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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Looking Down On Jupiter's North Pole
Ted Stryk shares the most direct view of a Jovian pole ever captured by a spacecraft.
A few gems from the latest Cassini image data release
I checked out the latest public image release from Cassini and found an awesome panorama across Saturn's rings, as well as some pretty views looking over Titan's north pole.
New Horizons One Earth Message
The One Earth Message Project is going to send a message to the stars, and we invite members of the Planetary Society to join us in this historic endeavor.
Rosetta update: Two close flybys of an increasingly active comet
In the two months since I last checked up on the Rosetta mission, the comet has heated up, displaying more and more jet activity. Rosetta completed very close flybys on February 14 and March 28, taking amazing photos. But comet dust is making navigation difficult, so the mission is now keeping a respectful distance from the comet and replanning its future path.
Development of the OSIRIS-REx Sampling System: TAGSAM and the SRC
The OSIRIS-REx team has been busy assembling and testing the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) and the Sample Return Capsule (SRC).
What Color Does the Internet Think Pluto Is?
Astronomers have known for a long time that Pluto’s surface is reddish, so where did the common idea that Pluto is blue come from?
The Cosmic Microwave Oven Background
Over the past couple of decades the Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia has been picking up two types of mysterious signals, each lasting just a few milliseconds. The source of one of these signals may have finally been found—and an unexpected source at that.
New views of three worlds: Ceres, Pluto, and Charon
New Horizons took its first color photo of Pluto and Charon, while Dawn obtained a 20-frame animation looking down on the north pole of a crescent Ceres.
Artist's Drive: A Sol 950 Colorized Postcard
Amateur image processor Damia Bouic shares the process behind creating stunning panoramas with Curiosity images.
PROCYON update: Asteroid 2000 DP107 target selected, ion engine stopped
PROCYON (PRoximate Object Close flYby with Optical Navigation) is a microsatellite that launched on December 3 as a secondary payload with Hayabusa2. The mission has now selected their asteroid flyby target -- a binary asteroid named 2000 DP107 -- but is reporting a problem with their ion engines.
NASA's Mission to Europa May Get More Interesting Still
NASA officials have asked their European counterparts if they would like to propose contributing a small probe to NASA's Europa mission planned for the mid-2020s.
Curiosity update, sols 896-949: Telegraph Peak, Garden City, and concern about the drill
Since I last wrote about Curiosity drilling at Pink Cliffs, the rover has visited and studied two major sites, drilling at one of them. It has also suffered a short in the drill percussion mechanism that presents serious enough risk to warrant a moratorium on drill use until engineers develop a plan to continue to operate it safely.
Field Report from Mars: Sol 3978 - April 3, 2015
Larry Crumpler gives an update on Opportunity's exploration of Mars as it approaches the entrance to Marathon Valley.
A moon with atmosphere
What is the solar system moon with the densest atmosphere? Most space fans know that the answer is Titan. A few of you might know that Triton's is the next densest. But what's the third? Fourth? Do any other moons even have atmospheres? In fact, they do; and one such atmosphere has just been discovered.
Discovery Lives
Last month teams of scientists from around the United States submitted proposals for the thirteenth mission in NASA’s Discovery program. Jason Callahan discusses this latest round of proposals.
Mars, In Depth
See the latest three-dimensional landscapes captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Pretty Cassini pictures: animation of Iapetus' north pole, and other fun
Now that Cassini has returned to Saturn's equatorial plane, it has lots of opportunities to observe Saturn's moons. For about a week, Cassini has been taking regular sets of images of Iapetus, which I've assembled into an animation.
OSIRIS-REx Begins ATLO (Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations)
The OSIRIS-REx mission passed another major milestone. We now have approval to build the spacecraft.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Finishes First Marathon on Another Planet and Roves On
On March 24, 2015, after spending several weeks investigating some new rock types along the western rim of Endeavour Crater, Opportunity roved past 42.2 kilometers (26.2 miles) and put the first off-Earth marathon in her rear view mirror, driving the Mars Exploration Rovers mission back into the space history books.
Dawn Journal: Preparing to Photograph Ceres
Dawn's Chief Engineer and Mission Director, Marc Rayman, explains why we haven't seen any new images of Ceres—and when we can expect them.