Planetary Science
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Planetary Science
Comet delivered a showy meteor shower — on Mars
Comet Siding Spring dumped several tons of material into the Martian atmosphere that could have damaged NASA spacecraft.
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Planetary Science
Water arrived on Earth earlier than thought
Ancient meteorites from the asteroid Vesta indicate that Earth’s water was available before planet formed.
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Science & Society
Asteroids closer to home may get us to Mars
NASA should abandon its attempt to bring a space rock into lunar orbit and instead scrutinize ones already whizzing by Earth, one scientist argues.
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Planetary Science
Rosetta’s comet is starting to let off more gas
Rosetta's close encounter with comet 67P reveals the growth of its jets and what's in the comet's surrounding haze.
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Planetary Science
Mars orbiter snaps close up of comet Siding Spring
NASA's spacecraft are giving astronomers a good look at a comet from the Oort cloud.
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Planetary Science
Comet Siding Spring makes close pass by Mars
Mars appears to have survived its close encounter with comet Siding Spring mostly unscathed.
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Planetary Science
‘Mars Rover Curiosity’ chronicles robot’s journey
Engineer Rob Manning recounts the decade of victories and setbacks that preceded Curiosity’s landing on Mars.
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Astronomy
Second stop planned for mission to Pluto
Scientists identify three possible targets for the New Horizons probe after it visits the former planet.
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Planetary Science
Surprises lurk inside a Saturn moon
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft finds possible ocean or football-shaped core inside Mimas.
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Planetary Science
MAVEN gives first look at Mars’ escaping atmosphere
Bits of Mars have been caught in the act of floating off into space.
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Chemistry
Lasers wrest oxygen from carbon dioxide
By zapping oxygen molecules off carbon dioxide, an experiment hints that Earth may have had breathable air long before the dawn of plants.
By Beth Mole -
Planetary Science
Sun may make most of the water on moon’s surface
A constant stream of particles from the sun bombarding the moon's surface may be the source of most lunar water.