Articles

Jason Davis

A total solar eclipse and the launch of Europa Clipper are on our list of cosmic events to get excited about this year.

The Downlink

The real science of aliens, the policy implications of ET, and new views of worlds beyond our own.

Jason Davis

Juice is ready to launch on a mission to uncover the secrets of Jupiter's icy moons.

Jason Davis

Jupiter's 92 confirmed moons can teach us how the giant planets formed, and what conditions were like in the early Solar System.

The Downlink

Exploration will always face setbacks, but this week’s Downlink reminds us of the impressive human ability to persevere.

The Downlink

Intriguing moons that may hide water beneath their surfaces, and what it takes to visit them.

The Downlink

What can we learn from patterns in the Martian sands? And what’s that Earth-like planet over there?

The Downlink

From solar storms to underwater volcanoes and asteroid close calls, catch up on what’s scary and beautiful this week in space.

The Planetary Society

Six scientists share the major planetary science discoveries of the past decade, and the questions that will drive the next 10 years of solar system exploration.

Jason Davis

Europa doesn't have grandiose plumes like Enceladus. So how will the Clipper mission figure out what's in Europa's ocean?

Jason Davis

Will NASA's Space Launch System be ready to launch a Europa mission in 2022?

Jason Davis

The House of Representatives proposed $2.1 billion for NASA's planetary science budget, which would be an all-time high. Part of the increase would be used to start work on a new reconnaissance and communications orbiter.

Casey Dreier

The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, funding the U.S. government for the remainder of the fiscal year. NASA got a boost to $19.65 billion, and its Planetary Science Division saw a budget increase to $1.846 billion—its best budget in more than ten years.

Jason Davis

Today, NASA announced progress on a spacecraft that would assess whether Jupiter's Moon Europa is habitable, and earlier this month, an agency-sponsored science team released a report on a separate lander mission that would directly search for signs of life.

Casey Dreier

New scientific findings add to the evidence that Europa is spouting its liquid ocean into space. NASA has a mission to Europa in the works, but it wouldn't launch for at least a decade. Congress can make it faster, but it all depends on whether they can pass a budget this year.

Jessica Noviello

This year’s Lunar and Planetary Science Conference devoted two oral presentation sessions to questions related to icy satellites in our solar system. Jessica Noviello reports back from the conference.

Van Kane

It’s clear that the President’s budget officers really don’t want to fund a mission to Europa. Other than that, the proposed Fiscal Year 2017 budget submitted by the President last week to Congress would be great for planetary exploration.

Van Kane

Van Kane explains how the key development for NASA’s mission to Europa will be an agreement on how the agency plans to accommodate the monetary bulge that will come from funding the mission.

Van Kane

While there’s at least eight years until it launches, this has been a pivotal year for developing NASA’s Europa mission.

Van Kane

Last year, NASA’s managers invited the European Space Agency to propose a small spacecraft to explore the Jovian system. Van Kane describes the recently-posted results of ESA's concept studies for two possible missions.