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117-669: The Next Mars Orbiter ( NeMO , earlier known as the Mars 2022 orbiter ) is a proposed NASA Mars communications satellite with high-resolution imaging payload and two solar-electric ion thrusters . The orbiter was initially proposed to be launched in September 2022 to link ground controllers with rovers and landers and extend mapping capabilities expected to be lost when the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and 2001 Mars Odyssey stop functioning, but officials elected to focus on flying

234-485: A corporate citizenship program centered on charitable contributions in five areas: education, health, human services , environment , the arts , culture, and civic engagement . In February 2012, Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship partnered with the Insight Labs to develop a new model for foundations to more effectively lead the sectors they serve. The company is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition ,

351-517: A Martian solar day ( sol ) is equal to 24.6 hours, and a Martian solar year is equal to 1.88 Earth years (687 Earth days). Mars has two natural satellites that are small and irregular in shape: Phobos and Deimos . The relatively flat plains in northern parts of Mars strongly contrast with the cratered terrain in southern highlands – this terrain observation is known as the Martian dichotomy . Mars hosts many enormous extinct volcanoes (the tallest

468-462: A Washington D.C.–based coalition of more than 400 major companies and NGOs that advocate a larger International Affairs Budget, which funds American diplomatic and development efforts abroad. A series of U.S. diplomatic cables show how U.S. diplomats and senior politicians intervene on behalf of Boeing to help boost the company's sales. In 2007 and 2008, the company benefited from over US$ 10 billion of long-term loan guarantees, helping finance

585-485: A classical albedo feature it contains. In April 2023, The New York Times reported an updated global map of Mars based on images from the Hope spacecraft . A related, but much more detailed, global Mars map was released by NASA on 16 April 2023. The vast upland region Tharsis contains several massive volcanoes, which include the shield volcano Olympus Mons . The edifice is over 600 km (370 mi) wide. Because

702-518: A company providing commercial launch services sending satellites to geostationary orbit from floating platforms. In 2000, Boeing acquired the satellite segment of Hughes Electronics . In December 1996, Boeing announced its intention to merge with McDonnell Douglas , which, following regulatory approval, was completed on August 4, 1997. The delay was caused by objections from the European Commission , which ultimately placed three conditions on

819-422: A global magnetic field, the types and distribution of auroras there differ from those on Earth; rather than being mostly restricted to polar regions as is the case on Earth, a Martian aurora can encompass the planet. In September 2017, NASA reported radiation levels on the surface of the planet Mars were temporarily doubled , and were associated with an aurora 25 times brighter than any observed earlier, due to

936-482: A high ratio of deuterium in Gale Crater , though not significantly high enough to suggest the former presence of an ocean. Other scientists caution that these results have not been confirmed, and point out that Martian climate models have not yet shown that the planet was warm enough in the past to support bodies of liquid water. Near the northern polar cap is the 81.4 kilometres (50.6 mi) wide Korolev Crater , which

1053-483: A low of 30  Pa (0.0044  psi ) on Olympus Mons to over 1,155 Pa (0.1675 psi) in Hellas Planitia , with a mean pressure at the surface level of 600 Pa (0.087 psi). The highest atmospheric density on Mars is equal to that found 35 kilometres (22 mi) above Earth's surface. The resulting mean surface pressure is only 0.6% of Earth's 101.3 kPa (14.69 psi). The scale height of

1170-442: A massive, and unexpected, solar storm in the middle of the month. Mars has seasons, alternating between its northern and southern hemispheres, similar to on Earth. Additionally the orbit of Mars has, compared to Earth's, a large eccentricity and approaches perihelion when it is summer in its southern hemisphere and winter in its northern, and aphelion when it is winter in its southern hemisphere and summer in its northern. As

1287-530: A minimum thickness of 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) in Isidis Planitia , and a maximum thickness of 117 kilometres (73 mi) in the southern Tharsis plateau. For comparison, Earth's crust averages 27.3 ± 4.8 km in thickness. The most abundant elements in the Martian crust are silicon , oxygen , iron , magnesium , aluminium , calcium , and potassium . Mars is confirmed to be seismically active; in 2019 it

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1404-669: A potential downgrade to junk status . On November 1, 2024, the IAM endorsed an improved contract offer which would see a 38% pay rise over four years, a $ 12,000 ratification bonus, and the reinstatement of an annual bonus scheme. On November 5, 2024, Boeing workers accepted the pay deal, ending a seven-week-long walk out. The company's three divisions are: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services. In 2018 and 2019 , two Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body passenger airplanes crashed, leaving 346 people dead and no survivors. In response, aviation regulators and airlines around

1521-507: A profit of US$ 9.7 billion, laying off 14,862 workers since 2008, and increasing executive pay by 31% to US$ 41.9 million in 2010 for its top five executives. Boeing has been accused of unethical practices (in violation of the Procurement Integrity Act ) while attempting to submit a revised bid to NASA for their lunar landing project. The firm has been criticized for supplying and profiting from wars , including

1638-467: A record of erosion caused by the catastrophic release of water from subsurface aquifers, though some of these structures have been hypothesized to result from the action of glaciers or lava. One of the larger examples, Ma'adim Vallis , is 700 kilometres (430 mi) long, much greater than the Grand Canyon, with a width of 20 kilometres (12 mi) and a depth of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) in places. It

1755-581: A remnant of that ring. The geological history of Mars can be split into many periods, but the following are the three primary periods: Geological activity is still taking place on Mars. The Athabasca Valles is home to sheet-like lava flows created about 200 million years ago. Water flows in the grabens called the Cerberus Fossae occurred less than 20 million years ago, indicating equally recent volcanic intrusions. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured images of avalanches. Mars

