By Paul Scott Anderson, on October 14th, 2020
Artist’s illustration of OSIRIS-REx collecting a sample from Bennu on Oct. 20, 2020. Image Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
In less than a couple weeks from now, on Oct. 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx will become the space agency’s first mission to obtain samples from an asteroid – Bennu – that will then be returned to […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on June 27th, 2019
Illustration of Dragonfly approaching a site on Titan to take samples. Image Credit: NASA/JHU-APL
It was a much-anticipated announcement, but the winner of NASA’s next New Frontiers mission selection is… Dragonfly! This ambitious mission will be the first return to Saturn’s moon Titan since Cassini/Huygens, and this drone-like rotorcraft will fly to various location […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on June 7th, 2018
“Self-portrait” of the Curiosity rover on Vera Rubin Ridge. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Is there or has there ever been life on Mars? We still don’t know the answer for sure, but two new findings announced this morning by NASA during a live discussion provide more tantalizing clues. The new results come from the […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on February 9th, 2017
View from Curiosity of the Yellowknife Bay rock formation. Drilled samples here and elsewhere provided evidence that this region used to be at the bottom of a lake, but also that there are little or no carbonate mineral deposits, which should have been produced if the carbon dioxide atmosphere was thicker and warmer […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on December 21st, 2016
A “self-portrait” of Curiosity beside one of the dunes in the Bagnold Dunes. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The Curiosity rover has now resumed its journey toward Mount Sharp after experiencing some delays due to a faulty drill mechanism. The rover conducted a short drive over the past weekend toward a new location with “plenty […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on December 15th, 2016
View of the path ahead for the Curiosity rover, looking toward the foothills of Mount Sharp. The various sedimentary layers on the mountain are a geological record of different environmental conditions in the past. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA held another press briefing yesterday about the latest findings from the Curiosity rover on Mars, […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on April 28th, 2016
Mars’ atmosphere is thin, dry, and cold now, but it used to be thicker and contained a lot more oxygen. Image Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser
Mars’ atmosphere is thin and cold, composed primarily of carbon dioxide along with other trace gases and some water vapor. Evidence has continued to mount, however, that the rarified […]
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By Paul Scott Anderson, on December 31st, 2015
High-resolution view of Pluto from New Horizons, showing rugged mountains and vast icy plains. Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
To say that 2015 has been a great year for planetary exploration would be an understatement, with fantastic new discoveries from around the Solar System. From our first ever close-up look at Pluto and its moons, […]
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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 November 23rd, 2015
The “Chemical Laptop” being designed by NASA to help search for evidence of alien life elsewhere in the Solar System. Photo Credit: NASA
One of NASA’s primary objectives, and the one which most excites the general public, is the search for evidence of life elsewhere, whether in our own Solar System or on […]
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