Mars & Deep Space — 2026-04-20

Mars Missions Update

Perseverance Rover

• Current Status: No fresh status update available within the past 7 days from official NASA mission blogs.
• Latest Findings: No recent science results confirmed within the coverage window.

Note: The NASA Perseverance Science Updates page shows content dated December 2025, outside this week's coverage window.

Curiosity Rover

• Current Status: Continuing operations on Mt. Sharp, investigating the contacts between boxwork units in what the team calls the "boxwork campaign."
• Latest Findings: The rover is in the final phase of its boxwork campaign, studying geological transitions between distinct rock formations on Mt. Sharp.

Other Mars Missions

Mars Sample Return — Cancelled NASA has formally pulled the plug on its Mars Sample Return program, leaving Perseverance's collected samples stranded on the Red Planet for the foreseeable future. The cancellation opens the door for China to potentially become the first nation to retrieve and return Martian material to Earth — a development with profound scientific and geopolitical implications.

1 sources

dailygalaxy.com

dailygalaxy.com

Deep Space Highlights

Rosalind Franklin Rover (ExoMars)

• Status: Mission confirmed, awaiting 2028 launch on SpaceX Falcon Heavy
• What's New: After a saga involving four different rockets and years of broken promises — including a split with Russia following the Ukraine invasion — Europe's ExoMars rover finally has a confirmed launch vehicle. The Rosalind Franklin rover will ride a Falcon Heavy to Mars in 2028, making it potentially SpaceX's first-ever Mars launch. The life-hunting rover carries a drill capable of reaching 2 meters below the Martian surface to search for biosignatures shielded from surface radiation.

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter — 5th Anniversary

• Status: Grounded since January 2024, but celebrated a historic milestone this week
• What's New: On April 19, 2021, Ingenuity became the first powered aircraft to fly on another planet. Five years later, its legacy is being celebrated worldwide. The helicopter completed 72 flights before its final mission ended, proving aerial exploration of Mars is feasible and paving the way for future rotorcraft missions to the Red Planet.

Europa Clipper

• Status: En route to Jupiter following Mars gravity assist on March 1, 2025
• What's New: The spacecraft used Mars' gravity to slow down (reducing speed by 2 km/s) and reshape its solar orbit. Its next major milestone is an Earth flyby on December 3, 2026, which will provide a final gravity boost before the long cruise to the Jovian system. Europa Clipper is humanity's first dedicated mission to investigate whether Jupiter's icy moon Europa could harbor conditions suitable for life.

JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer)

• Status: In cruise phase, transiting through the asteroid belt toward Jupiter
• What's New: ESA's JUICE completed its Earth–Moon system flyby in August 2024 and continues its multi-gravity-assist journey toward Jupiter. The mission remains on track as it passes through the asteroid belt en route to its eventual destination orbiting Ganymede — the only moon in the solar system with its own magnetic field.

Artemis II — Post-Launch Update

• Status: Crew in post-mission activities; mobile launcher being processed at Kennedy Space Center
• What's New: Following the successful Artemis II crewed lunar flyby launched April 1, NASA's mobile launcher has been moved back inside Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building for servicing and preparation for future missions.

1 sources

nasa.gov

nasa.gov

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS — Post-Perihelion Observations

• Status: Post-perihelion, receding from the Sun
• What's New: Japan's Subaru Telescope observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on January 7, 2026, capturing a composition change after the comet's closest approach to the Sun. This makes 3I/ATLAS only the third confirmed interstellar object detected passing through our solar system — and the first to show detectable outgassing evolution as it moved away from solar heating.

Science Spotlight

NASA Heliophysics Spacecraft Witness Comet's Demise

On April 4, comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) plunged toward the Sun in a dramatic sungrazer event, passing only about twice the Earth-Moon distance from our star — well within the zone of destruction. NASA's fleet of heliophysics spacecraft captured the comet's final moments, providing a rare opportunity to study cometary composition and behavior under extreme solar conditions.

5 sources

science.nasa.gov

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter - NASA Science

science.nasa.gov

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter - NASA Science

nasa.gov

nasa.gov

science.nasa.gov

Perseverance Rover Updates - NASA Science

science.nasa.gov

Curiosity Rover Updates - NASA Science

Apophis Asteroid: Three Years to Historic Earth Flyby

With exactly three years to go, public and scientific attention is converging on asteroid Apophis (99942), the so-called "God of Chaos." On April 13, 2029, the 370-meter asteroid will pass within approximately 32,000 km of Earth's surface — closer than many operational geostationary satellites — and should be visible to the naked eye over Europe and Africa. NASA has confirmed no impact risk, but the flyby is unprecedented in recorded history for an asteroid of this size. Multiple space agencies are planning dedicated observation campaigns, and discussions about a dedicated flyby or rendezvous mission are ongoing.

Upcoming Events

• December 3, 2026 — Europa Clipper Earth gravity assist flyby; the spacecraft swings past Earth to gain speed for its journey to the Jupiter system.
• 2028 — Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover launch window opens; SpaceX Falcon Heavy targeted for Europe's first Mars rover mission.
• April 13, 2029 — Asteroid Apophis makes its historic close flyby of Earth; visible to the naked eye over parts of Europe and Africa — preparation and observation planning now underway.

What to Watch Next

• Rosalind Franklin mission details: ESA and SpaceX are expected to announce further specifics on the 2028 ExoMars launch contract, including payload integration timelines and science instrument readiness — watch for European Space Agency press releases in coming months.
• China's Mars Sample Return ambitions: With NASA's MSR program cancelled, Beijing's plans to retrieve Martian samples will come into sharper focus. Any formal mission announcements from CNSA would mark a pivotal shift in the international Mars exploration landscape.
• Apophis encounter mission proposals: Three years out from the 2029 flyby, planetary scientists are lobbying hard for a dedicated spacecraft rendezvous. Congressional and ESA budget decisions in 2026–2027 will determine whether humanity gets a close-up look at one of history's most watched asteroids.