1872-460: A result, the seasons in its southern hemisphere are more extreme and the seasons in its northern are milder than would otherwise be the case. The summer temperatures in the south can be warmer than the equivalent summer temperatures in the north by up to 30 °C (54 °F). Martian surface temperatures vary from lows of about −110 °C (−166 °F) to highs of up to 35 °C (95 °F) in equatorial summer. The wide range in temperatures

1989-464: A small crater (later called Airy-0 ), located in the Sinus Meridiani ("Middle Bay" or "Meridian Bay"), was chosen by Merton E. Davies , Harold Masursky , and Gérard de Vaucouleurs for the definition of 0.0° longitude to coincide with the original selection. Because Mars has no oceans, and hence no " sea level ", a zero-elevation surface had to be selected as a reference level; this is called

2106-478: A storm over a small area, to gigantic storms that cover the entire planet. They tend to occur when Mars is closest to the Sun, and have been shown to increase global temperature. Seasons also produce dry ice covering polar ice caps . Large areas of the polar regions of Mars While Mars contains water in larger amounts , most of it is dust covered water ice at the Martian polar ice caps . The volume of water ice in

2223-511: A technology precursor for a future round-trip sample return mission and human expeditions to Mars. Robert Lock is leading the concept studies for the 2022 orbiter. Concern in NASA is that the currently used relay satellites, 2001 Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter , may stop functioning, resulting in the need to press the MAVEN science orbiter into use as a backup telecommunications relay. Since

2340-491: A very thick lithosphere compared to Earth. Below this the mantle gradually becomes more ductile, and the seismic wave velocity starts to grow again. The Martian mantle does not appear to have a thermally insulating layer analogous to Earth's lower mantle ; instead, below 1050 km in depth, it becomes mineralogically similar to Earth's transition zone . At the bottom of the mantle lies a basal liquid silicate layer approximately 150–180 km thick. Mars's iron and nickel core

2457-466: A year, there are large surface temperature swings on the surface between −78.5 °C (−109.3 °F) to 5.7 °C (42.3 °F) similar to Earth's seasons , as both planets have significant axial tilt . Mars was formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago. During the Noachian period (4.5 to 3.5 billion years ago), Mars's surface was marked by meteor impacts , valley formation, erosion, and

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2574-527: Is Olympus Mons , 21.9 km or 13.6 mi tall) and one of the largest canyons in the Solar System ( Valles Marineris , 4,000 km or 2,500 mi long). Geologically , the planet is fairly active with marsquakes trembling underneath the ground, dust devils sweeping across the landscape, and cirrus clouds . Carbon dioxide is substantially present in Mars's polar ice caps and thin atmosphere . During

2691-452: Is Syrtis Major Planum . The permanent northern polar ice cap is named Planum Boreum . The southern cap is called Planum Australe . Mars's equator is defined by its rotation, but the location of its Prime Meridian was specified, as was Earth's (at Greenwich ), by choice of an arbitrary point; Mädler and Beer selected a line for their first maps of Mars in 1830. After the spacecraft Mariner 9 provided extensive imagery of Mars in 1972,

2808-406: Is a light albedo feature clearly visible from Earth. There are other notable impact features, such as Argyre , which is around 1,800 kilometres (1,100 mi) in diameter, and Isidis , which is around 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) in diameter. Due to the smaller mass and size of Mars, the probability of an object colliding with the planet is about half that of Earth. Mars is located closer to

2925-515: Is among the largest global aerospace manufacturers ; it is the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world based on 2022 revenue and is the largest exporter in the United States by dollar value. Boeing was founded by William E. Boeing in Seattle , Washington, on July 15, 1916. The present corporation is the result of the merger of Boeing with McDonnell Douglas on August 1, 1997. As of 2023,

3042-432: Is approximately half the diameter of Earth, with a surface area only slightly less than the total area of Earth's dry land. Mars is less dense than Earth, having about 15% of Earth's volume and 11% of Earth's mass , resulting in about 38% of Earth's surface gravity . Mars is the only presently known example of a desert planet , a rocky planet with a surface akin to that of Earth's hot deserts . The red-orange appearance of

3159-766: Is completely molten, with no solid inner core. It is around half of Mars's radius, approximately 1650–1675 km, and is enriched in light elements such as sulfur , oxygen, carbon , and hydrogen . Mars is a terrestrial planet with a surface that consists of minerals containing silicon and oxygen, metals , and other elements that typically make up rock . The Martian surface is primarily composed of tholeiitic basalt , although parts are more silica -rich than typical basalt and may be similar to andesitic rocks on Earth, or silica glass. Regions of low albedo suggest concentrations of plagioclase feldspar , with northern low albedo regions displaying higher than normal concentrations of sheet silicates and high-silicon glass. Parts of

3276-566: Is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname " the Red Planet ". Mars is among the brightest objects in Earth's sky , and its high-contrast albedo features have made it a common subject for telescope viewing. It is classified as a terrestrial planet and is the second smallest of the Solar System 's planets with a diameter of 6,779 km (4,212 mi). In terms of orbital motion,

3393-429: Is divided into two kinds of areas, with differing albedo. The paler plains covered with dust and sand rich in reddish iron oxides were once thought of as Martian "continents" and given names like Arabia Terra ( land of Arabia ) or Amazonis Planitia ( Amazonian plain ). The dark features were thought to be seas, hence their names Mare Erythraeum , Mare Sirenum and Aurorae Sinus . The largest dark feature seen from Earth

