Cosmic cocktail hour

The Parker Solar Probe may have solved a Venusian mystery. The NASA mission passed by Venus on its way to its target, the Sun, in 2021. While nearby, the spacecraft collected data about Venus, which recently produced a new finding: that flashes of light observed in Venus’ atmosphere might not be lightning, as previously thought; instead, they could be connected to disturbances in the magnetic fields surrounding the planet. Pictured: An artist’s impression of the Parker Solar Probe passing Venus. Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben.

Psyche is set to launch next week. NASA’s mission to a metallic asteroid of the same name is scheduled to lift off on Oct. 12, 2023 at 10:16 a.m. EDT (14:16 UTC). It will take six years for the Psyche spacecraft to reach its target, located in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt. One of the mission’s main objectives is to determine whether the unusual, metal asteroid Psyche is the core of an ancient, rocky world or a new type of object from the Solar System’s early days.

New Horizons’ mission has been extended. NASA announced this week that the mission’s operations will continue until the spacecraft exits the Kuiper Belt, which is expected around the end of the decade. New Horizons will focus on collecting heliophysics data, much like NASA’s Voyager probes did as they entered the interstellar medium.

Your total eclipse toolkit is here. If you’re planning on witnessing this month’s annular solar eclipse or next April’s total eclipse — or if you’re just curious about eclipses in general — be sure to visit planetary.org/eclipse for everything you need. You’ll find all kinds of educational resources, viewing tips, and fun stuff for kids, as well as interactive eclipse maps via our partners The Eclipse Company. Pictured: A map of the October annular/partial eclipse. Image credit: The Eclipse Company.

Wonder what it feels like to name a world? Mike Puzio knows. The now 19-year-old won a Planetary Society contest in 2013 to name the asteroid target of OSIRIS-REx’s sample return mission with his idea: Bennu, named after an Egyptian deity. When OSIRIS-REx brought its sample of Bennu to Earth in September, we caught up with Mike to talk about how his relationship with this mission has impacted his life, his career ambitions, and his perspective on space.

The future of space, part two. This week’s Planetary Radio returns to NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) symposium, where host Sarah Al-Ahmed interviewed NIAC fellows about the potentially game-changing space exploration concepts they are working on. This week: an on-demand astro-pharmacy, a Venusian glider, and more.