Planetary Environments & Atmospheres

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The image depicts a desolate, alien landscape under a hazy yellowish sky. The terrain appears rugged and rocky, with scattered, uneven ground and distant mountain-like formations. In the foreground, a metallic spherical object rests on the ground. The object has a segmented design and resembles a space probe or a futuristic exploration device.

NASA DAVINCI Mission’s Many ‘Firsts’ to Unlock Venus’ Hidden Secrets

5 min read

NASA's DAVINCI probe will be first in the 21st century to brave Venus’ atmosphere as it descends from above the…

Article3 weeks ago
Seven people, with large backpacks, hiking down a hill of lumpy snow dusted with beige volcanic ash. Behind them is a steep wall of dirt with streaks of fresh green shrubbery. The people appear tiny against the landscape and are all in the left half of the image. On the right are overlapping views of three distinct geological formations: a light-colored slope in the foreground, a tan and orange river gorge in the middle ground, and snow-capped mountains in the background, under a partly cloudy sky.

Into The Field With NASA: Valley Of Ten Thousand Smokes

4 min read

To better understand Mars, NASA's Goddard Instrument Field Team hiked deep into the backcountry of Katmai National Park.

Article5 months ago

Why Scientists Are Intrigued by Air in NASA’s Mars Sample Tubes

5 min read

Tucked away with each rock and soil sample collected by the agency’s Perseverance rover is a potential boon for atmospheric…

Article7 months ago
A side-by-side image showing both faces of Jupiter on the black background of space. At the top, left corner of the left-hand image is the label Jupiter. Centered at the bottom is the label "January 5, 2024." Jupiter is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream, punctuated with many large storms and small white clouds. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, is the most prominent feature in the left bottom third of this view. To its lower right is a smaller reddish anticyclone, Red Spot Jr. On the right-hand image, centered at the bottom is the label "January 6, 2024." This opposite side of Jupiter is also banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream, with many large storms and small white clouds punctuating the planet. At upper right of center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red, triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone. Toward the far-left edge of this view is Jupiter's tiny orange-colored moon Io.

Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather

3 min read

The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, is revisited by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in these latest images,…

Article10 months ago
Jupiter's moon Europa with an illustration of the Europa Clipper spacecraft in front of it.

Europa Clipper ICONS Internships

2 min read

Europa ICONS The new Inspiring Clipper: Opportunities for Next-generation Scientists (ICONS) internships will bring members of the Europa Clipper science…

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Venus Atmosphere and Cloud Particle Sample Return for Astrobiology

2 min read

Sara Seager MIT We propose to study a Venus sample return mission focused on the atmosphere—both the gas component and…

Article3 years ago
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A color image of a Mars rock shows a smooth band of orange-tan down the center of the image, flanked by lumpy strips of lighter materials, smooth and in shades of light mint green and turquoise. The center portion shows innumerable small spots — light tan, outlined in very dark gray.

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