Washington State University: Martian rock-metal composite shows potential of 3D printing on Mars. “A little Martian dust appears to go a long way. A small amount of simulated crushed Martian rock mixed with a titanium alloy made a stronger, high-performance material in a 3D‑printing process that one day could be used on Mars to make tools or rocket parts.”
Arizona State University: Citizen scientists help map ridge networks on Mars . “Nearly 14,000 citizen scientists from around the world joined in the search for the ridge networks on Mars, focusing on an area around Jezero Crater, where NASA’s Perseverance rover landed last February. Ultimately, with the help of the citizen scientists, the team was able to map the distribution of 952 polygonal ridge networks in an area that measures about a fifth of Mars’ total surface area.”
NASA: What Sounds Captured by NASA’s Perseverance Rover Reveal About Mars. “The result of the recordings: a new understanding of strange characteristics of the Martian atmosphere, where the speed of sound is slower than on Earth – and varies with pitch (or frequency). On Earth, sounds typically travel at 767 mph (343 meters per second). But on Mars, low-pitched sounds travel at about 537 mph (240 meters per second), while higher-pitched sounds move at 559 mph (250 meters per second).”
Gizmodo: Mars Rover Being Packed Into Storage After Russian Launch Scrapped. “The European Space Agency is scrambling to figure out the ExoMars rover’s next-possible launch window after the agency suspended cooperation with the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
France24: European Space Agency suspends joint Mars mission with Russia. “A Russian-European mission to land a rover on Mars has been suspended due to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Space Agency announced Thursday, as Moscow said it regretted the ‘bitter’ decision.”
NASA: Hear Sounds From Mars Captured by NASA’s Perseverance Rover. “Thanks to two microphones aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover, the mission has recorded nearly five hours of Martian wind gusts, rover wheels crunching over gravel, and motors whirring as the spacecraft moves its arm. These sounds allow scientists and engineers to experience the Red Planet in new ways – and everyone is invited to listen in.”
NASA: Take a 3D Spin on Mars and Track NASA’s Perseverance Rover. “Two online interactive experiences let you check out Jezero Crater – the landing site and exploration locale for NASA’s Perseverance rover – without leaving our planet. One new experience, called ‘Explore with Perseverance,’ allows you to follow along with the rover as though you were standing on the surface of Mars. Another interactive – ‘Where Is Perseverance?’ – shows the current location of the rover and Ingenuity Mars Helicopter as they explore the Red Planet.”
CNET: NASA rover marks nine years on Mars with glorious 360-degree panorama. “Congratulations, Curiosity, you’ve survived and thrived for over nine years on another planet. NASA’s older Martian rover captured a gorgeous 360-degree panorama in early July and the space agency released it on Tuesday to celebrate the vehicle’s August land-iversary.”
CNET: If NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used Google Photos, it would look like this. “Perhaps one day when we humans finally get to Mars, we’ll take our Android phones and the Google Photos albums and montages we’ve created. Until then, we can live vicariously through a Google video that imagines what it would be like if NASA’s Perseverance rover used the photo-wrangling system.”
NASA: Watch (and Hear) How NASA’s Perseverance Rover Took Its First Selfie. “The historic image of the rover beside the Mars Helicopter proved to be one of the most complex rover selfies ever taken. Video, with bonus audio, sheds light on the process.”
Space: How to watch the Mars helicopter Ingenuity’s first flight online. “While Ingenuity, which rode to Mars on the belly of the Perseverance rover, is expected to take to the air on Sunday, the data from that flight won’t arrive on Earth until early Monday (April 12). That’s when NASA’s next webcast comes in. At 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 GMT) on Monday, NASA will livestream the flight data’s arrival.”
CNET: Photos from NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover let you get lost on another world. “The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover sent back its first image, a tiny thumbnail of its landing spot in Jezero Crater, just moments after its dramatic soft touch-down on Feb. 18. The sedan-size rover has now been cautiously wheeling its way around for several weeks and has already sent back 16,448 total images as of April 1 — and that’s not an April Fools’ gag.”
Mashable: NASA’s Perseverance has a little ‘family portrait’ Easter egg. “The Perseverance rover made its monumental landing on Mars on Feb. 18 and it has already sent thousands of raw images back to Earth. Hidden in photos of the rover itself is a ‘bumper sticker’ with icons of NASA’s previous Mars rover missions, Space pointed out.”
Smithsonian Magazine: How to Keep Up With NASA’s Perseverance Rover as It Explores Mars. “Helping Perseverance complete its mission are several key science instruments. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter marks the first attempt at a powered, controlled flight on another planet that hopes to give a birds-eye view of the rover’s mission, and the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) aims to convert air from Mars’ carbon dioxide-heavy atmosphere into oxygen. For those who found the images, video and audio from the rover’s Mars expedition that came out this week, stay in touch with ‘Percy’ and its journey with our collection of experts to follow and resources to use.”
CNBC: Watch the first ever video of NASA landing a rover on Mars. “NASA on Monday released first-of-its-kind video of a spacecraft landing on another planet, as multiple cameras captured its Perseverance rover touching down on the surface of Mars.”
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