Mars spacecraft will explore atmosphere

Mars spacecraft will explore atmosphere

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

NASA hopes its newest Mars spacecraft lives up to its know-it-all name.

The robotic explorer called Maven is due to blast off Monday on a 10-month journey to the red planet. There, it will orbit Mars and study the atmosphere to try to understand how the planet morphed from warm and wet to cold and dry.

“A maven is a trusted expert,” noted NASA’s space science chief, John Grunsfeld. Maven will help scientists “build a story of the Mars atmosphere and help future human explorers who journey to Mars.”

The $671 million mission is NASA’s 21st crack at Earth’s most enticing neighbor, coming on the heels of the Curiosity rover, still rolling strong a year after its grand Martian arrival.

Body likely man who fell from plane

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

Authorities said Saturday that they’ve likely found the body of a Florida man who they say fell out of a private plane, three days into a land and sea search that included parts of the Atlantic Ocean near Miami.

“Even though we presume that the body found is that of Gerardo Nales, investigators are pending official identification from the Medical Examiner’s Office,” Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said in a statement.

The presumed body of 42-year-old Nales was found in an area of mangroves about 10:30 a.m., Zabaleta said. A day earlier, police air and water units were scouring the sea and had expanded their search area because of currents and wind.

The pilot’s identity has not been released, nor has the intended destination of the plane. Authorities said there were only two people on board.

Bomber kills 6 in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan

A suicide car bomber tore through the Afghan capital Saturday, just hours after President Hamid Karzai announced U.S. and Afghan negotiators had agreed on a draft deal allowing U.S. troops to remain in the country beyond a 2014 deadline.

The blast, which killed six people near where thousands of tribal leaders will discuss the deal this week, was a bloody reminder of the insecurity plaguing the country after 12 years of war.

The suicide bomber attacked security forces protecting the Loya Jirga site, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said. He said the blast killed six people and wounded 22. Among the dead were two security personnel, he said.

Sediqqi said Afghan security forces had prior knowledge of the suicide bombing but were unable to stop the attack. He did not elaborate.

Associated Press