3510-426: Is due to the thin atmosphere which cannot store much solar heat, the low atmospheric pressure (about 1% that of the atmosphere of Earth ), and the low thermal inertia of Martian soil. The planet is 1.52 times as far from the Sun as Earth, resulting in just 43% of the amount of sunlight. Mars has the largest dust storms in the Solar System, reaching speeds of over 160 km/h (100 mph). These can vary from

3627-452: Is responsible for about 11% of greenhouse gases emitted by the U.S. transportation sector. Aviation's share of the greenhouse gas emissions was poised to grow, as air travel increases and ground vehicles use more alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel . Boeing estimates that biofuels could reduce flight-related greenhouse-gas emissions by 60 to 80%. The solution blends algae fuels with existing jet fuel . Boeing executives said

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3744-510: Is striking: northern plains flattened by lava flows contrast with the southern highlands, pitted and cratered by ancient impacts. It is possible that, four billion years ago, the Northern Hemisphere of Mars was struck by an object one-tenth to two-thirds the size of Earth's Moon . If this is the case, the Northern Hemisphere of Mars would be the site of an impact crater 10,600 by 8,500 kilometres (6,600 by 5,300 mi) in size, or roughly

3861-539: Is sustainable only as long as orders are good and delivery rates are increasing. From 2013 to 2019, Boeing spent over $ 60 billion on dividends and stock buybacks , twice as much as the development costs of the 787. In 2020, Boeing's second quarter revenue was $ 11.8 billion as a result of the pandemic slump. Due to higher sales in other divisions and an influx in deliveries of commercial jetliners in 2021, second quarter revenue increased by 44%, reaching nearly $ 17 billion. Revenues decreased 15 percent to $ 16.9 billion in

3978-606: Is thought to have been carved by flowing water early in Mars's history. The youngest of these channels is thought to have formed only a few million years ago. Elsewhere, particularly on the oldest areas of the Martian surface, finer-scale, dendritic networks of valleys are spread across significant proportions of the landscape. Features of these valleys and their distribution strongly imply that they were carved by runoff resulting from precipitation in early Mars history. Subsurface water flow and groundwater sapping may play important subsidiary roles in some networks, but precipitation

4095-539: The Fortune Global 500 list (2020). The Boeing Company started in 1916, when American lumber industrialist William E. Boeing founded Pacific Aero Products Company in Seattle, Washington. Shortly before doing so, he and Conrad Westervelt created the "B&W" seaplane . In 1917, the organization was renamed Boeing Airplane Company, with William Boeing forming Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation in 1928. In 1929,

4212-594: The Perseverance rover first to cache various samples for a later NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return that will incorporate a Mars telecom orbiter, now envisioned for the late 2020s. Key features under study include solar electric ion drive engines, better solar arrays , and broadband laser communications (optic communication) between Earth and Mars. The orbiter is conceptually similar to the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter , canceled in 2005, and could be

4329-537: The areoid of Mars, analogous to the terrestrial geoid . Zero altitude was defined by the height at which there is 610.5  Pa (6.105  mbar ) of atmospheric pressure. This pressure corresponds to the triple point of water, and it is about 0.6% of the sea level surface pressure on Earth (0.006 atm). For mapping purposes, the United States Geological Survey divides the surface of Mars into thirty cartographic quadrangles , each named for

4446-528: The COVID-19 pandemic with plans for a total 10% cut of its workforce or approximately 16,000 positions. In July 2020, Boeing reported a loss of $ 2.4 billion as a result of the pandemic and the Boeing 737 MAX groundings , and that it was in response planning to make more job and production cuts. On August 18, 2020, CEO Dave Calhoun announced further job cuts; on October 28, 2020, nearly 30,000 employees were laid off, as

4563-854: The Israel-Gaza war (2023-present) , demonstrations sought to block shipments of weapons for the Israel Defense Forces at Boeing facilities in St. Charles, Missouri , Tukwila, Washington , and Gresham, Oregon . Students at Florida State University , University of Washington , Saint Louis University , University of Missouri–St. Louis , and Washington University in St. Louis called for their institutions to break partnerships with Boeing. Research estimates that Boeing has made between $ 50 billion to $ 100 billion in revenue from sales to Israel. In 2024, students on hunger strike at Brown University named Boeing among

4680-466: The Mars 2020 rover would be placed in Mars orbit by a future Mars ascent vehicle. From there, the orbiter would rendezvous, transfer the samples into a capsule and send it back to Earth. The proposed orbiter would be propelled with two solar-electric ion thrusters ; one engine would be active while the other one would be a spare. Electrical power to the engines would be provided by advanced solar arrays that generate 20 kW. An ion engine would give

4797-496: The Mars Express orbiter found to be filled with approximately 2,200 cubic kilometres (530 cu mi) of water ice. Boeing The Boeing Company , or simply Boeing ( / ˈ b oʊ ɪ ŋ / ), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes , rotorcraft , rockets , satellites , and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support services. Boeing

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4914-565: The Simi Hills of eastern Ventura County in Southern California , had been contaminated by Rocketdyne with toxic and radioactive waste . Boeing agreed to a cleanup agreement with the EPA in 2017. Clean-up studies and lawsuits are in progress. On July 19, 2022, Boeing announced a renewed partnership with Mitsubishi to produce carbon-neutral and sustainable solutions. The airline industry

5031-644: The Yellowknife Bay area in the Glenelg terrain. In September 2015, NASA announced that they had found strong evidence of hydrated brine flows in recurring slope lineae , based on spectrometer readings of the darkened areas of slopes. These streaks flow downhill in Martian summer, when the temperature is above −23 °C, and freeze at lower temperatures. These observations supported earlier hypotheses, based on timing of formation and their rate of growth, that these dark streaks resulted from water flowing just below

