Humans will see the first-ever livestream of the planet Mars on Friday.
The European Space Agency (ESA) will host the livestream through the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qyVNqeJ6wQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESA YouTube channel</a>. Roughly every 50 seconds ESA’s Mars Express orbiter, 11,000 miles from Mars’ surface, will share new images, starting at 11:45 am ET, as it hangs more than 11,000 miles above the Martian surface. The data hurled back to Earth will take 22 minutes to travel about 187 million miles from Mars to Earth.
 “This is an old camera, originally planned for engineering purposes, at a distance of almost three million kilometers from Earth – this hasn’t been tried before and to be honest, we’re not 100% certain it’ll work,” James Godfrey, Spacecraft Operations Manager at ESA’s mission control center, <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Tune_in_for_first_Mars_livestream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>. “But I’m pretty optimistic. Normally, we see images from Mars and know that they were taken days before. I’m excited to see Mars as it is now – as close to a martian ‘now’ as we can possibly get!”
“Most observations and data gathered by spacecraft are taken during periods when they are not in direct contact with a ground station antenna on Earth,” ESA explains. “Either because of geometry – for example, on the other side of the Sun or Mars — or the spacecraft’s antenna is pointing away from Earth while gathering science data.”
“For science, this is no problem,” ESA continues. “The data is stored on board and beamed down a few hours or even days later, once the spacecraft is in contact with the ground again. What normally happens for the Visual Monitoring Camera on Mars Express, is every couple of days a new batch are ‘downlinked,’ processed and made available to the world.”
Unlike Earth, whose atmosphere is comprised of the elements nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, among others, Mars’ atmosphere is comprised of mostly carbon dioxide with some water vapor. While Earth’s average temperature hovers around 57 degrees Fahrenheit, Mars’ is much colder at roughly -81 degrees Fahrenheit.
A year on Earth takes a little more than 365 days; a year on Mars takes 687 Earth days. But the length of the days is similar; an Earth day takes 23 hours and 56 minutes and a day on Mars takes 24 hours and 37 minutes.
Mars is much smaller than Earth, with a diameter of 4,220 miles. Earth’s diameter is 7,926 miles.

DIGITIZED PLANET MARS

WATCH: First-Ever Livestream Of Mars On Friday

Earth

European Space Agency

Mars

Space

Legendary sci-fi hero William Shatner is heading back to TV, where he will lead a new reality competition series on Fox titled &#8220;Stars on Mars.&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/william-shatner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">92-year-old</a> actor isn&#8217;t listed as the host but is named as the frontman to lead Mission Control on the series that will take celebrities out of their cushy lifestyles and see them residing in close quarters on &#8220;Mars,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/william-shatner-fox-stars-on-mars-celebrity-reality-show-1235373067/">Hollywood Reporter</a> reported.
The household name celebrities will travel to &#8220;outer space&#8221; where they will live, eat and sleep on a space station that simulates life under the conditions of the red planet, producers said.
The contestants will also have to make alliances, strategize and indulge in some skulduggery to be the last &#8220;celebronaut&#8221; standing, the outlet noted.
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Fox is sending celebrities to “Mars” for its latest competition series. The network has ordered ‘Stars on Mars’ with ‘Star Trek’ star William Shatner, who recently became the oldest man sent to space, serving as Mission Control <a href="https://t.co/ZrTL8D3zt3">https://t.co/ZrTL8D3zt3</a>
&mdash; Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) <a href="https://twitter.com/DEADLINE/status/1646304026458492930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/william-shatner-had-strongest-feelings-of-grief-about-climate-change-during-space-trip-all-i-saw-was-death" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shatner</a> experienced what life&#8217;s like outside our orbit when he blasted off to space in October 2021 with Jeff Bezos&#8217; Blue Origin.
The &#8220;Star Trek&#8221; star is listed as providing words of wisdom and offering support to the stars as they try and complete missions and avoid being eliminated.
&#8220;Good news for our celebronauts from Mission Control,&#8221; Shatner said in a statement. &#8220;Thanks to lower gravity on Mars, you&#8217;ll weigh 62% less. Bad news: the air is unbreathable, so if you&#8217;re from L.A., it&#8217;ll remind you of home.&#8221;
Shatner, who is very active on Twitter, has yet to share any other news about what his role on the show will entail. But he did appear to tweet about his involvement on Thursday.
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&#8220;There are two things to watch on television – &#8216;The Masked Singer&#8217; and coming soon &#8216;Stars on Mars&#8217;. #TheMaskedSinger,&#8221; he posted.
Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming at Fox Entertainment, said the &#8220;moment I heard the pitch for Stars on Mars, I knew a show this bold, this big and this outlandish simply belonged on Fox,&#8221; <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/04/william-shatner-to-lead-stars-on-mars-competition-series-for-fox-1235323788/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deadline</a> noted.
&#8220;Watching celebrities take giant leaps out of their comfort zone and step into the unexpected will no doubt be truly transformational and comical,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Throughout, we will learn a lot about these stars, and when you factor in William Shatner leading the charge from Mission Control, we have the makings of a show that&#8217;s ready for blast off.&#8221;
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&#8220;Stars on Mars&#8221; debuts on Fox on June 5.

