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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
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.
Cosmoquest Science Hangout Wednesday August 1: Mih�ly Hor�nyi, lunar dust expert
I'll be guest hosting this week's Cosmoquest Science Hangout on Wednesday, August 1. The show starts at 2300 UTC, and my special guest is Mihály Horányi.
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.
The Planetary Report, June 2012: Dark Skies?
The June Solstice issue of our member magazine The Planetary Report is out! The feature article, by W. Scott Kardel of the International Dark-Sky Association, looks at the ecological, economic, and philosophical problem of light pollution. My inside-the-cover Snapshots from Space features image processing work by Gordan Ugarkovic. Bill Nye's Planetary Society Kids section shows you how to build your own MarsDial, and on its back page I share some weird and interesting facts about Mars' moons.
Can tweets recap a new media space workshop?
Recapping the 2012 University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric Space Physics new media workshop with attendees' tweets.
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.
Cosmoquest Science Hangout Wednesday July 18 2300 UTC: Jeff Foust, space industry analyst
I hosted this week's Cosmoquest Science Hangout for Emily, and my guest was space industry analyst Jeff Foust, editor of The Space Review.
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.
Checking in on NASA's Space Launch System
Work continues on the Space Launch System, NASA's next-generation deep space vehicle slated to take humans beyond Earth for the first time since 1972.
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.