Comets: Siding Spring (C/2013 A1) - NASA Mars Exploration
Two NASA and one European spacecraft that obtained the first up-close observations of a comet flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, have gathered new information about the basic properties of the comet's nucleus and directly detected the effects on the Martian atmosphere.
Close Comet Flyby Threw Mars' Magnetic Field Into Chaos
The close encounter between comet Siding Spring and Mars flooded the planet with an invisible tide of charged particles from the comet's coma. The dense inner coma reached the surface of the planet, or nearly so. The comet's powerful magnetic field temporarily merged with, and overwhelmed, the planet's weak field, as shown in this artist's ...
Mars: News & Features - NASA Science - NASA Mars Exploration
Get the latest news releases, features, findings, and stories about the missions on Mars.
Mars-Flyby Comet in False Color – NASA Mars Exploration
This movie sequence of images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring before and after its close pass by Mars in October 2014. False color enhances subtle variations in brightness in the comet's coma.
NASA's Mars Odyssey Orbiter Watches Comet Fly Near
Three NASA Mars orbiters, two Mars rovers and other assets on Earth and in space are studying comet Siding Spring. This comet is making its first visit this close to the sun from the outer solar system's Oort Cloud, so the concerted campaign of observations may yield fresh clues to our solar system's earliest days more than 4 billion years ago.
Mars Orbiter Image Shows Comet Nucleus is Small
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured views of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring while that visitor sped past Mars on Sunday (Oct. 19), yielding information about its nucleus.
Mars Curiosity Rover Views Comet Siding Spring
This animation and still image of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring were taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover as the comet passed near the red planet on Oct. 19, 2014. The animation consists of 10 exposures of 25 seconds each, taken between 2:33 p.m. PDT (5:33 EDT) and 3:54 p.m. PDT (6:34 EDT) on Oct. 19.
Mars-Orbiting Spectrometer Shows Dusty Comet's Spectrum
The right panel shows a weighted average spectrum of the entire comet as seen in all the CRISM images. The spectrum appears to show a dusty comet with no strong emission lines. There is a red slope to the average reflectivity -- meaning the comet is …
Colliding Atmospheres: Mars vs Comet Siding Spring
Comet Siding Spring is about to fly historically close to Mars. The encounter could spark Martian auroras, a meteor shower, and other unpredictable effects. Whatever happens, NASA's fleet of Mars satellites, including MAVEN, will have a ringside seat.
01:35 PM 0:10 Mars Mission status overview Zurek JPL 01:45 PM; 0:10 Integrated timeline of Mars-project observations of the comet Diniega JPL 01:55 PM: 0:20 Mars Orbiter Mission: observation plans Bhardwaj Indian Space Research ... the Mars-Comet Encounter Yanamandra-Fisher Space Science Institute