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ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Parachute Baked Sterile at ESTEC Ahead of 2028 Mars Mission
Berlin, Germany (SPX) May 04, 2026
A 35-metre diameter parachute destined to slow the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover during its descent through the Martian atmosphere has undergone heat sterilisation at the European Space Agency's technical centre in the Netherlands, completing a critical planetary protection milestone ahead of the mission's 2028 launch.
The parachute, weighing 74 kilograms and constructed primarily from n
A 35-metre diameter parachute destined to slow the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover during its descent through the Martian atmosphere has undergone heat sterilisation at the European Space Agency's technical centre in the Netherlands, completing a critical planetary protection milestone ahead of the mission's 2028 launch.
The parachute, weighing 74 kilograms and constructed primarily from n 
NASA's Curiosity rover has launched a new drill campaign at a site called Atacama on Mars, targeting layered-sulfate bedrock on Mount Sharp - the first such material the rover has encountered since departing the boxwork terrain.
The campaign was outlined by Sharon Wilson Purdy, a planetary geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, in a mission update covering sols 4873 th 
University of Arizona researchers have demonstrated that drones equipped with ground-penetrating radar can map the depth of rocky debris blanketing glaciers on Earth, a technique they say could guide future missions to locate accessible buried ice on Mars.
The work, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, draws on field campaigns at debris-covered glaciers in Alaska and 
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has uncovered a diverse mix of organic molecules on Mars, including chemicals widely considered building blocks for the origin of life on Earth.
The findings come from a chemical experiment performed for the first time on another world, revealing that the Martian surface can preserve the kinds of molecules that could serve as signs of ancient life. However, the 
Nine high school students from Austria, Greece, and Portugal have emerged from a specially designed habitat near Monsaraz, Portugal, marking the successful completion of EXPLORE-2, a six-day simulated Mars mission that placed young Europeans in the roles of analog astronauts.
The students lived, worked, and explored as if they were on Mars, operating rovers, conducting scientific experimen 
Scientists have long recognized the resilience of fungi, but a new study demonstrates that certain strains may be capable of surviving every stage of a mission to Mars - from spacecraft assembly through the journey to the Martian surface.
Researchers isolated fungal microbes from NASA cleanrooms, the controlled facilities used for the assembly, testing, and launch of spacecraft. These fung 
A NASA rover has discovered more building blocks of life on Mars after carrying out a chemistry experiment never before conducted on another planet, scientists said Tuesday.
The organic molecules are not definitive evidence of past life, the NASA-led team emphasised, because they could also have formed on the red planet or crash-landed on meteorites.
But it proves that these important cl 
ESA's Mars Express has captured a blanket of dark volcanic ash creeping across the Martian surface in just decades, a rate of change that stands in stark contrast to the geological timescales that typically govern visible transformation on the Red Planet.
A new image from Mars Express's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) shows a scene of two halves, with Mars's bright tan-coloured sands 
Luna Labs has selected University of North Carolina at Greensboro chemistry professor Nicholas Oberlies to lead a NASA-funded study of fungi as potential construction materials for future missions to the moon and Mars. The project examines whether fungal growth combined with local regolith could form durable structural elements for off-world habitats.
The team aims to determine if specific 
Researchers explore recycling plant and human waste into fertilizer to transform barren moon and Mars surfaces into fertile fields for extraterrestrial agriculture. Their work appears in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry.
'In lunar and Martian outposts, organic wastes will be key to generating healthy, productive soils,' explains Harrison Coker, the first author on the study. 'By weathering si 
What happens when a solar superstorm slams into Mars? ESA scientists now have their clearest answer yet, thanks to coordinated observations by the agency's Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).
In May 2024, the largest solar storm in more than two decades struck Earth, driving the atmosphere into overdrive and producing vivid auroras visible as far south as Mexico. The same sto 
Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears, may be better suited by a new name: Tardiguardians of the Galaxy. Unlike the fictional ragtag team of unenthusiastic heroes, the microscopic animals are providing real insight into how humans could adapt extraterrestrial resources to support space exploration, as well as whether such resources could help protect against the Earthly contaminants that hu 
A NASA humanoid robot that helped pioneer advanced walking and manipulation capabilities for future Mars missions has returned to the United States after a 10 year deployment in Scotland. The robot, known as Valkyrie, has been based at the University of Edinburgh under a long term lease agreement with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas.
Valkyrie is a human sized platform standing about 1 
The results from our first visit to the "Nevado Sajama" drill location were intriguing enough to motivate our return to do a deeper dive into the minerals and compounds locked in this rock with SAM (the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite).
As explained in the last blog, that deeper dive involves using the second of two vials of a chemical reagent, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) 
The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday that it would extend its Mars probe mission, now in its fifth year, for an additional three, underlining the oil-rich state's space ambitions.
The UAE's Hope probe arrived in orbit around Mars in 2021 after a seven-month voyage through space, making it the first Arab country to explore the Red Planet with a $200 million investment.
The Emirat 