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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Works on a Whim, Team to Stand Down for Curiosity
Opportunity roved on to new targets near the rim of Endeavour Crater in July, as the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) team prepared to stand down for the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity
Video: This is not the droid you're looking for
Just to break the tension in advance of Curiosity's landing, a little humor from UnmannedSpaceflight.com's Astro0.
Videos: Where are Curiosity's science instruments and how do they work?
Mat Kaplan and I recently recorded a couple of videos giving a tour of the science instruments on the Curiosity Mars rover.
HiWishing for 3D Mars images, part III
The final article of a three-part series of images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera.
Celebrate Curiosity with a “Party on Mars!” Saturday night!
Join me and Bill Nye to blow off some steam on Saturday night as we anticipate Curiosity’s landing! In the spirit of such nerdtacular gatherings as W00tstock and LeetUp, we’re having a big party at the Paseo Colorado here in Pasadena to celebrate Curiosity!
Pretty Panoramas: Opportunity at Whim Creek
I know it’s been all Curiosity, all the time on this blog for the last couple of weeks, and that’s not likely to change much for the next couple of weeks. But I don’t want people to forget that there’s another rover exploring Mars’ ancient geology. Opportunity has been taking spectacular photos of Whim Creek and Endeavour Crater this last week.
Press briefing schedule for Curiosity (assuming a nominal landing)
JPL has published a schedule for press briefings in the first week of Curiosity's mission on Mars.
Dawn Journal: The long, slow goodbye
Dawn has completed the final intensive phase of its exploration of Vesta, and it has now begun its gradual departure for Ceres.
When will we see Curiosity's first images?
Enough people have asked me when we'll see Curiosity's first images from the surface of Mars that I sought out an answer. The short version: it depends.
Curiosity's seventeenth camera: MARDI
Curiosity is equipped with seventeen cameras. One of them, the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) will capture a movie as the rover descends to the surface.
Got questions about Curiosity? I've got answers for you
Whether you are a scientist or a layman, if you have ever asked yourself any question about Curiosity, I strongly suggest that you read the newly published press kit!
Staying Put Means Death
Chaikin interviews Mars scientist Nathalie Cabrol who talks about her passion for exploration and urges America to explore even in tough economic times.
A plea to Mars Science Laboratory team members: write your experiences down
In which I beg the people working on Curiosity to write about what happens in the coming weeks, even if you never share those writings publicly.
A fifth moon for Pluto, and a possible hazard for New Horizons
Pluto is now known to have at least five moons (Charon, Nix, Hydra, P4, and the newly discovered P5), and its burgeoning population might pose a risk to New Horizons during its flyby, three years from now.
How Curiosity Will Land on Mars, Part 3: Skycrane and Landing
The final phase of Curiosity's landing on Mars involves the
Dawn Journal: Seeing Vesta in a New Light
Once again Dawn is diligently mapping Vesta, circling the ancient protoplanet about twice a day, observing the signatures of Vesta's tortured history.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Digs Cape York, Roves to New Milestone
Even robots deserve a break once in a while, and when the Mars Odyssey orbiter went into safe mode in June, Opportunity got the chance to hang out and leisurely take in her surroundings at the Red Planet, while the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission downshifted into lower gear.
HiWishing for 3D Mars images, part II
Part two of a three-part series of images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera.
What's Up in the Solar System in July 2012
Welcome to my monthly roundup of the activities of our intrepid robotic emissaries across the solar system! Curiosity is about to land; Opportunity has rolled through sol 3000; Odyssey is back online, having switched to a spare reaction wheel; Dawn is now in High-Altitude Mapping Orbit 2; and Cassini is taking advantage of its newly inclined orbit to get spectacular series of images of Saturn's rings.
Three Thousand Sols
Earlier today, unnoticed by the vast majority of the world, Opportunity reached and then silently passed a major milestone in her great adventure on Mars. At just before 3am, UK time, Opportunity began her 3000th sol, or martian day, on Mars.



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