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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.
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.
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: 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.
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