5148-415: The asteroid belt , so it has an increased chance of being struck by materials from that source. Mars is more likely to be struck by short-period comets , i.e. , those that lie within the orbit of Jupiter . Martian craters can have a morphology that suggests the ground became wet after the meteor impact. The large canyon, Valles Marineris (Latin for " Mariner Valleys", also known as Agathodaemon in

5265-480: The jatropha plant to see if it is a sustainable alternative to conventional fuel. A two-hour test flight using a 50–50 mixture of the new biofuel with Jet A-1 in a Rolls-Royce RB-211 engine of a 747–400 was completed on December 30, 2008. The engine was then removed to be studied to identify any differences between the Jatropha blend and regular Jet A1. No effects on performances were found. In 2008 and 2009, Boeing

5382-469: The possible presence of water oceans . The Hesperian period (3.5 to 3.3–2.9 billion years ago) was dominated by widespread volcanic activity and flooding that carved immense outflow channels . The Amazonian period, which continues to the present, has been marked by the wind as a dominant influence on geological processes . Due to Mars's geological history, the possibility of past or present life on Mars remains of great scientific interest. Since

5499-524: The 2020s no such mission is planned. Scientists have theorized that during the Solar System's formation , Mars was created as the result of a random process of run-away accretion of material from the protoplanetary disk that orbited the Sun. Mars has many distinctive chemical features caused by its position in the Solar System. Elements with comparatively low boiling points, such as chlorine , phosphorus , and sulfur , are much more common on Mars than on Earth; these elements were probably pushed outward by

5616-579: The Boeing 737 MAX 9. The FAA announced on January 12 that it was expanding its scrutiny of Boeing, with a production audit of the 737 MAX 9. On February 6, the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report indicating that four bolts used to secure the panel had been removed, and appeared not to have been replaced, at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington . In March 2024,

5733-592: The Boeing Company's corporate headquarters is located in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington County, Virginia . The company is organized into three primary divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), and Boeing Global Services (BGS). In 2021, Boeing recorded $ 62.3   billion in sales. Boeing is ranked 54th on the Fortune 500 list (2020), and ranked 121st on

5850-591: The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines blowout. In March 2024, CEO Dave Calhoun and board chairman Larry Kellner both announced they would be stepping down from their positions. In 2006, the UCLA Center for Environmental Risk Reduction released a study showing that Boeing's Santa Susana Field Laboratory , a site that was a former Rocketdyne test and development site in

5967-577: The Late Heavy Bombardment. There is evidence of an enormous impact basin in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars, spanning 10,600 by 8,500 kilometres (6,600 by 5,300 mi), or roughly four times the size of the Moon's South Pole–Aitken basin , which would be the largest impact basin yet discovered if confirmed. It has been hypothesized that the basin was formed when Mars was struck by a Pluto -sized body about four billion years ago. The event, thought to be

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6084-474: The Martian ionosphere , lowering the atmospheric density by stripping away atoms from the outer layer. Both Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express have detected ionized atmospheric particles trailing off into space behind Mars, and this atmospheric loss is being studied by the MAVEN orbiter. Compared to Earth, the atmosphere of Mars is quite rarefied. Atmospheric pressure on the surface today ranges from

6201-538: The Martian sky a tawny color when seen from the surface. It may take on a pink hue due to iron oxide particles suspended in it. The concentration of methane in the Martian atmosphere fluctuates from about 0.24 ppb during the northern winter to about 0.65 ppb during the summer. Estimates of its lifetime range from 0.6 to 4 years, so its presence indicates that an active source of the gas must be present. Methane could be produced by non-biological process such as serpentinization involving water, carbon dioxide, and

6318-415: The Martian surface is caused by ferric oxide , or rust . It can look like butterscotch ; other common surface colors include golden, brown, tan, and greenish, depending on the minerals present. Like Earth, Mars is differentiated into a dense metallic core overlaid by less dense rocky layers. The outermost layer is the crust, which is on average about 42–56 kilometres (26–35 mi) thick, with

6435-542: The Moon, Johann Heinrich von Mädler and Wilhelm Beer were the first areographers. They began by establishing that most of Mars's surface features were permanent and by more precisely determining the planet's rotation period. In 1840, Mädler combined ten years of observations and drew the first map of Mars. Features on Mars are named from a variety of sources. Albedo features are named for classical mythology. Craters larger than roughly 50 km are named for deceased scientists and writers and others who have contributed to

6552-577: The airplane manufacturer was increasingly losing money due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2022, Boeing announced plans to move its global headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia , a suburb of Washington, D.C. The company said that this decision was made in part to concentrate on its defense work with "proximity to our customers and stakeholders". After the January 2024 Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and other incidents, one shareholder proposed relocating

6669-401: The airplane was malfunctioning, and ultimately plummeted nose-down to the ground at terrifying speed". While the investigations into the crashes of the 737 MAX were proceeding, the Boeing 777X , the company's largest capacity twin jet and the largest ever built, made its maiden flight on January 25, 2020, but also experienced problems. Following an incident during flight testing in 2021,

6786-462: The area of Europe, Asia, and Australia combined, surpassing Utopia Planitia and the Moon's South Pole–Aitken basin as the largest impact crater in the Solar System. Mars is scarred by a number of impact craters: a total of 43,000 observed craters with a diameter of 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) or greater have been found. The largest exposed crater is Hellas , which is 2,300 kilometres (1,400 mi) wide and 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) deep, and

