Hacker News with Generative AI: Mars

SpaceX to launch Starship in critical test of Elon Musk's 2026 Mars plan (independent.co.uk)
SpaceX is preparing to launch its Starship mega rocket on Tuesday, in what will be the first major test of Elon Musk’s Mars-bound rocket since two explosions scuppered earlier flights in 2025.
SpaceX, Mars, Rocketry, Elon Musk
8 points by decimalenough 32 days ago | 0 comments
Bitmap Images in 1965 – Mariner 4 (oliverkwebb.github.io)
On July 14th, 1965, the Mariner 4 spacecraft flew by Mars, the first to ever reach the planet successfully.
Space Exploration, History, Image Processing, Mars
5 points by oliverkwebb 33 days ago | 0 comments
NASA Observes First Visible-Light Auroras at Mars (nasa.gov)
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover made history by detecting them for the first time from the surface of another planet, and MAVEN confirmed the detection.
Space Exploration, Mars, Auroras, NASA
35 points by pseudolus 44 days ago | 6 comments
US President Donald Trump Seeks to Cancel NASA's Mars Sample Return (scientificamerican.com)
After billions of dollars in spending and decades of planning, NASA may be forced to abandon precious samples of air, rock and soil on the Martian surface. Experts are furious.
Space Exploration, Politics, NASA, Mars
33 points by namanyayg 47 days ago | 6 comments
New fusion rocket design could cut Mars trip to under 4 months (newatlas.com)
It seems too good to be true, but UK-based Pulsar Fusion has revealed its new Sunbird self-contained nuclear rocket tug that uses a fusion propulsion engine that could reduce a trip to Mars to under four months and Pluto to under four years.
Space Exploration, Nuclear Fusion, Technology, Mars
7 points by bglusman 54 days ago | 0 comments
NASA Orbiter Spots Curiosity Rover Making Tracks to Next Science Stop (nasa.gov)
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has never been camera shy, having been seen in selfies and images taken from space. But on Feb. 28 — the 4,466th Martian day, or sol, of the mission — Curiosity was captured in what is believed to be the first orbital image of the rover mid-drive across the Red Planet.
Space Exploration, Mars, NASA, Robotics, Curiosity Rover
18 points by gnabgib 61 days ago | 0 comments
Lichens can survive almost anything, and some might survive Mars (arstechnica.com)
Whether anything ever lived on Mars is unknown. And the present environment, with harsh temperatures, intense radiation, and a sparse atmosphere, isn’t exactly propitious for life. Despite the red planet’s brutality, lichens that inhabit some of the harshest environments on Earth could possibly survive there.
Space Exploration, Biology, Mars, Lichens
26 points by abacussh 69 days ago | 11 comments
Moon, Mars: China leads to both (spacenews.com)
In the Senate hearing considering the confirmation of Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator, he and Senator Ted Cruz engaged in extensive dialogue about China. They strongly expressed the view that the United States must get our astronauts back to the moon before the Chinese get theirs there. Isaacman expanded that goal to assert that we should work on sending humans to Mars at the same time.
Space Exploration, China, NASA, Mars
7 points by defrost 70 days ago | 2 comments
Mars has two speeds of sound (2022) (sciencenews.org)
On Mars, the speed of sound depends on its pitch.
Mars, Physics, Sound, Science
7 points by Amorymeltzer 70 days ago | 0 comments
Curiosity rover finds large carbonate deposits on Mars (phys.org)
Research from NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence of a carbon cycle on ancient Mars, bringing scientists closer to an answer on whether the red planet was ever capable of supporting life.
Mars, Space Exploration, Science, Geology
64 points by pseudolus 70 days ago | 9 comments
Can Musk put people on Mars? (economist.com)
HUMAN LAWS can be changed, waived or broken. Physical laws are less biddable. When it comes to putting humans on Mars, which he sees as the first step towards the planet’s settlement and humankind’s salvation, Elon Musk now has little to worry about from human law.
Space Exploration, Elon Musk, Mars, Physics, Human Law
9 points by pseudolus 90 days ago | 4 comments
NASA's Curiosity Rover Detects Largest Organic Molecules Found on Mars (nasa.gov)
Researchers analyzing pulverized rock onboard NASA’s Curiosity rover have found the largest organic compounds on the Red Planet to date.
Space Exploration, Mars, Science, Organic Chemistry
10 points by divbzero 95 days ago | 0 comments
Musk says first mission to Mars will launch next year (bbc.co.uk)
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said his Starship rocket will head to Mars by the end of next year, as the company investigates several recent explosions in flight tests.