2023 SXSW Conference And Festival – Day 7

William Shatner To Lead New Reality Competition Series ‘Stars On Mars’

Entertainment

Reality TV

Star Trek

U.S.

William Shatner

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nasa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA&#8217;s</a> InSight lander shared one final selfie posted on Monday before losing power, likely ending its mission that started in 2018.
The most recent image may be InSight&#8217;s last, which comes shortly after recording the most powerful quake recorded on the red planet.
&#8220;My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene,&#8221; NASA&#8217;s InSight account tweeted. &#8220;If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me.&#8221;
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My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me. <a href="https://t.co/wkYKww15kQ">pic.twitter.com/wkYKww15kQ</a>
&mdash; NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/1604955574659035136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In an <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">update</a> from NASA on Monday, the Mars InSight blog revealed that the lander&#8217;s communications were no longer responding.
&#8220;The lander’s power has been declining for months, as expected, and it’s assumed InSight may have reached its end of operations. It’s unknown what prompted the change in its energy; the last time the mission contacted the spacecraft was on Dec. 15, 2022,&#8221; the update read. &#8220;The mission will continue to try and contact InSight.&#8221;
NASA previously reported on December 12 that InSight&#8217;s power had declined to &#8220;an average of ~285 watt-hours of energy per Martian day&#8221; as the mission headed toward an end.
In a post on November 23, the NASA InSight Twitter account first noted that its end could be near.
&#8220;Time may be short for me, but I’ll keep sending back science for as long as I can,&#8221; its account tweeted.
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Time may be short for me, but I’ll keep sending back science for as long as I can. Meanwhile, I’m not the only bot on Mars. Keep exploring the Red Planet by following the adventures of: <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASAPersevere</a><a href="https://twitter.com/MarsCuriosity?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarsCuriosity</a><a href="https://twitter.com/NASAMars?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASAMars</a>
And learn about the next team of explorers: <a href="https://t.co/bVnYofejlE">pic.twitter.com/bVnYofejlE</a>
&mdash; NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/1595463281954594818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In May, the lander detected the largest quake ever recorded on Mars. The 4.7 magnitude quake included reverberations that lasted over an hour. The previous top quake recorded on the red planet was 4.2 magnitude.
“This was definitely the biggest Marsquake that we have seen,” <a href="https://scitechdaily.com/massive-marsquake-five-times-larger-than-previous-record-holder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Taichi Kawamura, lead author and planetary scientist at the Institut de physique du globe de Paris, France. Kawamura co-authored the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022GL101243" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scientific paper</a> regarding quakes on Mars with seismologist John Clinton at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich.
“The energy released by this single marsquake is equivalent to the cumulative energy from all other Marsquakes we’ve seen so far, and although the event was over 2000 kilometers (1200 miles) distant, the waves recorded at InSight were so large they almost saturated our seismometer,” Clinton said in the research.
“For the first time we were able to identify surface waves, moving along the crust and upper mantle, that have traveled around the planet multiple times,” he added.
InSight was the first spacecraft to document a marsquake. It detected more than 1,300 marsquakes with its built-in seismometer, including several caused by meteoroid strikes, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-insight-lander-falls-silent-mars-final-selfie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> CBS News.
In addition to InSight, NASA has the <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Perseverance Mars Rover</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/MarsCuriosity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Curiosity Rover</a> at work on the red planet.
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/researchers-release-first-ever-audio-of-martian-dust-devil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Perseverance rover recently recorded the audio of the first Martian dust devils, which traveled directly above the rover and sprayed the device with dust. The rover happened to have its microphone turned on when the dust phenomenon passed above it.

