Beresheet crashed.Vikram crashed.Hakuto-R crashed.Luna-25 crashed.Peregrine crashed.Resilience crashed. Hayabusa bounced. It then continued its mission, and… returned to Earth. Almost 20 years ago. The gravity of Earth’s natural satellite is one-sixth Earth’s gravity… and that of Ceres, the largest asteroid, is… Read More »“Low Gravity” Indeed
In Earth and Planetary Science Letters for 15 June (volume 660): Cassata, W. S. A refined isotopic composition of cometary xenon and implications for the accretion of comets and carbonaceous chondrites on Earth Art 119307 .2025 119307 Comets did not fill… Read More »Note, Paper: Comet Not Wet
The White House 2026 budget request that covers NASA has been released… and it’s as bad as other White House actions on science would indicate. There hasn’t been carnage to this level since the ’80s abandonment of planetary exploration. The… Read More »FY2026 NASA Budget Request- Regress
The June issue of Astronomical Journal (vol. 169 #6) brings us: B. T. Bolin, C. Fremling, M. Belyakov, et al. Keck and Gemini Characterization of Hayabusa2# Rendezvous Target 1998 KY26 303 adccbe(The DES Collaboration) Photometry of Outer Solar System Objects… Read More »Note, Paper: Eyes on Target
Commissioning of the Vera Rubin Observatory (Simonyi Telescope, LSSTCam, etc.) continues apace. Aside from glitches with a few CCDs in the detector array, and the Camera cooling system, things are looking good. How good? An outside review panel has surveyed… Read More »Vera Rubin Update: First Look Event
Space Science Reviews comes through again. Now up (vol. 221) is a detailed (!) paper on the two optical imaging instruments (“cameras”) of the Psyche mission: Bell, J.F., Ravine, M.A., Caplinger, M.A. et al. The Psyche Multispectral Imager Investigation: Characterizing… Read More »Note, Paper: Psyche’s Eyes Fly
The journal Astronomy & Astrophysics is a bit light for May (vol. 698): Rojas, J. Duprat, J. Dartois, E. et al. Light element isotopic heterogeneities in organic residues that formed by the ion irradiation of ices A34 202451601 Kenworthy, M.… Read More »Note, Paper: A&A Explains Grains
Time for another survey for IRTF (and Keck Observatory) participants. The NASA IRTF (InfraRed Telescope Facility) is the leading source for asteroid follow-up observations, determining spectra and mineralogies for more small bodies than any other. Staff are interested in: -budgets-observing… Read More »IRTF/Keck User Survey
Generally, the papers in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta are too in-the-weeds and shoegazey for this blog (…or would that be cho-gazey?). Except now- for 1 Jun 2025 (vol.398): Serra, C. Grauby, O. Ferry, D. et al. Experimental investigations of mineral-organic… Read More »Note, Paper: SSSB Seed Detail
Time for another batch of papers from Planetary Science Journal (still vol. 6): Schang, K. Dove, A. Effects of Particle Shape and Size on Granular Mechanics in Vacuum and Microgravity Environments 88 adbgebÄtuk, M. Two Possible Orbital Histories of… Read More »Note, Paper: Mote Papers