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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Software Command to Fix Faulty Sensor Doomed Beresheet
Six days after SpaceIL's Beresheet spacecraft crash-landed on the Moon, we now have an explanation for what went wrong.
Voyager Wide-Angle Views of Jupiter
Last month marked the 40th anniversary of the historic Voyager 1 encounter with Jupiter in 1979.
Beresheet Comes Close before Crashing on the Moon
Mission controllers announced Beresheet had a problem with its main engine, and the spacecraft stopped transmitting shortly thereafter.
Beresheet is about to Land on the Moon
A successful landing will make SpaceIL the first private organization, and Israel the fourth country, to soft-land on the Moon.
Beresheet Has Entered Lunar Orbit!
SpaceIL's Beresheet Moon lander successfully entered lunar orbit today after a 6-minute engine burn that began at 14:18 UTC / 10:18 EDT.
Hayabusa2 Safe and Sound after Blasting New Crater on Ryugu
Hayabusa2 successfully used its explosive-packed SCI experiment to create an artificial crater on asteroid Ryugu.
First Science Results from Hayabusa2 Mission
The Hayabusa2 team held a press briefing last week at LPSC to report newly published results on asteroid Ryugu.
What to Expect When Hayabusa2 Blows a Hole in Asteroid Ryugu
The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft will deploy its Small Carry-on Impactor experiment, SCI, on 5 April.
Beresheet Gears up for Lunar Rendezvous
The Israeli spacecraft is set to enter lunar orbit on 4 April at 17:57 UTC (13:57 EDT).
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Lesser-Known Luminaries
Award-winning astrophotographer Adam Block shares some of his latest images highlighting some hidden gems.
OSIRIS-REx sees Bennu spewing stuff into space
The asteroid's rotation rate is also increasing, and scientists continue refining the plan to collect a regolith sample next year.
Where We Are on 1 April 2019
Emily Lakdawalla takes us on a tour of the spacecraft currently exploring from within our solar system. All planets and spacecraft locations are shown at their location for April 1st, 2019.
The subtle color difference between Uranus and Neptune
The color of Uranus and Neptune is similar, but not identical. Uranus appears greener and Neptune bluer.
Hayabusa2 Scores a Bulls-eye on Touchdown, More Explodey Fun on the Horizon
The mission is also gearing up for a possible second sample collection.
Yutu-2 Rocks On into Lunar Day 3 for Chang’e-4 mission
China’s Yutu-2 rover is continuing to make tracks on the lunar far side.
Watch Hayabusa2's incredible touchdown on asteroid Ryugu
The spacecraft fired a bullet into the surface and unleashed a massive spray of debris.
InSight Update, Sol 92: The Mole Did Hit a Rock
The HP3 mole started hammering itself today, and almost immediately (after just 5 minutes) appears to have encountered a rock. No matter; they'll try again Saturday.
Fun With a New Data Set: The OSIRIS-REx Earth Flyby
The OSIRIS-REx team recently issued their first data release to the Planetary Data System. This release doesn’t include any closeup pictures of asteroid Bennu, but it does include all the pictures they took during their September 2017 Earth flyby.
Beresheet Overcomes Early Glitches, Continues Journey to the Moon
The spacecraft performed its second engine burn, raising the highest point of its orbit to more than a third of the way to the Moon.
Practicing Mars 2020 rover operations, on Earth
Jeff Johnson files a report from ROASTT, the Rover Operations Activities for Science Team Training.