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Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/10/02 02:39 CDT | 2 comments
When LADEE launched on September 6, it launched into Earth orbit. Today, it is finally on a path that will take it to its October 6 lunar orbit insertion. Its operation is continuing normally in the face of the U.S. government's shutdown yesterday, as is that of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Go LADEE!
Planetary Radio Live Launch Special
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/09/10 10:41 CDT
Listen to or watch the recording of our live celebration for LADEE as the spacecraft blasted off for the moon.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/08/26 04:37 CDT | 4 comments
A deep lunar crater exposes some of the Moon's secrets.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/08/05 01:38 CDT | 4 comments
Seasons, sunlight, and shadow at the Moon's north pole
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.
Planetary Radio: Don't Step in That Puddle!
The Strong Evidence for Water on the Moon
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/07/01 06:18 CDT
The Planetary Science Institute's Amanda Hendrix is the guest for our July 1 episode. She finds water in the least likely places, including Luna.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/06/19 01:33 CDT | 1 comments
From far away, or from so near you could almost touch it, the moon is beautiful.
The Shores of the Kraken Sea: Great Place Names in the Solar System
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/05/28 08:59 CDT | 9 comments
Nothing reflects the romance of deep space exploration more than the evocative names of places on the planets and moons.
Dueling Desolations: Mercury vs. the Moon
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/05/13 01:02 CDT | 7 comments
They look so similar they can be hard to tell apart, but each hides its own mysteries.
Dark No More: Exploring the Far Side of the Moon
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/04/29 02:11 CDT | 3 comments
The first human beings to see the mysterious "dark" side of the moon were not astronauts.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/04/08 09:12 CDT | 4 comments
Dispatches from five different worlds--all sent by robotic spacecraft on the same day.
Posted by Ganna (Anya) Portyankina on 2013/01/23 11:51 CST | 2 comments
The Mars I study is really active; the surface constantly changes. We have collected a lot of image data about changing seasonal features near the south pole. There is so much that we can't analyze all of it on our own. We need your help, through a new Zooniverse project named PlanetFour.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/13 05:34 CST | 2 comments
The twin GRAIL spacecraft are nearly out of fuel, and are being directed to a controlled impact near the north pole on the near side of the Moon on December 17. Before the end, though, they did some cool things, including flying within 2000 meters of mountaintops, and catching video of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in flight.
What's up in the Solar System in August 2012
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/08/03 06:03 CDT
Welcome to the monthly roundup of our solar system's envoy of electronic explorers! All eyes are on Curiosity as it approaches Mars this weekend. Who will lend support at the Red Planet?
A solar eclipse - as viewed from the Moon
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/05/28 11:19 CDT | 3 comments
A solar eclipse isn't just a spiffy sight to Earthlings; it looks pretty cool to lunar dwellers as well.
3D view of an unnamed lunar crater
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/05/03 03:18 CDT
Grab your red-blue 3D glasses and dive in to this small but spectacular unnamed lunar crater as seen in a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photo.
New views of Lunokhod 1 and Luna 17 from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/03/14 08:47 CDT
It is always thrilling to see relics of human exploration out there on other worlds. Today, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team posted some new photos of two defunct spacecraft: the Luna 17 lander and the Lunokhod 1 rover. I've posted images of the two craft before, but the ones released today are much better.
Comparing Chang'e 2 and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter maps of the Moon
Posted by Phil Stooke on 2012/02/13 10:23 CST | 2 comments
How does the LRO lunar map compare with the new Chinese product from Chang'e 2?
New Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photos show Apollo sites in sharpest detail yet
Posted by Jason Davis on 2011/09/08 11:58 CDT
On September 6, NASA released new high-resolution photos from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) showing the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites from vantage points as close as 21 kilometers.
Lovely crater turns up in MoonZoo; 2 million images classified, lots more Moon left
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/04/18 10:48 CDT
Here's a very pretty picture to start off the week: a really gorgeous fresh crater on the lunar farside. There's nothing particularly unusual about this crater; it's just recent and fresh so there's a mesmerizing amount of detail in the feathery patterns of the ejecta that fans outward from it.
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