Space Exploration, SpaceX, Mars
13 points by goodcanadian 104 days ago | 12 comments
In contrast to Earth, Mars's middle atmosphere appears driven by gravity waves (phys.org)
A new study by researchers including those at the University of Tokyo revealed that atmospheric gravity waves play a crucial role in driving latitudinal air currents on Mars, particularly at high altitudes.
Mars, Atmosphere, Gravity Waves, Science, Space
74 points by wglb 111 days ago | 32 comments
Have we been wrong about why Mars is red? (esa.int)
The Red Planet’s iconic rusty dust has a much wetter history than previously assumed, find scientists combining European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA spacecraft data with new laboratory experiments on replica Mars dust. The results suggest that Mars rusted early in the planet’s ancient past, when liquid water was more widespread.
Space Exploration, Mars, Geology, Science
45 points by rntn 122 days ago | 9 comments
What can we send to Mars on the first Starships? – Casey Handmer's blog (wordpress.com)
As of today, it is 601 days until October 17, 2026, when the mass-optimal launch window to Mars opens next.
Space Exploration, Mars, Starship, Launch Windows
6 points by bilsbie 123 days ago | 1 comments
The Shape of a Mars Mission (idlewords.com)
“From a mathematics and trajectory standpoint and with a certain kind of technology, there’s not too many different ways to go to Mars. It’s been pretty well figured out. You can adjust the decimal places here and there, but basically if you're talking about chemical rockets, there's a certain way you're going to go to Mars.” - John Aaron[1]
Space Exploration, Mars, Technology
152 points by feross 127 days ago | 209 comments
Curiosity Mars rover discovers evidence of ripples from ancient Red Planet lake (space.com)
Space Exploration, Mars, Geology, Astronomy
54 points by speckx 127 days ago | 9 comments
NASA rover discovers liquid water 'ripples' carved into Mars rock (livescience.com)
Mars, Space Exploration, Science, Geology, Water
79 points by Brajeshwar 129 days ago | 27 comments
John Carmack discusses SpaceX strategy and Mars (twitter.com)
Space Exploration, SpaceX, Mars, John Carmack
25 points by ViktorRay 130 days ago | 22 comments
Curiosity rover captures colorful clouds drifting over Mars (phys.org)
Red-and-green-tinted clouds drift through the Martian sky in a new set of images captured by NASA's Curiosity rover using its Mastcam—its main set of "eyes."
Space Exploration, Mars, Astronomy, Curiosity Rover
5 points by bookofjoe 134 days ago | 1 comments
A Flag on Mars? Maybe Not So Soon (nytimes.com)
Space Exploration, Mars, Science
8 points by nyc111 147 days ago | 2 comments
NASA to explore two landing options for returning samples from Mars (nasa.gov)
To maximize chances of successfully bringing the first Martian rock and sediment samples to Earth for the benefit of humanity, NASA announced Tuesday a new approach to its Mars Sample Return Program.
Space Exploration, Mars, Science, NASA
33 points by mpweiher 167 days ago | 21 comments
"We're going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction." (arstechnica.com)
Although SpaceX founder Elon Musk is known for outspokenness and controversial comments on his social media site X, he has been relatively restrained when it comes to US space policy in recent years.
Space Exploration, Mars, Moon
10 points by rntn 175 days ago | 5 comments
NASA believes it understands why Ingenuity crashed on Mars (arstechnica.com)
Eleven months after the Ingenuity helicopter made its final flight on Mars, engineers and scientists at NASA and a private company that helped build the flying vehicle said they have identified what probably caused it to crash on the surface of Mars.
Space Exploration, Mars, NASA, Aerospace Engineering
94 points by thunderbong 198 days ago | 49 comments
Elon Musk has pledged to settle Mars. Prize-winning book offers a reality check (cnn.com)
Space Exploration, Elon Musk, Mars, Books
11 points by pseudolus 212 days ago | 10 comments
Musk has pledged to settle Mars. A prize-winning book offers a reality check (cnn.com)
Space Exploration, Mars, Elon Musk, Books, Science
6 points by belter 214 days ago | 1 comments
In 1924, the US Turned Off Their Radios to Search for Life on Mars (iflscience.com)
History, Space, Mars, Science, Radio
18 points by pizza 228 days ago | 2 comments
NASA's Perseverance Captures 'Googly Eye' During Solar Eclipse (nasa.gov)
From its perch on the western wall of Mars’ Jezero Crater, NASA’s Perseverance rover recently spied a “googly eye” peering down from space.
Space Exploration, Mars, NASA, Solar Eclipse, Astronomy
4 points by gnabgib 232 days ago | 0 comments
Powering the Mars Base (wordpress.com)
A growing Mars base has a prodigious need for power.
Space Exploration, Mars, Energy, Sustainability
106 points by surprisetalk 233 days ago | 84 comments