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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Curiosity update, sols 540-8: New rules and longer drives
Curiosity has tested a new driving mode -- backwards -- and achieved their longest single-day drive in three months. And they've committed to driving to the spot formerly known as
Predicting Pluto's moons and moondust
Why didn't we discover Pluto's moons until more than a decade after Hubble launched? Mark Showalter helps me answer this question.
What are Mercury's hollows?
I've been fascinated by Mercury's hollows ever since MESSENGER discovered them. Two recent papers look at where they are found to try to figure out how they form.
Curiosity Update, sols 534-540: Over Dingo Gap, onto softer sand
After more than two months of very slow driving due to concern about the wheels and time spent choosing whether to enter
Possible hope for Yutu: "Situation is getting better," but no details [UPDATED]
A terse Xinhua news report posted today says there may be some sign of life from Yutu, now that the Sun has risen on the third lunar day since Chang'e 3 landed. It is frustratingly non-specific. UPDATE: Amateur radio operators have detected a radio signal from the rover.
All's well in cruise phase for Mars-bound spacecraft MAVEN and Mars Orbiter Mission
A hundred days after launch, India's Mars Orbiter Mission is doing just fine, and so is NASA's MAVEN.
ICE/ISEE-3 to return to an Earth no longer capable of speaking to it
It's with great sadness that I report that the Goddard Space Flight Center team has determined that we will not be able to regain control of the venerable spacecraft ICE/ISEE-3 when it passes by Earth this year, after a 30-year journey around the Sun.
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.
Naming asteroids in honor of Nelson Mandela
In which I ask the Internet to tell me about people who deserve to have an asteroid named for them because of their work to promote racial equality, human rights, and social justice.
ExoMars baby pictures: Spacecraft core module delivered to assembly site
The European Space Agency announced yesterday a significant milestone in the development of the next Mars mission: the core module of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has been delivered.
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.
Beautiful view into the valley beyond Dingo Gap, Curiosity sol 528
A beautiful Mastcam panorama from sol 528 shows a landscape so much more like Earth than anything we've explored on the Martian surface before.
Curiosity update: imaging the nonfunctioning REMS boom, closer to Dingo Gap
At long last, on sol 526, Curiosity imaged the part of the weather instrument that was damaged during landing, but no obvious damage is visible, to me anyway. On sol 527 they drove even closer to Dingo Gap, with plans to drive onto the dune in the sol 528 drive.
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.
I'm on All Things Considered today, talking about poor Yutu
As a lifetime listener of National Public Radio, it's beyond strange to hear my voice on All Things Considered! I wish it were for a happier reason, but I was invited on by Geoff Brumfiel to talk about the fate of poor Yutu.
Bad news for Yutu rover
The Sun has set for a second time at Chang'e 3's landing site on the Moon. The lander is operating normally and shut down to sleep as expected, but the rover is not responding properly to Earth command so could not prepare properly for the oncoming lunar night, and likely will not survive it.
Curiosity images "Dingo Gap," sols 519-521
Over the last few days, Curiosity made steady driving progress to the southwest. For several of those days, an intriguing feature has appeared on the horizon in her images. UPDATE: The Curiosity team has now decided to drive the rover toward the feature, which is now named
Super-close supernova in M82
The astronomy world is all a-twitter this morning over the discovery of a new supernova in M82, a galaxy that's in our astronomical backyard,
Video: Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration sends Bill Nye over the Moon
In this fun video, the Planetary Society worked with LADEE Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration team to communicate live over their lunar link.
New version of panoramic view from Chang'e 3
A higher-resolution version of the Chang'e 3 lander's panoramic view of the lunar surface has appeared on the Web, and artist Don Davis has cleaned it of artifacts to make a beautiful, seamless view. In other news, the mission has been reorganized to accommodate a possibly year-long adventure on the lunar surface.