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Mars InSight Lander Sends Final Selfie Before Losing Power

Air and Space

NASA

Science

Scientists were able to hear an exciting sound from another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/space" target="_blank" rel="noopener">planet</a> and release the audio for the public to experience on Tuesday. 
It is the first time earthlings have heard the swirling columns of wind and dust known as Martian dust devils, which coincidentally <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/mars-rover-captures-1st-sound-dust-devil-red-95163592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traveled</a> directly above the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nasa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a> Perseverance rover and sprayed the device with dust. The rover happened to have its microphone turned on when the dust phenomenon passed above it. 
The noise sounds like wind hitting the microphone, and pieces of dust can also be heard striking the device. The audio is not particularly loud because of the thin atmosphere on Mars, although it sounds similar to dust devils that appear on planet Earth. 
The recording took place last year, according to Naomi Murdoch of the University of Toulouse, the lead author of the study in Nature Communications.
“As the dust devil passed over Perseverance we could actually hear individual impacts of grains on the rover,” Murdoch <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/12/13/mars-rover-dust-devil/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We could actually count them.”
The recordings are captured just eight times each month, and the microphone on the rover records for less than three minutes. However, the scientists try to plan the video and audio recordings to coincide with times the dust devils are likely to happen.
Murdoch said it was “definitely luck” that the dust devil appeared at the same time the microphones were live on September 27, 2021.
“It was fully caught red-handed by Persy,” co-author German Martinez of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/mars-rover-captures-1st-sound-dust-devil-red-95163592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
The rover collected data on the dust devil in multiple ways. 
In the Nature <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35100-z#:~:text=Dust%20devils%20(convective%20vortices%20loaded,site%20of%20the%20Perseverance%20rover." target="_blank" rel="noopener">publication</a>, researchers describe the dust devils as “convective vortices loaded with dust” and are “common at the surface of Mars, particularly at Jezero crater, the landing site of the Perseverance rover.”
The scientists noted that increasing the knowledge about “dust lifting and atmospheric transport” is vital to simulate the dust pattern correctly and to be able to predict dust storms. It is also important &#8220;for future space exploration as grain impacts are implicated in the degradation of hardware on the surface of Mars.”
Images of Martian dust devils have been captured for many years, but the sounds they make had never been heard before this recording. The dust devil captured was almost 400 feet tall, around 80 feet wide, and moving at 16 feet per second, which is typical. 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lICyLnT7iPo&amp;t=13s&amp;ab_channel=AssociatedPress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH</a>:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Mars rover captures first ever sound of dust devil" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lICyLnT7iPo?start=13&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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Researchers Release First-Ever Audio Of Martian Dust Devil

Researchers Release First-Ever Audio Of Martian Dust Devil From NASA Perseverance Rover

World

If you see what looks like a flying saucer descending to earth after November 1, don’t panic; it may well be a new heat shield launched by NASA that may presage landing successfully on Mars.
The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket accompanied by a JPSS-2 polar-orbiting weather satellite. Once the weather satellite reaches orbital levels, the saucer-shaped heat shield will inflate and separate, then descend to Earth.
Although NASA&#8217;s Perseverance rover <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11302503/NASA-launch-huge-flying-saucer-like-inflatable-heat-shield-space-month.html">successfully landed</a> on Mars last year using a parachute, it plunged through Mars’ atmosphere at 12,000 miles per hour before it was slowed to zero miles an hour before it landed, and was able to accomplish such a feat only because its payload was so light.
“The atmosphere of Mars is much less dense than that of Earth and provides an extreme challenge for aerodynamic deceleration,” NASA <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/loftid">stated</a>. “The atmosphere is thick enough to provide some drag, but too thin to decelerate the spacecraft as quickly as it would in Earth&#8217;s atmosphere.”
“LOFTID’s large deployable aeroshell &#8212; an inflatable structure protected by a flexible heat shield &#8212; acts as a giant brake as it traverses the Martian atmosphere,” NASA added. “The large aeroshell creates more drag than a traditional, smaller rigid aeroshell. It begins slowing down in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, allowing the spacecraft to decelerate sooner, at higher altitude, while experiencing less intense heating.”
“The LOFTID re-entry vehicle, at 19.7 feet (6 meters) diameter, will be the largest blunt body aeroshell to ever go through atmospheric entry,” NASA predicted.
The heat shield is strongly resistant; “The tori are made from braided synthetic fibers that are 15 times stronger than steel. The flexible structure and insulates it from the searing heat of atmospheric entry; it can withstand temperatures in excess of 2900°F (1600°C),” NASA <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/loftid_fact_sheet_layout_090922_508.pdf">declared</a>.
“The inflatable decelerator technology is scalable to both crewed and large robotic missions to Mars,” NASA concluded.
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NASA plans crew expeditions to the Martian system and surface of Mars after 2030.
“In the strategic sense, exploring Mars demonstrates our political and economic leadership as a nation, improves the quality of life on Earth, helps us learn about our home planet, and expands US leadership in the peaceful, international exploration of space,” NASA has <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/#red_planet/5">stated</a>.

