By Paul Scott Anderson, on April 6th, 2017
Cassini is now entering the Grand Finale phase of the mission, which will end on Sept. 15, 2017, after the spacecraft plunges between the planet and rings 22 times. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn has been one of the most successful and awe-inspiring ever, studying the giant ringed planet and […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on February 13th, 2017
Artist’s conception of the proposed Europa lander, with sampling arm extended. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
For decades now, Europa has beckoned – this moon of Jupiter which is frozen on the outside but hides a global ocean on the inside – has so far only been visited by spacecraft during brief flybys. Scientists and […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on August 23rd, 2016
Artist’s conception of the Europa Clipper spacecraft near Europa. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
For a long time now, there has been growing interest in sending a mission back to Jupiter to better study one moon in particular: Europa. Previous missions such as Voyager and Galileo showed us this world up close for the first […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on July 19th, 2016
Iconic painting of a Viking lander on Mars, prior to launch. The sampling arm reaches into the foreground. Image Credit: Charles Bennett/Lockheed Martin (Martin Marietta)
July 20, 1976, will be forever remembered by space enthusiasts. On that day, Viking 1 became the first U.S. spacecraft to land on another planet—in this case, Mars […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on February 11th, 2016
We are finally going back to Europa, but it may be a little later than originally planned. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute
The recently announced new mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa, a highly anticipated return to this ocean world, may face a launch delay from 2022 to the late 2020s. The news comes amid […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on February 2nd, 2016
Image of “cauliflower” silica formations found by the Spirit rover in 2008 near Home Plate in Gusev crater. Do they hold clues to ancient life on Mars? Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Was there ever life on Mars? That is one of the longest-running and most debated questions in planetary science, and while there have […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on January 27th, 2016
Opportunity examining the rock outcrop called “Private John Potts” on the southern side of Marathon Valley. The rover has just passed its 12th anniversary milestone and is still going strong. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
We’ve all seen the commercials for the Energizer Bunny, which keeps going and going and going. … It just never […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on December 17th, 2015
Cassini’s final close flyby of Enceladus will be on Dec. 19, 2015. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Cassini spacecraft’s discoveries about the tiny moon Enceladus have been some of the most exciting of the entire mission at Saturn. What was once thought to likely be little more than a frozen ice world has turned […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on December 15th, 2015
View overlooking part of High Dune, which is covered in smaller sand ripples. The image is white-balanced, to show how the scene would look under more Earth-like conditions. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Since landing in 2012, the Curiosity rover has seen a lot of varied terrain within Gale crater, including ancient riverbed gravel, sandstone […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on November 26th, 2015
The first of 18 mirrors being installed in the James Webb Space Telescope, in the clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Photo Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) just took a big step toward reality with the successful installation of the first of its many flight mirrors. This […]
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