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A Fatwa has been issued against living on Mars by clerics who say that trying to set up home there would be un-Islamic. The fatwa – or ruling – was issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE) in the UAE after the Mars One organisation announced that it would try and establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. The committee argued that an attempt to dwell on the planet would be so hazardous as to be suicidal and killing oneself is not permitted by Islam

Forget Mars, the place we really want to go looking for life is Jupiter’s moon Europa. Dr. Mike Brown, a professor of planetary science at Caltech, explains what he finds so fascinating about this icy moon, and the potential we might find life swimming in its vast oceans.

A Fatwa has been issued against living on Mars by clerics who say that trying to set up home there would be un-Islamic. The fatwa—or ruling—was issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE) in the UAE after the Mars One organization announced that it would try and establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. The committee argued that an attempt to dwell on the planet would be so hazardous as to be suicidal and killing oneself is not permitted by Islam. …

Explanation: An important threshold on Mars has now been crossed. Landing in mid-2012, the Curiosity rover is searching for clues of whether life could ever have existed on the red planet. Recent findings of Curiosity include evidence for an ancient (but now dried) freshwater lake, and the non-detection of the biomarker methane in the Martian atmosphere. To continue its investigation, the car-sized rover is on an expedition to roll up Mt. Sharp, the central peak of the large crater in which it landed. Life might have shown preference for water that once ran down the Martian mountain. Two weeks ago,...

The private spaceflight company Space X plans to build a rocket so big it would "make the Apollo moon rocket look small,"the company's CEO, Elon Musk, announced on "CBS This Morning"on Feb. 3. The huge rocket would ultimately send colonists to Mars, but what would SpaceX do in the meantime? The company's primary focus right now is giving NASA astronauts access to the International Space Station (ISS) on American vehicles, drastically lowering prices to Earth orbit versus what the Russians are charging, Musk said... This all begs the question: If SpaceX is going to build this gargantuan rocket on its...

Feb. 12, 2014 marked ‘100 Days of MOM’ since the picture perfect blast off on Nov. 5, 2013 from India’s spaceport at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, atop the nations indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) which placed the probe into its initial Earth parking orbit. A series of six subsequent orbit raising maneuvers ultimately culminated with the liquid fueled main engine firing on Dec. 1, 2013 for the Trans Mars Injection(TMI) maneuver that successfully placed MOM on a heliocentric elliptical trajectory to the Red Planet. ... The first of four in flight Trajectory Correction Maneuvers, TCM-1, was conducted...

A dramatic, fresh impact crater dominates this image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Nov. 19, 2013. Researchers used HiRISE to examine this site because the orbiter's Context Camera had revealed a change in appearance here between observations in July 2010 and May 2012, bracketing the formation of the crater between those observations. The crater spans approximately 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter and is surrounded by a large, rayed blast zone. Because the terrain where the crater formed is dusty, the fresh crater appears blue in the enhanced color...

Three Mars One applicants that made it to the second round. From left, Max Fagin, Brian Hinson and Andrew Rader. If you were to find yourself on the Red Planet, what would you do when you get there? Those who made the second round of the Mars One mission (which aims to establish a colony on Mars in the next decade) are a step closer to answering that question. In interviews with Universe Today, applicants Andrew Rader, Max Fagin and Brian Hinson explained what they’ll do if they embark on a planned one-way trip to the Red Planet. It’s impossible...

As if NASA didn't have enough to worry about, the U.S. space agency is now faced with the scandal of the century — they’re being sued for not investigating a bona fide life form on Mars! Whoa, that's a biggie. Except, it isn't. In fact, it’s quite funny. Remember when news broke about the mystery Mars rock that mysteriously appeared in front of Mars rover Opportunity? Well, according to petitioner Rhawn Joseph, the official explanation for said “mystery” rock — that scientists have dubbed "Pinnacle Island" — is a complete sham. Why? Well, through flawless reasoning skills, Joseph thinks that...

It is a commentary on how adrift NASA space policy is when one considers that four years after President Obama made his "we choose not to return to the moon" speech that the space agency may be pivoting back to the moon. Paul Spudis, a planetary geologist and return to the moon advocate, has read the tea leaves and has seen the first, tentative steps toward a pivot back to the moon. Elon Musk, the space entrepreneur and political ally of Barack Obama, has recently conceded that expeditions to the moon would be useful. NASA is partnering with private companies,...

