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There is an important election happening right now! You can vote to name NASA’s next Mars rover. The Agency held an essay contest and invited students from around the country to propose a fitting name for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover and write a short essay about it. The nine finalists are: Endurance, K-4, Oliver Jacobs […]
Continue Reading 127 wordsIn case you were wondering, there is sound on Mars, and thanks to NASA’s InSight mission we can now hear it.
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The 2020 Mars rover was recently seen showing off its dance moves, is this so the rover can dance with Britney on the Red Planet? Turns out the “break dancing” is a way for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California to test the rover’s balance. As Space.com explained, engineers need to know the rover’s center […]
Continue Reading 90 wordsStay in the know, empower yourself to be a #FriendOfThePlanet, sign up to receive ODP in your inbox each morning!
A newly formed island in the South Pacific near Tonga — unofficially called Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (Hunga Tonga) — is the first island of its kind formed since satellites began consistently taking pictures of Earth, according to NASA. Scientists from NASA visited the island late last year and were surprised by both the new island’s staying […]
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NASA’s Opportunity rover reached Mars in 2004 for what was intended to be a 90-day mission to analyze soil and rocks and help scientists better understand the Red Planet. To the pleasant surprise of “Oppy’s” engineers, the rover was able to recharge its solar battery and was able to explore Mars for 14 years, sending back troves of data to Earth. Oppy began suffering “amnesia” (or, the aging of its software system) and ceased communicating with NASA last June after a massive dust storm. However, before NASA officially puts Oppy to sleep, they will attempt to make contact one last time.
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