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Determining Near Earth Asteroids’ Properties from the California Desert
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/08/05 05:04 CDT | 2 comments
Shoemaker NEO Grant winner Bob Stephens specializes in lightcurves of near Earth asteroids to determine their physical properties. Here is an update on recent progress using his 2013 Planetary Society grant. This is the first in a series of updates on Shoemaker NEO Grant winners.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Celebrates Milestones, Arrives at Solander Suburb
Sols 3355 - 3384
Posted by A.J.S. Rayl on 2013/08/05 03:44 CDT | 1 comments
The Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) mission Opportunity celebrated the 10th anniversary of its launch on July 7, 2003, and then went on to complete the last leg of its 2 km trek from Cape York to Solander Point. But just before the robot field geologist pulled onto the actual base of the ridge where it will spend its sixth Martian winter, Mars lured the team off the path with some of the weirdest Martian rocks the scientists have seen yet.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/08/05 01:38 CDT | 4 comments
Seasons, sunlight, and shadow at the Moon's north pole
TODAY at 4pm PDT: Google+ Hangout, Celebrate Curiosity's First Year on Mars with Deputy Scientist Ashwin Vasavada
Monday, Aug 5th at 4pm PDT/7pm EDT
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/08/05 12:00 CDT
It was just one year ago that Curiosity had her dramatic landing on the surface of Mars. Emily Lakdawalla and I will interview the Deputy Project Scientist of the Curiosity mission, Ashwin Vasavada, about the successes of the past year and the what to look forward to in the next
Japan sends fourth cargo craft to International Space Station
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/08/05 06:01 CDT
Japan’s HTV-4 resupply vessel is en route to the International Space Station following a Sunday launch from the Tanegashima Space Center.
Curiosity is copying Cassini's tricks!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/08/03 10:59 CDT | 9 comments
Take a look at this amazing photo, captured by Curiosity from the surface of Mars on sol 351 (August 1, 2013). It is unmistakably Phobos.
Jupiter and Io from Pioneer 10
Posted by Ted Stryk on 2013/08/02 04:25 CDT | 1 comments
This is a parting shot of Jupiter and Io, taken December 5, 1973, by the Pioneer 10 spacecraft, the first to see either world as a crescent.
Pluto on the Eve of Exploration by New Horizons: Is there an ocean, or not?
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/08/02 08:00 CDT | 5 comments
Does Pluto have an ocean under its ice? If it doesn't now, did it ever have one? How will we know?
Keeping up with Curiosity, almost a year after landing
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/08/01 06:16 CDT | 4 comments
It seems like my attention wandered for just a moment, and all of a sudden Curiosity is really on the road. She's racked up drive after drive, methodically eating up the terrain between here and her goal: the ancient rocks at the foot of Mount Sharp.
Happy 32! Happy New Mars Year!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/31 01:45 CDT | 4 comments
They're too far apart to have a party, but today Curiosity and Opportunity could have rung in the New Mars Year. Today Mars reached a solar longitude of zero degrees and the Sun crossed Mars' equator, heralding the arrival of spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere.
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/07/30 08:58 CDT | 7 comments
NASA responds to its advisory council's recommendations from April of this year.
Pluto on the Eve of Exploration by New Horizons: A problem of cartography
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/30 05:44 CDT | 6 comments
Last Thursday at the Pluto Science Conference there was a surprising and interesting talk by Amanda Zangari, who pointed out a serious problem with Pluto cartography.
Civil Servant Responsible for Government STEM Restructuring Identified
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/07/30 02:05 CDT | 2 comments
The government employee responsible for the proposed restructuring of all STEM programs in 2014 has been identified by the journal Science. The initiative faces resistance from both Congress and the scientific community, who feel that they were not consulted during the decision making process.
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/07/30 01:12 CDT | 5 comments
Ion propulsion is not a source of power for Dawn. Rather, the craft needs a great deal of power to operate its ion propulsion system and all other systems. It needs so much that...we crave power!!
Movie SciFi With Real Science? What a Concept!
Europa Report is available on demand and online, and in theaters on August 2
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/07/30 10:14 CDT | 1 comments
This week's Planetary Radio features the new indy film that relies on the best available science to create a thrilling and inspiring human mission to Jupiter's moon.
India prepares to return troubled rocket to flight
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/07/30 06:00 CDT | 13 comments
India is preparing for the return-to-flight of their Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, which has suffered back-to-back failures.
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.
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