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An Eventful 2012
The Society hosted many great events in 2012, come take a look back with us
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/12/31 04:53 CST
We threw a number of great events for our members and the public. Here's a list of some of my favorite, with links to ways to see or hear them yourself.
Tiptoeing Towards the Edge
Sequestration Looks to Be Inevitable, What Happens to Planetary Science?
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/12/27 04:09 CST | 1 comments
NASA's Planetary Science Division looks to lose about $100 million in addition to the deep cuts already proposed for 2013.
SpaceX's Grasshopper makes leap toward reusability
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/12/26 01:18 CST | 14 comments
SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket passed its most ambitious test flight yet, rising 12 stories before hovering and settling gently back down onto its landing pad.
Pretty picture: Jupiter photo from an unusual source
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/26 01:02 CST | 4 comments
A recently launched Earth-observing satellite is using the stars to practice its pointing, and caught a neat animation of Jupiter.
New crew arrives at station for holidays
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/12/21 11:26 CST
The ISS is back to a six-person crew following the arrival of NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield and Russian Federal Space Agency cosmonaut Roman Romanenko.
Who is the photographer behind Mars rover photos? Answer from Mark Lemmon
Posted by Mark Lemmon on 2012/12/21 11:10 CST | 2 comments
A Mars imaging scientist answers the question: who is the "photographer" behind images returned from Mars?
Planetary Radio Live Celebrates Curiosity/Truly Haute Cuisine!
Listen to or watch the webcast recorded Saturday, December 15th, and enjoy a neat little French animation.
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2012/12/20 04:06 CST
Listen to or watch the webcast recorded Saturday, December 15th with MSL Project Manager Richard Cook and Project Scientist John Grotzinger. Bonus: enjoy a neat little French animation.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/19 10:06 CST | 3 comments
Join us for our weekly Google+ Hangout Thursday at noon PT / 2000 UT. This week, I'm excited to have as a guest Sarah Hörst. Sarah is a postdoc at the University of Colorado whose current line of research involves experimental work on the complex atmospheric chemistry of Titan. She is also applying to be an astronaut!
Mars Express VMC resumes raw data posting
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/19 09:31 CST | 2 comments
ESA brought Mars Express' VMC back online in May, but hasn't been posting the images. This week, they launched a new process to release VMC images automatically to a Flickr page.
Chilly liftoff sends veteran crew into orbit
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/12/19 07:47 CST | 3 comments
Three veteran space travelers are safely in orbit following a 6:12 p.m. (7:12 a.m. EST, 1212 UTC) liftoff from Baikonur, Kazhakstan Wednesday.
My ever-popular asteroids-and-comets montage, now in color, with bonus Toutatis
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/18 04:26 CST | 9 comments
My collage of all the asteroids and comets visited by spacecraft is probably the single most popular image I have ever posted on this blog. I've now updated it to be in color and to include Toutatis.
Where We Stand: The year in advocacy and what's ahead for 2013
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/12/16 05:43 CST | 12 comments
We've had a very busy year defending funding for NASA's Planetary Science division.
Watch Planetary Radio LIVE on Saturday!
Saturday's webcast is all about Curiosity on Mars
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2012/12/15 11:10 CST | 1 comments
Watch the live show at 2pm Pacific on Saturday, December 15 to see Bill Nye, Emily Lakdawalla and the leaders of the Mars Science Laboratory rover mission.
Chang'E 2 imaging of Toutatis succeeded beyond my expectations!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/14 05:59 CST | 19 comments
The Chang'E 2 mission flyby of Toutatis succeeded in acquiring images. Oh my goodness, did they succeed. These, in combination with the incredible radar images still being acquired from Goldstone and innumerable optical observations, make Toutatis one of the best-studied asteroids in the solar system.
Forty years after Apollo 17's final footsteps
Posted by Andrew Chaikin on 2012/12/14 01:48 CST | 2 comments
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the last human footsteps on the Moon. In my latest video I look back at Apollo 17 and explain why I believe the Moon is the solar system's "jewel in the crown," beckoning us to return.
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.
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/12/13 12:15 CST | 3 comments
Join us for our weekly hangout and catch up on GRAIL, Curiosity, and the future Mars rover.
North Korea launches first satellite
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/12/12 05:04 CST
North Korea successfully launched their first satellite from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station at 9:49 a.m. local time Wednesday.
Crowdsourcing the Andromeda Galaxy
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/12/11 06:29 CST | 1 comments
Scientists would like your help starting at high-resolution images of the Andromeda Galaxy captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
More recommended nonfiction and activity space books for children
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/11 04:59 CST | 2 comments
My final set of reviews of children's books for 2012: five recommended nonfiction books for a range of ages.
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