Planetary Science
- Planetary Science
A little bit of Mars on Earth
Scouring an ice field in Antarctica, scientists have made the latest discovery of a chunk of rock that was blasted from Mars and fell to Earth.
- Planetary Science
Titanic Images, Groovy Shots: Cassini arrives at Saturn
After a 7-year, 3.5-billion-mile journey, the Cassini spacecraft last week slipped through a gap between two of the icy rings circling Saturn and became the first spacecraft to orbit the distant planet.
- Planetary Science
Cometary encounter
Planetary scientists are feasting on close-up images of Comet Wild 2 as well as on the first information about its composition.
- Planetary Science
Portrait of Phoebe: Cassini images a large Saturn moon
The Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft took the first close-up images ever recorded of one of Saturn's oddest moons, Phoebe.
- Planetary Science
Rovers in overtime
NASA has extended the missions of the twin Mars rovers by 5 months, through September 2004.
- Planetary Science
Cassini spies storms on Saturn
Closing in on Saturn after a 7-year journey, the Cassini spacecraft has discovered two storms merging on the ringed planet, only the second times that scientists have observed such a phenomenon.
- Planetary Science
Martian Methane: Carbon compound hints at life
The presence of methane in the Martian atmosphere spotlights the possibility that there might be primitive life on the Red Planet.
- Planetary Science
Signs of Water Flow: Oceans of data point to ancient Martian sea
A robotic rover on Mars has found strong evidence that some rocks near the Martian equator were laid down by a shallow, ancient ocean, indicating one of the most likely places to look for remains of life on the Red Planet.
- Planetary Science
Revisiting a forgotten planet
Engineers are readying a NASA spacecraft for a May 11 launch to Mercury, one of the least-explored planets in the solar system.
- Planetary Science
A New Flight Plan
President Bush recently unveiled an ambitious plan for a manned mission to Mars, using the moon as a testing area and stepping-stone, but for many planetary scientists the moon is a desirable destination in and of itself.
- Planetary Science
Red Planet Makes a Splash: Rover finds gush of evidence for past water
A robotic rover on Mars has gathered what scientists are calling the best evidence to date that liquid water once flowed on the Red Planet.
- Planetary Science
A view of Mars, European style
Although the Mars lander Beagle 2 is presumed dead, its mother craft, the European Space Agency's Mars Express, has transmitted its first data from a polar orbit about the Red Planet.
