Today: 17 November 2025
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Mars News 7 September 2025 - 4 October 2025

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: A Visitor from Beyond the Solar System

Rare Cosmic Flyby: Interstellar Comet 3I/Atlas to Zip Past Mars as Spacecraft Brace for Close-Up Study

Looking Ahead: What 3I/Atlas Can Teach Us This week’s close approach marks just the beginning of an intensive observation campaign. Once 3I/Atlas dives behind the Sun in late October, Earth-based telescopes will lose it, but Mars and Jupiter satellites (and later telescopes on Earth in December) will continue the story. During perihelion and its outbound journey past Jupiter (in early 2026) the comet should reveal its secrets – or at least its usual cometary face. As one commentator notes, watching 3I/Atlas in this active phase “will give some of the clearest insights yet into the mystery of interstellar comets” space.com.
4 October 2025
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Mars Life Clue, Deadly Heat & Tech Breakthroughs – Science News Roundup (Sept 16–17, 2025)

Mars Life Clue, Deadly Heat & Tech Breakthroughs – Science News Roundup (Sept 16–17, 2025)

Sources Medicine & Health: UC San Diego Health (press release via ScienceDaily) sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com; ScienceDaily (Sep 16) sciencedaily.com; SciTechDaily scitechdaily.com scitechdaily.com.Space & Astronomy: Imperial College London (press release via ScienceDaily) sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com; Symmetry Magazine (Fermilab/SLAC) symmetrymagazine.org symmetrymagazine.org; Sci.News sci.news sci.news.Climate & Environment: The Guardian theguardian.com theguardian.com; UNC Chapel Hill (press release via SciTechDaily) scitechdaily.com scitechdaily.com; Florida Atlantic University (press release via SciTechDaily) scitechdaily.com scitechdaily.com.Physics: Symmetry Magazine symmetrymagazine.org symmetrymagazine.org; Sci.News sci.news.Technology: University of Florida (press release via SciTechDaily) scitechdaily.com scitechdaily.com.Other: Sci.News sci.news sci.news; Sci.News sci.news.
17 September 2025
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Space Race Showdown, Mars Surprises & a New ‘Mini-Moon’ – Global Space News (Sept 15–16, 2025)

Space Race Showdown, Mars Surprises & a New ‘Mini-Moon’ – Global Space News (Sept 15–16, 2025)

Key Highlights Launches and Mission Updates China’s latest launch: On Sept. 16, China launched a test satellite for its planned satellite-internet network, using a Long March 2C rocket with a Yuanzheng-1S upper stage english.news.cn. Liftoff from Jiuquan at 9:06 a.m. Beijing time was successful, inserting the tech demo satellite into orbit to advance China’s broadband megaconstellation plans. This marked the 595th flight of China’s Long March rocket family english.news.cn, underscoring China’s rapid launch cadence. The mission highlights Beijing’s push into satellite internet – an area of growing strategic importance as China races to build its own Starlink-like network. SpaceX boosts ISS resupply: Over the weekend,
16 September 2025
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Moon Race Heats Up, Starlink Hits 300 Launches, and Mars Life Clues – Space News Roundup (Sept 13–14, 2025)

Moon Race Heats Up, Starlink Hits 300 Launches, and Mars Life Clues – Space News Roundup (Sept 13–14, 2025)

Key Facts Civil Space Programs: ISS Resupply & Exploration The weekend saw robust support for the International Space Station from multiple partners. Northrop Grumman’s latest cargo mission, NG-23, thundered off Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on Sunday evening (Sept. 14). Packed with over 11,000 pounds of experiments and provisions, the Cygnus freighter – named the S.S. Willie McCool in honor of the STS-107 Columbia pilot – is the first “Cygnus XL” variant, featuring an enhanced design that expands its payload capacity by about one-third nasa.gov spacepolicyonline.com. Because Northrop is still developing a new U.S.-built Antares rocket (to replace older models that relied
14 September 2025
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Life on Mars? Visible ‘Time Crystal’, Diabetes Breakthrough and More – Science News Roundup

Life on Mars? Visible ‘Time Crystal’, Diabetes Breakthrough and More – Science News Roundup

Key Facts Space & Astronomy: Martian Life Clues and Interstellar Visitors Historic Mars discovery: NASA’s Perseverance rover has uncovered one of the most tantalizing clues yet that Mars may have harbored life. In a rock sample drilled from Jezero Crater (the site of an ancient lake), scientists detected the iron mineral vivianite and the iron sulfide greigite – substances that here on Earth often form with the help of microbes reuters.com. The sample – a reddish, fine-grained mudstone nicknamed “Sapphire Canyon” – contains strange circular patterns (ring-like “leopard spots” and dark speckles like poppy seeds) that could be fossilized microbial
13 September 2025
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NASA Hints at Martian Life, SpaceX’s 120-Launch Greenlight & Warfighter Satellites – Space News Roundup (Sept 12–13, 2025)

NASA Hints at Martian Life, SpaceX’s 120-Launch Greenlight & Warfighter Satellites – Space News Roundup (Sept 12–13, 2025)

Key Facts Mars Rover Finds Potential Signs of Ancient Life One of the week’s most groundbreaking developments came from the Red Planet. NASA unveiled evidence that a Martian rock sample may contain a “potential biosignature” – a clue of past microbial life. The Perseverance rover drilled the sample, dubbed “Sapphire Canyon,” from an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater in July 2024 nasa.gov. Scientists noticed millimeter-sized “leopard spots” in the reddish rock (nicknamed “Cheyava Falls”), which on Earth can result from chemical processes that microbes use for energy nasa.gov livescience.com. The rock is rich in clay, a material excellent at
13 September 2025
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Martian Life Clues, Hawking Vindication, and More – Science News Roundup (Sept 11–12, 2025)

