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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
MESSENGER gets two planets for the price of one
Here's a pretty shot of Mercury taken by MESSENGER on approach...but wait, what's that tiny little speck in the lower left corner of the photo?
What's up in the solar system in October 2009
What's up in the solar system in October 2009
Third Time's No Charm: MESSENGER's Third Gravity Assist Successful, But "Safe Mode" Interrupts Science
Third Time's No Charm: MESSENGER's Third Gravity Assist Successful, But "Safe Mode" Interrupts Science
MESSENGER went into safe mode before closest approach
MESSENGER went into safe mode before closest approach
Another lunar lander photographed: Surveyor 1!
Another lunar lander photographed: Surveyor 1!
Mars Science Laboratory Instruments: MAHLI
Last time, I talked about the MastCam color cameras on MSL, so it only makes sense to continue with one of the other cameras: The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI).
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Embedded Spirit Waits Exit Approval, Opportunity Celebrates New Mars Year with New Record
From notable achievements and new discoveries to trials and tribulations and harbingers of hope, the Mars Exploration Rovers seemed to experience the gamut on the Red Planet this September, their 69th month on an expedition that originally set out back in 2004 for a three-month tour.
Opportunity on the move
Opportunity rover is driving, driving, driving. It departed the meteorite named Block Island on sol 2,004 and has routinely clocked 70 meters per driving day (with drives every other day).
A little drama during the MESSENGER Mercury flyby
A little drama during the MESSENGER Mercury flyby
MESSENGER just passed closest approach!
MESSENGER just passed closest approach!
MESSENGER's latest Mercury image
MESSENGER's latest Mercury image
Fifty-five hours from Mercury
Fifty-five hours from Mercury
Planetary Radio Q and A: Who sees better, Hubble or ground-based scopes with adaptive optics?
Planetary Radio Q and A: Who sees better, Hubble or ground-based scopes with adaptive optics?
Carnival of Space #122
Carnival of Space #122
Dawn, now with 33% more Vesta
Dawn, now with 33% more Vesta
Now it's Cabeus, not Cabeus A, for LCROSS
Now it's Cabeus, not Cabeus A, for LCROSS
Dawn Journal: Good Performance Means a Longer Stay at Vesta!
Dawn is celebrating the second anniversary of leaving its home planet by engaging in the same function it has performed most of its time in space: with the utmost patience, it is using its ion propulsion system to gradually modify its orbit around the Sun.
Here comes Mercury
Here comes Mercury
The "Water on the Moon" Hoopla, Part 1: There's water on the Moon!
For a couple of weeks now, I've been hearing rumors about an upcoming announcement concerning Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper (
The "Water on the Moon" Hoopla, Part 2: The murkier part of the story
How much water is there on the Moon, and is it in a form that human explorers could use? This part of the story has many more questions and many fewer definite conclusions.