Ripples and rivers

Carbon dioxide glaciers may have helped create Mars’ ancient rivers of water. New research from the Planetary Science Institute suggests that earlier in Mars’ history when the planet was warm and wet, enormous glaciers of frozen carbon dioxide may have seasonally formed on top of glaciers of frozen water at the poles. The pressure created by the carbon dioxide glaciers could have warmed and melted the water ice beneath, creating rivers thousands of kilometers long. Pictured: Ridges that show where ancient rivers once flowed through Aeolis Planum on Mars, imaged by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.

JPL has laid off 5% of its workforce. On Nov. 12, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued a statement announcing that it would lay off 325 employees this week, representing about 5% of its workforce, due to budget constraints. JPL’s funding comes from NASA, and the lab is managed by Caltech.

An asteroid recently hit Earth just hours after being spotted. The 1-meter (3-foot) asteroid, named 2024 UQ, burned up over the Pacific Ocean near California on Oct. 22, two hours after being detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey in Hawaii. This was the third “imminent impactor” detected this year.

New analysis of Voyager 2 data may have solved some of Uranus’ mysteries. When the NASA spacecraft flew by Uranus in 1986, its observations suggested that the planet had unexpectedly strong radiation belts and a surprising lack of plasma in its magnetosphere. New analysis of the data suggests that unusually strong solar winds at the time may have been the cause, briefly altering the dynamics of the magnetosphere. While this analysis provides some clues, a follow-up mission to Uranus may be needed to completely solve the mystery.

Is this the best space exploration image of 2024? You decide! Here you can see a color-enhanced view of the clouds surrounding Jupiter's north pole, taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft this year. It’s a fantastic image, but is it the best of them all? Check out the other candidates in our Best of 2024 campaign and make your pick! The categories include best space exploration image, most exciting moment in planetary science, best astrophotography, and more. Image credit: NASA et al.

To explore unknown terrain on a distant world, it might be best to slither. Morgan Cable and Hiro Ono from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory join this week’s Planetary Radio to discuss the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS) concept, a snake-like AI-enabled robot designed to navigate previously uncharted environments like the icy surface and vents of Enceladus.

The U.S. federal election is decided, so what does it mean for space? The Planetary Society’s Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier lays out the space policy implications of a Trump victory in a new article. He’ll also join our Director of Government Relations Jack Kiraly in a live virtual Q&A on Tuesday, Nov. 19, in our online member community. It’s exclusive to Planetary Society members, so if you aren’t already a member, join today.

ICYMI: The latest Planetary Society book club meeting. Our members-only virtual book club recently met to chat with author Sara Imari Walker about her book, “Life As No One Knows It.” Watch the recording of the event to hear the fascinating conversation about assembly theory, a new and potentially powerful way to consider the nature of life, how to detect it, and how it may have begun.