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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Celebrate Apollo 11's 40th Anniversary with the Crew
This summer, the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. will commemorate that extraordinary moment in history with a very special Apollo 11 celebration, featuring the mission's original crew members along with former Johnson Space Center Director Chris Kraft.
Farewell to Hubble, Obama Calls, Astronauts Testify to Congress as Shuttle is Set to Land
Farewell to Hubble, Obama Calls, Astronauts Testify to Congress as Shuttle is Set to Land
Ever Plan Ahead? How About Six Years Ahead?
Despite still being more than six years and just over 18 Astronomical Units from the Pluto system, the project team for New Horizons is conducting the second and final portion of our Pluto Encounter Preliminary Design Review (EPDR) tomorrow and the next day.
Exciting Times Ahead: 2010 Will Sizzle, and 2011 Will Really Cook!
Today, I'm kicking the week off with a look at the unusually intense confluence of far flung planetary exploration that's just around the corner, starting the middle of next year.
An Auspicious Week for Astronomy
On Monday, if all goes well, we will launch the Space Shuttle to rejuvenate one the greatest scientific missions launched on or off the Earth: the Hubble Space Telescope.
Fly me to the Moon...
Jim Bell describes his proposal to join the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Cameras science team.
Updates on the 2007 Shoemaker NEO Grant Recipients (27 April 2009)
Our 2007 Shoemaker NEO Grant winners have been extremely busy over the past two years. Take for example Quanzhi Ye of Guangzhou, China: He was only 18 when he received the award but already the principal investigator of the sky survey at the Lulin Observatory in Taiwan.
Pretty Dunes in Gale Crater
This is a tiny subframe from the HiRISE image PSP_009294_1750.
Give MSL a Real Name!
The voting has begun to give the Mars Science Laboratory a genuine, non-acronym name!
Spirit puts the pedal to the metal
Way to go, Spirit! The last two drives for the five-wheeled rover have taken it a total of about 40 meters west, traveling around the north edge of Home Plate. If I'm not mistaken, that's more than Spirit has driven in the last 400 sols combined.
Planetary Surface Processes Field Trip: Day 7
Friday was the last day of the field trip, and we spent it at the Petrified Forest National Park.
Planetary Surface Processes Field Trip: Day 6
Today we visited Grand Falls and the nearby dune field. Grand Falls is especially interesting because it combines many of the processes that are active in shaping planetary surfaces.
Planetary Surface Processes Field Trip: Day 5
Today was a long and awesome day. We started out at Meteor Crater, the youngest and best preserved impact crater on Earth!
Planetary Surface Processes Field Trip: Day 4
Today we visited the Grand Canyon. If you haven’t been there before, there is no way to convey what it is like.
Planetary Surface Processes Field Trip: Day 2
Today we made our way from Phoenix north to Flagstaff, and on the way stopped to check out some interesting geology in Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon.
Planetary Surface Processes Field Trip: Day 3
Today was all about volcanoes.
Planetary Surface Processes Field Trip: Day 1
After a hectic week of tying up loose ends and running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I now have my proster done for the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, and am in Phoenix for the Planetary Surface Processes field trip, led by my adviser Jim Bell.
What are the rovers up to? March 2009
As usual, troubled Spirit's progress sometimes amounts to only centimeters, while golden child Opportunity has already clocked four kilometers on its trek toward Endeavour.