September 6th, 2017
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Now in Sol 1908, NASA’s Curiosity rover is on a steep roll up Vera Rubin Ridge. In a report by Roger Wiens of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, he calls it a “Thread of Life Ledge” at elevation -4,202 meters.” “Curiosity is on the steepest part of Vera Rubin Ridge that it […]
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As for NASA’s Curiosity robot busy at work on Mars, “someone get that rover a water bottle and some trail mix!” That’s the view of Michelle Minitti, a planetary geologist at Framework in Silver Spring, Maryland. Now in Sol 1807, Curiosity is on a steep trail, driving up 20 degree slopes on the flank […]
“Brace yourselves. The end is near…” That’s the word from Carolyn Porco, Cassini Imaging Team leader and Director of the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Able ship In a September 4 friends and colleagues message, Porco said: “We just got word today. Cassini’s 21st dive […]
The rocky near-Earth asteroid — 3122 Florence — whizzed by Earth September 1 – coasting by at about 18.4 lunar distances – but there was a surprise. Radar imagery has revealed that the asteroid has two moons, according to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS). Making use of the 70-meter antenna […]
The enigmatic U.S. Air Force space drone – the X-37B – is heading for a September 7 liftoff, according to military officials. In an Air Force Space Command statement, the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office is undergoing final launch preparations for the fifth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) program. “The many firsts […]
Late Friday, U.S. President Trump announced his intent to nominate U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine as the 13th NASA administrator. The Republican lawmaker is from Oklahoma. The nomination must go through a Senate confirmation process first, as will the deputy administrator nomination when that person is named by the President. Bridenstine is a former executive director […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 1804 carrying out multiple scientific duties. A new rover road map has been issued by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, showing its traverse over the landscape since landing in August 2012. The map through Sol 1802 shows the route driven by Curiosity. Numbering of the dots […]
A heist story set on the Moon – early PR for Andy Weir’s new novel: Artemis. The bestselling author of The Martian returns with a new near-future thriller. According to Penguin Random House: “Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough […]
NASA’s next Mars rover is being readied for the Red Planet. To be launched in July/August 2020 and slated for arrival in February 2021, it is the most complex piece of machinery ever plopped down on that distant world. Once on the planet, the nuclear-powered Mars 2020 rover has unusual duties compared to […]
The soon-to-launch SpaceX Falcon Heavy is billed by the company as the world’s most powerful operational rocket. Its maiden flight is slated for November, rocketing off pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. No matter how you look at it – Falcon Heavy is a big deal. Its first stage is composed of […]
