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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: The Cosmic Ocean
Award-winning astrophotographer Adam Block shares some of his most recent images of our amazing and beautiful universe.
NEA Scout unfurls solar sail for full-scale test
The next time its solar sail is deployed, NEA Scout will be out near the Moon.
Generation Zero of JPL Planetary Rovers
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a fabled history of planetary rovers. But how do you start such a program?
New goodies from asteroid Ryugu!
Two new global views of Ryugu from Hayabusa2, plus a 3-D animation.
The Bounty of Iron Meteorites Found on Mars
Something new and wonderful appeared in the Meteoritical Bulletin Database—an entire listing of meteorites found on Mars by robotic rovers and their science teams from the years 2005–2017.
Walking on Mars: Bringing the Red Planet Down to Earth
What happens when you print a map of Mars the size of a basketball court?
What's the benefit of sample return?
With Hayabusa2 at Ryugu and OSIRIS-REx closing on Bennu, it's the summer of sample return. Why do scientists go to so much trouble for a piece of a another world?
The Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Sleeps as Storm Chasers Study Planet-Encircling Dust Cloud
As a monster dust storm grew to encircle the Red Planet in June, Opportunity spent most of the month in the dark, presumably sleeping in a hibernation mode as the skies over Endeavour Crater became darker and darker.
Planetary Defense in the Moroccan Mountains
A little-known observatory is s helping usher an Arab astronomy renaissance.
Programming note
Emily Lakdawalla is on vacation from 1 to 22 July. Jason Davis will reign over the blog in her absence.
Curiosity update, sols 2027-2092: Return to drilling at Duluth, sciencing the dust storm
Hooray! Curiosity has triumphantly returned to drilling with a successful drill and delivery to its lab instruments at a site named Duluth. It's now studying the dust storm as it drives to new drill sites on Vera Rubin ridge.
Let's check in on The Planetary Society's asteroid hunters
The Shoemaker NEO Grant program funds advanced amateur astronomers who help determine if nearby asteroids will hit Earth. Here are some collected reports from our asteroid hunters.
Hayabusa2 arrived at Ryugu, so I can make comparisons of asteroid scales!
On 26 June 2018, Hayabusa2 arrived at its target asteroid, Ryugu. In a very brief status update, I present comparisons of Ryugu to other previously visited asteroids and comets.
Will an asteroid hit Earth? Your questions answered.
The Planetary Society presents a list of Frequent Asteroid Questions (FAQs).
Hayabusa2 update: New views of Ryugu and corkscrew course adjustments
Ryugu has continued to grow in Hayabusa2's forward view, resolving into a diamond-shaped body with visible bumps and craters! They've done hazard searches, optical navigation imaging, and measured the rotation rate at 7.6 hours.
New report explores threat from near-Earth asteroids
How dangerous are near-Earth asteroids, and what will we do if we find one headed toward Earth?
Rotatin' Ryugu!
Hayabusa2 continues to approach asteroid Ryugu, revealing the 900-meter-wide world in all its glory.
NASA's 2019 Budget Takes Shape
The Senate and House have now released details of how they would fund NASA in 2019. Check out the good, bad, and ugly in these proposals and learn what happens next.
Favorite Astro Plots: The Pyroxene Quadrilateral
Petrology is a field of science in which scientists study the compositions of rocks and minerals and interpret their geologic history. A common graph petrologists use is the “pyroxene quadrilateral.” These graphs, like photos of space, can reveal an understanding of the remotest parts of the solar system.
How China's lunar relay satellite arrived in its final orbit
It took 24 days for Queiqiao to reach an Earth-Moon L2 halo orbit.