Images from the recent flyby of Phobos, on March 7, 2010, have been released. The images show Mars' rocky moon in exquisite detail, with a resolution of just 4.4 m per pixel. They show the proposed landing sites for the forthcoming Phobos-Grunt mission.
Publ.Date : Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EDT
Space physicists have identified the impact of the Sun on Mars' atmosphere. The scientists report that Mars is constantly losing part of its atmosphere to space. The new study shows that pressure from solar wind pulses is a significant contributor to Mars's atmospheric escape.
Publ.Date : Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EDT
New studies of ripples and dunes shaped by the winds on Mars testify to variability on that planet, identifying at least one place where ripples are actively migrating and another where the ripples have been stationary for 100,000 years or more.
Publ.Date : Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST
Meet asteroid 1999 RQ36, a chunk of rock and dust about 1,900 feet in diameter that could tell us how the solar system was born, and perhaps, shed light on how life began. It also might hit us someday.
Publ.Date : Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST
By precisely tracking NASA's Cassini spacecraft on its low swoops over Saturn's moon Titan, scientists have determined the distribution of materials in the moon's interior. The subtle gravitational tugs they measured suggest the interior has been too cold and sluggish to split completely into separate layers of ice and rock.
Publ.Date : Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST
Shortly after the Moon formed, an asteroid smacked into its southern hemisphere and gouged out a truly enormous crater, the South Pole-Aitken basin, almost 1,500 miles across and more than five miles deep.
Publ.Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST
Like a hard-driving athlete whose joints need help, the giant "Mars antenna" at NASA's Deep Space Network site in Goldstone, Calif. has begun major, delicate surgery. The operation on the historic 70-meter-wide (230-foot) antenna, which has received data and sent commands to deep space missions for over 40 years, will replace a portion of the hydrostatic bearing assembly. This assembly enables the antenna to rotate horizontally.
Publ.Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST
Extensive radar mapping of the middle-latitude region of northern Mars shows that thick masses of buried ice are quite common beneath protective coverings of rubble.
Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST
NASA's newest Mars orbiter, completing its fourth year at the Red Planet next week, has just passed a data-volume milestone unimaginable a generation ago and still difficult to fathom: 100 terabits.
Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EST
Mars Express encountered Phobos March 3, smoothly skimming past at just 67 km, the closest any artificial object has ever approached Mars' enigmatic moon. The data collected could help unlock the origin of not just Phobos but other "second generation" moons.
Publ.Date : Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST
Though comets are thought to be some of the oldest, most primitive bodies in the solar system, new research on comet Wild 2 indicates that inner solar system material was transported to the comet-forming region at least 1.7 million years after the formation of the oldest solar system solids.
Publ.Date : Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST
NASA's Mars Odyssey began a second campaign Feb. 22 to check on whether the Phoenix Mars Lander has revived itself after the northern Martian winter. The orbiter received no signal from the lander during the first 10 overflights of this campaign.
Publ.Date : Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST
Astrophysicists have determined that a massive planet outside our Solar System is being distorted and destroyed by its host star -- a finding that helps explain the unexpectedly large size of the planet, WASP-12b. It's a discovery that not only explains what's happening to WASP-12b; it also means scientists have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to observe how a planet enters this final stage of its life.
Publ.Date : Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST
UK planetary science will be among those to benefit from an exceptional award of 82 nights of European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescope time made to an international team of astronomers. The team will study how near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) react to a phenomenon known as the YORP effect.
Publ.Date : Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST
Newly released images from last November's swoop over Saturn's icy moon Enceladus by NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveal a forest of new jets spraying from prominent fractures crossing the south polar region and yield the most detailed temperature map to date of one fracture.
Publ.Date : Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST
Dark energy, habitable planets around other stars, and the mysterious nature of our own Sun, have been chosen by the European Space Agency as candidates for two medium-class missions to be launched no earlier than 2017.
Publ.Date : Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST
A dramatic 3D Mars view based on terrain modeling from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data shows "highs and lows" of Mojave Crater.
Publ.Date : Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST
A diverse cast of cosmic characters is showcased in the first survey images NASA from its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.
Publ.Date : Sun, 21 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST
Like the battered white whale Moby Dick taunting Captain Ahab, Saturn's moon Prometheus surges toward the viewer in a new 3-D image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The image exposes the irregular shape and circular surface scars on Prometheus, pointing to a violent history. These craters are probably the remnants from impacts long ago.
Publ.Date : Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST
Astronomers have discovered the youngest extra-solar planet around a solar-type star, named BD+20 1790b.
Publ.Date : Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST
Just three days shy of one year before its planned flyby of comet Tempel 1, NASA's Stardust spacecraft has successfully performed a maneuver to adjust the time of its encounter by eight hours and 20 minutes. The delay maximizes the probability of the spacecraft capturing high-resolution images of the desired surface features of the 2.99-kilometer-wide (1.86 mile) potato-shaped mass of ice and dust.
Publ.Date : Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST
Today Mars Express began a series of flybys of Phobos, the largest moon of Mars. The campaign will reach its crescendo on March 3, when the spacecraft will set a new record for the closest pass to Phobos, skimming the surface at just 50 km. The data collected could help untangle the origin of this mysterious moon.
Publ.Date : Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST
Near the center of a Martian crater about the size of Connecticut, hundreds of exposed rock layers form a mound as tall as the Rockies and reveal a record of major environmental changes on Mars billions of years ago.
Publ.Date : Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST
Researchers recently took advantage of a rare opportunity to record Saturn when its rings are edge on, resulting in a unique movie featuring both of the giant planet's poles. Saturn is only in this position every 15 years and this favorable orientation has allowed a sustained study of Saturn's almost symmetric northern and southern lights.
Publ.Date : Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST
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