The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has just begun its science mission, and one of the first targets is Victoria Crater, where the rover Opportunity has just arrived after nearly 1000 sols on Mars.

The photos, using the largest interplanetary telescope ever lofted, are truly amazing.

See comments for links to original imagery. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago

During the three-and-a-half years that NASA has been on Mars, its rovers Spirit and Opportunity for the first time spotted a large-scale dust storm. The storm was so powerful that it has darkened the skies, putting NASA's rovers in danger they have never faced before. picked by maxriter 1 year ago

"Another soil sample of the exact same composition as the last one..." "Still no water..." It's out of its mind with boredom. Another wonderful satirical story from The Onion. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago

The most productive and longest-lived mission to Mars has likely ended, NASA says. For nearly ten years, the orbiter mapped the surface of Mars, and it played a big role in selecting the landing sites for the successful Mars Rover missions. A problem with a solar panel joint led to its demise. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago

Dust has been a nuisance because it has obscured galaxies, and the stars within them, by absorbing the radiation they emit. But more recently dust has started to present opportunities because it emits radiation itself as a consequence of being heated up by nearby stars. Aided by new observing instruments and sophisticated computer software, this radiation enables astronomers to reconstruct what li... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

See Nasa'a satellite image of a dust strom that swept over the Persian Gulf, forming an arc over Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, and Iraq. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Days before its tenth anniversary in Mars orbit, the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft ran into problems. They got a weak signal three days later, and nothing since. Plans are to take a photograph of it with another Mars Orbiter today or tomorrow. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago

NASA investigative panel determined the probable cause of the mysterious disappearance of the Mars Global Surveyor was battery failure. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

The High Resolution Imaging Experiment on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took the photograph Feb. 19. The image, released today, shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down. picked by dollyllama 9 months ago

All aspects of "Dust": Definition, dust control methods, dust in holy books, dust in literature, dusty songs... picked by denzz 2 years ago

The crater is about 60 metres deep, allowing a rover to "dig" deeper into the ground – and into Mars's past – than ever before. "We're going to see more of the history of Mars here than we've seen anywhere else," Squyres says. picked by DrNothing 1 year ago

Maas Digital created this dramatic, scientifically accurate computer animation to illustrate NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission. A truly awesome feat of modern engineering! This whole process is mind boggling! picked by ogri2003 1 year ago

The Spirit rover is celebrating its 1000th day on Mars--the original mission was planned for only 90 days--and the JPL mission team has released a 360-degree view of Spirit's wintering grounds, made from nearly 1500 individual images with no compression. It is the highest-resolution photograph of the surface ever taken. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago

A probable active glacier has been identified for the first time on Mars. The icy feature has been spotted in images from the European Space Agency's (Esa) Mars Express spacecraft. Ancient glaciers, many millions of years old, have been seen before on the Red Planet, but this one may only be several thousand years old. picked by AutumnLotus 12 months ago

Mars was covered in an ocean of molten rock for about 100 million years after the planet formed, researchers found. The formation of the solar system can be dated quite accurately to 4,567,000,000 years ago. Mars' metallic core formed a few million years after that. Previous estimates for how long the surface remained molten ranged from thousands of years to several hundred million years picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

The longstanding mystery of how oceans once formed on Mars could be solved by fire and brimstone. Specifically, researchers now suggest that ancient volcanoes could have released brimstone — now more commonly known as sulfur — that warmed up the red planet enough for liquid water oceans in the early days of Mars. These findings might also shed insight on the young Earth, including the ... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 12 months ago

These two images taken by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) show Mars' two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, as seen from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's low orbit around Mars. Both images were taken while the spacecraft was over Mars' night side, with the spacecraft turned off its normal nadir-viewing geometry to glimpse the moons. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

As clouds of toxic ash and dust tower into the sky, they ionise the air, generating an explosive electrical storm. Colossal forks of lightning spark around the noxious plume as it spews from the volcano's crater, creating an image of raw, terrifying energy - as if the air itself were ablaze. Video of the eruption here. picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

NASA has finally stated that the Mars Global Surveyor was dead due to a faulty solar panel. picked by groggie 2 years ago

NASA scientists have discovered what might form some of the weirdest landscapes on Mars, winding channels carved into the Martian surface that scientists have dubbed "spiders," "lace" and "lizard skin." The unusual landscape features form in an area of Mars' south pole called cryptic terrain because it once defied explanation. More pictures picked by AutumnLotus 12 months ago