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
Comet Siding Spring hurtled past Mars at about 56 km/s only 139 000 km away from its surface at 18:27 UTC on October 19, 2014. The period when dust from the comet was most likely to reach Mars and the orbits of spacecraft around Mars peaked about 100 minutes later. Acco
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
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
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
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
In late May, NASA's Swift satellite imaged comet Siding Spring, which will brush astonishingly close to Mars on October 19, 2014. These optical and ultraviolet observations are the first to reveal how rapidly the comet is producing water and allow astronomers to
NASA released a new image of a comet C/2013 A1 – Siding Spring today. With relative speed of 56 km/s this comet will pass extraordinarily close to Mars on October 19, 2014. It is expected to fly by Mars within 135 185 km (84 000 miles), which
C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) is a long-period comet set for a very close encounter with Mars later this year. Although early estimates of its orbit showed a good possibility of impact, latest observations suggest a near miss and raise great concern for Mars
