News – Page 218 – Astronomy Now

Candidate landing sites selected for ESA Mars rover

2 October 2014 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency has announced four candidate landing sites for the ExoMars rover, as a deadline looms to secure full funding for the mission in time for a scheduled launch to the red planet in 2018.

India and NASA plot science campaign for Mars orbiters

2 October 2014 Stephen Clark

Officials working on India’s Mars orbiter project are finalizing plans for a six-month science campaign after the spacecraft arrived in orbit last week, an achievement that has already satisfied the mission’s primary objectives, the head of India’s space agency said Monday.

Swirling Cloud at Titan’s Pole is Cold and Toxic

1 October 2014 Astronomy Now

Scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini mission have discovered that a giant, toxic cloud is hovering over the south pole of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, after the atmosphere there cooled dramatically.

NASA Mission Points to Origin of “Ocean of Storms” on Earth’s Moon

1 October 2014 Astronomy Now

Using data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), mission scientists have solved a lunar mystery almost as old as the moon itself.