Explanation: Welcome to The World At Night. Sharing the night sky seen around the world, this view from Monument Valley, USA includes a picturesque foreground of famous buttes. Buttes are composed of hard rock left behind after water eroded away the surrounding soft rock. The two buttes on the image left are known as the Mittens, while Merrick Butte is on the right. Recorded in 2007 December, planet Mars is at the left of the skyscape, a glowing beacon of orange that is the brightest object in the frame. To the right of Mars lies the constellation of Orion. Betelgeuse...

Explanation: What if a rock that looked like a jelly donut suddenly appeared on Mars? That's just what happened in front of the robotic Opportunity rover currently exploring the red planet. The unexpectedly placed rock, pictured above, was imaged recently by Opportunity after not appearing in other images taken as recently as twelve Martian days (sols) before. Given the intriguing mystery, the leading explanation is somewhat tame -- the rock was recently scattered by one of the rover's tires. Even so, the rock's unusual light tones surrounding a red interior created interest in its composition -- as well as causing...

Explanation: On January 25 (UT) 2004, the Opportunity rover fell to Mars, making today the 10th anniversary of its landing. After more than 3,500 sols (Mars solar days) the golf cart-sized robot from Earth is still actively exploring the Red Planet, though its original mission plan was for three months. This self-portrait was made with Opportunity's panoramic camera earlier this month. The camera's supporting mast has been edited out of the image mosaic but its shadow is visible on the dusty solar panels arrayed across the rover's deck. For comparison, a similar self-portrait from late 2004 is shown in the...

NASA’s long-lived Opportunity Mars rover has accomplished what absolutely no one expected. Opportunity is about to embark on her 2nd decade exploring the Red Planet since her nail biting touchdown in 2004. And to top that off she is marking that miraculous milestone at a spectacular outlook by the summit of the first mountain she has ever scaled! See our Solander Point summit mosaic showing the robots current panoramic view – in essence this is what her eyes see today; above and below. And that mountaintop is riven with outcrops of minerals that likely formed in flowing liquid neutral water...

In a recent workshop hosted by Explore Mars Inc. and the American Astronautical Society, and attended by 60 experts and professionals from various countries, industries, universities and organizations; it was determined that a mission to Mars may soon be possible by the year 2030. However, there are a number of requirements that need to be fulfilled if a mission of this scale is to succeed. First of all, a mission to Mars will require the cooperation of the international community for it to have any chance at success. Moreover, the mission will also need to be backed by private enterprises....

Lead Mars Exploration rover scientist Steve Squyres describes the rock as looking like a large jelly donut, explaining: ““It looks white around the edge in the middle and there’s a low spot in the center that’s dark red – it looks like a jelly doughnut.” ” The instruments on NASA's Opportunity rover that are analyzing the rock are sending back to Earth data that is as mysterious as the jelly donut-like rock itself. Squyres says: “It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before. It’s very high in sulphur, it’s very high in magnesium, its got twice as much manganese as we’ve...

Practically overnight, an unexplained piece of rock has shown up on photos from NASA's Mars rover Opportunity, according to the digital Russian TV network RT (Russia Today). The rover hasn't moved in over a month, as it waits for better weather, but a photo taken on Sol 3540 (Jan. 8, or the 3,540th Martian solar day since the Opportunity rover landed) shows a rock that wasn't visible in previous photos taken on Sol 3536. ... Staffers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California who maintain the rover camera (pancam) database for NASA have named the rock Pinnacle Island.

It is set to become the largest rocket ever built, dwarfing the rockets that took man to the moon and paving the way for manned missions to Mars. Nasa today reveal stunning new pictures of its SLS (Space Launch System), which will eventually be capable of lifting 130 tonnes into orbit. The rocket will be used to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, and to help us explore the outer reaches of the solar system. It is even hoped the craft could play a role in manned missions to Mars, being able to launch 'stepping stone' bases into orbit.

It is set to become the largest rocket ever built, dwarfing the rockets that took man to the moon and paving the way for manned missions to Mars. Nasa today reveal stunning new pictures of its SLS (Space Launch System), which will eventually be capable of lifting 130 tonnes into orbit. The rocket will be used to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, and to help us explore the outer reaches of the solar system. It is even hoped the craft could play a role in manned missions to Mars, being able to launch 'stepping stone' bases into orbit....

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #45, #313.18 Published in Oct 2013 The Comet 2013A1 (Siding Spring) will pass within 123,000 km of Mars on October 19, 2014 at a relative velocity of 56 km/s. The comet coma will impinge directly on the Martian upper atmosphere, causing significant perturbations.We examine the thermal effects of the encounter with a first principle model of the upper atmosphere (100-200 km) that solves for the time-dependent thermal structure. The thermal model includes solar EUV heating, radiative cooling, thermal conduction, and heating due to the impact of H2O molecules from the coma.Assuming a H2O production rate...