Last month the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was a storm chaser—kind of like Helen Hunt in "Twister"—and it paid off with some great footage (okay, okay, it's just one really cool shot). Weather is otherwise sort of boring on Mars—there aren't tornadoes or thunderstorms since it's a dry planet—so dust devils are the main show. more ›

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the day NASA's rover Opportunity landed on Mars in search of water and other evidence of life on the Red Planet—as good an excuse as any to view a few breathtaking pictures of the Martian landscape. more ›

A rocket carrying the SUV-sized rover named Curiosity blasted off to Mars from Cape Canaveral this morning without a hitch. more ›

A bear that wandered onto NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory campus up in the hills of La Cañada Flintridge has joined Twitter so that he could apologize for scaring everyone and explain his true mission: he wanted to go to Mars. more ›

Okay, we're not saying there is life on Mars, but if there is, these Martians should be all set to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11 this weekend. Workers added a little piece of the twisted rubble from the Twin Towers into the design of both of the rovers Spirit and Opportunity that were sent to Mars in 2003. more ›

Many thought James Cameron was capable of anything, not least of all the director of Avatar himself. But the 3-D imaging technology that transformed Avatar's fairy tale plot into the can't-miss, eye-popping moving experience of 2009 could not be adapted quickly enough for a visit to Mars. more ›

"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim Whiteway of the The Phoenix mission. "We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground." So far, data shows that the snow vaporizes before it hits the ground, but earlier this year in another development, water ice was found on the planet. NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena is responsible for the mission's project management. LAist was there for the landing of the Mars Phoenix Lander. more ›

Earlier today, our friends at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Univ. of Arizona confirmed that the Phoenix Mars Lander has found water ice on the surface of the red planet. The confirmation came yesterday after some further experiments on Martian soil located where the lander has made home for itself on the Martian arctic. Scientists were said to have popped open the champagne in celebration according to coverage of today's press conference on the matter. The official countdown 'til life is found has now officially started. more ›

This just in from the Mars Phoenix Lander's Twitter at 5:15 p.m.: "Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!" It was just two days ago that media outlets were reporting that there were no signs of water yet. more ›

Within two hours of landing on planet Earth's neighbor, the Phoenix Mars Lander began sending images to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena on Sunday evening. The current temperatures on Mars is a frigid high of -22 degrees and a low of -112. To see photos from JPL on Sunday, LAist was there to cover it. more ›

Early Sunday evening, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena did it. In a "picture perfect" landing, the Phoenix Mars Lander made it to the northern plains of Mars in the latest of attempts to explore and understand the red planet. This specific mission is to look for signs of habitability, whether present or past (see LAist's previous entry from the day of). more ›

Update: "The Phoenix has landed, the Phoenix has landed. Welcome to the northern plains of Mars!" exclaimed EDL Communications Lead Richard Kornfeld. Another woman standing there watching was wow-ed: "That touchdown was phenomenal." It feels like being a room full of lottery winners -- everyone cheered, hugged and then someone broke out candy Mars Bars. The room's silence is now abuzz with chatter, some reporters are high-fiving, and cameramen are surrounding NASA experts for comments. more ›

more ›

Each year, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena opens its doors to the community for a two-day open house. Prior to this year, I had never heard of the event. On a recent Sunday morning, a scientist friend whisked me off to JPL at the last moment. Armed solely with my RAZR phone camera, I tried to capture the sights as best I could. The JPL website described the open house as: This popular... more ›

Photo by Stephanie Asher JPL has just uploaded some brand new software to NASA's robot explorers Opportunity and Freedom, a few million miles away on Mars. These little rovers have kicked around for four years, finding evidence of water, watching the formation of clouds and dust devils, and sending back some really stunning images. The new software will help the rovers move about on the surface, more accurately photograph atmospheric conditions, and give them... more ›