Outer space exploration with Mars planet.

Flying Saucer Spacecraft Could Presage Man Landing On Mars

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mars">Mars</a>, Incorporated just announced a new M&amp;M “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/food">spokescandy</a>” who will promote “acceptance and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei">inclusivity</a>” with her presence.
A 2-minute-long music video titled “I’m Just Gonna Be Me” introduces the brand’s new mascot with a song about overcoming self-doubt. There are no explicit references to sexuality, but the new purple character has long eyelashes typically associated with female M&amp;M characters and is wearing white combat boots. 
“Designed to represent acceptance and inclusivity, our newest member is known for her earnest self-expression. Keen self-awareness, authenticity and confidence are the driving forces behind Purple’s charm and quirky nature,” Mars, Inc. <a href="https://www.mars.com/news-and-stories/press-releases-statements/mms-welcomes-new-character-purple">wrote</a> in a press release. 
Fans have expressed displeasure that the new purple M&amp;M will not be part of the regular product lineup but will be added to specialty packs of the candy occasionally. The purple character is a part of branding only.
M&amp;M’s first introduced its red and yellow candy characters in 1954 and followed up by adding blue, green and orange in 1998, per <a href="https://www.adweek.com/commerce/mms-new-mascot-purple-inclusivity/">Adweek</a>. Brown was added in 2012. The mascots have changed in tone over the years, with one of the more controversial moves including the green M&amp;M character losing her peach-colored legs and stiletto boots in favor of white legs and sneakers after criticism that the character was sexualized, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mm-characters-are-becoming-inclusive">reported</a>.
“Mars is thrilled to debut the newest member of the M&amp;M’S cast of characters to the world. There is so much about our new spokescandy that people can relate to and appreciate, including her willingness to embrace her true self – our new character reminds us to celebrate what makes us unique,” Jane Hwang, global vice president at Mars Wrigley, said of the new addition. 
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“Our purpose story is just getting started and the introduction of our newest M&amp;M’S spokescandy is the next chapter, as the brand continues to delight fans with fun in a way only M&amp;M’S can.”  
Purple’s song “I’m Just Gonna Be Me” is available for download on all major music streaming platforms, including Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music. The company will donate $1 (up to $500,000) to the nonprofit organization Sing for Hope for every download.

Durango, Colorado

M&M’s Brand Promises ‘Acceptance And Inclusivity’ With Debut Of New Purple ‘Spokescandy’

M&M's Brand Promises 'Acceptance And Inclusivity' With Debut Of New Purple 'Spokescandy'

