too excited about the possibility of life on Mars, stepping in today to let everyone know that the Curiosity Rover has not found organic molecules -- which could indicate the presence of organic life in the planet's history -- on the Red Planet.

Have you ever had to keep a secret that you really, really wanted to share, but you couldn't because the timing wasn't right? That seems like the position NASA is in right now. After a whirlwind first couple of months on the surface of the Red Planet, the rover Curiosity has been silent, idling for sometime. Analysts Earth-side are poring over data from a series of five sand samples recently analyzed in the rover's mobile chemistry lab, the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) unit. There's no word on what they've found quite yet, but researchers are willing to say that it's something big. Like, historical event big. Considering Curiosity's mission is to find life on Mars, there's pretty much just one thing that could be considered historically big news from the rover -- signs of life on Mars. Not that anyone is saying that right now -- but sometimes, the way in which you don't say something could speak more than what you do say, and this certainly feels like one of those times.

If the Curiosity rover had an OKCupid profile picture, this awesome self portrait would totally be it. Thanks to its reflective surfaces and rotating turret arm, the Curiosity rover can photograph itself as it travels across Mars, which would seem kind of self-absorbed if it weren't so utterly fantastic. This picture, which is a mosaic of 55 images stitched together brilliantly by NASA technicians, was taken just yesterday. Hit the jump for the full image.

We don't know how NASA administrator Charles Bolden won the rights to become the first human voice transmitted from Mars, but we dearly hope the matter was settled in the traditional way -- a lirpa-wielding battle to the death. Even if it wasn't -- and really, don't tell us if it wasn't -- this is still pretty cool. Bolden's dulcet tones rung out across the solar system yesterday from the recently landed Curiosity rover, offering a missive that is equal parts "Thank you letter to everyone involved in the project," and, "Yeah, we landed a rover on Mars," claim on bragging rights.

Early next month, the 2,000 pound Curiosity rover will finally touch down on the surface of Mars and just doing that will require one of the most ingenious and daring landings that NASA has yet attempted. Now, Earthlings can try their hand at conquering the "seven minutes of terror" with a new Kinect game for Xbox. Unlike the space program, this one is completely free!

NASA's Curiosity rover, the largest rover ever dispatched from Earth, is a little over halfway to its landing on Mars. With a scheduled landing on August 6 of this year, NASA engineers thought it was a good time to fire up Curiosity's onboard camera. This is what they saw.

NASA rover Opportunity has found what is described as "the single most powerful piece of evidence for liquid water at Mars," by Steve Squyres, Opportunity's principle investigator. The evidence, announced by researchers yesterday, is a mineral vein, comprised of gypsum that was almost certainly deposited by a water source. Opportunity has been trolling Mars for eight years along with its twin, Spirit, and this recent discovery of a mineral vein around the rim of the massive crater Endeavor is its most exciting discovery to date.

Though the launch of the new Mars rover, Curiosity, was delayed for two years, that didn't stop what we all hope will be the little rover that could, as NASA is set to launch the rover this week, on Saturday, November 26. Launching from Florida's venerable Cape Canaveral Air Force Station after a one day delay caused by a rocket battery problem, Curiosity will set out to determine if Mars ever supported, or still supports, microbial life. Yes, technically, Curiosity's job is to determine if there is -- or ever was -- alien life.

The next Mars rover will touch down in Gale crater, and explore a 5km high mountain of sediment located inside. The rover, named Curiosity, will launch sometime between November 25th and December 18th of this year. Curiosity will be looking for traces of chemical signs of life in addition to studying the past climates of Mars. The decision to land in the Gale Crater comes after months of debate about where to send the rover.

There were four locations on the short list for exploration by Curiosity. In addition to the Gale Crater, that list included Mawrth Vallis, Eberswalde Crater, and Holden Crater. All the proposed sites are believed to have once featured liquid water. But, it was Gale Crater that won out because its unique sediment mountain contains clays, which are a sure sign of liquid water and perhaps signs of life.

NASA's next Mars rover, going by the name Curiosity, is nuclear powered and the size of a small car. If that weren't enough to make you want to ride it around some kind of Weird-West-Martian hellscape, it's also getting a set of 3D cameras courtesy of James Cameron.

Malin Space Science Systems had already delivered a set of cameras capable of taking high-def color video of both near and far objects, but NASA has provided the funding for Malin to work with Cameron to develop two 3D cameras with zoom lenses.