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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
JPL Releases a Big, Bold Website Redesign
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory released a major overhaul of its website. Here's a closer look.
New global Mars image from Mars Orbiter Mission features Gale crater
ISRO has released a second global image of Mars from the Mars Colour Camera on Mars Orbiter Mission, and smack dab in the center of it is Gale crater, home to Curiosity.
Comet Siding Spring: Exciting times
We're now less than two weeks away from Comet Siding Spring buzzing ridiculously close to Mars, and the excitement is building - in both good and bad ways...
A Clearer Impression of Degas Crater
MESSENGER is revealing the first planet in sharp detail.
How Richard Nixon Changed NASA
The end of the Moon race raised the question: what, if anything, was next for NASA? The decisions made by President Nixon in the aftermath of Apollo still impact the space program today.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Gets Extension, Returns Killer Panoramas, and Roves onto Mystery Rocks
While the winds of Martian spring blew through Meridiani Planum in September, Opportunity reformatted its Flash memory then continued exploring Wdowiak Ridge on the western rim of Endeavour Crater. Even though the Flash-related issues soon returned, the robot field geologist hardly seemed to notice as it sent home two spectacular panoramas, presented the scientists with a rocky Martian mystery, and delivered yet another September to remember for the mission. And that's not all.
Preparing for A-MAVEN Science!
How can we use MAVEN to learn about Comet Siding Spring, passing very close by Mars this month?
Orion's Ride to Space is at the Launch Site. Why So Early?
On Tuesday, Orion's massive Delta IV Heavy rocket rolled from its Horizontal Integration Facility out to the launch site. Launch is still eight weeks away. Why so early?
Mattias Malmer's amazing 3D views of Churyumov-Gerasimenko
I'm thrilled to be able to share with you all a spectacular set of images of Rosetta's comet, produced from NavCam data by a master space image processing enthusiast.
Mars Orbiter Mission activates all science instruments as NASA, ISRO form joint Mars working group
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) began its science activities fully on Wednesday with all five science instruments being activated. And on Tuesday, an ISRO-NASA Mars working group was formed which will
Happy Fiscal Year 2015! Though NASA Still Doesn't Have a Budget
Congress passed a stopgap spending bill before taking off to campaign for re-election, keeping NASA's 2015 budget in limbo for another two months.
More LightSail Day-in-the-Life Multimedia, and a Community Image Processing Challenge
We have more multimedia from LightSail's day-in-the-life test, as well as a request for some community image processing help.
Planetary Society President Testifies Before Congress
Society President Dr. Jim Bell provided expert testimony at a September hearing on the state (and fate) of planetary science.
Mars Orbiter Mission delivers on promise of global views of Mars
Ever since I first learned about the capabilities of Mars Orbiter Mission's small payload of science instruments, I have been anticipating one type of data in particular: global color views of Mars captured in a single 2000-pixel-square frame. Just days after entering orbit, Mars Orbiter Mission has delivered on that promise.
Curiosity update, sols 748-763: Driving and Drilling at Pahrump Hills
The biggest news on Curiosity of late is that the rover has drilled her fourth full drill hole on Mars! Drilling happened at a site called
Brief mission update: Hayabusa2 has a launch date!
JAXA announced the launch date for their Hayabusa2 asteroid sample return mission today: November 30 at 13:24:48 Japan standard time (04:24:48 UT / November 29 at 20:24:48 PST)
Dawn Journal: 7 Years of Interplanetary Travel
Marc Rayman gives us an update on the Dawn mission, heading to Ceres, on the 7th anniversary of its launch.
Using Lasers to Lock Down Exoplanet Hunting
The Planetary Society is launching a new collaboration with Yale exoplanet hunter Debra Fischer and her team, the Exoplanets Laser project. We will support the purchase of an advanced, ultra stable laser to be used in a complex system they are designing to push radial velocity exoplanet hunting to a whole whole new level.
Philae's landing day announced as Rosetta swings to comet's dark side
ESA announced today that Philae will be landing on November 12, 2014. What time the landing occurs depends on which landing site they use. If they go to the prime landing site,
Field Report from Mars: Sol 3790 — September 22, 2014
After a stand-down of activities to reformat its flash memory, Opportunity has re-commenced the long climb up this high and steep segment of the Endeavour crater rim.



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