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Food

NASA has announced the planned launch dates for its Artemis I rocket test flight around the Moon as it prepares for a future human mission to the lunar surface in 2025.
The dates of August 29, September 2, and September 5 will serve as placeholder times for the uncrewed flight to orbit the Moon, according to a NASA teleconference with media Wednesday.
&#8220;The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human exploration in deep space and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and eventually Mars,&#8221; according to a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-discuss-status-of-artemis-i-moon-mission-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from NASA.
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NOW: Teams give an update on the uncrewed <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Artemis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Artemis</a> I mission to the Moon. <a href="https://t.co/Oi87IkFhqs">https://t.co/Oi87IkFhqs</a>
&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1549772187304951814?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The announcement of the launch dates follows the team&#8217;s recent successful test or &#8220;dress rehearsal&#8221; that was necessary to move forward with the planned launch.
The media teleconference was held on the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969, during which the first humans set foot on the Moon. According to a video released by NASA&#8217;s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the astronauts&#8217; tracks are still detectable.
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It’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InternationalMoonDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#InternationalMoonDay</a>! Today marks the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing – the first time that humans stepped on the surface of another world. This video from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the astronauts&#39; tracks, still there after all this time. <a href="https://t.co/LVDkFeEcYP">pic.twitter.com/LVDkFeEcYP</a>
&mdash; NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAMoon/status/1549787540147900417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The last human Moon landing occurred in 1972, with NASA now aggressively planning a return to its surface.
NASA&#8217;s Artemis I is the precursor to the Artemis II that is on pace to launch for the first time in 2024. The space agency has its sights set on <a href="https://www.space.com/artemis-moon-landing-likely-slip-to-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">humans</a> returning to the Moon&#8217;s surface in 2025 or 2026.
The Artemis mission from NASA <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">plans</a> to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. The space program also intends to &#8220;collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon.&#8221;
The Artemis mission extends beyond the Moon. NASA plans to &#8220;use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.&#8221;
NASA is not the only program with its eyes on the Moon and beyond. SpaceX founder Elon Musk <a href="https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2021-elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a Time magazine article from December that he hopes to reach the Moon by 2023 and expressed a goal of humans reaching the red planet by the end of the decade.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who is behind the space company Blue Origin, is already working with NASA on the Blue Moon lander. Together with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper, the groups are developing the human landing system with the <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/blue-moon/hls-national-team/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">goal</a> of &#8220;returning Americans to the lunar surface, opening the Moon for business, and building a path to Mars.&#8221;
Internationally, China and Russia announced in 2021 that they intend to build a Moon base together, inviting other nations to join them. Last month, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-61511546" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that China has plans to put its first astronauts on the Moon and send a Mars sample return rover to the red planet by 2030.

Artemis I

NASA’s Artemis Moon Rocket Mission Scheduled For August In First Step Toward Humans Returning To Moon

Elon Musk

Jeff Bezos

Moon

Two startup space companies, including one led by a founding member of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>&#8216;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/spacex">SpaceX</a>, have announced plans to launch the first commercial space lander to Mars by 2024.
Impulse Space, led by former SpaceX member Tom Mueller, and Relativity Space made the <a href="https://www.relativityspace.com/press-release/2022/7/19/impulse-space-and-relativity-space-announce-first-commercial-mission-to-mars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> Tuesday.
“This is a major milestone for both Impulse and Relativity, as well as the entire space industry,” Impulse Space founder and CEO Mueller said. “One of the most challenging aspects of landing on Mars is the ‘glide stage,’ which involves an aeroshell to encapsulate the lander for the survival of Mars entry. With the power of our combined teams, experience and passion, I am confident this historic mission will be just one of many to come.”
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Impulse is excited to announce our partnership with <a href="https://twitter.com/relativityspace?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@relativityspace</a> to deliver our Mars Cruise Vehicle and Mars Lander on Relativity’s fully reusable, entirely 3D printed launch vehicle &#8211; Terran R! <a href="https://t.co/KCVlP6PqW0">pic.twitter.com/KCVlP6PqW0</a>
&mdash; Impulse Space (@GoToImpulse) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoToImpulse/status/1549392840685457414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The new partnership plans to launch Impulse&#8217;s Mars Cruise Vehicle and Mars Lander from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sometime in 2024. The exclusive arrangement is scheduled until 2029, according to the announcement&#8217;s press release.
The Terran R rocket will be exclusively 3D printed through Relativity&#8217;s proprietary printing process in an effort to disrupt the industry and shorten the timeline necessary to reach Mars.
Impulse Space plans to <a href="https://www.impulsespace.com/mars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">utilize</a> an integrated cruise vehicle, entry capsule, and Mars lander aboard the Terran R launch vehicle. The trip through interplanetary space will last over half a year, with the goal of deploying the first commercial device to the surface of another planet.
“We believe building a multiplanetary future on Mars is only possible if we inspire dozens to hundreds of companies to work toward a singular goal,” Tim Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Relativity Space, said.
“This is a monumental challenge, but one that successfully achieved will expand the possibilities for human experience in our lifetime across two planets. With the delivery capabilities of Terran R coupled with Impulse’s in-space transportation, we are bringing humanity one step closer to making Mars a reality. This is a historic, impactful partnership with Tom and the entire Impulse team through the collaboration of two low-cost commercial providers that will establish and expand our presence on Mars,&#8221; he added.
It is important to note that neither company has yet launched a rocket into space.
Mueller&#8217;s company was founded in 2021. <a href="https://www.relativityspace.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Relativity Space</a>, the second company involved in the unique partnership, has invented a new approach to designing and flying its own 3D rockets. The entrepreneurial effort claims to disrupt 60 years of aerospace design, offering &#8220;a radically simplified supply chain, building a rocket with 100x fewer parts in less than 60 days.&#8221;
Relativity was launched in 2015 and has raised more than $1 billion to date.
&#8220;This is a whole new era of spaceflight, and we want to be positioned to provide reliable, low-cost, in-space propulsion,&#8221; Mueller <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/07/relativity-and-impulse-space-say-theyre-flying-to-mars-in-late-2024/">said</a> in an interview with Ars Technica.
In contrast, SpaceX founder Musk <a href="https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2021-elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a Time magazine article in December that he hopes to reach the Moon by 2023 and expressed a goal of humans reaching the red planet by the end of the decade, though the timeline is considered tentative. Musk has also envisioned a city on Mars by 2050.

