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The Planetary Report • March Equinox 2018
Mars as an Exoplanet
On the Cover: Data from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft are helping scientists unravel the mystery of the Red Planet’s evolution from a warmer, wetter world to the cold, dry place we know today. The insights gained will help them better judge which exoplanets might be hospitable to life as we know it. This feature, imaged by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, is a portion of an inverted fluvial canal in the Aeolis/Zephyria Plana region near Mars’ equator.
Features
6 Through MAVEN's Eyes: Bruce Jakosky and David Brain study Mars to predict exoplanet habitability.
12 Vital Support: Kate Howells salutes our volunteers in Washington, D.C.
13 Beyond Neptune: Michele Bannister uses the Outer Solar System Origins Survey to find distant minor planets.
18 #SpaceHaiku: We invited members and the public to get creative with poetry. Here's a sampling of what we received.
20 Defend and Sample! Bruce Betts announces the newest round of Shoemaker NEO Grant winners and presents PlanetVac.
22 Op Ed: Why We Created the Planetary Science Caucus: Representatives John Culberson and Derek Kilmer discuss the Planetary Science Caucus.
Departments
2 Snapshots from Space Emily Lakdawalla shows off Venus as seen by Akatsuki.
4 Your Place in Space Bill Nye reports on how we're moving space science forward.
21 What’s Up? Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn!
The Planetary Report • March Equinox 2018
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