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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
High tau for Spirit and Opportunity
Over the weekend I fiddled with the
Dust storm update: rovers still OK
The dust storm continues at Mars, but both rovers continue to be power-positive.
Mars Exploration Rovers update: Spirit and Opportunity are both still talking to Earth
Both Spirit and Opportunity are still suffering under incredibly dark skies, but, amazingly, they are both
The dust storm has brought gloom to Opportunity's skies, but everything is OK
Opportunity has ceased operations for a couple of days because the amount of sunlight available is low due to an unpredicted dust storm.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Detours in Silica Valley, Opportunity Returns to Duck Bay to Enter Victoria
The Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) spent the month of June finishing work and clearing their agendas at their respective locales at Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum in preparation for highly anticipated new assignments in July.
Mars Science Laboratory is going to be HUGE
Yesterday I deposited the baby with her grandmother and went to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a press junket to the opening of their new Mars Yard.
Spirit gets brushed off
There was great news last night from Mars Exploration Rover mission operations: Spirit seems to have enjoyed another
The original "Puddles on Mars" story has been retracted
Today, New Scientist and researcher Ron Levin retracted the
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Finds "Explosive" Evidence of Past Water, Opportunity Revs Up, Revisits Cape of Good Hope
The Mars Exploration Rovers sent home field reports this past month -- some 1,200 days into their missions -- that drew gasps of amazement from both the science and engineering teams.
Windows Onto the Abyss: Cave Skylights on Mars
Today's set of image releases from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE team included this one, of a fairly bland-looking lava plain to the northeast of Arsia Mons. Bland, that is, except for a black spot in the center.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Finds Past Water at Home, Opportunity Takes in Tierra del Fuego
The Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) traveled to new targets and made discoveries ranging from the magnificent to the mundane in April, four fast weeks that essentially led both of the twin robot field geologists to the next phase of their explorations.
Millions of soundings yield clues to Mars' weather
Two months after the start of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's primary science phase, the Mars Climate Sounder instrument has already acquired more than four million soundings, building toward a vast data set on the three-dimensional structure of Mars' atmosphere over the full Martian year of the orbiter's nominal mission.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Homes in on Mitcheltree Ridge, Opportunity Crosses Valley Without Peril
It's been business as usual on the Red Planet this month as the Mars Exploration Rovers investigated new areas on their ever-moving missions to explore Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum. Both Spirit and Opportunity chalked up yet another productive month of field geology as they roved onward in their fourth year on location, checking out more of the local environs some 149,597,900 kilometers (93 million miles) away on Earthlings' favored other planet.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Gets Back Home (To Where It Once Belonged), Opportunity Completes 10K at Victoria's Rim
Dust storms are beginning to whirl around Mars as spring blooms in the southern hemisphere of the planet and along the equator where the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) are roving into their fourth year with a second banner month of exploration.
Autumn comes to Mars' north pole
It's easy to forget that Mars is another such world with cloudy weather and seasonally varying climate. This lovely image release from the CRISM instrument on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter brings that point home.
New Horizons update and a website roundup
I've just posted a very detailed timeline of New Horizons' encounter with Jupiter -- take a look!
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Survives Dust Storm and Studies Troll, Opportunity "Sails" from Bay of Toil to Cape Desire
The Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) celebrated their 3rd anniversary this month and are now roving into their fourth year of exploration on the Red Planet.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit and Opportunity Smarten Up for Year 4 on Mars
Defying all the odds, the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) are wrapping up 2006 in new locations and roving into their fourth Earth year of exploring the Red Planet. Spirit is slated to celebrate the milestone on January 3, 2007 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), with Opportunity marking the milestone just 3 weeks later, on January 24, 2007.
Mars Odyssey is in safe mode
According to an update posted on the Athena website by Steve Squyres this morning, the Mars Odyssey orbiter has gone in to safe mode.