Emily Lakdawalla • July 22, 2013
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.
Casey Dreier • July 22, 2013
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.
Casey Dreier • July 21, 2013
The remake of Cosmos, starring Neil deGrasse Tyson and airing on Fox, just released its first teaser trailer at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Emily Lakdawalla • July 19, 2013
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.
Larry Crumpler • July 18, 2013
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.
Mat Kaplan • July 18, 2013
You can be part of a planetwide group photo as Cassini and MESSENGER turn their cameras Earthward on July 19.
Emily Lakdawalla • July 18, 2013
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.
Jason Davis • July 18, 2013
On Tuesday, NASA released new high-definition video of a June 26 nighttime J-2X engine test at Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi.
Emily Lakdawalla • July 17, 2013
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.
Ralph Lorenz • July 17, 2013
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.
Mat Kaplan • July 16, 2013
This week's Planetary Radio goes on tour at the Mount Wilson Observatory with descendants of its founder.
Jason Davis • July 16, 2013
A spacewalk outside the International Space Station Tuesday ended early after a water leak inside astronaut Luca Parmitano’s helmet created a potentially dangerous situation.
Bill Dunford • July 15, 2013
There's a cool new way to explore the first planet.
Emily Lakdawalla • July 15, 2013
Pluto's moons, formerly known as "P4" and "P5," are now named Kerberos and Styx; I thought I'd help place them into context with a little help from Cassini. Also, Neptune now has a 14th known moon.
Casey Dreier • July 15, 2013
NASA's plan to raid Planetary Science funding to pay for sequester cuts in other science programs was rejected by Congress earlier this month. NASA is now working on a new plan that has yet to be submitted for approval.
Casey Dreier • July 12, 2013
This budget, if enacted, would be the smallest budget NASA has seen since the mid '80s, when adjusted for inflation.
Emily Lakdawalla • July 12, 2013
NASA recently shared a gloriously detailed image of an unusual clear day in Alaska as seen from the Terra satellite.
Bruce Betts • July 11, 2013
For those wishing to bore into more details of our Laser Bees project itself, graduate student Alison Gibbings from the University of Strathclyde has sent their technical paper that resulted from the 2013 Planetary Defense Conference.
Casey Dreier • July 11, 2013
NASA Administrator Bolden and the Chairman of the House Science Committee published opposing op-eds in The Hill newspaper today, illustrating the uphill battle NASA faces to sell Congress on this mission.
Ara Kourchians • July 11, 2013
Time is kept differently on Mars. This is because Mars itself rotates a little slower than Earth. This proves to be a pain when it comes to timekeeping.
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