When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor the biggest new releases, reviews and tech hacks The US space agency will host a major press conference today (Thursday, June 7) to discuss the latest science discoveries picked up by the remote Mars rover. NASA’s exciting announcement has pulled in a raft of space boffin heavyweights who have vowed a pledge of silence until the event. Online forums and social media platforms are now wild with speculation NASA is about to drop an extraterrestrial life bombshell. The live panel discussion will feature appearances from Paul Mahaffy, director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Jen Eigenbrode, research scientist at Goddard, Chris Webster, from NASA’s Pasadena-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Ashwin Vasavada, Mars Science Laboratory project scientist.<doc-sep>NASA’s Curiosity rover landed inside Mars’s 96-mile-wide Gale Crater on August 6, 2012, and has spent its time since then investigating the Red Planet’s geology, climate and the question of whether or not it has ever supported microbial life. Now, the rover has seemingly made a new discovery which will be revealed this Thursday, according to the space agency. NASA has scheduled a live discussion for 2 p.m. ET focusing on “new science results” from the rover, although the nature of what has been found remains to be seen as no details will be made public before then. The event can be streamed live on NASA’s online TV channel, Facebook Live, Twitch TV, Ustream, Youtube, and Periscope. It will be hosted by NASA’s assistant director of science for communications, Michelle Thaller, with a panel consisting of: Trending: Rumor: Donald Glover Might Be the Willy Wonka We Need Paul Mahaffy, director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland Jen Eigenbrode, a research scientist at Goddard Chris Webster, senior research fellow, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California Ashwin Vasavada, Mars Science Laboratory project scientist, JPL You can join in on the discussion via social media using the #askNASA. In September 2014, the car-sized, nuclear-powered rover reached the outskirts of the 3.4-mile-high Mount Sharp which forms a peak within the Gale Crater. Since then, it has been steadily climbing upwards, investigating the different rock layers, which could shine a light on Mars’s transition from a fairly warm and wet world to the arid planet we know today. Investigating the Gale Crater region could also provide clues to Mars’s past habitability. Among Curiosity’s most important findings have been the discovery of rocks in ancient stream beds within the crater that contained some of the key chemical ingredients for supporting life—including sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and carbon. Story continues Don't miss: Oregon Sheriff’s Department Investigating Video of Officer Allegedly Punching Homeless Person "A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment," Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program at the agency's headquarters in Washington, said in 2013 following the findings. "From what we know now, the answer is yes." pia22207-16 NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The rover’s key piece of equipment—its drill which allows it to collect pristine rock samples from the planet’s interior—had been out of action since late 2016, when it malfunctioned. Fortunately, it is now working again after operators recently devised a new drilling technique. The $2.5 billion mission is significant for demonstrating the ability to precisely land a very large, heavy rover, with long-range mobility, on the Martian surface. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek<doc-sep>
At 2 pm EDT (6 pm UTC) this Thursday, NASA will have a big Mars announcement to make. As with most announcements of announcements, they've only released a few details, but we do know that the "live discussion" will talk about "new science results from NASA's Mars Curiosity rover". So what has Curiosity found? Well, although everyone always hopes for aliens, we wouldn't recommend holding your breath for little green people. Curiosity celebrated its fifth birthday on the Red Planet earlier this year, with an amazing panorama of where it's gone so far; but to be honest, it's been a very slow journey. What we do know is that it's bound to be some super-exciting science, with a number of big NASA researchers taking part in the discussion - including people who directly work with the samples Curiosity has been diligently gathering on Mars. According to NASA, here are the participants: Paul Mahaffy, director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, who is in charge of Curiosity's sample analysis; Jen Eigenbrode, research scientist at Goddard who investigates gasses and organic molecules; Chris Webster, a senior research fellow in atmospheric chemistry at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); Ashwin Vasavada, a geophysicist at Mars Science Laboratory, JPL. The research is also to be published on Thursday in Science – one of the top scientific journals. What's particularly cool is that the public will be able to tune in and ask questions through social media. To find out what Curiosity has delivered, check out the livestream below at around 2 pm EDT on Thursday (7 June): And once the big news lands, we'll be sure to tell you all the details as well - so keep an eye on the ScienceAlert homepage for our update!