Blog Archive

Future tech Mars Sample Return mission concept

NASA's New Direction For Mars (Maybe)

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/09/26 01:58 CDT

The future of the Mars Exploration Program exists as multiple mission plans straining to exist in the brutal new cost cap from the FY13 budget, pushed far into the future.

Phobos seen from the Martian surface, Curiosity sol 45 (September 21, 2012)

An alien moon, photographed from the surface of an alien world

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/26 12:10 CDT | 8 comments

Curiosity has successfully photographed a crescent Phobos in a bright daylit Martian sky.

Cosmoquest Science Hour, Wednesday: A virtual field trip to the hills on Curiosity's horizon

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/25 04:50 CDT | 2 comments

I'm hosting this week's Cosmoquest Science Hour, and plan to take viewers on a virtual tour of those mountains on Curiosity's horizon, and show you where Curiosity is likely to go. Join me and Fraser Cain here at 1600 PDT / 2300 UTC Wednesday.

Predicted path of comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)

Comet ISON: 30% chance of awesome, 60% chance of that being wrong

Posted by Bill Gray on 2012/09/25 12:15 CDT | 10 comments

A very interesting comet has recently been discovered -- interesting because it will nearly graze the Sun in August 2013 and then approach Earth closely the following December. Whether it will turn out to be a great comet is impossible to know.

Dragon approaches the ISS artist's concept

SpaceX ready for return to International Space Station

Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/09/25 12:01 CDT | 1 comments

SpaceX is two weeks away from returning to the International Space Station. Following a successful demo flight in May, NASA is entrusting the private spaceflight company with a half-ton of mission-critical station cargo.

Follow the Water (to our leaking pipe)

Posted by Jennifer Vaughn on 2012/09/24 12:50 CDT | 1 comments

It's been an eventful week: Curiosity drove to its first science target, Endeavour arrived in Los Angeles, and a leaking pipe shut down Planetary Society headquarters. We continue to work but not from within our headquarters. We expect to be back on Thursday morning, putting our workspaces back together and catching up on any work that got quarantined. Until then, you can find us online.