planetary science
Atlas 5 launches NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission
An Atlas 5 successfully launched a NASA spacecraft Oct. 16 on a mission to study distant asteroids that may hold clues to the early history of the solar system.
Government shutdown could delay NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission
A NASA asteroid mission that has remained on schedule for a mid-October launch despite disruptions caused by the pandemic is now facing a new challenge: the threat of a federal government shutdown.
NASA to delay next New Frontiers competition
NASA will delay the next call for proposals for the New Frontiers program of planetary science missions by two years, a move that could also change what missions will be eligible to compete.
India’s Shukrayaan orbiter to study Venus for over four years, launches in 2024
India’s space agency aims to launch its Venus orbiter Shukrayaan in late 2024, more than a year later than previously planned, an ISRO research scientist told a NASA-chartered planetary science planning committee Nov. 10.
NASA delays Dragonfly launch by a year
NASA has delayed the launch of a mission to Saturn’s moon Titan by a year, citing budget challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic.
NASA’s planetary science program shifts priority to asteroid missions
With a flagship Mars rover mission launched, NASA’s planetary science division is turning its attention to a pair of asteroid missions set to launch next year.
Planetary science decadal survey to include astrobiology and planetary defense
NASA and the National Academies are set to start the next planetary science decadal survey, one that will place an increased emphasis on areas like astrobiology and planetary defense.
NASA selects four finalists for next Discovery mission
NASA is considering missions to Venus and two outer solar system moons as the next in its Discovery line of planetary science missions.
NASA selects planetary mission proposals large and small
As NASA selects its next major planetary science mission, the agency is also funding studies of very small missions that seek to capitalize on advances in smallsat technology.
NASA dealing with cost growth on planetary science flagship missions
While NASA’s overall planetary sciences program is enjoying record funding levels, the agency is grappling with cost growth in two of its largest missions.
Committee praises NASA’s planetary science program but raises some concerns
NASA has done a good job implementing the recommendations of its latest planetary science decadal survey despite past budget problems, but needs to improve some programs, a recent report concluded.
NASA examines effects of 2017 spending bill on science programs
As members of Congress took credit for NASA funding levels in a fiscal year 2017 omnibus spending bill, the agency’s science leadership is examining how those funds will affect its programs.
NASA hails planetary science funding while scientists worry about other cuts
NASA officials praised “historic” funding levels for its planetary science programs in the administration’s fiscal year 2018 budget request at a conference March 20, even as some scientists in attendance worried about how that budget would affect other agency programs.
Full-scale production of plutonium-238 still years away
The United States has begun manufacturing nuclear spacecraft fuel for the first time in a generation, but full production of the stuff is still seven years or so away.
JWST’s Top Astronomer to Planetary Scientists: Start Your Engines
The James Webb Space Telescope’s Nobel Prize-winning head astronomer advised planetary scientists to get started on proposals for focusing JWST’s 6.5-meter mirror on objects most closer to home than its usual cosmic quarry.
Two Discovery Missions Now Means Fewer Later, NASA Official Says
The agency has said it could select two of the five finalists for the latest of its Discovery-class planetary missions — including two Venus concepts and three asteroid concepts — next year for full-scale development.
Venus, Asteroid Proposals Advance in NASA Discovery Competition
Five robotic mission concepts — two for Venus, three for asteroids — will duke it out to become NASA's next Discovery-class small planetary science mission. The winner would launch in 2021.
Ohio Senators Call for Plutonium Power Report with New Bill
Ohio’s U.S. Senate delegation ordered up an extensive report on the federal infrastructure required to produce both the nuclear batteries that power NASA missions to dark and distant corners of the solar system, and the plutonium isotope that fuels those batteries.
Icy Pluto Reignites Debate about NASA Planetary Funding
Two weeks after New Horizons’ Pluto flyby, NASA planetary science funding took center stage during a July 28 House Science Committee hearing.
Extended Timetable for Decision on New Horizons Extended Mission
A final decision on an extended mission for NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, one that would take it past a small Kuiper Belt object (KBO), won’t come for more than a year, although the project will be taking steps in the coming months to prepare for such a flyby.
