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Blog Archive
A Protected Class of Programs at NASA?
What real political support looks like
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/12/10 04:20 CST | 7 comments
The House Science Committee is considering giving a select few NASA programs special protected status against cancellation.
Curiosity results at AGU: Gale crater rocks are old, but have been exposed recently
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/12/09 08:31 CST | 4 comments
In a Martian first, the Curiosity science team has measured the age of a Martian rock, in two totally different ways. They presented the result at the 2013 meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
The Sorry State of Planetary Science Funding In One Chart
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/12/09 02:18 CST | 12 comments
If you want to know why Cassini might be terminated early, or why NASA pulled out of its joint Mars mission with Europe, or why the new ASRG power source was put on indefinite hold, this chart has your answer.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/12/09 10:58 CST | 3 comments
Two grand canyons fill with fog, one on Earth and one on Mars.
The ASRG Cancellation in Context
Posted by Van Kane on 2013/12/09 12:50 CST | 8 comments
ASRGs could have stretched NASA's limited supply of plutonium to potentially enable missions to the perpetually-shadowed polar craters on our moon, to flyby Uranus, or to float for months on a Titan lake.
Dawn Journal: Equidistant from Vesta and Ceres
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/12/06 08:31 CST | 1 comment
Gliding smoothly through the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Dawn continues to make good progress on its ambitious mission of exploration. It is patiently but persistently pursuing Ceres, the second destination on its interplanetary itinerary.
Attend the 2013 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union virtually
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/12/06 02:10 CST
Next week is the annual Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), an enormous gathering of geoscientists of all varieties that occurs every year at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco. AGU is putting increasing effort into making it possible to attend some sessions virtually, and press briefings will be webstreamed, too.
Chang'e 3 has arrived in lunar orbit
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/12/06 09:53 CST | 13 comments
Just a quick update: Chang'e 3 successfully entered lunar orbit today at 09:53 UTC, after a 361-second lunar orbit insertion burn.
Why We're Writing the President (& Congress) Now
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/12/06 01:37 CST | 6 comments
Decisions about both the 2014 and 2015 budgets are happening soon.
Chang'e 3 and LADEE updates -- and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, too, for good measure
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/12/05 08:40 CST
Chang'e 3 is just about to land on the Moon, and the LADEE orbiter has begun a new science mission there, while Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is still producing amazing images.
An Open Letter to President Barack Obama
Mr. President, be bold and embrace a vision of planetary exploration at NASA
Posted by Bill Nye on 2013/12/05 06:15 CST | 16 comments
Bill Nye writes President Obama arguing that the President should embrace a bold future of planetary exploration.
Comet ISON Wrap Up
A Tail of Cat-Possums and the Undead
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/12/05 05:49 CST
Comet ISON captivated our world, and many of our world’s robotic emissaries for many months. But, alas, poor ISON is dead -- again. Here I wrap up our enthusiastic coverage of this multi-morphing zombie comet that tried to survive and re-survive as it came within one solar diameter of the Sun.
Mars' chemical history: Phyllosian, Theiikian, Siderikian, oh my
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/12/05 01:08 CST | 4 comments
I'm returning to the deep dive into the literature that began with articles about lunar basins and then explored the geologic time scales of Earth, Moon, and Mars. Now it's time to catch up to the last decade of Mars research and learn what "phyllosian", "theiikian", and "siderikian" eras are.
Posted by Emily LakdawallaBruce Betts on 2013/12/05 10:00 CST | 10 comments
Comet ISON reached perihelion at 18:25 UT (10:25 PT) on November 28. It's an event that's was watched around the world, accompanied by tons of commentary and streams of photos. We will update this blog entry periodically with links to all the resources that we hear of for following the comet's progress.
What's Going on With Planetary Science Research?
Budget cuts mixed with a new way to fund science could disproportionately impact the next generation of planetary scientists
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/12/04 01:44 CST | 5 comments
Budget cuts mixed with a new way to fund science could disproportionately impact the next generation of planetary scientists.
Planetary Dirt Sampling Success
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/12/04 01:17 CST | 3 comments
We present an update and a video about the successful design, construction, and testing in a vacuum chamber by Honeybee Robotics of a prototype PlanetVac system, a new planetary surface sampling technique, sponsored by The Planetary Society. PlanetVac is a reliable system that effectively vacuums up planetary surface materials.
Pretty picture: newly processed high-res view of a fractured icy moon, Dione
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/12/04 11:38 CST | 4 comments
Here's a lovely new view of Dione, one of the lovely mid-sized icy moons of Saturn, assembled by Daniel Macháček.
Don't Miss Voyager Head Scientist Ed Stone on the Colbert Report
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/12/04 10:57 CST
Voyager Chief Scientist Ed Stone was the featured guest on the Colbert Report to celebrate the spacecraft's entry into interstellar space.
SpaceX’s Upgraded Falcon Delivers Satellite to Geostationary Orbit
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/12/03 10:45 CST | 4 comments
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket delivered a communications satellite to geostationary orbit, marking an important milestone for the private spaceflight company.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Ascends Murray Ridge into Clay Mineral Grounds
Sols 3474 - 3502
Posted by A.J.S. Rayl on 2013/12/03 03:13 CST | 1 comment
Although winter took hold at Endeavour Crater in November, Opportunity pressed on, climbing up Murray Ridge and driving into a clay mineral hunting ground as the Mars Exploration Rovers mission cruised another month closer to celebrating its 10th Earth year of surface operations with myriad events throughout January 2014.
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