Robotic Exploration of the Solar System
Five decades after the U.S.S.R.'s Luna 2 moon probe became the first spacecraft to land on another celestial body, we look at the past accomplishments and tantalizing future of unmanned space exploration
Salvaging NASA's Planetary Grand Tour: Sending Voyager 2 Where No Probe Had Gone Before--Or Since
The twin Voyagers set the pace for planetary exploration. And although the technology on new probes far surpasses theirs, no other spacecraft has yet explored more of the solar system and its interstellar environs...
Phobos-Grunt Probe to Put Microbial Life in Mars Orbit
A tagalong to the Russian sample-return mission makes some researchers uncomfortable
Target Europa: Ambitious Plans Aim for Jupiter's Ocean Moon
NASA is planning to send an orbiter to Europa as part of an international fleet of probes slated to explore Jupiter's environs that may even include a landing on the intriguing moon
5 Future Robotic Expeditions and What They Could Reveal [Slide Show]
Some are already on their way and some are still in the works, but here is what we may see from unmanned exploration of space in the coming years
Opportunity rover finds possible meteorite on Mars
The indefatigable Opportunity rover, still motoring across the Red Planet five years into its mission, recently came across what may be a large meteorite sitting on the Martian surface.
A Mars Rovers Once-Over
We look at the state of the rovers currently on Mars, the big accidental discovery by the Spirit rover, and the next-generation device slated to join them in 2010, the Mars Science Laboratory Rover...
Enceladus: Secrets of Saturn's Strangest Moon
Wrinkled landscapes and spouting jets on Saturn's sixth-largest moon hint at underground waters
Red (Planet) Alert: Massive Subsurface Glaciers Discovered on Mars
Surface-penetrating radar reveals features composed of ice, not rock
Moonstruck: Tagalong Probe to Blast Moon in Search for Water
The LCROSS spacecraft, launching next week, will impact the moon to see what flies up
Phoenix Gas Analyzer Confirms Water on Mars
Mission extended five weeks until late September
Space For Both?--Human Vs. Robotic Space Missions
In this episode Cornell University astronomer Jim Bell talks about future space missions and why people need to be part of them. Bell is the leader of the team operating the color cameras on the Mars rovers, and the author of the book Postcards From Mars and of an opinion piece in the August issue of Scientific American on humans in space...
Did the Phoenix lander spot liquid water on Mars?
A team of researchers analyzing images and data gathered by the now-defunct Phoenix spacecraft believes that the lander spotted liquid water on Mars—and that such liquid may be common on the Red Planet...
Space Aged: 10 Spacecraft from Decades Past That Are Still Ticking [Slide Show]
Whether peering into deep space or checking on human activity, spacecraft and satellites from days gone by are still on the job
Voyagers to the End
The solar system may be dented at the bottom
