We’ve all walked outside on a cold morning and seen frost on the grass, but you might be surprised to know that frost can also form on Mars! Several missions have searched for frost including Opportunity and most recently Curiosity with its REMS and ChemCam instruments. This week, Perseverance followed in its siblings’ footsteps by searching for frost at Jezero Crater using its MEDA and SuperCa...
September 12, 2022
Searching for Frost at Jezero Crater
Searching for Frost at Jezero Crater
Mars Perseverance Sol 546 - SuperCam Camera: This SuperCam Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) image shows the Red Mountain target, which was analyzed on September 2nd (sol 546) as part of a campaign to detect frost at Jezero Crater. The small ‘pits’ seen in the center of the image were created by LIBS laser shots. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP. Download image ›
October 12, 2021
Sol 229: The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas
Sol 229: The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas
Perseverance's Selfie at "Rochette": "NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie over a rock nicknamed "Rochette," on September 10, 2021, the 198th Martian day, or sol of the mission" which is near where Perseverance is hanging out during conjunction. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Download image ›
As the Sun spews hot, energized gas from its outer atmosphere (corona) far across space, and Mars and Earth align on opposite sides, this causes interference with our radio signal communications. This means reliable communication is precluded, and we are in a quiet-period for tactical day-to-day mission operations, called solar conjunction.
While this is the first solar conjunction for Pers...
December 30, 2013
Habitability, Taphonomy, and Curiosity’s Hunt for Organic Carbon
Habitability, Taphonomy, and Curiosity’s Hunt for Organic Carbon
It was fun for me to catch up with Emily Lakdawalla of the Planetary Society at the American Geophysical Union meeting, and to discuss our new Curiosity mission results. They focus on the discovery of an ancient habitable environment; we are now transitioning to the focused search for organic carbon. What's great about Emily's blog is that with her strong science background she is able to take ...
December 30, 2013
Habitability, Taphonomy, and Curiosity’s Hunt for Organic Carbon
Habitability, Taphonomy, and Curiosity’s Hunt for Organic Carbon
It was fun for me to catch up with Emily Lakdawalla of the Planetary Society at the American Geophysical Union meeting, and to discuss our new Curiosity mission results. They focus on the discovery of an ancient habitable environment; we are now transitioning to the focused search for organic carbon. What's great about Emily's blog is that with her strong science background she is able to take ...
July 16, 2013
Growing Up at JPL
Growing Up at JPL
[[IMAGE||GALLERY:5419||right||250||Clara in 2009, 2013||[NULL]||GALLERY:5419||Clara in 2009, 2013||{}]]Dear Fellow Martians,
The other day as I was getting ready to submit the abstract for my final presentation, it struck me how quickly these past few weeks have gone by. My internship will be ending in just 18 days, and I don't think I will be ready to leave.
I am currently working on a ...
July 16, 2013
Growing Up at JPL
Growing Up at JPL
[[IMAGE||GALLERY:5419||right||250||Clara in 2009, 2013||[NULL]||GALLERY:5419||Clara in 2009, 2013||{}]]Dear Fellow Martians,
The other day as I was getting ready to submit the abstract for my final presentation, it struck me how quickly these past few weeks have gone by. My internship will be ending in just 18 days, and I don't think I will be ready to leave.
I am currently working on a ...
June 13, 2013
From Landing to Sophomore Year and Back Again
From Landing to Sophomore Year and Back Again
Dear Fellow Martians,
While the Curiosity rover is busy exploring the Martian surface, I am going to school as a sophomore at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kan. I am very involved in my school’s environmental club, and this year we started a composting program in our cafeteria.
I’ve also taken on a role in my local Sierra Club chapter’s energy efficiency campaign. ...
June 13, 2013
From Landing to Sophomore Year and Back Again
From Landing to Sophomore Year and Back Again
Dear Fellow Martians,
While the Curiosity rover is busy exploring the Martian surface, I am going to school as a sophomore at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kan. I am very involved in my school’s environmental club, and this year we started a composting program in our cafeteria.
I’ve also taken on a role in my local Sierra Club chapter’s energy efficiency campaign. ...
August 05, 2012
Why Everyone is After the Elusive "All Access" Badge
Why Everyone is After the Elusive "All Access" Badge
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"Where will you be watching Curiosity's landing?" That's the question floating around Pasadena today, in hotel lobbies and coffee shops, as an estimated 15,000 people have descended on the northern Los Angeles enclave to be a part of exploration history.
The main event in Pasadena is the Planetary Society's sold-out Planetfest, which will feature the live NASA feed and commentary from ...
August 05, 2012
Why Everyone is After the Elusive "All Access" Badge
Why Everyone is After the Elusive "All Access" Badge
"Where will you be watching Curiosity's landing?" That's the question floating around Pasadena today, in hotel lobbies and coffee shops, as an estimated 15,000 people have descended on the northern Los Angeles enclave to be a part of exploration history.
The main event in Pasadena is the Planetary Society's sold-out Planetfest, which will feature the live NASA feed and commentary from ...
About This Blog
These blog updates are provided by the teams working on Mars missions.
Dates of planned test activities are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays, orbiter, helicopter and/or rover status.
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Contributors+
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Deputy Program Scientist, NASA HQ -
Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL -
Student Collaborator on PIXL, University of Washington -
Ph.D. Student, University of the Basque Country -
Ph.D. Student, Purdue University -
Sampling Operations Deputy Lead, NASA/JPL -
Student Collaborator on Mastcam-Z, Western Washington University -
Ingenuity Operations Engineer, NASA/JPL -
Chief Engineer for the Mars Helicopter Project, NASA/JPL -
Student Collaborator, Purdue University -
Atmospheric Scientist, Aeolis Research -
Media Representative, NASA/JPL -
Co-Investigator, PIXL Instrument, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) -
Student Collaborator, University of Florida -
Ph.D. Student, Rice University -
Student Collaborator, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa -
Ph.D. Student, University of California, Los Angeles -
Student Collaborator, McGill University -
MOXIE Science Team Member, Lunar Outpost -
Mapping Specialist, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Chief Pilot, NASA/JPL -
Sampling Engineer, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Chief Engineer, NASA/JPL -
Project Manager, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Mechanical Engineering Lead, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Operations Lead, NASA/JPL -
Imaging Scientist and Mastcam-Z Deputy Principal Investigator, NASA/JPL -
Deputy Project Scientist, NASA/JPL -
Project Scientist, Caltech -
Chief Engineer for Sampling & Caching, NASA/JPL -
Student Collaborator, University of Florida -
Planetary Scientist, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum -
Ingenuity Pilot, NASA/JPL -
Vehicle Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL -
SuperCam/ChemCam Engineer, Los Alamos National Laboratory -
Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) Principal Investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology -
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Project Manager, NASA/JPL -
Vehicle Systems Engineer Lead, NASA/JPL -
Mars 2020 Student Collaborator, University of Florida -
Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL -
Deputy Project Manager, NASA/JPL -
Principal Investigator, SuperCam / Co-Investigator, SHERLOC instrument, Purdue University -
Assistant Science Manager, NASA/JPL -
Docking Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL -
SuperCam, PhD Student, Purdue University -
Perseverance Deputy Project Manager, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Team Lead, NASA/JPL -
Robotic Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL -
Chief Engineer Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, NASA/JPL -
Chief Engineer for Robotic Operations, NASA/JPL -
Science Operations Systems Engineer, Staff Scientist, NASA/JPL
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