The new JDSE article also helpfully lays out hitherto undisclosed science goals and payloads, revealing what China hopes to learn from the mission. The main aims are, of course, conducting impact experiments and observing the entire impact process. Beyond …
From orbit, Titan is beautiful and intriguing. But what about from the ground? One of our latest articles explores what it might be like to stand (or fly, or swim) on Saturn’s moon Titan. From hydrocarbon seas to plastic sand dunes and chubby rain, there’s …
From Gonzalo Fornas of Spain: “Thanks to the new camera, we’ve reported more measurements of NEOs to the Minor Planet Center, we're on the alert list for near-Earth asteroids "Meerkat" by the ESA, we’ve measured light curves of asteroids and …
Titan is the only moon in the Solar System with a thick atmosphere, which completely obscures its surface at visible wavelengths. But unlike Venus, whose dense atmosphere creates crushing pressure at the surface, atmospheric pressure on Titan is only about …
The Planetary Society’s Shoemaker NEO Grants fund efforts to find, track, and characterize near-Earth objects to help protect our planet from hazardous impacts. Many of our grant winners are skilled binary asteroid hunters. Two-time Shoemaker grant …
Planetary defense means knowing asteroids. Whether or not we can deflect a potentially dangerous asteroid could come down to how well we understand what’s barreling toward us. Our new guides bring you the latest on what asteroids are made of — everything …
Asteroid composition is important because it can teach us about the early Solar System. All of the planets and moons we know of have changed since their initial formation, with their surfaces dramatically reshaped by processes like volcanism, erosion, and …
Find somewhere with a relatively open view of the sky and head there several minutes before the ISS passes above. Expect the ISS to rise in the west (the direction the Sun sets in), and consider using Spot the Station to find out exactly what direction it …
Exo! Exo! Read all about ‘em! The latest issue of The Planetary Report is all about exoplanets, the diverse and intriguing worlds that orbit other stars. Read about the latest in the search for Earth-like worlds, meet some superlative-worthy exoplanets, …
“I am saddened to hear this news of Ed Stone's passing, but also grateful to have crossed paths and shared some orbits of the Sun with such a preeminent, impactful, and kind planetary science colleague. I first encountered Ed at JPL during the Voyager …
The rover was on its way to becoming a first for the European and Russian space agencies and a testament to international collaboration in space. The European Space Agency would build the rover and manage the procurement of its scientific instruments, …
Scoring a bulls-eye Just two weeks after impact, NASA confirmed that DART changed the orbit of Dimorphos around Didymos. Whereas it once took Didymos 11 hours and 55 minutes to make an orbit, it now takes 11 hours and 32 minutes. This far exceeded the …
When Drake first proposed this equation, it wasn’t meant to yield a precise, accurate number, only that the result was greater than zero, meaning that it was worth looking for life beyond Earth. All but the first factor were unknown at the time. With the …
In July 2022, just six days after NASA declared that the James Webb Space Telescope was ready for full science operations, the observatory aimed its gold-plated mirrors at a star named TRAPPIST-1. Located 40 light-years away from Earth, TRAPPIST-1 has …
Advocacy actions in support of NASA's budget In February, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) announced layoffs of 530 people, roughly 8% of the lab’s full-time workforce. This dramatic action was caused by a congressional fight over Mars Sample Return …
MOST ATHLETIC: TOI 4201b Among exoplanets, the Most Athletic award would surely have to go to the biggest, strongest, fastest one around: TOI 4201b. This planet was a latecomer to the class, just discovered in 2023, but its athletic prowess is impossible …
Project Summary The Planetary Society is requesting proposals from individual contractors / organizations to provide design services to produce our quarterly space magazine. With a global community of more than 2 million space enthusiasts, The Planetary …
Voyager 1 has resumed returning science data. In an amazing recovery, the mission’s science team has succeeded in reviving two of the iconic spacecraft’s four science instruments for the first time since a computer issue arose with Voyager 1 in November …
Old data are yielding new discoveries about Venus’ volcanism. Analysis of radar data from NASA’s Magellan orbiter has found evidence of the formation of new rock on the Venusian surface, likely from lava flows from two volcanoes, suggesting that these …
Competed missions historically cost less and fly more frequently than NASA’s high-profile flagship missions, which generally cost upwards of $2 billion and fly once per decade. NASA attempts to fly five Discovery-class missions and two New Frontiers …
04 days 23:28:16
