News Archive / Tagged: geology

• Scientists propose Ceres sample return mission

  Laurel KornfeldSeptember 14th, 2022

  Planetary scientists have recommended NASA send a sample return mission to Ceres, the only dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

• Study makes case for geophysical planet definition

  Laurel KornfeldJanuary 16th, 2022

  In an in-depth study of planet classification from the time of Galileo to the present, a group of planetary scientists criticize the 2006 International Astronomical Union planet definition as being rooted in folklore and astrology and argue for a geophysical definition that includes spherical moons as secondary or satellite planets.

• Our Spaceflight Heritage: A first look at Mars

  Heather SmithJuly 14th, 2014

  Between 1962 and 1973, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory built ten spacecrafts to explore Mercury, Venus, and Mars. One of the great successes of the early American space program, Mariner 4’s 21 images were the first taken of another planet from space. The spacecraft continued to send images of the Martian surface through October of that year. […]

• Our Spaceflight Heritage: Pioneer 10, first to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System

  Heather SmithJune 13th, 2014

  On June 13, 1983, Pioneer 10 left the Solar System and began its journey into interstellar space after 30 years of flight. It succeeded as becoming the first spacecraft to survey Jupiter, Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System.