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The road to Mars: updates on NASA's MAVEN and India's Mars Orbiter Mission
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/29 08:00 CDT | 3 comments
The 2013 launch window for Mars is fast approaching. November represents the next chance to send spacecraft to the Red Planet; the next window doesn't open until early 2016. So NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are working hard to prepare their respective Mars missions for launch.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/07/29 01:18 CDT | 4 comments
Pushing back the frontier, and filling in the blank spaces on the map.
The Mars 2020 Rover In-Depth
NASA's next major mission to the Red Planet will store samples for eventual return to the Earth
Posted by Van Kane on 2013/07/27 01:05 CDT | 3 comments
We now know the science goals for NASA’s next major Mars mission. The new rover will further the astrobiological search begun by the Curiosity rover and store samples for eventual return to the Earth, providing a stepping stone to the next stage of Martian exploration.
Upgraded Alpha Centauri Planet Search Underway
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/07/26 04:32 CDT
The Planetary Society sponsored Alpha Centauri planet search started using a newly upgraded system in May. Here is a quick update including info from project leader Debra Fischer from Yale about their new system.
Field Report From Mars: Sol 3378 - July 25, 2013
Posted by Larry Crumpler on 2013/07/26 12:32 CDT
We are now only about 180 meters from the new mountain, Solander Point. We slowed down this week so that we could check out the rocks here where there is a strange hydration signature from orbital remote sensing.
Should National Rivalries Still Drive U.S. Space Policy?
Posted by Lori Dajose on 2013/07/25 02:37 CDT | 5 comments
The House recently passed a NASA Authorization Bill that called for "American astronauts launching from American rockets on American soil". If we depend on international collaboration, should these policies still drive NASA policy?
Pluto on the Eve of Exploration by New Horizons: Small moons, dust, surfaces, interiors
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/24 09:04 CDT | 5 comments
My roundup from notes on the day's presentations on dust in the Pluto system and the surfaces and interiors of Pluto and Charon.
Interpreters: the ties that bind international spaceflight
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/07/24 02:34 CDT | 1 comments
An interview with Elena Kozhukhov, a veteran Russian interpreter who supports the International Space Station.
Is the study of astrophysics self-indulgent?
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/23 09:55 CDT | 15 comments
Is the study of astrophysics self-indulgent? I was caught aback by that assertion, made by a recent graduate in the latest issue of the Brown University alumni magazine.
Jani Radebaugh, Titan Explorer
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/07/23 03:47 CDT | 4 comments
Robotic space exploration is human exploration. Meet one of the people behind the machines.
Catching the Wave at JPL
Planetary Radio joined the Wave at Saturn.
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/07/23 10:21 CDT
Were you in the shot? On July 19th, Cassini captured an image of pale blue Earth as the spacecraft swung behind the great ringed beauty.
Pluto on the Eve of New Horizons: Webcast tonight
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/23 08:37 CDT | 3 comments
Pretty picture: Looking backward
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/23 05:03 CDT | 15 comments
Here it is: the view from Saturn of our Earthly home, one and a half billion kilometers away. We see Earth and the Moon through a thin veil of faintly blue ice crystals, the outskirts of Saturn's E ring. Earth is just a bright dot -- a bit brighter than the other stars in the image, but no brighter than any planet (like Saturn!) in our own sky.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/22 05:03 CDT | 3 comments
A new picture of the Earth-Moon system from MESSENGER, taken the same day we were told to "Wave at Saturn." Updated with a neat photo taken from much closer to Earth from a similar perspective.
Remembering the Pluto Campaign: A Success Story
The Society Worked for Years to Help Launch a Mission to Pluto
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/07/22 02:11 CDT | 3 comments
The New Horizons mission to Pluto survived many near-death encounters with cancellation during its development. The Planetary Society worked the whole time to ensure it would launch.
The New Cosmos Series Has a Trailer
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/07/21 06:30 CDT | 7 comments
The remake of Cosmos, starring Neil deGrasse Tyson and airing on Fox, just released its first teaser trailer at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Pretty picture: An Atlas launch and a very surprised bird
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/19 12:30 CDT
If you take hundreds of photos of every single spacecraft launch you can get to, you will eventually get lucky shots like this one. It was taken by Ben Cooper at today's launch of the U.S. Navy satellite MUOS-2 and features a very surprised turkey vulture in a striking pose in front of the American flag.
Field Report From Mars: Sol 3363 - July 10, 2013
Posted by Larry Crumpler on 2013/07/18 01:41 CDT | 1 comments
Opportunity is only a couple of hundred meters out and closing fast on the next mountain. A short side trip east is in the works to check out an anomaly in the terrain.
Return of the Pale Blue Dot
Join the Wave at Saturn (and Mercury)!
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/07/18 11:27 CDT | 4 comments
You can be part of a planetwide group photo as Cassini and MESSENGER turn their cameras Earthward on July 19.
Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month: Water tracks on Earth and Mars
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/18 09:57 CDT | 3 comments
The International Association of Geomorphologists' "planetary geomorphology image of the month," contributed by Joe Levy, features water tracks on Earth and compares them to recurring slope lineae on Mars.
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