Planetary Science
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Planetary Science
Lunar liquid
A new analysis of moon rocks has revealed that the moon isn’t as bone dry as researchers had thought, whetting the appetite of scientists who seek a deeper understanding of how Earth’s only natural satellite arose and evolved.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Impact may have transformed Mars
Three teams suggest that a huge object slammed into Mars, giving the planet an unusually dualistic topography.
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Planetary Science
Surprise found in comet dust
Scientists find an odd mineral that could offer clues to the solar system's origins.
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Planetary Science
Shake, shake, shake
Instrument succeeds in capturing first soil sample, allowing Mars Phoenix Lander team to begin scientific studies.
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Planetary Science
Colliding moonlets
New photos of collisions in one of Saturn’s rings provide a local lab for understanding the interactions that might shape young solar system formation.
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Planetary Science
Small exoplanet discovered
Astronomers have discovered the smallest planet known that is beyond the solar system and orbits an ordinary parent body.
By Ron Cowen -
Space
Making an impression
In its seventh day after successfully landing on the Red Planet, the Phoenix Lander digs its first trench and is ready to start its ice-hunting.
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Planetary Science
Dispatch from Mars, Sol 4
The good news is a tentative sighting of ice by the Mars Phoenix Lander. The bad news is the discovery of a glitch in the system that will analyze soil samples.
By Ron Cowen -
Planetary Science
Rarin’ to go
After a day’s delay, the robotic arm on the Mars Phoenix Lander is free of its shackles and is preparing to dig for ice.
By Ron Cowen -
Planetary Science
More than a pinch
Water believed to flow on the Red Planet would have been too salty to foster life, scientists suggest.
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Planetary Science
See how it lands
A camera on a Mars-orbiting spacecraft caught an image of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander suspended from its parachute just before it descended onto the Red Planet’s northern plains on May 25.
By Ron Cowen