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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
A new Earthrise over the Moon from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's pushframe camera
Earth's brilliant colors shine above the drab lunar horizon in this new
Another Day in the Solar System
One day, five worlds.
Days before its crash, LADEE saw zodiacal light above the lunar horizon
LADEE ended its mission as planned with a crash into the lunar surface on April 17. Just days prior, it turned its star tracker camera toward the lunar horizon and captured a striking series of images of the lunar sunrise and zodiacal light.
Forensic Ballistics: How Apollo 12 Helped Solve the Skydiver Meteorite Mystery
What can a 45-year-old mission to the Moon tell us about a
The End of Opportunity and the Burden of Success
The Opportunity rover and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter are both zeroed out in NASA's 2015 budget. Learn why these missions face the axe and why the White House is forcing NASA to choose between existing missions and starting new ones.
Yutu Update
We don’t hear a lot at the moment about Chang’E 3 and Yutu, the Chinese lander and rover which were all over the news a few months ago. But Phil Stooke has been collecting news online and in person last month at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference and now tries to put it all together and address the current state of the mission.
NASA's LADEE Spacecraft to Fly Through an Eclipse, Crash into the Lunar Surface on April 21st
LADEE, NASA's latest robotic lunar spacecraft, will reach its planned end-of-mission on April 21st, when it will crash on the far side of the Moon.
Commander Dave Scott's Masursky Lecture from LPSC 2014
A video of Apollo astronaut David Scott's lecture to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. His talk was an absolute treat: funny, educational, engaging, full of joy at his adventure, though at the end, a little angry that we've not sent more humans back. It's well worth 45 minutes of your time.
Fireworks in the Earth's Sky Sent from the Moon: Reflections from LPSC 2014
Deepak Dhingra reports on presentations from this year's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference focusing on how impacts on the Moon have affected Earth.
Snapshots of Science from the 2014 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Vignettes from dozens of LPSC talks: GRAIL and LADEE at the Moon; ice and craters and conglomerates and organics and gullies on Mars; polar deposits and volatile elements on Mercury; tectonics on Enceladus; and more, until my brain was so full I could barely speak.
Moonwalking
Get an astronaut's view into several lunar craters.
Checking in on Chang'e 3 and Yutu from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: Yep, still there!
Seeing hardware that was built by human hands sitting on the surface of another planet never, ever gets old. Today, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team released two new images of Chang'e 3 and Yutu on the Moon.
Pretty pictures of terraced craters on Mars
Check out this unusual crater on Mars. It's not a very big one, less than 500 meters in diameter, and yet it has two rings. Most craters on Mars this size are simple bowl shapes. What's going on here?
Sunset on Chang'e 3's third lunar day: Yutu not dead yet, but not moving either
During the third lunar day of Change'3 surface operations the lander operated normally, performing ultraviolet astronomy and imaging Earth's plasmasphere. The rover's instruments were working, but the rover did not move.
A Spin Through the Inner Solar System
Animated maps of the planets show the spheres in motion.
Behind-the-scenes story of Yutu: Promoting space exploration in China
Promoting the story of Yutu to the Chinese public through social media: a successful case of science outreach.
Cosmos with Cosmos Episode 12: Encyclopedia Galactica
Cosmos returns in fine form in its penultimate episode. Sagan explores the historical and scientific precedents for the search for extraterrestrial life (SETI) and our human desires to not be alone in the universe.
Looking Backward: Curiosity gazes upon the setting Earth
A few days ago, Curiosity looked westward after sunset and photographed Earth setting toward the mountainous rim of Gale crater.
An extended mission for LADEE
The LADEE team has managed their fuel frugally enough to permit a one-month mission extension; they now plan to impact the Moon on or around April 21, 2014.
LADEE spotted by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter!
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has managed to snap a photo of the other current lunar orbiter, LADEE, at the Moon.