October 22nd, 2016
Author: 
Scientists are delighted with the progress of the Curiosity Mars rover, given that the robot has successfully created a new drill hole. Curiosity is now in Sol 1497. According to planning reports, Sol 1496 was to start with a Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) passive observation of the dump pile of material from “Quela”, the rover’s […]
Posted in 
Today, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is announcing the “Harnessing the Small Satellite Revolution” initiative, building on a growing wave of private sector interest in miniaturized spacecraft for applications ranging from communications and remote sensing to satellite inspection and repair. Today, astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly are visiting the White […]
China space travelers, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, are busy at work onboard the Tiangong-2 space lab, starting their routine work and exercise programs. In-space activities by the crew are being monitored by technicians at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. Harvesting lettuce One early task was to plant lettuce seeds so the twosome can harvest […]
The NASA Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 1496. New imagery shows the rover carrying out drilling duties on Mars. There is also new news from the Curiosity Mars rover: a follow-up image taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) showed that the Quela dump pile had been moved by the wind again! […]
What occurred during yesterday’s attempted landing of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli lander is under analysis by experts. Perhaps offering new insight on the apparent mishap at Mars – NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and the Opportunity rover. Detailed telemetry The lander was dispatched from the now safely orbiting […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 1494. Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona reports that winds at the Curiosity site unexpectedly influenced the “Quela” dump pile. Images taken by rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and the Chemistry & Camera Remote Micro-Imager showed the pile was offset from […]
In the waning days of his administration, U.S. President Obama has been paying unusual attention to space, recently highlighting his accomplishments and further goals for exploration of the solar system. What’s up with that? Take a read of my new Scientific American article: Blue Planet/Red Planet Politics: Obama’s Giant Leap for Legacy Go to: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/blue-planet-red-planet-politics-obama-s-giant-leap-for-legacy/
Landing Update: “We appear to have five images between earliest parachute deployment time and latest backshell jettison time, and do not see anything that looks like Schiaparelli,” said Mark Lemmon on the Opportunity tactical shift rover control group. He is associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A & M University in […]
China’s space lab Tiangong-2 is in good condition and ready to receive the piloted Shenzhou-11 spacecraft that successfully launched from Jiuquan satellite launch center on Monday (Beijing time). Tiangong-2 has been in orbit for 30 days since its launch on September 15, 2016. Beijing Aerospace Control Center adjusted the space lab for the last time […]
China’s next piloted space mission is ready for liftoff at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The spacecraft launch is scheduled at 07:30 on Monday, October 17, local Beijing time. (7:30 p.m. eastern time, Sunday) The Long March-2F carrier rocket to hurl the two-person Shenzhou-11 craft into Earth orbit is under final […]