Relativity Space/Impulse Space

Former SpaceX Founding Member Trying To Beat Elon Musk To Mars

Former SpaceX Founding Member Leads Company That Seeks To Beat Elon Musk To Mars

SpaceX

Candy company Mars Inc. was sued Thursday for allegedly selling toxic goodies to customers that include titanium dioxide, a colorant, in its ingredients.
The company allegedly pledged years ago to remove the food additive TiO2, which is being banned in the European Union. The colorant, though, still remains as an ingredient.
In the proposed class action suit, filed in Oakland, California, Jenile Thames claims Mars is endangering unsuspecting Skittles consumers.
TiO2 is currently not banned in the United States, and the ingredient is listed on packs of the treat. But the suit claims that&#8217;s not sufficient, since the packaging is red and the ingredients listed in black are hard to read.
“A reasonable consumer would expect that [Skittles] can be safely purchased and consumed as marketed and sold,” the complaint said, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/mars-skittles-lawsuit-idAFL1N2YW1DB">according</a> to Reuters. “However, the products are not safe.”
Jaydee Hanson, Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Food Safety, announced in a statement in 2016 that Mars Inc. was moving to phase out toxins in their products.
“We are pleased to see that MARS has taken a positive step toward eliminating toxic, unnecessary nanomaterials from its line of food products,&#8221; Hanson said. &#8220;We urge the company to speed up the removal of these additives, especially given the grave health concerns associated with titanium dioxide and other nanoparticles.&#8221;
“Studies have shown that the human health risks associated with ingesting nanoparticles of many common food additives far outweigh any utility for producers,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;There are plenty of non-toxic alternatives available and we urge MARS and others to commit to not using any engineered nanomaterials in human and animal food products.”
The <a href="https://www.mars.com/docs/default-source/Press-Releases/mars-incorporated-to-remove-all-artificial-colors-from-its-human-food-portfolio.pdf?sfvrsn=0">link</a> to the Mars Inc. statement on the Center for Food Safety site announcing the apparent changes now redirects to a Mars.com page that says, &#8220;The page you&#8217;re looking for have been removed or is temporarily unavailable.&#8221;
Titanium dioxide was officially <a href="https://www.ehslawinsights.com/2022/04/titanium-dioxide-e171-banned-as-an-additive-in-foods-in-the-eu/">banned</a> in the EU on February 7, though companies have a six-month transition period to remove the additive from its goods.
TiO2 can induce damage to one&#8217;s DNA, as well as cause brain and organ damage and cause lesions in the liver and kidneys, the lawsuit charges, Reuters reported, adding that the additive is often found in paint, adhesives, plastics, and some roofing materials.
Thames is seeking an unspecified amount in damages
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leftists-complain-about-donald-trump-jrs-refugee-amanda-prestigiacomo">Leftists Complain About Donald Trump Jr.’s Refugee-Skittles Analogy. Except Feminists Began Using It First. Oops</a>

Italy Economy

Lawsuit Claims Skittles Are Toxic, And The Company Hasn’t Removed The Ingredient Despite A 2016 Pledge

