NASA’s next Mars rover will be able to generate oxygen

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission (MAVEN) is closing in on the Red Planet. At the same time, an interloper, comet Siding Spring, is also approaching. Although the comet’s nucleus will miss Mar’s, Siding Spring’s coma of dust particles might be wide enough to reach the planet. Teams of scientists and spacecraft engineers have been studying the prospect that the comet’s near miss with Mars might spew particles that could harm an international flotilla of spacecraft orbiting the planet. The comet nucleus will make its closest approach to Mars on Oct. 19, and the planet’s pass through the coma will take several hours. As a new arrival at Mars, MAVEN will slip into orbit on Sept. 21, U.S. time. A few days later, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission will also power itself into Mars orbit. The two spacecraft add to an already existing fleet of Mars orbiters: Europe’s Mars Express, and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey.