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The Mars Climate Orbiter (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter) was a robotic space probe launched by NASA on December 11, 1998, to study the Martian climate, Martian atmosphere, and surface changes and to act as the communications relay in the Mars Surveyor '98 program for Mars Polar Lander.
On 1 June 2018, NASA scientists detected signs of a dust storm (see image) on Mars which resulted in the end of the solar-powered Opportunity rover's mission since the dust blocked the sunlight (see image) needed to operate. By 12 June, the storm was the most extensive recorded at the surface of the planet, and spanned an area about the size of ...
Mars is less dense than Earth, having about 15% of Earth's volume and 11% of Earth's mass, resulting in about 38% of Earth's surface gravity. Mars is the only presently known example of a desert planet , a rocky planet with a surface akin to that of Earth's hot deserts.
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through the atmosphere to the surface. [1]
NASA artwork of a potential Mars habitat in conjunction with other surface elements on Mars Various components of the Mars Outpost proposal. (M. Dowman, 1989) [1] 1990s era NASA design featuring 'spam can' type habitat landers. The downside may be minimal shielding for the crew, and two ideas are to use Mars materials, such as ice, to increase ...
The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) is an instrument on board the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover that will characterize the dust size and morphology, as well as surface weather.
Sky crane is a soft landing system used in the last part of the entry, descent and landing (EDL) sequence developed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for its two largest Mars rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance. While previous rovers used airbags for landing, both Curiosity and Perseverance were too heavy to be landed this way. Instead, a ...
Compared to Earth, the air on Mars is much thinner at the surface, with pressure less than 1% of Earth's at sea level, requiring a more efficient method to achieve lift. Offsetting that disadvantage, Mars air, mostly consisting of carbon dioxide (CO 2), is denser per unit of volume than Earth air, and gravity on Mars is less than 40% of Earth's.