NASA selects instruments for upcoming 2020 Mars rover

(Preliminary sketches of the 2020 rover – Photo Credit: NASA/JPL – Caltech)

In 2020, NASA will send a new rover on a mission to Mars, and the space agency have now revealed the seven carefully-selected instruments which will be used to conduct unprecedented science and exploration investigations on the Red Planet. 

NASA and Boeing finalize $2.8 billion SLS contract

(Artist’s conception of the SLS – Photo Credit: NASA/MSFC)

Following the completion of a Critical Design Review (CDR), Boeing has signed a $2.8 billion contract with NASA to begin full production of the core stage of the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS), the first human space exploration vessel since Saturn V – the rocket that sent man to the moon.

Morpheus, NASA’s robotic lander, completes it’s first night time flight

(During flight – Photo Credit: NASA)

NASA’s Morpheus lander, a prototype for landing on other planets, completed its first-ever night flight test at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre late last month, flying more than 800 feet (244 meters) into the air and landing safely.