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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Discouraging the search for Mars Polar Lander
I'm not encouraging people to search individual images for the Mars Polar Lander anymore, for three reasons.
New Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photos show Apollo sites in sharpest detail yet
On September 6, NASA released new high-resolution photos from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) showing the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites from vantage points as close as 21 kilometers.
IKAROS: self-portrait with Venus; primary mission complete
JAXA posted a report today stating that IKAROS
Five amazing engineering camera videos from Chang'E 2
I couldn't believe these videos when I first saw them: five views from engineering cameras of important events in the Chang'E 2 spacecraft's journey to the Moon.
IKAROS' deployable camera captures perfect sail photos and animation!
We've already seen IKAROS' view of its deployed sails from cameras attached to the spacecraft, but, in a brilliant idea, the Japanese built IKAROS with two deployable cameras that could view the thing from a distance.
IKAROS: Successful sail deployment and solar power generation! Hooray!!
JAXA finally issued the formal announcement: they successfully expanded IKAROS' square sail!
Progress -- with pictures! -- on IKAROS' sail deployment
Several pictures from the sail deployment monitoring cameras showed up on the IKAROS blog overnight.
Phoenix is dead...long live Phoenix!
The latest HiRISE images of the Phoenix polar lander, taken near Mars' northern summer solstice, show why we haven't heard from the spacecraft since it fell silent on November 2, 2008: it appears the solar panels have collapsed.
Pretty picture: Fly through the aurora
Space Station astronaut Soichi Noguchi is an awesome photographer. This image is going straight into the
Lunokhod found on the Moon -- and on Earth, too
Yesterday I posted a bit of a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera image showing the tracks of the Russian Lunokhod 2 rover. Today, I can post for you an image showing the rover's final resting place
And now for Luna 17 and Lunokhod 1
I am delighted to report that within a day of the first view of Luna 21 and Lunokhod 2 since the end of that mission in 1973, the sister mission, Luna 17 and Lunokhod 1, has also been found.
Soviet landers Luna 20, 23, and 24, plus the tracks of Lunokhod 2
Today is the bonanza day for Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: the first formal release of orbiter data happened this morning, including 10 Terabytes (that is 10 million Megabytes!) of camera data.
Gorgeous high-res image of the Apollo 17 landing site
The LROC team posted today a new image of the Apollo 17 landing site, captured after Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter had gotten in to its 50-kilometer mapping orbit, so this is much more detailed than the previous view.
HiRISE sees Phoenix in the Martian spring
These Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE images of the defunct Phoenix lander in the early dawn light of northern spring have been out for some time, but no one had accomplished the difficult task of locating the Phoenix hardware in them until this week.
LROC nabs image of the Apollo 14 S-IVB impact site
As a reminder that we've been crashing stuff into the Moon for decades, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) team released today a photo of the crater made by the spent upper stage of the Saturn rocket that lofted the Apollo 14 mission to the Moon.
Atlantis and Crew Return Safely to Earth after Rejuvenating Hubble
Space Shuttle Atlantis and her crew of 7 astronauts glided in to a smooth and triumphant touchdown today, Sunday, May 24.
Farewell to Hubble, Obama Calls, Astronauts Testify to Congress as Shuttle is Set to Land
Farewell to Hubble, Obama Calls, Astronauts Testify to Congress as Shuttle is Set to Land
Fly me to the Moon...
Jim Bell describes his proposal to join the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Cameras science team.
More things to see in the amazing HiRISE image of Phoenix' descent
I have posted several times about the amazing photo captured by HiRISE of Phoenix under its parachute as it descended. There have been two common questions I've received about the photo: was there any color data taken, and what more can I tell you about how hard it was to take the photo? I've got answers to both questions for you today.
Rosetta Was Here
This amazing view was captured by the CIVA camera on Rosetta's Philae lander just four minutes before its closest approach to Mars on February 25, 2007. The spacecraft was only 1,000 kilometers above the planet.