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A void left in the wake of a particularly powerful gust of solar wind caused the atmosphere of Mars to dramatically balloon outwards...As the MAVEN spacecraft in orbit around Mars recorded a sudden, sharp drop in solar particles when the wind passed on 26 December 2022, it simultaneously recorded a bizarre and startling change in the Martian atmosphere...The last time we saw this phenomenon was in 1999, when a sudden drop in the solar wind caused Earth's magnetosphere to swell outwards, increasing its volume 100-fold.

In its latest scans, Chinese lander Zhurong revealed irregular polygonal wedges beneath Mars’ surface. Scientists believe the buried shapes resulted from water freezing and thawing billions of years ago. On the other hand, they could also be from cooling lava flows. Both possibilities could reveal more insights about the Red Planet. If those polygonal structures came from water freezing and thawing, that could mean the planet had oceans like Earth’s. Consequently, it might increase the likelihood of finding life on Mars, such as microscopic organisms. Also, future space missions might find water on the Red Planet, facilitating longer surface explorations....

[IMAGE]Mars Disappearing Solar Wind: MAVEN Visualizations: A zoomed in view of MAVEN’s orbit during a period of low solar wind. Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. View visualizations ›In December 2022, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission observed the dramatic and unexpected "disappearance" of a stream of charged particles constantly emanating off the Sun, known as the solar wind. This was caused by a special type of solar event that was so powerful, it created a void in its wake as it traveled through the solar system.[IMAGE, 2:27 min video]The Day the Solar Wind Disappeared from Mars: Learn...

Flight 67 Sol 990 Date Dec. 2, 2023 Horizontal Distance 393 m ~1,289 ft Max. Altitude 12 m ~39 ft Max. Groundspeed 5.30 m/s ~11.9 mph Duration 135.9 seconds Route of Flight From Airfield Phi to Airfield ChiFlight Log By the Numbers FLIGHTS 67FLIGHT TIME ~121.1 MINS DISTANCE FLOWN 10 MILES (~15,303 km) (sic)MAX. GROUND SPEED 22.4 MPH 10 m/sHIGHEST ALTITUDE 24 METERS (~79 ft)

Red Planet Day, November 28, recognizes the planet which has captivated human observers for countless years, Mars. Right now, we know that Mars is red thanks to photographs beamed back to Earth from American rovers. For centuries, the naked human eye has been able to detect the reddish tinge of the solar system’s fourth planet, glimmering in the night sky. Little did scientists know, the red on Mars’ surface came from a preponderance of iron oxide, common rust. On Red Planet Day we celebrate our fascination with Mars, along with all the scientific advancements into understanding the dusty planet. HISTORY...

Elon Musk once branded Jeff Bezos a 'dilettante' of space exploration, but the Blue Origin founder is poised to beat SpaceX to Mars. NASA announced Wednesday that it will send two scientific spacecraft to the Red Planet aboard the first Blue Origin New Glenn rocket in August 2024 - a contract that costs $20 million. Musk's SpaceX company was initially set to carry the NASA payload on a Falcon Heavy rocket in October of this year, alongside NASA's Psyche mission, which was bound for an asteroid. However, the space agency pulled the additional crafts from the launch because the Falcon...

[Two short videos at source] Two Views of Ingenuity’s 59th Flight: This video combines two perspectives of the 59th flight of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. Video on the left was captured by the Mastcam-Z on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover; the black-and-white video on the right was taken by Ingenuity’s downward-pointing Navcam. The flight occurred Sept 16. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS. Engineers will go beyond the ends of the Earth to find more performance for future Mars helicopters.For the first time in history, two planets have been home to testing future aircraft designs. On this world, a new rotor that could be used...

Flight 66 Sol 961 Date Nov. 3, 2023 Horizontal Distance 0 m ~2 ft Max. Altitude 3 m ~10 ft Max. Groundspeed 1 m/s ~2.2 mph Duration 23.0 seconds Route of Flight Airfield Phi***Flight Log By the NumbersFLIGHTS 66FLIGHT TIME ~118.8 MINS DISTANCE FLOWN 9 MILES (~14,910 km) sicMAX. GROUND SPEED 22.4 MPH 10 m/sHIGHEST ALTITUDE 24 METERS (~79 ft) Data according to the waypoints log:"Flight": 66, "Sol": 962, "Dist_m": 0.5, "Total_m": 15099.652, "Total_km": 15.1, "Dist_ft": 1.64, "Total_ft": 49539.541, "Total_mi": 9.382, "Max_Alt_m": 3, "Max_Alt_ft": 9.843, "Max_Spd_m": 1, "Max_mph": 2.237, "Duration_s": 23.03, "total_s": 7128.914, "total_min": 118.82, "Earth_Date": "Nov. 3, 2023",

Flight 65 Sol 958 Date Nov. 2, 2023 Horizontal Distance 7 m ~23 ft Max. Altitude 10 m ~33 ft Max. Groundspeed 1 m/s ~2.2 mph Duration 48.0 Seconds Route of Flight Airfield PhiFlight Log By the NumbersFLIGHTS 65FLIGHT TIME ~118.4 MINS DISTANCE FLOWN 9 MILES (~14,910 km) sicMAX. GROUND SPEED 22.4 MPH 10 m/sHIGHEST ALTITUDE 24 METERS (~79 ft)

Flight 64 Sol 954 Date Oct. 27, 2023 Horizontal Distance 411 m ~1,348 ft. Max. Altitude 12 m ~39 ft Max. Groundspeed 5.80 m/s ~13.0 mph Duration 139.1 seconds Route of Flight From Airfield Upsilon To Airfield Phi***Flight Log By the NumbersFLIGHTS 64FLIGHT TIME ~117.6 MINS DISTANCE FLOWN 9 MILES (~14,903 km) sicMAX. GROUND SPEED 22.4 MPH 10 m/sHIGHEST ALTITUDE 24 m (~79 ft)

In the European Physical Journal Plus, Rafelski and two colleagues mathematically demonstrated that the existence of CUDOs (compact ultra dense objects) do not have dark matter, but are filled with unknown classes of chemical elements beyond the periodic table that are much denser than osmium.

