Blog Archive

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.

The International Space Station (May 2010)

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 meeting, July 2013

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.

Earth and Moon from MESSENGER

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.

Pancam view of Solander Point, Opportunity sol 3363

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.

Recurring slope lineae (RSL) in Newton Crater, Mars

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.

J-2X: A Distant Dot Lights Up the Night

Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/07/18 09:51 CDT | 3 comments

On Tuesday, NASA released new high-definition video of a June 26 nighttime J-2X engine test at Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi.

A new HiRISE view of Opportunity (sol 3361)

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/17 06:14 CDT

The HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has snapped a lovely color photo of the rim of Endeavour crater, catching Opportunity midway between Nobby's Head and Solander Point.

Dunes on Tatooine

Posted by Ralph Lorenz on 2013/07/17 01:13 CDT

The fictional world Tatooine, scene of action in the Star Wars movies, is named after a town in Tunisia, where parts of the movies were filmed. The desert backdrops against which the movies were filmed are real terrestrial landscapes, which prove to be perhaps unexpectedly dynamic.