Clouds on Mars
If you aren’t already following the Road to Endeavour blog, you should be, so go and do it right now.
Why? Well, on there you’ll find amazing pictures including some breathtaking mosaics and now this, an animation of clouds drifting past in the Martian sky.
Yes, you read that right. You can see Martian clouds.
Happy Birthday Opportunity
The Opportunity MER is now entering its ninth year of operation, an astounding feat for a machine that was intended to run for only one. The rover has now driven to the top of an outcrop to take sun itself through its fifth Martian winter and try and survive the duration. The picture above is a mosaic of the view from the top of the outcrop called “Greeley Haven” and is in false colour, but still an amazing picture. There is a slightly wider view available from NASA’s image of the day gallery.
Dunes of Titan
Titan shares many similarities with Earth, including a thick atmosphere and liquid (methane) on the surface. But the topography of the surface also shows a remarkably Earth-like world, with river valleys, lakes and these amazing ‘sand’ dunes, made up of frozen hydrocarbons.
Amazing restored Gemini era photographs
Hello Exploration and Life! Your new cuddly contributor here, with a batch of utterly amazing images taken by Mercury and Gemini astronauts that have recently been restored.
The archive includes a full range of images, including calibration captures, over exposures and other mistakes and is available here. (Their server seems to be going a bit funny at the moment though.)
Apologies for the lack of news
The rigours of Real Life have forced Exploration and Life into a temporary hiatus. We hope to resume your scheduled programming in the not-too-distant future. Watch this space.
Cassini image of the week #11
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
This natural colour image illustrates some of the most recent discoveries about Saturn, including fine levels of gradation in the planet’s ring system. Full image and article here.
X-37B to launch next month
Image credit: Alan Radeck
A secretive USAF reusable space plane will be launched on top of an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral next month. The unmanned X-37B (pictured above attached to the WhiteKnightTwo during drop tests) has a potential on-orbit duration of 270 days, but there is no word as to the upcoming mission duration.
Life without water?
Image credit: NASA/JPL/USGS
Over at Astrobiology Magazine they’re discussing the habitability of Saturn’s frozen moon Titan, and the possibility that liquid hydrocarbons might be able to take the place of water and nurture life.
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