Mars

NASA: Ancient Mars could have supported life

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:09:28 +0000

The group of scientists working with NASA's Curiosity rover made a big announcement during a press conference today: "We have found a habitable environment that is so benign" if there was water there, "you be able to drink it," John P.

Mars and the value of science

Dave Meyer and Mark Anderson — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The Mars rover Curiosity has been making its first tentative drives on the surface of the Red Planet. Soon, it will make a quarter-mile journey away from Bradbury Landing to explore a site called Glenelg, where it'll examine rock formations.

On this month's edition of The Digital Future, Strategic News Service publisher Mark Anderson tells KPLU's Dave Meyer that the August 5th Mars landing is more than just another triumph for NASA; it's a reminder that science is reality.

Scientists look to Martian rocks for history of life

Joe Palca and Jessica Stoller-Conrad — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 16:02:52 +0000

NASA has sent rovers to explore Mars before. But three words explain what makes this latest mission to Mars so different: location, location, location.

The rover Curiosity is slated to land late Sunday in Gale Crater, near the base of a 3-mile-high mountain with layers like the Grand Canyon. Scientists think those rocks could harbor secrets about the history of water — and life — on the Red Planet.

"It's got a giant mountain in the middle of the crater.

Red Planet, Green Thumb: How A NASA Scientist Engineers His Garden

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:25:57 +0000

Most mornings, space engineer Adam Steltzner wakes up at about 3 a.m., and before he can coax his tired body back to sleep, his mind takes over. And he starts to worry.

Eventually Steltzner gives up on sleep and heads into his garden where, just as first light reveals the sky, all that thinking can turn into doing.

Boeing engineer practices Mars trip in Utah desert

The Associated Press and KPLU News Staff — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:00:41 +0000

Despite having to endure a broken toilet, lousy food and fifteen days in a cramped research station in the Utah desert, a Boeing engineer says she's still enthusiastic about one day making a trip to Mars.