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Blog Archive
Curiosity Update, Sol 52: Glenelg Ho!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/28 02:28 CDT
Curiosity has pulled up to the edge of Glenelg, its first destination within Gale crater.
Dawn Journal: Five years since launch
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2012/09/27 03:37 CDT | 2 comments
On the fifth anniversary of its launch, Dawn is on the way to Ceres.
Mangalyaan, India's 2013 Mars mission, is now under construction
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/27 12:33 CDT | 10 comments
In August, India's prime minister announced the intent to build and launch a Mars orbiter in time for the November 2013 launch window, an insanely fast schedule. The structure of the spacecraft has now been delivered.
Cosmoquest Science Hour, Wednesday: A virtual field trip to the hills on Curiosity's horizon
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/25 04:50 CDT | 2 comments
I'm hosting this week's Cosmoquest Science Hour, and plan to take viewers on a virtual tour of those mountains on Curiosity's horizon, and show you where Curiosity is likely to go. Join me and Fraser Cain here at 1600 PDT / 2300 UTC Wednesday.
Curiosity sol 43 update: First science stop
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/19 05:24 CDT | 8 comments
It's now the early hours of sol 44, and JPL held a phone briefing today with the latest news from Curiosity. She's now driven about 300 meters, and has stopped at her first science target, a rock the team has named for the late Jake Matijevic.
IKAROS is alive! (Or: oh me of little faith!)
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/11 12:27 CDT
I am rarely so glad to admit that I was wrong as when it's about the failure of a mission. Only last month, I speculated that IKAROS's mission was done. And now the news comes that IKAROS has been heard from -- twice! -- on September 6 and 8, 2012.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Greets Curiosity, Roves to Clay Mineral Hunting Grounds
Sols 3029 - 3058
Posted by A.J.S. Rayl on 2012/09/10 02:07 CDT
Opportunity stood down for nine days in early August as Curiosity landed and went through check-out, but on the tenth day the Mars Exploration Rover was back on the road, driving along the northwestern rim of Endeavour Crater and into the "sweet spot" of the clay mineral hunting ground at Cape York.
Outcrop Ahead for Opportunity!
Posted by Stuart Atkinson on 2012/09/07 01:12 CDT | 1 comments
Oppy is opening an exciting new chapter in her adventure at Cape York. Having driven down to, over and past Whim Creek, she has now explored halfway down Cape York, to a promising fin-like ridge of dark rock.
Checking in on Curiosity after sol 30
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/06 03:54 CDT | 4 comments
Curiosity completed the "Intermission" phase on sol 29, and began checking out the robotic arm.
Dawn journal: Back to interplanetary space
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2012/09/06 12:49 CDT
After more than a year in orbit, Dawn has left Vesta, beginning the spacecraft's journey to Ceres.
What's Up in the Solar System in September 2012
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/08/31 04:17 CDT | 4 comments
It's an active time in interplanetary exploration! Curiosity has begun roving Mars, and Opportunity's not wasting any time either. Dawn has just departed Vesta and begun the more than two-year cruise to Ceres. Juno is in the middle of a big deep-space maneuver, setting up next year's Earth flyby.
HiRISE's best view of Curiosity yet
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/08/31 12:50 CDT | 10 comments
HiRISE's best opportunity to view Curiosity so far came 12 days after landing, when the orbiter passed nearly directly overhead. The photo resolves amazing detail on the huge rover.
Posted by Bill Gray on 2012/08/25 10:55 CDT | 4 comments
An update on China's second lunar orbiter, Chang'e 2, which is now heading for asteroid Toutatis.
RBSP to explore decades-old radiation belt mysteries
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/08/24 11:01 CDT
NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes will shed new light on the Van Allen Radiation Belts, a dangerous region of space in our planet's backyard.
Curiosity sol 15 update: Wheel wiggles, arm flexes, and bad news about REMS
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/08/21 04:26 CDT | 8 comments
Notes from this morning's press conference. Curiosity has successfully steered the corner wheels and deployed and restowed the robotic arm. ChemCam tests went well over the weekend. But one of the two wind speed sensors in REMS appears to have suffered permanent damage during landing.
NASA Selects InSight Mars 2016 Lander
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2012/08/20 06:13 CDT | 2 comments
NASA has selected JPL's InSight mission to Mars as its next Discovery mission. The first geophysics mission to Mars, InSight will use a Phoenix-like lander to deploy a seismometer and a heat probe and give us our first detailed insights into the interior of the Red Planet.
We're going back to Mars in 2016!
Posted by Bill Nye on 2012/08/20 03:57 CDT | 9 comments
Today, NASA announced the newest Discovery-class mission, a Mars lander called InSight. It's not a rover; it's a drill that will go down 5 meters and help us figure out what happens in the core of our neighboring terrestrial planet.
Curiosity sol 11 update: Decision to drive to "the high thermal inertia unit" and what that means
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/08/17 06:06 CDT | 8 comments
Some notes from this morning's Curiosity press briefing: the rover will be driving to "Glenelg" to investigate the "high thermal inertia unit." I explain what that means, with psychedelic Odyssey THEMIS images of the landing site.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/08/15 01:21 CDT | 1 comments
An update on Curiosity's status as of sol 9, and a look ahead to the next month or two of commissioning activities.
Curiosity sol 4: EDL updates, rover ready for software upgrade
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/08/10 05:16 CDT | 3 comments
A recap of the final Curiosity press conference of the week: lots of updates from the entry, descent and landing (EDL) team that safely deposited the rover on Mars, as well as an overview of the rover's R10 software upgrade.
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