Tag: Planetary Science
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Probe into crash of ESA lander recommends more checks on ExoMars descent craft
Artist’s concept of the Schiaparelli lander with its parachute deployed. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab Investigators who studied the crash of the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander on Mars last year have recommended more stringent testing and computer modeling before the launch of a joint European-Russian landing craft in 2020 to avoid a repeat of the mistakes…
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NASA’s Cassini spacecraft aims to skirt Saturn’s innermost ring
Cassini took this image of Saturn and its rings May 13. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Fresh off its fifth passage through a gap between Saturn’s atmosphere and rings, NASA’s robotic Cassini spacecraft is looping toward a close brush with the planet’s innermost ring next week, when the probe will again use its high-gain antenna as…
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Juno spacecraft makes another pass by Jupiter
This image of cyclones near Jupiter’s north pole was captured by the JunoCam imager during Friday’s flyby. Credit: NASA/SWRI/MSSS Making its fifth science pass close to Jupiter’s turbulent cloud tops, NASA’s Juno spacecraft sailed by the solar system’s king planet Friday to collect another treasure trove of data on the giant world’s atmosphere, internal structure,…
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Cassini downlinks view of Titan’s methane clouds on third loop inside rings
Cassini took this picture of Titan’s northern cloud bands Sunday from a distance of more than 300,000 miles (500,000 kilometers). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute The Cassini spacecraft captured captivating images of wispy methane clouds suspended above Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes as the probe headed for its third shot through Saturn’s ring gap Tuesday. The distant pictures,…
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Cassini downlinks view of Titan’s methane clouds on third loop inside rings
Cassini took this picture of Titan’s northern cloud bands Sunday from a distance of more than 300,000 miles (500,000 kilometers). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute The Cassini spacecraft captured captivating images of wispy methane clouds suspended above Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes as the probe headed for its third shot through Saturn’s ring gap Tuesday. The distant pictures,…
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First aerial color photo of Mars rover’s “hole-in-one” landing site
The bright landing platform left behind by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in 2004 is visible inside Eagle Crater, at upper right in this April 8, 2017, observation by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona NASA has released the first high-resolution aerial color image of the Opportunity rover’s landing site on a sprawling…
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First aerial color photo of Mars rover’s “hole-in-one” landing site
The bright landing platform left behind by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in 2004 is visible inside Eagle Crater, at upper right in this April 8, 2017, observation by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona NASA has released the first high-resolution aerial color image of the Opportunity rover’s landing site on a sprawling…
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NASA probe finds Saturn ring gap emptier than predicted
This unprocessed image shows features in Saturn’s atmosphere from closer than ever before. The view of Saturn’s polar vortex was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its first “Grand Finale” dive past the planet on April 26, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sped through a gap between Saturn and its rings for…
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NASA probe finds Saturn ring gap emptier than predicted
This unprocessed image shows features in Saturn’s atmosphere from closer than ever before. The view of Saturn’s polar vortex was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its first “Grand Finale” dive past the planet on April 26, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sped through a gap between Saturn and its rings for…
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U.S. instrument team to fly camera on South Korean moon mission
Artist’s concept of the ShadowCam instrument peering into Shackleton Crater. Credit: NASA A camera developed by scientists at Arizona State University will join four foreign-built instruments on South Korea’s first lunar orbiter set for launch at the end of 2018, NASA announced Friday. NASA selected the ShadowCam instrument from proposals submitted by U.S. science teams.…