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Mars posts

What’s making swirls on Mars? News

by Fiona Midson, 3 March 2022 | 0 comments

Wispy purple marks on white pitted surface

By Jacinta Bowler This image of the Argyre Planitia on Mars really is out of this world! Taken back in February 2021 by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, it shows Mars’ chaotic terrain of mounds, ripples and huge blue ‘dust devil’ tracks.

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Under the surface of Mars News

by David Shaw, 29 July 2021 | 0 comments

Cross section illustration through a sphere.

If you dug a hole straight down, what would you find? Earth isn’t just solid rock all the way through. There’s a thin rocky crust floating on the slowly flowing mantle, a liquid outer core and solid metal inner core. It turns out that Mars has a similar internal structure to Earth.

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Out of orbit – a quick quiz Quiz

by David Shaw, 28 July 2021 | 0 comments

Blast into orbit with this well-rounded quiz. Will you crash back to Earth, or reach the stars?

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Make a spinning helicopter Activity

by David Shaw, 28 April 2021 | 0 comments

Paper helicopter with paper clip weights.

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has made history by flying on Mars. To celebrate the first flight of a copter on another planet, here’s a simple unpowered helicopter you can build at home!

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Roving around – a quick quiz Activity

by David Shaw, 24 March 2021 | 0 comments

Black lightning bolt in purple circle

It’s not just robots that rove – this quiz celebrates roving in all its forms! Can you manage to find all the right answers?

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What’s cool in space? Asteroids! News

by David Shaw, 30 August 2018 | 0 comments

Image of a spacecraft.

Sometimes space missions can seem a bit faddish. Four spacecraft are currently orbiting Mars, and at least three missions are looking for new planets outside our solar system. But the new hotness, it seems, is asteroids.

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Mars storms a risk to rovers News

by David Shaw, 21 June 2018 | 1 comments

If you think the weather here on Earth is bad, be glad you don’t live on Mars. Storms currently cover much of the planet, with wind speeds of around 100 kilometres per hour. So spare a thought for the intrepid Mars rovers currently bearing the brunt of the storm.

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On Earth and Mars, time and travel – a quick quiz Quiz

by David Shaw, 14 March 2018 | 0 comments

Black lightning bolt in purple circle

Put your thinking caps on, it’s time to test your skills in chemistry, time, space, tech and biology!

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Making bricks on Mars News

by David Shaw, 25 May 2017 | 0 comments

An illustration of an underground Mars base.

If you’ve ever dreamed of living on Mars, you’ve probably realised you’ll need a place to live. That’s one reason to be excited about Martian brick research being conducted by scientists in the United States. Recently, a team showed that it’s actually quite easy to make bricks out of Mars dirt.

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Water on Mars? Super cool! News

by David Shaw, 12 June 2015 | 1 comments

dark lines on the side of a crater.

It’s drier than any desert on Earth. On Mars, pure water exists only as a gas or a solid. Vast amounts of ice are found at the north and south poles and buried underground, but there’s not a drop to drink.

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