6903-419: The atmosphere is about 10.8 kilometres (6.7 mi), which is higher than Earth's 6 kilometres (3.7 mi), because the surface gravity of Mars is only about 38% of Earth's. The atmosphere of Mars consists of about 96% carbon dioxide , 1.93% argon and 1.89% nitrogen along with traces of oxygen and water. The atmosphere is quite dusty, containing particulates about 1.5 μm in diameter which give

7020-406: The atmosphere is small, but enough to produce larger clouds of water ice and different cases of snow and frost , often mixed with snow of carbon dioxide dry ice . Landforms visible on Mars strongly suggest that liquid water has existed on the planet's surface. Huge linear swathes of scoured ground, known as outflow channels , cut across the surface in about 25 places. These are thought to be

7137-426: The atmosphere under a parachute and hard-land for retrieval and analyses in specially designed safe laboratories. Some NASA officials consider the Mars 2022 orbiter an "essential orbital support for sample return", "significant" in maintaining the Martian communications infrastructure, and desirable for the continuity in remote sensing. The President's FY2017 Budget provided $ 10 million to begin early conceptual work on

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7254-459: The broken fragments of "Tintina" rock and "Sutton Inlier" rock as well as in veins and nodules in other rocks like "Knorr" rock and "Wernicke" rock . Analysis using the rover's DAN instrument provided evidence of subsurface water, amounting to as much as 4% water content, down to a depth of 60 centimetres (24 in), during the rover's traverse from the Bradbury Landing site to

7371-466: The cause of the Martian hemispheric dichotomy , created the smooth Borealis basin that covers 40% of the planet. A 2023 study shows evidence, based on the orbital inclination of Deimos (a small moon of Mars), that Mars may once have had a ring system 3.5 billion years to 4 billion years ago. This ring system may have been formed from a moon, 20 times more massive than Phobos , orbiting Mars billions of years ago; and Phobos would be

7488-553: The company was collaborating with Brazilian biofuels maker Tecbio , Aquaflow Bionomic of New Zealand, and other fuel developers around the world. As of 2007, Boeing had tested six fuels from these companies, and expected to test 20 fuels "by the time we're done evaluating them". Boeing also joined other aviation-related members in the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) in June 2008. Air New Zealand and Boeing are researching

7605-492: The company was renamed United Aircraft and Transport Corporation , followed by the acquisition of several aircraft makers such as Avion, Chance Vought , Sikorsky Aviation , Stearman Aircraft , Pratt & Whitney , and Hamilton Metalplane. In 1931, the group merged its four smaller airlines into United Airlines . In 1934, aircraft manufacturing was required to be separate from air transportation. Therefore, Boeing Airplane Company became one of three major groups to arise from

7722-419: The company's hiding of information from the safety regulators: a criminal monetary penalty of $ 243.6 million, $ 1.77 billion of damages to airline customers, and a $ 500 million crash-victim beneficiaries fund. In September 2022, Boeing was ordered to pay a further $ 200 million over charges of misleading investors about safety issues related to these crashes. In March 2023, Boeing disputed in court filings that

7839-408: The company. The average salary at Boeing was $ 76,784 in 2011, as reported by former employees. In 2022, Rory Kennedy made a documentary film, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing , streamed by Netflix . She said about the 21st-century history of Boeing "There were many decades when Boeing did extraordinary things by focusing on excellence and safety and ingenuity. Those three virtues were seen as

7956-624: The corporate headquarters back to the Seattle area in hopes of getting engineering and quality control teams on-site access to key decision-makers. Boeing's board soundly dismissed the attempt. In February 2023, Boeing announced plans for laying off approximately 2,000 of its workers from finances and human resources. In May 2023, Boeing acquired autonomous eVTOL air taxi startup Wisk Aero . In June 2024, Boeing agreed to re-acquire Spirit AeroSystems , its longtime supplier of airplane parts, which had been established in 2005 when Boeing spun-off its Wichita division to an investment firm. The deal

8073-502: The crashes through a disintegration of workplace morale . In June 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration found several 737 MAX defects that Boeing deferred to fix, in violation of regulations . In September 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives concluded its own investigation and cited numerous instances where Boeing dismissed employee concerns with a 737 MAX flight stabilizing feature ( MCAS ) that caused

8190-562: The dissolution of United Aircraft and Transport; the other two entities were United Aircraft (later United Technologies ) and United Airlines. In 1960, the company bought Vertol Aircraft Corporation , which at the time, was the biggest independent manufacturer of helicopters . During the 1960s and 1970s, the company diversified into industries such as outer space travel, marine craft, agriculture, energy production and transit systems. In 1995, Boeing partnered with Russian, Ukrainian, and Anglo-Norwegian organizations to create Sea Launch ,

8307-458: The edges of boulders and other obstacles in their path. The commonly accepted hypotheses include that they are dark underlying layers of soil revealed after avalanches of bright dust or dust devils . Several other explanations have been put forward, including those that involve water or even the growth of organisms. Environmental radiation levels on the surface are on average 0.64 millisieverts of radiation per day, and significantly less than

8424-418: The estimated first delivery of the aircraft was delayed until 2024. After further technical problems were discovered in the aircraft in 2022, the release was delayed again until 2025, six years after the original date. On January 5, 2024, on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 , a door plug blowout occurred on a 737 MAX 9 jetliner after the plane had reached just over 16,000 feet, leaving a door-sized hole in