Flight 63 Sol 947 Date Oct. 19, 2023 Horizontal Distance 579 m ~1,901 ft Max. Altitude 12 m ~39 ft Max. Groundspeed 6.30 m/s ~14.1 mph Duration 142.6 seconds Route of Flight From Airfield Tau to Airfield UpsilonFlight Log By the NumbersFLIGHTS 63FLIGHT TIME ~115.3 MINS DISTANCE FLOWN 9 MILES (~14,492 km) sicMAX. GROUND SPEED 22.4 MPH 10 m/sHIGHEST ALTITUDE 24 METERS (~79 ft)

Flight 62 Sol 940 Date Oct. 12, 2023 Horizontal Distance 268 m ~880 ft Max. Altitude 18 m ~59 ft Max. Groundspeed 10 m/s ~22.4 mph Duration 121.1 seconds Route of Flight Airfield Tau (out-and-back flight) Flight Log By the Numbers FLIGHTS 62 FLIGHT TIME ~112.9 MINS DISTANCE FLOWN 9 MILES (~13,913 km) (sic) MAX. GROUND SPEED 22.4 MPH 10 m/s HIGHEST ALTITUDE 24 (~79 ft) METERS***The above information contains inconsistencies, so here is the relevant data from the waypoints file:"Dist_m": 291.691, "Total_m": 14068.049, "Total_km": 14.068, "Dist_ft": 956.991, "Total_ft": 46155.016, "Total_mi": 8.741, "Max_Alt_m": 18, "Max_Alt_ft": 59.055, "Max_Spd_m": 10, "Max_mph": 22.369,...

Flight 61 Sol 933 Date Oct. 5, 2023 Horizontal Distance 0 m 0 ft Max. Altitude 24 m ~79 ft Max. Groundspeed 0 m/s 0 mph Duration 129.5 seconds Route of Flight Airfield TauFlight Log By the Numbers FLIGHTS 61FLIGHT TIME ~110.9 MINS DISTANCE FLOWN 8 MILES (~13,644 m)MAX. GROUND SPEED 17.9 MPH 8 m/sHIGHEST ALTITUDE 24 METERS (~79 ft)

Flight 60 Sol 924 Date Sept. 25, 2023 Horizontal Distance 340 m ~1,116 ft Max. Altitude 16 m ~52 ft Max. Groundspeed 8 m/s ~17.9 mph Duration 132.8 Seconds Route of Flight From Airfield Sigma To Airfield TauFlight Log Flights 60 (as of 9/25/23)Distance Flown 13,644 meters (~44,768 ft)Highest Altitude 20 meters (~66 ft)Fastest Ground Speed 8 m/s (17.9 mph)Flight Time ~108.8 minutes (6,525 seconds)

The idea was that China's regime, given a stake in the existing system, would then defend it... By now, however, that bet looks like a mistake history will remember. For as the Communist Party grew stronger, it did not align itself with its Western supporters. On the contrary, it came to believe it could avenge centuries-old grievances and remake the world in its own image. The West's generous approach created the one thing it had hoped to avoid: an aggressive state redrawing its borders by force, attacking liberal values around the world, and undermining institutions at the heart of the...

Flight 59 Sol 915 Date Sept. 16, 2023 Horizontal Distance 0 m 0 ft Max. Altitude 20 m ~66 ft Max . Groundspeed 0 m/s 0 mph Duration 142.6 seconds Route of Flight Airfield SigmaFlight Log Flights 59 (as of 9/16/23)Distance Flown 13,304 meters (~43,652 ft)Highest Altitude 20 meters (~66 ft)Fastest Ground Speed 6.50 m/s (14.5 mph)Flight Time ~106.5 minutes (6,393 seconds)

Guest on the 9/18/23 show, Charles Shults III, shares images of what he believes are ancient fossils of creatures that lived on Mars. View larger in PDF format. Pictured above: Image 1) Opportunity Sol 544 crinoid. The stem segments and calyx can be clearly seen.

Flight 58 Sol 910 Date Sept. 11, 2023 Horizontal Distance 174 m ~571 ft Max. Altitude 10 m ~33 ft Max. Groundspeed 3 m/s ~6.7 mph Duration 106.8 seconds Route of Flight From Airfield Rho To Airfield SigmaFlight Log Flights 58 (as of 9/11/23)Distance Flown 13,304 meters (~43,652 ft)Highest Altitude 18 meters (~59 ft)Fastest Ground Speed 6.50 m/s (14.5 mph)Flight Time ~104.2 minutes (6,250 seconds)

Flight 57 Sol 902 Date Sept. 3, 2023 Horizontal Distance 217 m ~712 ft Max. Altitude 10 m ~33 ft Max. Groundspeed 3 m/s ~6.7 mph Duration 128.6 seconds Route of Flight Airfield Rho Flight Log Flights 57 (as of 9/3/23)Distance Flown 13,130 meters (~43,081 ft)Highest Altitude 18 meters (~59 ft)Fastest Ground Speed 6.50 m/s (14.5 mph)Flight Time ~102.4 minutes (6,143 seconds)