Good Times at the Lunar Legacy Celebration Begin July 20
17 July 2018Individuals of the Astrogeology Team will be at the Lunar Legacy Celebration, July 20, at the Orpheum Theatre in Flagstaff, Arizona. Not only will you not want to miss this fun family-friendly event, it is totally free. The city will be celebrating Flagstaff’s scientific role in the… Read More
Beloved JPL Selected for an Emmy: Sweet!
18 September 2018Update: And the Emmy goes to: Cassini's Grand Finale! Will NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) be granted an Emmy for Outstanding Original Interactive Program for its coverage of the Cassini mission? Alongside every other person sitting on pins and needles, individual curiosity can’t be… Read More
Sol 2113: Hard as a rock
16 July 2018Unfortunately, we found out this morning that the “Voyageurs” drill target was a much harder rock than expected. While our drill plan executed perfectly, our bit stopped short of the full depth we need for sampling. The engineers are still evaluating the data to better… Read More
Sols 2110-2112: Let the drill fest begin!
13 July 2018Drilling on another planet is no easy feat, and each time we have the opportunity to do so on Mars feels pretty special. The focus of the weekend three-sol plan is to drill the target “Voyageurs,” which is part of an outcrop that shows a high hematite signature in orbital… Read More
Happy July 4th and 1997 throwback!
3 July 2018Twenty-one years ago Mars Pathfinder landed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station along with a wheeled robotic rover named Sojourner in Ares Vallis, on Mars, on July fourth of 1997. The mission was launched on December 4, 1996 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Transmissions ceased from… Read More
Science Fact or Fiction: does Kilauea skylight show a place of eternal unrest?
28 June 2018Social media is gobbling up a photograph of a West Kamokuna lava skylight captured back in 1996 by Astrogeology Science Center Director and volcanologist, Dr. Laszlo Kestay. It isn’t just any skylight photo. Some have esteemed it the most interesting photo they have ever observed and even… Read More
Sols 2095-2096: Over the crest
27 June 2018After a steep drive Sol 2094, Curiosity is back over the crest of Vera Rubin Ridge and enjoying the view of flatter terrain ahead. I was the SOWG Chair on this late slide sol, which means that we started planning 3.5 hours later than usual. Everything was going smoothly and we were… Read More
Sols 2093-2094: Feeling powerful
25 June 2018Today’s 2-sol plan kicked off with the good news that our power state exceeded predictions, so we were able to add in some extra science activities. The first sol starts with several remote sensing activities to continue to monitor the ongoing dust storm. Then the team… Read More
USGS New Director Visits Flagstaff Science Center
19 June 2018USGS employees at the Flagstaff Science Center met their new leader, USGS director James Reilly II, in an All Hands meeting, today, at 2:00 pm. President Donald Trump nominated Reilly and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by Voice Vote on April 9, 2018. Although some employees had met him… Read More
Sun-starved Opportunity in 'coma' waiting out the storm
14 June 2018A massive Martian dust storm has prevented the solar-powered Opportunity rover from going about her daily work as robot field geologist. Dust blocking the sunlight is to blame, and the reason the Mars Explorer Rover is on hiatus. Much like a car needs gas to function, Opportunity needs the… Read More
