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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
NASA Could Choose Mars Human Landing Site during next Presidential Administration
The place NASA intends to the land the first humans on Mars could be selected during the next presidential administration, according to the agency’s planetary science division director, Jim Green.
xkcd: Possible Undiscovered Planets
Randall Munroe is a genius at disguising seriously educational infographics as funny jokes.
Theoretical evidence for an undiscovered super-Earth at the edge of our solar system
It's looking likelier that there is an undiscovered planet orbiting beyond the Kuiper belt. If it's there, it's roughly 10 times the mass of Earth (or about half the mass of Neptune), likely never gets closer to the Sun than about 100 AU, and takes more than 10,000 years to orbit the Sun.
The Pioneer Plaque: Science as a Universal Language
In 1972, an attempt to contact extraterrestrial life was cast into space with the launch of the Pioneer 10 spacecraft. What exactly was the message we sent into the cosmos?
Planetary Deep Drill Successfully Chews through Field Test
Late last year, a small team from Honeybee Robotics went to a gypsum quarry to test Planetary Deep Drill, a technology prototype designed to chew tens—and eventually, hundreds—of meters beneath icy planetary surfaces.
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Shadow Play
Adam Block brings us his first images processed in the new year, showcasing the beautiful interplay of light and dark.
SpaceX Successfully Launches Ocean Satellite but Breaks a Leg on Drone Ship
The Jason-3 ocean monitoring satellite reached orbit today, but SpaceX's third attempt to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship came up short.
Pretty pictures: Bittersweet goodies from Cassini at Titan, Enceladus, and Telesto
Tomorrow, Cassini will fly by Titan, picking up a gravity assist that will tilt its orbit slightly up and out of the ring plane. That will end what has been a wonderful year of frequent encounters with Saturnian moons.
NASA Adds Dream Chaser Spacecraft to ISS Cargo Roster
NASA is adding a miniature space shuttle to its fleet of commercial spacecraft capable of ferrying cargo to the International Space Station.
Updates on China's lunar missions
It's official: China plans to send a lander mission to the lunar farside. A relay satellite will launch to the Earth-Moon L2 point in June of 2018, and a lander will follow at the end of 2018. The landing site may be within the south pole-Aitken basin.
JunoCam cruise data, and a look ahead to Jupiter
Juno is now fewer than six months and 100 million kilometers away from Jupiter, and the Juno team is busily preparing for the arrival. Amateur astronomers are supporting them by taking lots of Jupiter photos.
Two Astronauts to Make Friday Trek to Edge of Space Station
This Friday, astronauts Tim Kopra and Tim Peake will perform a spacewalk to replace a failed power regulator on one of the outermost sections of the International Space Station.
SpaceX Set for Sunday Sea Satellite Launch, Booster Recovery Attempt
SpaceX is set to launch a sea level-monitoring satellite from the California coast this Sunday, while attempting to land the rocket's spent first stage on a floating drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.
New Budget Bolsters NASA's Journey to Mars Plans
The recently passed omnibus spending bill directs NASA to work on a new upper stage for the Space Launch System, and begin development on deep space habitat modules.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Finishes Another Record Year, Approaches 12th Anniversary
Perched on the southern wall of Marathon Valley at Endeavour Crater, Opportunity braved temperatures descending well below -100° F in December to work the winter science campaign and home in on the remnants of ancient clays.
Curiosity update, sols 1166-1217: First reconnaissance of Bagnold dunes
In the six weeks since my last detailed Curiosity update, the rover has driven to, on, and around a couple of active barchan sand dunes on Mars. They are now searching for a site to scoop and sample sand on the western edge of Namib dune.
Capturing the Rhythm of Space: Insights from 47th DPS Meeting
The Division of Planetary Science (DPS) Meeting saw many exciting scientific discussions spanning the range of processes on different planetary bodies, as well as their replication in the laboratory and in models.
It's your data: Curating NASA's science treasures
One of the great things about NASA is that all the data returned from all of the missions all over the solar system belong to you, the public. NASA shares all these data, and more, through the Planetary Data System, the Minor Planet Center, the Astromaterials Office, and the Astrogeology Science Center.
A Lander for NASA’s Europa Mission
While there’s at least eight years until it launches, this has been a pivotal year for developing NASA’s Europa mission.
Recovered Falcon Booster in Good Shape, Ready for Testing
The used rocket booster SpaceX flown back to Cape Canaveral for an upright landing is undamaged and ready to be test fired, said company CEO Elon Musk.