8541-441: The first time since 2008. On October 12, 2024, the company announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs, about 10% of its global workforce, "to align with our financial reality". It would also delay the first deliveries of its 777X airliner by a year and recorded $ 5 billion in losses in the third quarter of the year. On October 28, Boeing initiated a significant share sale, valued at nearly $ 19 billion, to address cash-flow issues and avoid

8658-429: The flanks of the volcano Arsia Mons . The caves, named after loved ones of their discoverers, are collectively known as the "seven sisters". Cave entrances measure from 100 to 252 metres (328 to 827 ft) wide and they are estimated to be at least 73 to 96 metres (240 to 315 ft) deep. Because light does not reach the floor of most of the caves, they may extend much deeper than these lower estimates and widen below

8775-484: The fuselage and the aircraft made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport successfully with several people onboard injured, although all had subsequently been "medically cleared". The FAA mandated immediate inspections of all 737 MAX 9s fitted with door plugs, thereby grounding 171 aircraft. United Airlines found loose bolts on jets grounded by the FAA, raising questions about possible systemic problems with

8892-458: The highest-ever tax breaks at the state level in 2013. Boeing's spent US$ 16.9 million on lobbying expenditures in 2009. In the 2008 presidential election , Barack Obama "was by far the biggest recipient of campaign contributions from Boeing employees and executives, hauling in US$ 197,000 – five times as much as John McCain , and more than the top eight Republicans combined". Boeing has

9009-402: The highly elliptical orbit of MAVEN limits its usefulness as a relay for surface operations, NASA will lower its orbit from 6,200 (3,900) to between 4,000 and 4,500 kilometers (2,500 and 2,800 mi) altitude, where it can serve as a relay while continuing its science mission. Another suggested feature under study is "the sample rendezvous capture and return capability". The samples cached by

9126-436: The lander showed that the Martian soil has a basic pH of 7.7, and contains 0.6% perchlorate by weight, concentrations that are toxic to humans . Streaks are common across Mars and new ones appear frequently on steep slopes of craters, troughs, and valleys. The streaks are dark at first and get lighter with age. The streaks can start in a tiny area, then spread out for hundreds of metres. They have been seen to follow

9243-489: The lander, would nominally be launched two years after the orbiter launch. The lander would deploy a "fetch rover" to retrieve the sample caches. A container holding the samples would be launched by a two-stage , solid-fueled Mars ascent vehicle (MAV) and placed in a 500 kilometres (310 mi) orbit comparable with the new orbiter and perform a rendezvous while in Mars orbit. The container would be transferred to an Earth entry vehicle (EEV) which would bring it to Earth, enter

9360-554: The late 20th century, Mars has been explored by uncrewed spacecraft and rovers , with the first flyby by the Mariner 4 probe in 1965, the first orbit by the Mars 2 probe in 1971, and the first landing by the Viking 1 probe in 1976. As of 2023, there are at least 11 active probes orbiting Mars or on the Martian surface. Mars is an attractive target for future human exploration missions , though in

9477-515: The latter won, and that this may have contributed to the events leading up to the 737 MAX crash crisis. Boeing's corporate headquarters moved from Seattle to Chicago in 2001. In 2018, the company opened its first factory in Europe at Sheffield , UK, reinforced by a research partnership with the University of Sheffield . In May 2020, the company cut over 12,000 jobs due to the drop in air travel during

9594-742: The list of corporations to divest from. Five protesters in solidarity with the Palestinian cause were arrested on felony charges after blocking entrances to a Boeing facility in Heath, Ohio . The student union at Washington University in St. Louis passed a resolution calling on the university to divest from Boeing. The key trends of Boeing are (as at the financial year ending December 31): Between 2010 and 2018, Boeing increased its operating cash flow from $ 3 to $ 15.3   billion, sustaining its share price, by negotiating advance payments from customers and delaying payments to its suppliers. This strategy

9711-477: The merger: exclusivity agreements with three US airlines would be terminated, separate accounts would be maintained for the McDonnell-Douglas civil aircraft business, and some defense patents were to be made available to competitors. In 2020, Quartz reported that after the merger there was a "clash of corporate cultures, where Boeing's engineers and McDonnell Douglas's bean-counters went head-to-head", which

9828-469: The mineral jarosite . This forms only in the presence of acidic water, showing that water once existed on Mars. The Spirit rover found concentrated deposits of silica in 2007 that indicated wet conditions in the past, and in December 2011, the mineral gypsum , which also forms in the presence of water, was found on the surface by NASA's Mars rover Opportunity. It is estimated that the amount of water in

9945-607: The mineral olivine , which is known to be common on Mars, or by Martian life. Compared to Earth, its higher concentration of atmospheric CO 2 and lower surface pressure may be why sound is attenuated more on Mars, where natural sources are rare apart from the wind. Using acoustic recordings collected by the Perseverance rover, researchers concluded that the speed of sound there is approximately 240 m/s for frequencies below 240 Hz, and 250 m/s for those above. Auroras have been detected on Mars. Because Mars lacks

10062-427: The mountain is so large, with complex structure at its edges, giving a definite height to it is difficult. Its local relief, from the foot of the cliffs which form its northwest margin to its peak, is over 21 km (13 mi), a little over twice the height of Mauna Kea as measured from its base on the ocean floor. The total elevation change from the plains of Amazonis Planitia , over 1,000 km (620 mi) to

10179-431: The movement of dry dust. No partially degraded gullies have formed by weathering and no superimposed impact craters have been observed, indicating that these are young features, possibly still active. Other geological features, such as deltas and alluvial fans preserved in craters, are further evidence for warmer, wetter conditions at an interval or intervals in earlier Mars history. Such conditions necessarily require

