Not news, but ESA’s Hera mission to Didymos/Dimorphos after the DART impact has launched and is on track. Based on good performances from all propulsion systems, mission managers expect to encounter the target asteroids earlier than first planned. Arrival is… Read More »Hera Update, Oct 2025
Going on right now: the EU-ESA Workshop on Astrometric and Radar Observations of NEOshttps://indico.esa.int/event/590/Oct 6–8, Frascati, Italy: European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) Asteroids are distinguished from stars because they move; near-Earth asteroids are distinguished from Main Belters because they move… Read More »EU-ESA Astrometry/Radar Workshop
The characterization continues. With the trajectory well-determined over a long arc, we check and recheck spectral bands and lines (therefore, compositions): Astrophysics > Earth and Planetary Astrophysics arxiv.org/abs/2510.02817[Submitted on 7 Oct 2025]Coulson, I. M. Kuan, Y-J. Charnley, S. B. JCMT… Read More »3I Cyanide Multi-Time Described
The journal Vacuum takes us from pure science towards engineering for Dec (vol. 242): Wang, J. Zhang, R. Li, W. Study of sealing effect about the Shape Memory Alloy-based Knife-edge Seal System in extraterrestrial soil sample return mission 114731 .2025.114731… Read More »Note, Paper: Sample Capsule Trap Caps
In the latest Science Advances issue (1 Oct 2025, vol. 11, #40): Grewal, D. S. Zhang, Z. Manilal, V. Protracted core formation and impact disruptions shaped the earliest outer Solar System planetesimals adw1668 Most asteroids never melted; they then preserve the materials… Read More »Note, Paper: Cold Core Lore
This week: a seminar/conference on the returned samples from Ryugu and Bennu, and their implications: https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/bennuryugu2025/ Bennu and Ryugu: Samples from the Early Solar System WorkshopOctober 7–9, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston On the (very rich) agenda (www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/bennuryugu2025/technical_program/): Tuesday, October… Read More »Bennu and Ryugu Samples Workshop
No, not the singular small body- ATLAS the network of telescopes. Javier Licandro, well-known in small-body/Solar System science, gave a talk last week on ATLAS Teide, the fifth and newest node of the ATLAS network of asteroid-search observatories. This ATLAS… Read More »ATLAS Canarias Expansion, Unpacked
In the current (4 Oct) issue of New Scientist: www.newscientist.com/article/2498319-nasas-asteroid-deflection-test-had-unexpected-and-puzzling-outcome/Alex Wilkins 1 October 2025 NASA’s asteroid deflection test had unexpected and puzzling outcome As one might expect from New Scientist, this is an accessible take on a scientific work. The… Read More »Dimorphos Debris Motion
Now posted by Space Science Reviews (vol. 221): Douglas-Bradshaw, D. Bartels, A. Andrews, J. et al. Managing the Lucy Mission Art. 91 s11214-025-01208-z The journal had already reviewed the mission- the probe and its flight. This paper is now a… Read More »Space Science Reviews Lucy…Team
More spectral sleuthing attempted at ATLAS: Astrophysics > Earth and Planetary Astrophysics arxiv.org/abs/2509.26053[Submitted on 30 Sep 2025]Hutsemékers, D. Manfroid, J. Jehin, E. et al. Extreme NiI/FeI abundance ratio in the coma of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS As I’ve mentioned before,… Read More »3I/ATLAS Flash-To-Gas Graphed