Martian Life Clues, Hawking Vindication, and More – Science News Roundup (Sept 11–12, 2025)

Key Facts Space & Astronomy Possible life on Mars – “potential biosignatures”: NASA’s Perseverance rover has uncovered one of the most tantalizing clues yet that Mars may have hosted ancient life. Scientists reported that a sample of fine-grained, iron-rich mudstone rock from Jezero Crater contains minerals (including vivianite and greigite) that on Earth often form due to microbial activity reuters.com. The rover team spent a year analyzing data from the rock, nicknamed “Sapphire Canyon,” before announcing what they call a “potential biosignature” – a chemical or textural signal that could have a biological origin reuters.com. The rock, which dates back
12 September 2025
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Martian Life Clue, Cosmic Breakthroughs & Climate Shocks – Science News Roundup (Sept 10–11, 2025)

Martian Life Clue, Cosmic Breakthroughs & Climate Shocks – Science News Roundup (Sept 10–11, 2025)

Key Facts Mars Rover Uncovers Possible Biosignatures in Ancient Mudstone NASA’s Perseverance rover has delivered perhaps the most tantalizing hint of Martian life yet. Scientists announced that a sedimentary rock sample nicknamed “Sapphire Canyon,” drilled from Jezero Crater, contains organic carbon and unusual mineral patterns that could be of biological origin reuters.com reuters.com. Specifically, the rover detected two minerals – vivianite (iron phosphate) and greigite (iron sulfide) – that on Earth often form when microbes interact with sediments reuters.com. These minerals, along with the rock’s fine-grained, rusty-red appearance and “leopard spot” textures, constitute what researchers call a “potential biosignature” reuters.com
11 September 2025
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Potential Mars Life Clue, SpaceX Launch Blitz & Space Policy Shakeups – Your Sept 10–11 Space Roundup

Potential Mars Life Clue, SpaceX Launch Blitz & Space Policy Shakeups – Your Sept 10–11 Space Roundup

Martian Rover Hints at Ancient Life NASA’s Perseverance rover has delivered what might be the most tantalizing evidence of past life on Mars to date. Researchers revealed that a rock sample nicknamed “Sapphire Canyon,” collected in Jezero Crater, contains organic molecules and unusual mineral patterns that could be “potential biosignatures” – in other words, possible chemical traces of ancient microbial activity nasa.gov. These findings underwent rigorous peer review and were just published in Nature, indicating the data’s validity. At a Sept. 10 briefing, top NASA scientists and officials highlighted the significance of this discovery. Acting Administrator Sean Duffy emphasized how remarkable
11 September 2025
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Leopard-Spotted Mars Rock Could Hold ‘Clearest Sign of Life’ Yet, NASA Says

Leopard-Spotted Mars Rock Could Hold ‘Clearest Sign of Life’ Yet, NASA Says

A Mysterious Rock in an Ancient Martian Riverbed NASA’s Perseverance rover, which landed in Jezero Crater in 2021, has been on the hunt for signs of past life. In an ancient river channel called Neretva Vallis – once a conduit for water into Jezero’s lake – the rover spotted something unusual last year washingtonpost.com theguardian.com. A flat, fine-grained mudstone rock caught scientists’ attention because its surface was dotted with multicolored spots and tiny nodules. The science team nicknamed the rock “Cheyava Falls,” after a waterfall in the Grand Canyon, due to its shape. They playfully described the larger blotches as “leopard spots” and the tiny dark bumps as
10 September 2025
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Mars Rock Sparks Life Clue, Back‑to‑Back Rocket Launches & Space Policy Shakeups – This Week in Space (Sept 9–10, 2025)

Mars Rock Sparks Life Clue, Back‑to‑Back Rocket Launches & Space Policy Shakeups – This Week in Space (Sept 9–10, 2025)

Key Facts: Launches & Satellite Missions SpaceX’s 24-Hour Launch Blitz – and a Scrub: SpaceX lined up two Falcon 9 launches on back-to-back days, showcasing the company’s rapid cadence. In Florida, a Falcon 9 was slated to carry Nusantara Lima, a 4.5-ton Indonesian telecom satellite, to orbit. After stormy weather caused two last-minute scrubs on Sept. 8–9 (with countdowns halted in the final minute) nasaspaceflight.com, teams targeted a Wednesday night launch from Cape Canaveral. The mission aims to deploy Nusantara Lima to a geostationary orbit, replacing a satellite lost in 2020 due to a launch failure nasaspaceflight.com. The well-traveled booster (B1078) is scheduled to land
10 September 2025
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Space Race Heats Up: SpaceX’s 500th Landing, China’s Launch Blitz, Blue Origin’s Mars Mission & More

Space Race Heats Up: SpaceX’s 500th Landing, China’s Launch Blitz, Blue Origin’s Mars Mission & More

Key Facts SpaceX Starlink Frenzy and Reusability Records SpaceX continued its high-tempo launch campaign over the weekend, achieving new records in the process. On Sept. 6, a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg SFB carried 24 Starlink internet satellites to orbit (Mission Starlink 17-9) spaceflightnow.com. Liftoff occurred at 11:06 a.m. local (1806 UTC), and about 8 minutes later the first-stage booster (serial B1075) landed safely on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You spaceflightnow.com. This marked SpaceX’s 501st successful recovery of an orbital-class booster and the 149th landing on that particular drone ship spaceflightnow.com. Notably, B1075 was on its 20th flight – underscoring
7 September 2025
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