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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
What are competed planetary missions?
A critical part of a balanced exploration program, competed missions are scientist-led projects that cost less and occur more frequently than large, flagship-class missions.
MAVEN, in orbit around Mars, snaps anniversary selfie
The spacecraft used its ultraviolet spectrograph imager for the job, and one frame shows Mars in the background.
Curiosity update, sols 2093-2162: Three tries to successful drill atop Vera Rubin Ridge
Heedless of the (now-dissipating) dust storm, Curiosity has achieved its first successful drill into rocks that form the Vera Rubin ridge, and is hopefully on the way to a second. It took three attempts for Curiosity to find a soft enough spot, with Voyageurs and Ailsa Craig being too tough, but Stoer proved obligingly soft on sol 2136.
MAVEN dodges Phobos, with (maybe) a little help from Curiosity
This week MAVEN had to execute a short rocket burn in order to prevent a future collision with Phobos. Curiosity (and other rovers) may have played a role in those trajectory predictions.
Spaceflight in 2017, part 2: Robots beyond Earth orbit
What's ahead for our intrepid space explorers in 2017? It'll be the end of Cassini, but not before the mission performs great science close to the rings. OSIRIS-REx will fly by Earth, and Chang'e 5 will launch to the Moon, as a host of other spacecraft continue their ongoing missions.
What MAVEN Learned and What It Will Do Next
The head of NASA's MAVEN mission, Bruce Jakosky, describes MAVEN's accomplishments during the primary mission, and previews the spacecraft's extended mission.
What's up in solar system exploration: March 2016 edition
Welcome to my monthly inventory of the 20-plus spacecraft actively exploring our solar system. Highlights of this month include the impending launch of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander, currently planned for March 14, and the resumption of regular VMC Mars images by Mars Express.
What's up in solar system exploration: February 2016 edition
What's going on with our robotic planetary missions? In February I count more than 20 planetary spacecraft exploring six targets beyond Earth or cruising to new destinations.
What's up in solar system exploration: August 2015 edition
I'm back from two weeks' vacation, so it's time to catch up on the status of all our intrepid planetary missions, from Akatsuki to the Voyagers and hitting the Moon, Mars, asteroids, comets, and Saturn in between.
Seven Mars spacecraft attempted observations of comet Siding Spring. How did they go?
It's been two weeks since comet Siding Spring passed close by Mars, and six of the seven Mars spacecraft have now checked in with quick looks at their images of the encounter. I round up all the results.
Status update: All Mars missions fine after Siding Spring flyby
All seven Mars spacecraft are doing perfectly fine after comet Siding Spring's close encounter with Mars.
Preparing for A-MAVEN Science!
How can we use MAVEN to learn about Comet Siding Spring, passing very close by Mars this month?
MAVEN returns first images of Mars' atmosphere
On Sepember 22 at 02:24 UTC, Earth received word that MAVEN had ended its orbit insertion burn on time, completing its journey to Mars. Today MAVEN has released some of its very first data, taken by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph just eight hours after arrival.
MAVEN orbit insertion timeline
Today's the day that MAVEN enters orbit at Mars, bringing the number of Mars orbiters up to four. So far everything looks good. The orbit insertion burn should begin tonight at 18:50 PDT / 01:50 UTC. I'll be on stage with Mat Kaplan and Rich Zurek at Planetary Radio Live, keeping up to date with the latest news from the spacecraft; here is a timeline in PDT, UTC, CEST, and IST to help you follow along.
So Close and Yet So Far: Why isn't Siding Spring going to sandblast Mars?
Comet Siding Spring is going to make a very close approach to Mars in October. Any comet dust that reaches Mars has the potential to inflict significant damage on the spacecraft orbiting the planet. As it turns out, however, Mars and its orbiters are likely to see very few, if any, impacts. Why?
Mars Orbiter Mission to test-fire main engine before orbit insertion
According to a report in the Times of India, ISRO is deciding today whether to test-fire Mars Orbiter Mission's main engine to make sure it will work for their all-important orbit insertion maneuver on September 24. Both ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission and NASA's MAVEN are in good health and on track for their arrivals in three weeks.
Mars orbiters plan for their October encounter with comet Siding Spring
Now that we have reasonable confidence that our Mars orbiters will be safe from the close passage of comet Siding Spring, we are free to be excited about the opportunity that the encounter represents. At a community workshop on August 11, representatives from Mars missions shared their plans for great comet science.
A Checkup on Future Mars Missions
NASA’s Mars Exploration Analysis Group (MEPAG) recently reviewed plans by Europe, the Japanese, and NASA for future Mars exploration. The prognosis is for another exciting decade of Mars exploration.
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.
What's up in planetary missions in 2014
With the New Year upon us, what can we look forward to in 2014? For me, the main event of 2014 is that ESA's Rosetta mission finally -- finally! -- catches up to the comet it has been chasing for a decade. We will lose LADEE, gain two Mars orbiters, and launch Hayabusa2. The year begins with an amazing 24 spacecraft exploring or cruising toward various planetary destinations.