Space Studies

NASA gets a new set of moon wheels

dianeb — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:29:39 -0600

Every year, NASA's Desert RATS spend two weeks in the Arizona desert conducting tests in anticipation of future lunar exploration. This year, two crew members lived for more than 300 hours inside NASA's new moon vehicle, the Lunar Electric Rover. --by Nikki Staab

Rock pile reaches 10,000

pkrecker — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:18:49 -0600

What weighs 2,600 pounds, would fill a Smart Car to overflowing, and comes to ASU from all over the world? --by Robert Burnham

LROC checks out old Apollo landing sites

dianeb — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:36:26 -0600

Scientists have new pictures of the old Apollo landing sites, just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that put humans on the moon. --by Nicole Staab

Some different, simpler ideas about Mars

dianeb — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:21:38 -0600

ASU geologists Paul Knauth and Don Burt have some ideas about Mars that don’t quite jive with those of many of their colleagues. They say that scientists really know nothing about the first 400 to 500 million years of the history of Planet Earth. And we know nothing about Mars in the same time period. Mars could’ve been an Eden. But we have no record of any of that. --by Skip Derra

Never get lost on Mars again!

dianeb — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:08:43 -0600

Want to suggest places on Mars for ASU's THEMIS camera to photograph? Want to see the very latest infrared images being beamed back from the Red Planet? Now you can, through two new features of Google Earth 5.0. (image courtesy of NASA) --by Robert Burnham

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launches today

dianeb — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:08:56 -0600

ASU professor Mark Robinson is sending his work to the moon this afternoon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

THEMIS monitors Martian dust storm

dianeb — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:52:13 -0600

Scientists at ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility are using the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter to monitor a new dust storm that has erupted on the Red Planet. --by Robert Burnham

Mercury a seething hotbed of volcanoes

pkrecker — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:30:48 -0700

Scientists studying NASA's MESSENGER data have imaged parts of Mercury never seen before. They have found that volcanos played a large role in shaping the planet's surface, and that Mercury's rocks are unusually iron deficient. --by Robert Burnham

ASU Mars instrument gets new lease on life

pkrecker — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:38:37 -0600

NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has a new orbit around the Red Planet. The change, part of a two-year extension for the mission, will give an ASU-operated instrument greater sensitivity for mapping Martian minerals. --by Robert Burnham

Mars update: Look before you leap

pkrecker — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:28:04 -0600

mars update thumbWhen the Phoenix Mars spacecraft reached the Red Planet, fields of giant boulders threatened to destroy the lander on touchdown. ASU Mars researchers helped guide the lander to a safe, boulder-free spot using the Thermal Emissions Imaging System (THEMIS).