10296-508: The northwest, to the summit approaches 26 km (16 mi), roughly three times the height of Mount Everest , which in comparison stands at just over 8.8 kilometres (5.5 mi). Consequently, Olympus Mons is either the tallest or second-tallest mountain in the Solar System ; the only known mountain which might be taller is the Rheasilvia peak on the asteroid Vesta , at 20–25 km (12–16 mi). The dichotomy of Martian topography

10413-462: The old canal maps ), has a length of 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) and a depth of up to 7 kilometres (4.3 mi). The length of Valles Marineris is equivalent to the length of Europe and extends across one-fifth the circumference of Mars. By comparison, the Grand Canyon on Earth is only 446 kilometres (277 mi) long and nearly 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) deep. Valles Marineris was formed due to

10530-435: The orbiter was "probably off the table", as it would be too difficult to assemble an orbiter with all of the desired features in that time frame. Jim Watzin of NASA's Mars Exploration Program stated in September 2017 that the orbiter may have to be cancelled, citing that "the likelihood of all of the relay orbiters failing is so low that no more investments are needed for that purpose." In February 2018, NASA announced that it

10647-827: The past. This paleomagnetism of magnetically susceptible minerals is similar to the alternating bands found on Earth's ocean floors . One hypothesis, published in 1999 and re-examined in October ;2005 (with the help of the Mars Global Surveyor ), is that these bands suggest plate tectonic activity on Mars four billion years ago, before the planetary dynamo ceased to function and the planet's magnetic field faded. The Phoenix lander returned data showing Martian soil to be slightly alkaline and containing elements such as magnesium , sodium , potassium and chlorine . These nutrients are found in soils on Earth. They are necessary for growth of plants. Experiments performed by

10764-447: The program will now focus its resources on flying a sample-return mission first. The 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter will also be managed to continue operating until about 2025. A new Mars relay orbiter is likely to take part in the sample-return architecture envisioned for the late 2020s. Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun . The surface of Mars is orange-red because it

10881-424: The proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. Samples would be collected and cached by the Mars 2020 mission and would be left on the surface of Mars for possible later retrieval. The orbiter would be launched on a medium-class vehicle, reaching Mars in about nine months and set to aerobrake down to a 500 km (310 mi) circular orbit over six to nine months. The third mission of the proposed MSR campaign,

10998-573: The proposed Mars orbiter. In July 2016, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory awarded five $ 400,000 sub-contracts to conduct concept studies. The five engineering companies are Boeing , Lockheed Martin Space Systems , Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems , Orbital ATK , and Space Systems/Loral . However, in August 2017, Jim Green of NASA's Planetary Science Division stated that a 2022 launch for

11115-613: The purchase of their commercial aircraft in countries including Brazil, Canada, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates , from the Export-Import Bank of the United States , some 65% of the total loan guarantees the bank made in the period. In December 2011, the non-partisan organization Public Campaign criticized Boeing for spending US$ 52.29 million on lobbying and not paying taxes from 2008 to 2010, instead getting US$ 178 million in tax rebates , despite making

11232-566: The radiation of 1.84 millisieverts per day or 22 millirads per day during the flight to and from Mars. For comparison the radiation levels in low Earth orbit , where Earth's space stations orbit, are around 0.5 millisieverts of radiation per day. Hellas Planitia has the lowest surface radiation at about 0.342 millisieverts per day, featuring lava tubes southwest of Hadriacus Mons with potentially levels as low as 0.064 millisieverts per day, comparable to radiation levels during flights on Earth. Although better remembered for mapping

11349-510: The second quarter of 2024, compared to the same time period in 2023. The company's operating loss amounted to $ 1.39 billion and its net loss to $ 1.43 billion, while plane deliveries fell to 92 (from 136 in 2023). The company's employment totals are listed below. Approximately 1.5% of Boeing employees are in the Technical Fellowship program, a program through which Boeing's top engineers and scientists set technical direction for

11466-462: The size of Earth's Arctic Ocean . This finding was derived from the ratio of protium to deuterium in the modern Martian atmosphere compared to that ratio on Earth. The amount of Martian deuterium (D/H = 9.3 ± 1.7 10 ) is five to seven times the amount on Earth (D/H = 1.56 10 ), suggesting that ancient Mars had significantly higher levels of water. Results from the Curiosity rover had previously found

11583-422: The south polar ice cap, if melted, would be enough to cover most of the surface of the planet with a depth of 11 metres (36 ft). Water in its liquid form cannot prevail on the surface of Mars due to the low atmospheric pressure on Mars, which is less than 1% that of Earth, only at the lowest of elevations pressure and temperature is high enough for water being able to be liquid for short periods. Water in

11700-461: The southern highlands include detectable amounts of high-calcium pyroxenes . Localized concentrations of hematite and olivine have been found. Much of the surface is deeply covered by finely grained iron(III) oxide dust. Although Mars has no evidence of a structured global magnetic field , observations show that parts of the planet's crust have been magnetized, suggesting that alternating polarity reversals of its dipole field have occurred in

11817-526: The spacecraft significant orbital flexibility for long-term support of future missions, opportunistic flybys of Phobos and Deimos , as well as the added capability of orbit support—rendezvous and capture—for a sample return mission. An ion engine would also allow access to multiple latitudes and altitudes to optimize relay contacts. The orbiter mission has been suggested by the Planetary Science Decadal Survey to be one of three missions of

11934-505: The study of Mars. Smaller craters are named for towns and villages of the world with populations of less than 100,000. Large valleys are named for the word "Mars" or "star" in various languages; smaller valleys are named for rivers. Large albedo features retain many of the older names but are often updated to reflect new knowledge of the nature of the features. For example, Nix Olympica (the snows of Olympus) has become Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus). The surface of Mars as seen from Earth

