For every world, there is a season

Comet hunter Carolyn Shoemaker has died at 92. In a time before the proliferation of digital imaging, Carolyn spent long nights at the telescope taking pictures of the sky with her husband Gene, a pioneering planetary scientist. Despite having no formal academic training, Carolyn became one of the world's foremost comet hunters. Among her contributions was the co-discovery of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which impacted Jupiter in 1994. She was also a Planetary Society charter member. The Planetary Society's Shoemaker NEO Grant program is named in honor of Gene, who along with Carolyn worked to raise awareness of the dangers of asteroid impacts. Pictured above: Carolyn and Gene Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory in 1994. Credit: USGS

Want to live on Mars without ever leaving Earth? NASA needs your help. The agency says it’s looking for analog astronauts who will live in a simulated Martian environment where they’ll experience “resource limitations, equipment failure, communication delays, and other environmental stressors” to inform future missions to the Red Planet. The year-long mission is set to kick off in 2022, so if you think you’ve got the right stuff, you can apply here.

SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon successfully sent about 4,800 pounds (roughly 2,200 kilograms) of food and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft, which docked at the ISS on Monday, Aug. 30, ferried up fresh fruits and vegetables for the crew. Most importantly, the spacecraft brought ice cream.

Have you ever been asked why we fund space exploration when there are so many problems here on Earth? Here are some of our most convincing talking points to help others understand why space exploration is always worthwhile. Pictured above: An astronaut caring for plants aboard the International Space Station, part of a research program that sheds light on how to grow healthy food in remote communities on Earth. Image credit: CSA/NASA

Liquid water under the Martian polar ice? Maybe not. It was one of the most exciting planetary science announcements of 2018: Radar from an orbiting spacecraft might have found large pools of liquid water under the Martian south pole. But good science doesn’t end with first conclusions. Mars scientists Jeffrey Plaut and Isaac Smith join this week’s Planetary Radio to discuss why a form of clay may better explain the data.

Psyche is definitely very metal, and very hardcore. In the literal sense, that is. The metallic asteroid that lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter is thought to be a proto-planet that never got to finish forming. Our newest mission profile looks at NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, launching in 2022, which will visit its namesake to learn about this unique asteroid and help us better understand the interior of our own world.