Lawsuit

NASA continues to work on an innovative project that will be the first to launch a rocket from the surface of another planet to send samples back to Earth from Mars.
The unique endeavor includes NASA&#8217;s Perseverance Rover, already active on Mars, along with a new Lockheed Martin-designed Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) and NASA Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) working together to return the materials from the Red Planet.
&#8220;The MAV, which is being developed by Lockheed Martin Space of Littleton, Colorado, will be packaged with NASA&#8217;s Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL), another big part of the sample return campaign,&#8221; according to a Wednesday <a href="https://www.space.com/mars-sample-return-mav-rocket" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Space.com.
&#8220;The two-in-one spacecraft — MAV and SRL — will touch down near or in Jezero Crater, the spot where NASA&#8217;s Perseverance rover is already busily gathering Mars samples. A second lander, carrying a European Space Agency (ESA) &#8216;fetch rover,&#8217; will touch down in the same area as well,&#8221; it added.
The project will include the samples from the Perseverance Rover being loaded onto the MAV and launched for their return to Earth. If successful, the samples will land in the Utah desert in 2033.
The Lockheed Martin MAV system includes a six-year contract of $194 million, according to the report. The project is expected to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2028.
The MAV measures under 10 feet in height and just 1.5 feet in diameter. The rocket is designed to include approximately 30 sample tubes from Mars that will be transported at up to 8,950 miles per hour.
Steve Sides, Lockheed Martin&#8217;s senior program manager for the Mars Ascent Vehicle Integrated System (MAVIS), revealed some of the complexity and potential impact of the project.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve never launched a rocket from Mars, so there&#8217;s a lot of technology involved here,&#8221; Sides said. &#8220;But we&#8217;re also going to get a lot of science from those Mars samples.&#8221;
NASA also noted the importance of the MAV project in a February announcement regarding the project with Lockheed Martin Space.
“This groundbreaking endeavor is destined to inspire the world when the first robotic round-trip mission retrieves a sample from another planet – a significant step that will ultimately help send the first astronauts to Mars,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-developer-for-rocket-to-retrieve-first-samples-from-mars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “America’s investment in our Mars Sample Return program will fulfill a top priority planetary science goal and demonstrate our commitment to global partnerships, ensuring NASA remains a leader in exploration and discovery.”
Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, also communicated the importance of the new Mars effort.
“Committing to the Mars Ascent Vehicle represents an early and concrete step to hammer out the details of this ambitious project not just to land on Mars, but to take off from it,” Zurbuchen said. “We are nearing the end of the conceptual phase for this Mars Sample Return mission, and the pieces are coming together to bring home the first samples from another planet. Once on Earth, they can be studied by state-of-the-art tools too complex to transport into space.”

Perseverance Rover

NASA’s Plan To Launch Samples From Mars Back To Earth

Rock samples collected from Mars by NASA&#8217;s Curiosity rover have revealed signs of key ingredients of life, according to a statement by the agency.
The Monday press release noted the discovery of high levels of organic carbon, a key basis for molecules measured for the first time on the red planet.
“Total organic carbon is one of several measurements [or indices] that help us understand how much material is available as feedstock for prebiotic chemistry and potentially biology,” <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/mars-total-organic-carbon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Jennifer Stern of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“We found at least 200 to 273 parts per million of organic carbon. This is comparable to or even more than the amount found in rocks in very low-life places on Earth, such as parts of the Atacama Desert in South America, and more than has been detected in Mars meteorites,&#8221; she added.
The original experiment was conducted in 2014, however, the research took multiple years of analysis to interpret the data and release the results, according to NASA.
&#8220;To make the measurement, Curiosity delivered the sample to its <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/spacecraft/instruments/sam/">Sample Analysis at Mars</a> (SAM) instrument, where an oven heated the powdered rock to progressively higher temperatures. This experiment used oxygen and heat to convert the organic carbon to carbon dioxide (CO2), the amount of which is measured to get the amount of organic carbon in the rocks. Adding oxygen and heat allows the carbon molecules to break apart and react carbon with oxygen to make CO2,&#8221; NASA explained.
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In 2014, I placed rock samples in my SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instrument to measure the chemical compounds. After years of careful analysis from my team, they measured the total organic carbon in those Martian rocks for the first time. <a href="https://t.co/LeWXQ0nBny">https://t.co/LeWXQ0nBny</a>
&mdash; Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarsCuriosity/status/1541802871221497856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The heated minerals then decomposed the materials to release the carbon and convert it to CO2 in the study.
The Mars exploration program <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9214/nasas-curiosity-takes-inventory-of-key-life-ingredient-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that &#8220;organic carbon on Mars does not prove the existence of life there because it can also come from nonliving sources, such as meteorites, volcanoes, or be formed in place by surface reactions.&#8221; Though organic carbon has been <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9113/nasas-curiosity-rover-measures-intriguing-carbon-signature-on-mars/?site=msl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found on Mars</a> before, the new measurement gives the total amount of organic carbon in the rock samples.
The news follows another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nasa">NASA</a> experiment that suggests the search for life on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mars">Mars</a> may require digging deeper following the discovery that cosmic rays likely quickly destroy amino acids that would be found on the red planet’s surface.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nasa-study-claims-research-may-need-to-dig-deep-to-find-evidence-of-life-on-mars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, the discovery of amino acids on Mars would be a significant step in the search for Martian life, as they are a key component to building proteins in terrestrial life.
“Our results suggest that amino acids are destroyed by cosmic rays in the Martian surface rocks and regolith at much faster rates than previously thought,” Alexander Pavlov of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/dig-deep-for-evidence-of-martian-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
“Current Mars rover missions drill down to about two inches (around five centimeters). At those depths, it would take only 20 million years to destroy amino acids completely. The addition of perchlorates and water increases the rate of amino acid destruction even further,” he added.
The research also demonstrated that current drilling by rovers on Mars would be unlikely to discover any signs of ancient life at their current depths.
The Curiosity mission has also led to the recent release of several high-quality images that have provided additional evidence of ancient <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amazing-mars-photos-reveal-planets-startling-past" target="_blank" rel="noopener">water on Mars</a>.

