A Fond Farewell to Spirit and Opportunity
The Mars Exploration Rover mission was declared complete on February 13, 2019. On the very next day, MER Project Manager John Callas and Deputy Project Scientist Abigail Fraeman came to Planetary Soc...
20 Feb 20191h 8min
Watching the Births of Solar Systems
Radio telescopes are delivering stunning images that, in some cases, current optical telescopes can’t equal. Witness the 20 beautiful protoplanetary disks imaged by the DSHARP team using the ALMA radi...
13 Feb 201940min
The DART Mission: Learning How to Swat Dangerous Asteroids
Why did the dinosaurs die? Because they didn’t have a space program! The upcoming DART mission will test our best thinking about how we may someday deflect a Near Earth Object that is speeding toward ...
6 Feb 201947min
Space Policy Edition: Should the U.S. be in a space race with China?
China's space program notched an impressive "first" last month when its Chang'e 4 spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. The U.S. space program, in contrast, was in the midst of an extended sh...
1 Feb 20191h 6min
Where Do We Come From? The Origin of Life
Astrobiology is the discipline that explores the origin of life in the universe, and whether life exists anywhere other than Earth. It’s an increasingly exciting field according to University of Washi...
30 Jan 201954min
Asteroid Bennu’s Visitor From Earth
Spacecraft OSIRIS REx is now orbiting a 260-meter asteroid named Bennu. Principal investigator Dante Lauretta returns to tell us what has already been learned, and to preview the excitement that is s...
23 Jan 201931min
Space Policy Edition: Shutdown
In a government shutdown seemingly without end, we bring you two stories from individuals directly impacted by the crisis. NASA scientist and union representative Lee Stone discusses the missed payche...
18 Jan 201958min
Flying the Skies of Saturn’s Moon Titan
Imagine soaring over what may be the solar system’s most Earth-like world, if you ignore the chill. If funded, the nuclear electric-powered Dragonfly will do exactly this. Principal Investigator Eliza...
16 Jan 201945min
