Planetary Science
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Back to the Moon? New House Bill Defunds NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission
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Surface of Ancient Mars Shifted and Tilted Due to True Polar Wander, According to New Study
As a result of our limited lifespans as human beings, we tend to view the rest of the macroscopic Universe around us as static, immobile, and unchanging. The Earth itself also seems changeless, with its land and sea masses carved in stone as something rigid and enduring over the eons. But if examined over the […] More
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in News, NASA, Congress, Science, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space Exploration, Cassini, Earth, Exploration, Astrobiology, Europa, Solar System, Research, habitability, Enceladus, Europa MissionNASA’s FY2017 Budget Request May Delay SLS Europa Mission Several Years
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 the release yesterday of NASA’s fiscal year 2017 budget request, which provides substantially less funding than Congress had mandated last year. More
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in News, Tech, NASA, AmericaSpace, Space, Science, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dawn, Space Exploration, press release, New Horizons, Technology, Exploration, Comets, Solar System, Research, News Release, PlutoFirst High-Resolution Images Released of Ceres from Dawn’s New Lowest Orbit
NASA has released the first images of the dwarf planet Ceres from the Dawn spacecraft’s new lowest orbit. This is the closest view that Dawn will have of Ceres and its intriguing white spots, providing an unprecedented look at this small but fascinating world. More
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in News, NASA, AmericaSpace, Science, JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dawn, Space Exploration, Earth, multispectral imaging, Vesta, Technology, Exploration, asteroids, Comets, Solar System, Research, Herschel Space ObservatoryMystery Solved? Odd Bright Spots on Ceres Explained as Salt Deposits
There now might be a definitive answer to a puzzle which has intrigued both scientists and the public for some time: What are those odd bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres? A new study suggests they are a type of salt, originating from a subsurface layer of briny water-ice. Another study points to the […] More
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in News, NASA, AmericaSpace, Spaceflight, Space, Science, Dawn, Space Exploration, Deep Space NetworkNASA’s Dawn Spirals to Final Science Orbit, Poised to Return Up-Close Images
While another mission to a dwarf planet (New Horizons) captured the attention of the world this summer upon its arrival at Pluto, NASA’s Dawn mission quietly proceeded, returning data and striking images from another largely unknown world, the dwarf planet Ceres. NASA announced that the spacecraft is currently descending to its terminal orbit, the Low […] More
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A Deeper Understanding: Dawn Reaches Third Science Orbit, Shows Closest View of Ceres Yet
2015 may be shaping up to be one of the biggest years in deep space exploration’s history, with historic milestones achieved by several spacecraft including Rosetta, Curiosity, and New Horizons. While the world was enthralled by New Horizons’ Pluto flyby during the summer months, another spacecraft with otherworldly targets quietly maneuvered to its third orbit, […] More
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in News, Tech, NASA, AmericaSpace, Mars, Space, Science, JPL, Hubble Space Telescope, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space Exploration, New Horizons, Sun, Technology, asteroids, Jupiter, Solar System, Neptune, Research, News Release, Kuiper Belt, PlutoOnward!: NASA Selects Next Destination for New Horizons in Kuiper Belt
It has been nearly a month and a half since the historic flyby of Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft, and now the mission team has selected its next target for exploration: a small Kuiper Belt object (KBO) known as 2014 MU69, which orbits the Sun about a billion miles farther than Pluto. This will be […] More
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The Early Solar System Could Have Hosted a Fifth Giant Planet, According to New Study
In terms of its planetary population, our Solar System is one of the most crowded ones, as evidenced by the discoveries of thousands of exoplanetary systems during the last couple of decades. Yet, according to a series of theoretical studies conducted through the years, our planetary family was even more populous early on in its […] More
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Dawn En Route to Third Science Orbit, New Maps Reveal Astonishing Peaks and Depths
“Each time dawn appears, the mystery is there in its entirety.” — Rene Daumal While astronaut Scott Kelly’s “Year in Space” mission helps researchers understand the effects of long-duration space travel on humans, 2015 continues to be a watershed year in the fields of planetary and cometary science. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft recently completed the […] More
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in News, Tech, NASA, AmericaSpace, Space, Science, JPL, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dawn, Space Exploration, Space Exploration Technologies, press release, New Horizons, Earth, multispectral imaging, Technology, Exploration, asteroids, Solar System, Research, News Release, Pluto, Herschel Space Observatory
Haze Detected Above Mystery Bright Spots on Ceres
The intriguing bright spots on dwarf planet/asteroid Ceres have been fascinating the public and scientists alike for the past few months, and now a new discovery might provide a valuable clue as to just what these spots are made of: the Dawn spacecraft has detected a periodic haze over the brightest spots in Occator crater. More
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in NASA, Space, Science, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Space Exploration, New Horizons, Exploration, Solar System, PlutoMore Details on Pluto and Charon Emerge in Latest Images as New Horizons Begins Approach Phase 3
With just three weeks remaining until New Horizons speeds through the Pluto system for its historic close flyby of the distant dwarf planet and its system of moons, the robotic spacecraft has returned a series of images of both Pluto and its largest moon Charon that are the best yet, revealing tantalising new features on […] More
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in News, NASA, Mars, Science, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, Mars Exploration Rovers, Atlas V, Space Exploration, satellite, Earth, Sun, Technology, Astrobiology, Mars Express, Research, InSight, CubeSatsMars Cube One: New Deep-Space CubeSats Will Travel to Mars Along With InSight Lander
The next NASA mission to Mars, the InSight lander, will include some additional experimental technology: the first deep-space CubeSats. Two small CubeSats will fly past the planet as the lander is descending through the atmosphere; this will be the first time CubeSats have been used in an interplanetary mission. More
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