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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Ever Plan Ahead? How About Six Years Ahead?
Despite still being more than six years and just over 18 Astronomical Units from the Pluto system, the project team for New Horizons is conducting the second and final portion of our Pluto Encounter Preliminary Design Review (EPDR) tomorrow and the next day.
Exciting Times Ahead: 2010 Will Sizzle, and 2011 Will Really Cook!
Today, I'm kicking the week off with a look at the unusually intense confluence of far flung planetary exploration that's just around the corner, starting the middle of next year.
Mars Budget Cuts
Exploring another planet is an expensive business. We all know this, but sometimes it hits home harder than others. Today was one of those times.
LPSC: Thursday: Rovers, Titan, Mars, Venus Express, Neptune
I spent a large portion of the day at the Lunar and Planetary Institute's library and presented my own poster during the poster sessions, so my coverage of Thursday's sessions is limited.
A billion dollars won't get you back to Enceladus or Titan
The Outer Planets Assessment Group or OPAG met two weeks ago, and the presentations from the meeting were recently posted online.
A few words from John Spencer on the OPAG meeting
John Spencer, erstwhile guest blogger (see here and here), just sent me a few notes on the recent Outer Planets Assessment Group meeting.
OPAG, Day 2: Update from the NASA Advisory Committee meetings this week
During the first day of OPAG, the chair of the group, Fran Bagenal, was not present because she was participating in some rather important discussions taking place in Maryland.
OPAG, Day 1: Hot-air ballooning on Titan
The next presentation at OPAG was given by Ralph Lorenz and Tom Spilker on a Titan Montgolfiere Mission Study. What's a Montgolfiere, you ask?
OPAG, Day 1: Status of radioisotope power and communications support for future missions
Following the mission- and science-focused presentations of the morning, there came two rather alarming presentations.
OPAG: Looking back
The two-day meeting of the Outer Planets Assessment Group is over and I have 30-odd pages of notes to wrestle with.
OPAG, Day 1: Getting to Europa
Next up at the Outer Planets Assessment Group meeting was an overview of the plans for future Europa missions.
LPSC: Thursday: The Moons of Jupiter and the future of Outer Planet Exploration
I said earlier I was going to cover the poster sessions next, and there are some cool things that I want to write about, but I thought I'd better get to something a bit more topical a bit sooner: Europa and the other Galilean satellites, and when (if!?) we'll be exploring them again.
Deep Impact Sets a New Course as Tempel 1 Returns to Normal
With its mission at Tempel 1 over, the Deep Impact spacecraft has altered its course in order to allow a future mission at another comet.