Paleolake deposits on Mars might look like sediments in Indonesia

Paleolake deposits on Mars might look like sediments in Indonesia Boulder CO (SPX) Mar 07, 2017 - In their GSA Bulletin article published online last week, Timothy A. Goudge and colleagues detail the clay mineralogy of sediment from Lake Towuti, Indonesia, using a technique called visible to near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy. VNIR measures the signature of reflected light from a sample across a larger wavelength range than just visible light. At Lake Towuti, the spectral record shows distinc ... more

Indicators show potatoes can grow on Mars Lima, Peru (SPX) Mar 09, 2017 - The International Potato Center (CIP) launched a series of experiments to discover if potatoes can grow under Mars atmospheric conditions and thereby prove they are also able to grow in extreme climates on Earth. This Phase Two effort of CIP's proof of concept experiment to grow potatoes in simulated Martian conditions began on February 14, 2016 when a tuber was planted in a specially cons ... more

Riding an asteroid: China's next space goal Beijing (XNA) Mar 07, 2017 - After sending a probe to Mars in 2020, China plans to explore three asteroids and land on one of them to conduct scientific research, according to a Chinese asteroid research expert. The "China's Space Activities in 2016" white paper, issued by the Information Office of the State Council recently, also mentioned asteroid exploration in outlining the major tasks of the country's space indus ... more

China Plans to Launch 1st Probe to Mars in Summer 2020 Beijing (Sputnik) Mar 09, 2017 - China is expected to launch its first probe satellite to Mars in July or in August 2020, local media reported Tuesday. The People's Daily newspaper reported citing Wan Weixing, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, responsible for Beijing's Mars exploration program would arrive to Mars after seven months of flight and would start sending information back in 2021. The med ... more

New evidence for a water-rich history on Mars Berkeley CA (SPX) Mar 07, 2017 - Mars may have been a wetter place than previously thought, according to research on simulated Martian meteorites conducted, in part, at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers found evidence that a mineral found in Martian meteorites - which had been considered as proof of an anc ... more