Casey Dreier's Blogs

Instruments selected for the Mars 2020 rover

[Updated]: NASA Selects 7 Science Instruments for its Next Mars Rover

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/07/31 01:16 CDT | 3 comments

Seven science instruments will help the Mars 2020 rover identify biosignatures and understand the history of the rocks it encounters on the surface of the red planet.

Artist's Concept of Mars 2020 Rover, Annotated

NASA Announces the Suite of Science Instruments on its Next Mars Rover Today

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/07/31 04:13 CDT

Today marks the unveiling of the suite of science instruments that will travel to Mars to look for signs of past life and help determine samples to store for possible return to Earth. The next rover mission will launch in 2020.

NASA's Budget Stalls Out

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/07/29 08:46 CDT | 1 comment

Congress has all but given up its goal of passing a budget before the end of this fiscal year in September. Instead, we will likely see a temporary extension through the elections in November.

Capitol Hill Responds to the Lure of Europa

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/07/18 01:54 CDT | 2 comments

A standing-room only crowd learned the lure of Europa, the moon of Jupiter with more liquid water than the Earth, at a special Planetary Society event on capitol hill.

The Senate's Flawed NASA Bill Hits a Bump in the Road

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/06/19 10:09 CDT | 2 comments

For the second day in a row, the Senate failed to vote on a bill that would fund NASA and other agencies in 2015. Without passage, no progress can be made addressing the flaws contained within.

[Updated] The Senate Proposes $17.9B for NASA, Matching the House's Increase

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/06/04 05:37 CDT | 2 comments

The Senate released early details about its budget for NASA in 2015. The top-line level, $17.9 billion, is an increase over the President's proposal and matches the level passed by the full House last week.

If You Propose to Take Money from NASA, We Notice

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/06/03 03:28 CDT | 8 comments

During the floor debate for the House's budget for NASA and other agencies, three members of Congress submitted amendments to shift money from NASA to other programs. We noticed.

Live in California or Maryland?

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/05/30 01:15 CDT | 1 comment

The Senate is about to release its draft NASA budget, and we need to ensure their support for planetary exploration.

The House Passes a $435 Million Increase to NASA's Budget

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/05/30 01:02 CDT | 3 comments

After a multi-day floor debate, the House of Representatives passed its Commerce-Justice-Science funding bill, which included a NASA budget $435 million above the President's 2015 request and an increase to planetary science.

Conceptual design for an asteroid capture and retrieval spacecraft

The Planetary Society Supports NASA's Asteroid Initiative

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2014/05/27 01:02 CDT | 22 comments

The Planetary Society strongly supports NASA's asteroid initiative, including the goal of redirecting an asteroid to the vicinity of the Moon. But an independent cost estimate is needed, and needed soon.