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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
SLS updates: tower crawl, engine burn and flight test
A few updates on the Space Launch System, NASA's next-generation deep exploration vehicle.
Goldstone: Desert outpost performs radio imaging of close-passing asteroid 2005 YU55
Anticipating the close flyby of asteroid 2005 YU55 yesterday, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory invited media to tour Goldstone, one of three facilities that make up NASA's Deep Space Network. I've always wanted to see these massive radio dishes up close, so I jumped at the chance!
NOVA: Finding Life Beyond Earth airs tonight, with lots of planetary stars
Programming note: tonight, public television stations will be airing a new, two-hour NOVA documentary,
A new trick for IKAROS: Spinning the other way
JAXA's solar sail demonstration craft IKAROS is still puttering along, 17 months after it launched, and its controllers back on Earth keep coming up with new things to try with it. I'm pretty amazed by the most recent trick: reversing its spin direction. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is, especially for IKAROS.
Decoding SpaceX's re-usable spacecraft concept
Breaking down the futuristic technologies for SpaceX's reusable Grasshopper spacecraft, as shown in a recent promotional video.
NASA unveils Space Launch System
After months of political wrangling, NASA has finally unveiled the design of the Space Launch System, America's next deep space transportation system.
Pretty picture: Talking to GRAIL
Here's a lovely picture from the Canberra DSN this morning, showing two of the workhorse 34-meter antennas communicating with the nearby GRAIL spacecraft. In the distance, the huge DSS-43 talks to the solar observatory STEREO-B.
From the "Just Plain Cool" department: Time-lapse photo of GRAIL's Delta 2 tower rollback
The terrific launch photographer Ben Cooper is at the Cape waiting for GRAIL's Delta 2 rocket to take off, and last night he took this very cool photo.
Phobos LIFE Ready to Launch
Years in the making, our Phobos LIFE (Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment) is nearing launch this November. Phobos LIFE will send millions of passengers on a 34-month journey to Mars’ moon Phobos and back.
Launch Window Approaching!
We are super excited that the Planetary Society’s Phobos LIFE (Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment) is about ready to launch to Mars’ moon Phobos and back. We have been working for years preparing this unique test of the effects of long term exposure to deep space on a wide variety of life.
PAMELA finds some antimatter
A team of international scientists has discovered an antiproton belt around the Earth, using data obtained from PAMELA, a particle identification instrument aboard a Russian Earth observation satellite.
GRAIL twins together on their rocket
It's the first time I've ever seen anything like this -- two identical spacecraft, side by side on one launch adapter ring.
Looking down on a shooting star
This photo is making the rounds of Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and whatever other social network you care to name today. It was shot by astronaut Ron Garan from the Space Station, and it's a meteor seen from above. Way cool.
What's up in human spaceflight: the gas station edition
An update on human spaceflight, including orbital propellant depots, suborbital test flights and an Orion crew capsule test aboard a Delta IV Heavy.
Origins 2011 conference, part 2
In this, my second blog on Origins 2011 in Montpellier, France, a conference dedicated to the interdisciplinary research on the origins of life, I aim to provide my impression of the second half of the conference.
Origins 2011 conference, part 1
The Origins 2011 conference, which took place last week in Montpellier, France, was dedicated to the origins of life and its occurrence in the universe. At this meeting, scientists from very different disciplines came together to share their ideas.
House Committee Votes the Wrong Way? JWST to be Canceled
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representative's Appropriations Committee marked up the bill covering NASA's budget that was sent to it by the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Subcommittee, and the results will not make Planetary Society supporters happy.
The Skirmishing Has Begun
Today, 12 July 2011, the Planetary Society submitted into testimony a written statement to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the U.S. House of Representatives for their hearing on NASA's Space Launch System.
Getting Ready for the Next Skirmish: Battle Over NASA Budget Continues
Shudders are still rolling through the space-exploration community after the House Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee voted on July 7 to slash NASA's budget by $1.9 billion.
URGENT: Call Appropriations Committee members to support Pu-238 production
I just got the following email from the American Geophysical Union (AGU), requesting anyone whose Congressperson sits on the Appropriations Committee to place a phone call to support the production of Plutonium-238, the isotope of plutonium that powers spacecraft that cannot run on solar power.