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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Juno's flying by Earth today, and images of the Moon are already on the ground!
Juno flies past Earth for a gravity assist at 19:22 UTC today, and the first images from the encounter are already on the ground and processed by amateurs!
DPS 2013: Tidbits from Titan
I attended a few talks at the Division for Planetary Sciences meeting today that concerned Titan's origin and interesting surface, and then one in the afternoon about the atmosphere.
Juno is in safe mode, but okay and on course following Earth flyby
Following its Earth flyby earlier today, Juno is in safe mode. This is the protective state a spacecraft goes into when it detects a problem. But everything is okay. For more details, I just spoke with Rick Nybakken, Juno Project Manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Juno Flies By Earth Today
NASA's Juno spacecraft gets a gravity assist from the Earth on its way to Jupiter today. Learn all about today's close approach.
Our Improved Optical Search for ET
The Planetary Society Optical SETI (OSETI) Telescope was successfully upgraded and fully tested, and is now fully operational looking for aliens. Here are some updates on the performance and progress. In summary, the upgraded telescope is performing just as hoped and is scanning the skies.
Your Name...On Its Way to the Stars?
This week's Planetary Radio features artist Jon Lomberg inviting listeners to join the New Horizons Message Initiative.
DPS 2013: Some quick updates on Mercury
Some notes from the first day of the Division for Planetary Sciences meeting on Mercury.
An Ongoing Odyssey
Twelve years on, Mars Odyssey just keeps sending great images.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Roves to Solander West, into Winter Campground
The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission stepped up preparations for the coming Martian winter in September as Opportunity rounded the northern tip of Solander Point and drove into what will be her campground at Endeavour Crater for the next six months or so. It's been nearly a year in the planning. Now, from the rover's first look around, this winter could turn out to be one for the books.
Gaia Prepares for Ultimate Galactic Census
The European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft is set to embark on a five-year, billion-star census next month.
Congratulations to LADEE on arrival at the Moon!
After a one-month journey from Earth to the Moon, NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) safely entered orbit at 10:57 UTC today, October 6.
Photos: India's Mars Orbiter Mission arrives at launch site
ISRO posted five photos from the momentous day of the Mars Orbiter Mission's shipment to Sriharikota.
Google+ Hangout with ESA about Europe's Mars exploration
The European Space Agency invited me to join Mars Express project scientist Olivier Witasse, and spacecraft oeprations manager Michel Denis for a Hangout on Europe's recent and future exploration of Mars and Phobos.
Government shutdown closes 3 of 4 National Radio Astronomy Observatories
The shutdown of the federal government continues to claim casualties. Today, the Green Bank Telescope, Very Large Array, and Very Long Baseline Arrays all shut their doors, blinding us to the radio sky and scuttling long-term research projects.
NASA's MAVEN Mission Spared from Shutdown
Launch preparations will resume for NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, due to launch to Mars on November 18th. Work had previously been suspended, potentially causing the spacecraft to miss its once-every-26-month launch opportunity.
Super cool Phobos and Deimos animations from Mars Express
I've been delving in to the Mars Express image archive this week, checking out its images of Phobos, and found a couple of really cool time-series of images to assemble into animations.
On Gandhi's birthday, India ships Mars spacecraft to launch site
Several Indian news sites posted a press wire article this morning indicating that India's Mars Orbiter Mission departed its assembly and testing facility in Bangalore today and is now on the way to the coastal launch site, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, a journey of about 400 kilometers.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter achieves imaging of comet ISON from Mars
Yesterday, the much-anticipated comet ISON made its closest pass by Mars. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera is the first to achieve a positive detection of the somewhat-fainter-than-expected comet in its photos.
LADEE has finally left Earth
When LADEE launched on September 6, it launched into Earth orbit. Today, it is finally on a path that will take it to its October 6 lunar orbit insertion. Its operation is continuing normally in the face of the U.S. government's shutdown yesterday, as is that of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Yes, there seems to be a hole in Curiosity's left front wheel, and no, that's not a problem
Some brand-new images just arrived from Curiosity on Mars, and two of the most recent are Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) images of the wheels. Today's images contained two little surprises.