• Newly released map shows frequency of small asteroid impacts

    A map released yesterday by NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) Observation Program reveals that small asteroids frequently enter and disintegrate in the Earth's atmosphere with random distribution around the globe. Released to the scientific community, the map visua

  • Siding Spring’s flyby effects on Martian atmosphere revealed

    Two NASA and one European spacecraft that obtained the first up-close observations of a comet flyby of Mars on October 19, 2014 have gathered new information about the basic properties of the comet’s nucleus and directly detected the effects on the Martian atmosph

  • Observing Comet Siding Spring flyby Mars – Sunday, October 19, 2014

    Comet Siding Spring will make its historic approach to Mars around 18:27 UTC on Sunday, October 19, 2014, and pass within 139 500 km (88 000 miles) away from planet's surface. That is less than half the distance between Earth and its moon and less than one-tenth

  • Space fleet ready for Siding Spring’s historic brush with Mars

    C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) is scheduled for a very close flyby at only about 139 500 km (88 000 miles) away from the surface of Mars on October 19, 2014 around 18:27 UTC. That is less than half the distance between Earth and its moon and less than one-tenth the distance

  • MAVEN arrives to Mars one month before Comet Siding Spring

    At 02:24 UTC today NASA's MAVEN spacecraft reached planet Mars and entered its orbit. MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars. It is expected to begin its primary mission in a

  • Colliding atmospheres – Mars vs Comet Siding Spring

    It's a known fact that planets have atmospheres, but the same can't be said for comets. The atmosphere of a comet, called its "coma," is made of gas and dust that spew out of the sun-warmed nucleus and it's typically wider than Jupiter.La

  • Mars spacecraft preparing for Comet Siding Spring’s close flyby

    As Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring heads toward a close flyby of Mars on October 19, 2014, NASA and ESA are both taking steps to protect their Mars orbiters, while still preserving opportunities to gather valuable scientific data. Six days after p