Rovers on Mars

I wonder how long it took for somebody to even suggest it.

Just a nice article about Opportunity, which stopped communicating earlier this year (2019).

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/02/opportunity-did-not-answer-nasas-final-call-and-its-now-gone-to-us/

Mars Rover Is Frozen in Place
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/305205-mars-rover-is-frozen-in-place-following-software-error

NASA’s next Mars rover will pave the way for humans

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-mars-rover-pave-way-for-humans/

Cool stuff, Boss . . . thanks.

I posted this elsewhere, but I am not certain how many watched it.

Sounds like they got a few good Facebook posts out of it anyway.

And only $55 million!
Not that I give a **** about the money. I’m just say'n.

Japan’s space agency moving ahead with Phobos lander mission
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/ambitious-japanese-mission-to-phobos-moves-into-development-phase/

Next year's proposed budget guts NASA Mars missions:

https://www.planetary.org/blogs/casey-dreier/2020/fy-2021-pbr-for-planetary-science.html

Not surprised. They spend money like water on personal projects.

what about SPACE PATROL ?? I thought der Fuhrer had created a whole new interstellar Police Squad??

He gonna outfit em with SChwinns??

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/revisiting-decades-old-voyager-2-data-scientists-find-one-more-secret

I didn't see this before. Phobos, like the other Martian moon, Deimos, is an obvious "capture." If you were standing on the Martian equator, both moons would "rise" in the west, and set in the east. Deimos takes about 15 hours to cross your visual horizon. It is obviously the older captured object, and it is "slowing done." It is also more than 15,000 miles above the planet.

Phobos, however, is less than 6000 miles above the planet. It is moving much faster, too. It would cross your visual horizon in under four hours. If the Japanese Space Agency pulls this off, that will be pretty slick. Like landing on the ball in a pinball machine.

There was a recent call to send an orbiter to Uranus or Neptune before planetary alignments become unfavorable for such a mission for awhile:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00619-y

The NASA Mars Helicopter will be the first aircraft to fly on another planet. The twin-rotor, solar-powered helicopter will remain encapsulated after landing, deploying once mission managers determine an acceptable area to conduct test flights.
https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/nasas-mars-helicopter-almost.html

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/06/16/with-super-clean-sample-tubes-installed-nasas-next-mars-rover-nearly-buttoned-up-for-launch/
Fitted with super-clean sample tubes, NASA’s next Mars rover nears launch date

This video on Titan was uploaded five years ago

NASA launch of Mars rover Perseverance delayed due to 'contamination'
Scrub the last two dates. NASA is aiming for July 22 now.

Countdown to Mars: China, U.S., UAE to launch missions this month
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-07-10/Countdown-to-Mars-China-U-S-UAE-to-launch-missions-this-month-S13KxNjHy0/index.html