Articles

Emily Lakdawalla

Reports from the March 19 session at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference covering eight icy moons in the outer solar system: Ganymede, Europa, Dione, Rhea, Mimas, Tethys, Enceladus, and Miranda.

Van Kane

Last week, planetary scientists gathered for the 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Van Kane rounds up some of the future mission concepts presented.

Mat Kaplan

The extended, mostly unedited recordings of my conversations with many of the people I spoke to at the ALMA Observatory in Chile. Also, the full English translation of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera's speech.

Emily Lakdawalla

Really cool movies from Jim Richardson propose to explain how the same physics of impact cratering can produce such differently-appearing surfaces as those of the Moon, large asteroids like Eros, and teeny ones like Itokawa.

Bill Dunford

A new slant on Martian landscapes from Mars Global Surveyor.

Casey Dreier

We celebrate success as Congress passes a bill that restores funding to NASA's Planetary Science program, allowing for more missions, begins a mission to Europa, and funds Plutonium fuel development.

Emily Lakdawalla

Before yesterday, my answer to this question would be

Emily Lakdawalla

A mind-boggling quantity of information is being presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. In my first report from the meeting, I try to make sense of the Curiosity and Opportunity sessions.

Bill Dunford

Some lovely, rarely-seen images from the MESSENGER mission.

Donna Stevens

I’m happy to tell you that the March Equinox 2013 issue of The Planetary Report is hot off the presses and will begin mailing next week.

Emily Lakdawalla

I depart tomorrow for Houston and the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC). Here's a look at how to follow the meeting on social media, and where to find me if you're also attending.

Casey Dreier

The first major effects of Sequestration were felt at NASA yesterday, with new rules severely restricting travel and scientific conference attendance by NASA scientists and contractors.

Emily Lakdawalla

This week I'll be talking with NEOWISE principal investigator Amy Mainzer about moving objects that the WISE mission has spotted both inside and outside our solar system.

Karl Battams

Comet PANSTARRS is delighting northern hemisphere viewers right now. But it's also big, bright, and beautiful to the STEREO spacecraft.

Emily Lakdawalla

We don't have any spacecraft at Jupiter right now, which is a pity. Until we do, we have to rely upon Earth-based astronomers to monitor the changing face of the largest planet.

Emily Lakdawalla

The news from the Curiosity mission today is this: Curiosity has found, at the site called John Klein, a rock that contains evidence for a past environment that would have been suitable for Earth-like microorganisms.

Bill Dunford

Nearly four decades before Curiosity, we dug into Mars for the first time. The pictures are still amazing.

Mat Kaplan

Great dinner and great conversation with staff of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, topped by Chile's national drink.

Mat Kaplan

Another audio blog post, with excerpts from the National Science Foundation briefing on the ALMA Observatory, edited while I was waiting for my planet to Chile at LAX.

Casey Dreier

Rep. Adam Schiff's response to the state of Planetary Science funding from his recent online town hall.