12051-513: The surface. However, later work suggested that the lineae may be dry, granular flows instead, with at most a limited role for water in initiating the process. A definitive conclusion about the presence, extent, and role of liquid water on the Martian surface remains elusive. Researchers suspect much of the low northern plains of the planet were covered with an ocean hundreds of meters deep, though this theory remains controversial. In March 2015, scientists stated that such an ocean might have been

12168-430: The surface. "Dena" is the only exception; its floor is visible and was measured to be 130 metres (430 ft) deep. The interiors of these caverns may be protected from micrometeoroids, UV radiation, solar flares and high energy particles that bombard the planet's surface. Mars lost its magnetosphere 4 billion years ago, possibly because of numerous asteroid strikes, so the solar wind interacts directly with

12285-607: The swelling of the Tharsis area, which caused the crust in the area of Valles Marineris to collapse. In 2012, it was proposed that Valles Marineris is not just a graben , but a plate boundary where 150 kilometres (93 mi) of transverse motion has occurred, making Mars a planet with possibly a two- tectonic plate arrangement. Images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter have revealed seven possible cave entrances on

12402-451: The two fatal accidents, prioritized deadline and budget constraints over safety , and lacked transparency in disclosing essential information to the FAA. It further found that the assumption that simulator training would not be necessary had "diminished safety, minimized the value of pilot training , and inhibited technical design improvements". On January 7, 2021, Boeing settled to pay over $ 2.5 billion after being charged with fraud over

12519-502: The upper mantle of Mars, represented by hydroxyl ions contained within Martian minerals, is equal to or greater than that of Earth at 50–300 parts per million of water, which is enough to cover the entire planet to a depth of 200–1,000 metres (660–3,280 ft). On 18 March 2013, NASA reported evidence from instruments on the Curiosity rover of mineral hydration , likely hydrated calcium sulfate , in several rock samples including

12636-492: The victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (the 2019 crash) experienced any pain and suffering in the final six minutes as the plane was nosediving into the ground, citing "speed of sound" as a defence. Boeing's claim was described as "preposterous" by HuffPost : Passengers aboard the plane, the plaintiffs argued in court, "undeniably suffered horrific emotional distress, pain and suffering, and physical impact/injury while they endured extreme G-forces, braced for impact, knew

12753-489: The war in Yemen where its missiles were found to be used for indiscriminate attacks, killing many civilians. In 2017 Boeing signed a deal with Saudi Arabia which included Saudi Arabia buying military aircraft and guided missile systems. In 2023, it was reported that Boeing sent 1,000 small diameter bombs for the first week of Israeli air attacks on Gaza that were shipped from a US Air Force base by Israeli Air Force . During

12870-420: The widespread presence of crater lakes across a large proportion of the surface, for which there is independent mineralogical, sedimentological and geomorphological evidence. Further evidence that liquid water once existed on the surface of Mars comes from the detection of specific minerals such as hematite and goethite , both of which sometimes form in the presence of water. In 2004, Opportunity detected

12987-405: The world grounded all 737 MAX airliners. A total of 387 aircraft were grounded. Boeing's reputation, business, and financial rating suffered after the groundings, as Boeing's strategy, governance, and focus on profits and cost efficiency were questioned. In 2022, Netflix released an exposé, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing , claiming Boeing's corporate merger with McDonnell Douglas led to

13104-414: The young Sun's energetic solar wind . After the formation of the planets, the inner Solar System may have been subjected to the so-called Late Heavy Bombardment . About 60% of the surface of Mars shows a record of impacts from that era, whereas much of the remaining surface is probably underlain by immense impact basins caused by those events. However, more recent modeling has disputed the existence of

13221-601: Was initially discussed in March of the same year before being closed on June 30 at $ 4.7 billion. On September 12, 2024, a vote was held among Boeing machinist workers who are also members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) labor union, with 94.6% of participating members rejected a contract offer that the union's bargaining committee had endorsed, with 96% voting to strike. At 12:01 am on September 13, Boeing workers went on strike for

13338-445: Was moving ahead with plans to alter the orbit of the MAVEN orbiter to have it serve as a communications relay. It will be lowered to 4,000–4,500 kilometers (2,500–2,800 mi) altitude, where it can serve as a relay while allowing it to continue its science mission. In March 2018, NASA officials decided that the aging Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) will be managed such that it will continue service for about ten more years, and

13455-615: Was probably the root cause of the incision in almost all cases. Along craters and canyon walls, there are thousands of features that appear similar to terrestrial gullies . The gullies tend to be in the highlands of the Southern Hemisphere and face the Equator; all are poleward of 30° latitude. A number of authors have suggested that their formation process involves liquid water, probably from melting ice, although others have argued for formation mechanisms involving carbon dioxide frost or

13572-437: Was reported that InSight had detected and recorded over 450 marsquakes and related events. Beneath the crust is a silicate mantle responsible for many of the tectonic and volcanic features on the planet's surface. The upper Martian mantle is a low-velocity zone , where the velocity of seismic waves is lower than surrounding depth intervals. The mantle appears to be rigid down to the depth of about 250 km, giving Mars

13689-420: Was second on the list of Top 100 US Federal Contractors , with contracts totaling US$ 22 billion and US$ 23 billion respectively. Between 1995 and early 2021, the company agreed to pay US$ 4.3 billion to settle 84 instances of misconduct, including US$ 615 million in 2006 in relation to illegal hiring of government officials and improper use of proprietary information. Boeing secured

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