Mars Curiosity rover

Mars Curiosity Rover Collects Rock Samples Containing Key Ingredient Of Life

A new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nasa">NASA</a> experiment suggests the search for life on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mars">Mars</a> may require digging deeper following the discovery that cosmic rays likely quickly destroy amino acids that would be found on the red planet&#8217;s surface.
The discovery of amino acids on Mars would be a significant step in the search for Martian life, as they are a key component to building proteins in terrestrial life.
“Our results suggest that amino acids are destroyed by cosmic rays in the Martian surface rocks and regolith at much faster rates than previously thought,” <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/dig-deep-for-evidence-of-martian-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Alexander Pavlov of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“Current Mars rover missions drill down to about two inches (around five centimeters). At those depths, it would take only 20 million years to destroy amino acids completely. The addition of perchlorates and water increases the rate of amino acid destruction even further,&#8221; he added.
The research also demonstrated that current drilling by rovers on Mars would be unlikely to discover any signs of ancient life at their current depths.
“Missions with shallow drill sampling have to seek recently exposed outcrops – e.g., recent microcraters with ages less than 10 million years or the material ejected from such craters,” Pavlov observed.
Unlike on Earth, where the thick atmosphere and magnetic field shield against most cosmic rays, Mars has no such current protections (though some have suggested it did in the past). The growing evidence of water on Mars, however, has also led to new efforts to discover other evidence from amino acids in the planet&#8217;s rocks.
In the NASA experiment, the research team created test tubes sealed in conditions seeking to mirror those of the surface of Mars. The samples were also blasted with gamma radiation to simulate conditions on the red planet.
“Our work is the first comprehensive study where the destruction (radiolysis) of a broad range of amino acids was studied under a variety of Mars-relevant factors (temperature, water content, perchlorate abundance) and the rates of radiolysis were compared,” said Pavlov. “It turns out that the addition of silicates and particularly silicates with perchlorates greatly increases the destruction rates of amino acids.”
Amino acids have not yet been discovered on Mars. Researchers remain hopeful, however, as such materials have been found in some meteorites, including at least one from Mars.
In 2009, researchers at NASA&#8217;s Goddard Space Flight Center <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/left_hand_aminoacids.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> &#8220;the discovery of an excess of the left-handed form of the amino acid isovaline in samples of meteorites that came from carbon-rich asteroids.&#8221; The finding has led to some speculation that life even began in space.
The discovery did show that meteoroids carry similar amino acids to those found on Earth. The researchers also noted that organic matter has been observed on Mars by both the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, but the signs could have also been created by non-biological forces.

Curiosity

NASA Study Claims Research May Need To ‘Dig Deep’ To Find Evidence Of Life On Mars

Extraterrestrial Life

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