ESA's Mars Express has returned strong evidence for an ocean once covering part of Mars. Using radar, it has detected sediments reminiscent of an ocean floor within the boundaries of previously identified, ancient shorelines on Mars. The MARSIS radar was deployed in 2005 and has been collecting data ever since. Jérémie Mouginot, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) and the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues have analysed more than two years of data and found that the northern plains are covered in low-density material. "We interpret these as sedimentary deposits, maybe ice-rich," says Dr Mouginot. "It is a strong new indication that there was once an ocean here."

A few years ago, back when the Constellation Program was still alive, NASA engineers discovered that the Ares I rocket had a crucial flaw, one that could have jeopardized the entire project. They panicked. They plotted. They steeled themselves for the hundreds of millions of dollars it was going to take to make things right. And then they found out how to fix it for the cost of an extra value meal. The problem facing Ares 1 wasn't a booster malfunction or a computer glitch. It was simple cause-and-effect physics. During the final stages of a launch, as the solid booster rocket burns down it makes the entire vehicle oscillate rapidly. Add that oscillation to the resonant frequency of the large tube that separates the booster and the crew cabin, and you get a crew capsule that vibrates like crazy. When humans are vibrating to that extent, it's impossible for them to read a digital display. If the astronauts can't read, they can't do their jobs. If they can't do their jobs, no more mission.

The head of Russia's space agency said Tuesday that cosmic radiation was the most likely cause of the failure of a Mars moon probe that crashed to Earth this month, and suggested that a low-quality imported component may have been vulnerable to the radiation. The unmanned Phobos-Grunt probe was to have gone to the Mars moon of Phobos, taken soil samples and brought them back. But it became stuck in Earth orbit soon after its launch on Nov. 9. It fell out of orbit on Jan. 15, reportedly off the coast of Chile, but no fragments have been found. The failure was a severe embarrassment to Russia, and Popovkin initially suggested it could have been due to foreign sabotage. But on Tuesday he said in televised remarks that an investigation showed the probable cause was "localized influence of heavily radiated space particles."

If we could put a man on the Moon, why can’t we put a man on the Moon? Starting with near zero space capability in 1961, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) put men on our companion world in eight years. Yet despite vastly superior technology and hundreds of billions of dollars in subsequent spending, the agency has been unable to send anyone else farther than low Earth orbit ever since. Why? Because we insist that our astronauts be as safe as possible.

The largest solar particle event since 2005 has been detected by the radiation- monitoring instrument aboard the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, on its way from Earth to Mars. The Radiation Assessment Detector, inside the mission's Curiosity rover tucked inside the spacecraft, is measuring the radiation exposure that could affect a human astronaut on a potential Mars mission. It has measured an increase resulting from a Jan. 22 solar storm observed by other NASA spacecraft. No harmful effects to the Mars Science Laboratory have been detected from this solar event.

Eight years ago today (January 25, 2004), the Mars Exploration Rover -B (MER -B) slammed into the Martian atmosphere and executed a successful Entry, Descent, and Landing on the Red Planet – beginning what was supposed to be 90 days of science operations on the surface of Mars. Eight years and 2,922 Earth-days later, Opportunity continues its mission of exploration of the Martian surface, unlocking the mysteries of Mars and serving as a symbol of endurance while paving the way for future human missions to the Red Planet.

As NASA managers continue to work through the evaluations into an exploration roadmap for the agency, the end goal of sending humans to Mars is starting to show a level of consistency. Per documentation, the key Design Reference Mission (DRM) evaluations are pointing to the “Flexible Path” approach of visiting a Martian moon, prior to landing humans on Mars itself.

The two leading Republican candidates vying to take on President Barack Obama in this year's presidential election turned to the topic of space during a debate last night in Tampa, Fla. "This president has failed miserably the people of Florida," said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. "His plans for NASA? He has no plans for NASA. The Space Coast is struggling." Republican challengers Congressman Ron Paul and former Sen. Rick Santorum weren't asked about space and didn't bring up the topic during the debate. Gingrich will be meeting Wednesday with leaders on Florida's Space Coast -- the region around Kennedy Space Center that bore the brunt of the layoffs following the retirement of the space shuttles last year.

Researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Cornell University are seeking applicants for a NASA-funded Mars analog habitat study, Hawaiʻi Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS. The study will investigate the impact of food preparation, food monotony, nasal congestion and smelling acuity on food and nutrient intake in isolated, confined microsocieties similar to astronaut crews on long term planetary exploration missions. The study will also track the use of habitat resources related to cooking and eating, to provide data for future designs of planetary habitats. Eight research participants are sought for the analog portion of the study: six to form the habitat crew, one “ground-based” research support specialist to provide support for the experiments from outside the habitat, and one more individual to serve as a backup for the other seven. Crewmembers in the analog portion of the study will spend four months living and working in a Mars analog habitat, wearing “spacesuits” whenever they need to venture outside. They will consume a diet including both freeze-dried and dehydrated foods similar to present-day astronaut foods, plus foods that they prepare themselves from shelf-stable supplies – an alternative approach to feeding crews of long term planetary outposts. The deadline for applications is February 29, 2012. To apply, visit: http://www.manoa.hawaii.edu/hi-seas.

A meteorite that fell to Earth last July in Morocco has proven to be a rare chunk of Mars. Only a handful of Martian meteorites are known, and only five (counting the new find) come from meteorites whose fall was witnessed. That’s important because it tells scientists how long it has been lying on the ground, and therefore how much contamination it might have picked up. In this case, about a dozen pieces (such as the one shown, right), totalling several kilograms, were recovered from Morocco in late December. “Because it’s only been on the ground for six months or less, it hasn’t been exposed to much contamination,” says Chris Herd, a planetary geologist specializing in meteorites at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Herd chairs an international meteoritics committee that yesterday certified the rocks as coming from Mars and approved their name – Tissint – in honour of the village near which they were found.

Arizona State University’s Center for Meteorite Studies has acquired a significant new sample for its collection, a rare martian meteorite that fell in southern Morocco in July 2011. It is the first martian fall in around fifty years. Since the observed fall of the famed Ensisheim meteorite in 1492, there have been around 1,200 recovered meteorite falls. A “fall” is a meteorite that was witnessed by someone as it fell from the sky, whereas a “find” is a meteorite that was not observed to fall but was later found and collected. Only a handful of witnessed meteorite falls occur each year. The chance of finding a meteorite is exceedingly small. The chance of witnessing a meteorite fall and finding it is even smaller – and the probability that the fall is a martian meteorite is smaller yet.