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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
What's up in solar system exploration: March 2016 edition
Welcome to my monthly inventory of the 20-plus spacecraft actively exploring our solar system. Highlights of this month include the impending launch of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander, currently planned for March 14, and the resumption of regular VMC Mars images by Mars Express.
Curiosity Rover: Design, Planning, and Field Geology on Mars
Emily is back to work on her Mars Science Laboratory book, which has a new publication date and a new title.
Atlanta Students Bring Mars to Earth
A group of students from Georgia, USA, were able to explore Mars through the Mars Express #VMCschools campaign, with a little help from The Planetary Society's image processing tutorials.
NASA's New Budget Would Gut Europa But Otherwise Support Planetary Exploration
It’s clear that the President’s budget officers really don’t want to fund a mission to Europa. Other than that, the proposed Fiscal Year 2017 budget submitted by the President last week to Congress would be great for planetary exploration.
Light plays on a Martian crater rim
Recently, space image processing enthusiast Thomas Appéré noticed that Curiosity had taken five photos of exactly the same spot on the rim of Gale crater, identical but for being taken at different times of day. That spot was due north of the rover, so the rising and lowering Sun illuminates the rounded hummocks of the crater rim differently from early morning to early afternoon.
A new hope for a microphone on Mars: Enhancing Mars 2020 science with sound
When the Mars 2020 rover lands, we may finally hear the first audio recordings from the Martian surface.
Field Report From Mars: Sol 4284 - February 11, 2016
Opportunity is continuing to explore the outcrops Marathon Valley, on the west rim of Endeavour crater.
Curiosity update, sols 1218-1249: Digging in the sand at Bagnold Dunes
Curiosity has spent the last month sampling and processing dark sand scooped from the side of Namib Dune. The rover has now departed Namib and is preparing to cross the Bagnold dune field, while working to diagnose an anomaly with the CHIMRA sample handling mechanism.
HiRISE image coverage of the Curiosity field site on Mars, Version 3.0
There have been tons and tons of HiRISE images of the Curiosity landing region, and it has taken quite a lot of work for me to find, locate, and catalogue them. This post is a summary of what I've found; after five revisions and updates, it's now version 3.0 of the list.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Turns 12! Embarks on Electric Slide
On January 24th, the veteran Mars Exploration Rover (MER) wrapped the last day of her 12th year of surface operations on Mars, marking an extraordinary, historic achievement for the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) mission.
What's up in solar system exploration: February 2016 edition
What's going on with our robotic planetary missions? In February I count more than 20 planetary spacecraft exploring six targets beyond Earth or cruising to new destinations.
Field Report From Mars: Sol 4270 - January 28, 2016
On January 23rd, Opportunity celebrated its 12th anniversary of landing on Mars.
Wide views of Mars from Mars Express
Geologist and amateur space image processor Justin Cowart has dug into the Mars Express archives and located some lovely, wide views across great swaths of the Martian globe.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Finishes Another Record Year, Approaches 12th Anniversary
Perched on the southern wall of Marathon Valley at Endeavour Crater, Opportunity braved temperatures descending well below -100° F in December to work the winter science campaign and home in on the remnants of ancient clays.
Curiosity update, sols 1166-1217: First reconnaissance of Bagnold dunes
In the six weeks since my last detailed Curiosity update, the rover has driven to, on, and around a couple of active barchan sand dunes on Mars. They are now searching for a site to scoop and sample sand on the western edge of Namib dune.
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander travel safely to Baikonur
Europe's second mission to Mars has begun its journey from its birthplace in Cannes to its planned arrival at Mars on October 19. Since December 17 we've been able to watch every step of its journey via Twitter.
InSight's Problems: Possible Impacts
Van Kane details the potential repercussions of the launch delay of InSight Mars lander on the rest of NASA's Discovery mission program.
NASA's Next Mars Mission Delayed for Two Years
A problem with the French space agency's seismometer instrument will delay NASA's InSight Mars lander by two years.
For the first time ever, a Curiosity Mastcam self-portrait from Mars
In a remarkable and wholly unexpected gift to Curiosity fans, the rover has just taken the first-ever color Mastcam self-portrait from Mars.
Curiosity stories from AGU: The fortuitous find of a puzzling mineral on Mars, and a gap in Gale's history
Yesterday at the American Geophysical Union meeting, the Curiosity science team announced the discovery of a mineral never before found on Mars. The finding was the result of a fortuitous series of events, but as long as Curiosity's instruments continue to function well, it's the kind of discovery that Curiosity should now be able to repeat.