Explore Worlds
Find Life
Defend Earth
All
All
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Brief rover update: "We do not believe [Spirit] is extractable."
There's a press briefing going on right now that marks today, January 26, 2010, more than six years after she landed, the day that NASA decided that Spirit's roving days were over.
NASA decides Spirit is henceforth to be a lander
There was a press briefing today that announced the official end of efforts to extricate Spirit from her sand trap at Troy. Instead, the rover drivers will now focus on improving the chances that Spirit will survive the coming winter so that she can carry on doing science once the power situation improves in the spring.
Your chance to shoot your own high-resolution pictures of Mars
The HiRISE public suggestion tool, called HiWish, is a Web site that allows you to log in and select a spot on Mars as a suggestion for where the HiRISE instrument should take an image.
Figuring out the shape of Mars (and other places)
An amateur named Bernhard Braun (
Buttoning up the Mars Orbiter Camera science investigation
The science team for Mars Orbiter Camera, or
Odyssey's going to start listening for Phoenix
It's been the second most popular question I get from readers:
Spirit's still "extricating"
It's been two months, now, that extrication efforts have been going on. It's discouraging that the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit isn't out of the trap.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Perseveres Struggles, Opportunity Digs in at Marquette Island -- And We Look Back on 2009
The Mars Exploration Rovers quietly wrapped up 2009 this month: Spirit continued to valiantly spin its wheels in an attempt to get out of its embedded location on the west side of Home Plate in Gusev Crater; and Opportunity continued its investigation of Marquette Island, perhaps the oldest Martian rock it's found to date at Meridiani Planum.
Worsening outlook for Spirit
I just got a press release from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that made my heart sink; the extrication effort for Spirit is not going at all well. I did not want to keep sounding a knell of bad news. But once in a while, I do have to report bad news.
Happy Christmas on Mars!
This was so cute I had to repost it -- and record it too.
Watch that front wheel spin!
Holy cow, look at that right front wheel spin. I am alternately amazed and horrified by this animation.
Downloading the "How to work with Mars Express VMC images" class
Here's the information on how to watch the class on how to work with Mars Express VMC images, which I conducted to a small audience this morning.
Class announcement: How to play with Mars Express VMC images
Those of you who follow me on Twitter know that I've been fiddling with images from the Mars Webcam, more officially known as the Mars Express Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC), for the last couple of weeks.
Planetary Society Advent Calendar for December 15: Mars
We have three orbiters and two rovers currently exploring Mars, each of which returns breathtaking photos on a daily basis.
No, they can't push with the arm to free Spirit
I've gotten this question about once a week since Spirit got stuck, but yesterday, two different readers asked the same question within an hour of each other, so I figured it was time for a blog entry.
A teeny weeny bit of movement in Spirit's right front wheel
The ever-vigilant Doug Ellison just posted this animation, which really actually does show a teeny tiny bit of motion in the right front wheel. If you don't notice any motion, look closer.
Awesome Mars Express view of Phobos and Deimos together
My inbox was exploding this morning with messages about a tremendously cool animation released this morning by ESA's Mars Express team. It shows Phobos crossing Deimos, in what's known as a
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Turns Wheels, Opportunity Rests at Rare Martian Rock
The Mars Exploration Rovers managed to make history and uncover history in November and that put both Spirit and Opportunity in the planetary exploration spotlight during the 71st month of an overland expedition that was supposed to be a three-month tour.