Since Mars Spirit and Opportunity first set down on Mars in 2004, there has been a continuous robotic presence on the Red Planet. The Phoenix and Insight Landers have answered specific questions about Mars composition and interior, while a small herd of rovers have explored terrains that appear to have once been awash in water. While NASA’s current major focus is the Artemis program and the return of humans to the lunar surface, this work is all being done with a look ahead toward future human-missions to Mars and asteroids. The desire to go to Mars is complex and brings together all...
Closer Look: Possible Cancellation of NASA’s VIPER Mission
A computer generated concept image of the VIPER rover Throughout this segment, we’re diving into the probable cancellation of NASA’s much anticipated VIPER moon rover. This is an extremely complex topic and a full discussion just isn’t possible given the limited...
Closer Look: Humanity’s Return to the Moon
I am a post-Apollo baby. Throughout my entire career, I’ve listened to the stories from senior researchers about how they watched men walk on the moon and thus became astronomers or planetary scientists. Me… I watched science fiction and decided if I wasn’t going to...
Closer Look: The 2024 Carrington Event
On Wednesday, May 8, community member ThirdRock Astronomy brought to my attention a massive sunspot that was growing to resemble the Sunspot that produced the 1859 Carrington Event, which lit the skies with aurora and powered the telegraph grid with induced current. ...
The State of Climate Change
Extreme Weather. Credit: NOAA As human beings, we have infinite capacity for empathy. We also have the capacity to be blind to what is going on in the world around us. This dichotomy is why some people see the Sarah MacLachlan ASPCA ads and donate, others click to...