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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
A second successful medium-altitude operation for Hayabusa2
For the second time, JAXA navigators have zoomed their cameras and other instruments in on asteroid Ryugu. The August 1 operation was quicker than the previous one, requiring only 26 hours for the descent, science, and ascent.
Hayabusa2 descends from Home Position to take its first close look at Ryugu
Last week, Hayabusa2 approached to within 6000 meters of the surface of Ryugu, taking new photos. The team has developed a set of terminology to describe Hayabusa2's navigational positions around the asteroid.
Planetary Society asteroid hunters help find rare type of double asteroid
A global team of astronomers has found a rare type of asteroid, where two equal-mass objects circle each other in a never-ending dance as they hurtle through the solar system.
Dawn Journal: Going Out on a High...Or Maybe a Low
Rapidly nearing the end of a unique decade-long interplanetary expedition, Dawn is taking phenomenal pictures of dwarf planet Ceres as it swoops closer to the ground than ever before.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Rotatin' Ryugu!
Hayabusa2 continues to approach asteroid Ryugu, revealing the 900-meter-wide world in all its glory.
Dawn Journal: Spiralling Down
Propelled by the perfect combination of xenon ions, hydrazine rocket propellant and adrenaline, Dawn is on the verge of its most ambitious exploits yet.
Hayabusa2: Ryugu takes shape
Hayabusa2 is now less than 1000 kilometers away from Ryugu, and the tiny asteroid is beginning to betray its shape.
Hayabusa2's Approach phase has begun with a new photo of Ryugu!
On June 3, Hayabusa2 ended use of its ion engines, for now, and is coasting the remaining distance toward Ryugu. It's using an optical navigation camera to image the asteroid's position against a field of background stars to help it navigate.
Dawn Journal: Getting Elliptical
For the first time in almost a year, the Dawn mission control room at JPL is aglow with blue.
Philae science results: Comet 67P is crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside
What is the surface of a comet like? That's one of the main questions that motivated Philae's mission to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. We now know the comet has a rigid crust about 10 to 50 centimeters thick, below which the comet is much more fluffy.
A Comet or Titan: The Next New Frontiers Mission
Both would do compelling science in the mid-2030s. Otherwise the two missions could not be more different.
What kind of asteroid is Ryugu?
What do we already know about Ryugu, and why is it so hard to know what it looks like? Hayabusa2 Mission Manger Makoto Yoshikawa
Dawn Journal: The Final Countdown
The Dawn mission has only one revolution to go before the spacecraft begins the final campaign of its long and rewarding deep-space adventure.
#LPSC2018: Fungi in the lab, hot springs frozen cold, and exploding lakes
The first astrobiology session at last week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference featured talks on a huge variety of interesting topics, and was one of my favorite sessions at the meeting.
Announcing the 2018 Shoemaker NEO Grant Winners
Seven very advanced amateur astronomers will help find, track, and characterize near Earth asteroids.