Mars Sample Return is the highest priority science mission for the next decade as recommended by the 2011 Decadal Survey of Planetary Science [1]. This article presents the results of a feasibility study for a Mars Sample Return mission that efficiently uses emerging commercial capabilities expected to be available in the near future. The motivation of our study was the recognition that emergin...

The magnetometer and electron reflectometer investigation (MAG/ER) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has obtained magnetic field and plasma observations throughout the near-Mars environment, from beyond the influence of Mars to just above the surface (at an altitude of approximately 100 kilometers). The solar wind interaction with Mars is in many ways similar to that at Venus and at an act...

We present the first calculation of saltation transport and dune formation on Mars and compare it to real dunes. We find that the rate at which grains are entrained into saltation on Mars is 1 order of magnitude higher than on Earth. With this fundamental novel ingredient, we reproduce the size and different shapes of Mars dunes, and give an estimate for the wind velocity on Mars.

MARS is one of the AES nalists. The up-to-date analysis of MARS includes the discovery of weak keys, and Biham's estimation that a 12round variant of MARS is breakable. This estimation was partly founded based on a 7-round impossible di erential of the core of MARS. However, no such attack was presented to-date. In this paper we present two new longer impossible di erentials of 8 rounds.

Most studies of active aeolian processes on Mars have focused on dust [1], i.e., particles -1 [tm in diameter that are transported in suspension by wind. The presence of sand dunes on Mars [2-8] indicates that larger grains ( >60 _tm, transported primarily in saltation) are also present. Although indirect evidence suggests that some dunes may be active [9], definitive evidence is lacking. Nonet...

This paper outlines the design and implementation of the Mobile Autonomous Robotic Sentry (MARS) unit with facial detection and recognition capabilities. MARS patrols its surrounding area, performing obstacle avoidance and searching for human threats using facial detection. Once a threat has been identified, MARS will aim at its target and fire projectiles. In addition to facial detection, MARS...

Spacecraft exploring Mars such as the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, as well as the Mars Science Laboratory or Curiosity rover, have accumulated evidence for wet and habitable conditions on early Mars more than 3 billion years ago. Current conditions, by contrast, are cold, extremely arid and seemingly inhospitable. To evaluate exactly how dry today's environment is, it is impo...

In the AAAI ’ “Life on Mars” competition this year, we intend to employ a multi-robot team which combines traditional methods of autonomous navigation with experimental group arbitration strategies to explore and map a simulated extra-terrestrial environment. By communicating with each other to optimize the search, the robots will be able to explore the environment faster than could a single ro...