NASA is moving forward with support for ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover mission to Mars! The ROSA project will provide the launch (SpaceX Falcon Heavy), propulsion for the lander, radioisotope heaters, specialized electronics & parts of the life-detecting instrument
science.nasa.gov/blogs/mars-r...
Beautiful Pasadena 🥰 for SSA
The FY 2027 NASA budget request hides its science cuts by omitting mission names instead of explicitly zeroing them out.
We did the work and found 54 missions cancelled in this proposal.
This is another extinction-level event for NASA science.
Full list: planetary.org/save-nasa-science
Thanks Paul. Hope we can make it to Venus one day !
Listening to a planet we cannot touch
The quest for Venus seismology open.substack.com/pub/dmimoun/...
Nice seminar on planetary defense by Prof. Richard Binzel from @mit @isae-supaero.bsky.social
Yes I wrote that in the article
A few thoughts on "Project Hail Mary" and the super-Earth trap: why "Rocky" civilization may have never reached the stars open.substack.com/pub/dmimoun/...
Some good news at last
C’est bien triste . Sous sa direction l’ESA a fait des trucs incroyables
Roger-Maurice Bonnet, l'ancien directeur du programme scientifique de l'ESA entre 1983 et 2001, est décédé le 19 janvier à l'âge de 88 ans. Astrophysicien, il a participé aux missions Giotto et a approuvé les missions SOHO, XXM-Newton, Rosetta, ...
www.esa.int/About_Us...
1/2
This really matches my impression.
Finally at #AGU25 ! Presentation of Philippe Lognonné of its network of telescopes to detect Moon impacts
Radiation is high, the drilling is deep, and the dust is relentless. But #planetaryscience is worth the trip 🔴✨ #Mars2040 ?
Living off the Land (ISRU). Objective #6: We can't bring everything with us. We have to characterize the ice and regolith to extract water and make propellant. It’s high-stakes chemistry in a harsh environment - And here come the seismometers experiments 😉
Objectives #7 & #10 Can Earth life reproduce there? We need to test if plants (and maybe model animals) can thrive and adapt over generations in 38% gravity. It’s about building a sustainable ecosystem, not just a campsite. Space farming ?
The Human Lab. Objective #4 & #9: **We** are the experiment. How does the "Integrated Martian Environment" (radiation + low gravity + isolation + toxic dust) affect our bodies and minds? We need to survive the trip and the stay without breaking down physiologically or psychologically
Dust, dust, everywhere. Objective #5 is crucial: What triggers those massive, planet-encircling dust storms? They mess with power, lungs, and hardware. We need to understand the physics of the atmosphere to predict when the sky will turn dark #MarsWeather
Mars is a time capsule! Objective #3 focuses on the Geologic Record. As Perseverance did, we need to map the rocks to understand the transition from a wet, potentially habitable world to the dry desert of today. Impacts, volcanoes, ancient lakes the rocks hold the climate secrets of the solar system
The Challenge: To find extant (living) life, we might have to drill DEEP. Like, kilometers deep below the cryosphere where liquid water might still exist. Getting pristine samples from 2-5km down while wearing a spacesuit? #DeepDrilling
Priority #1: The big question. Are We Alone? The top objective is determining if Mars hosts (or hosted) life. We are looking for habitability, prebiotic chemistry, and actual biosignatures. The challenge: Distinguishing Mars life from Earth contaminants.
The National Academies just dropped the Science Strategy for the first human campaigns on the Red Planet. It’s not just a flag-planting trip; it’s a deep dive into the unknown. The science is bold, and the challenges? Absolutely immense. Let’s break it down! 🧵👇 #MarsScience #PlanetaryScience
#planetaryscience ⬇️⬇️⬇️
You can also say that sun never sets on the team ;-)
As reminded by Mark, this experiment involves also our estimated colleagues of JAXA and University of Tokyo !
From the InSight experience on Mars to the lunar South Pole, this instrument brings together CNES, JPL, JAXA, IPGP, ISAE-SUPAERO. Can’t wait to see what the Moon has to tell us when astronauts switch it on! #Artemis #MoonquakesReady
What makes SPSS special? An ultra-sensitive Very Broad Band seismometer @cnes.fr , heritage from InSight on Mars) Three high-precision short-period geophones provided by @isae-supaero.bsky.social and SLB, @ipgp.bsky.social and SLB Together, they’ll give us the sharpest insights of the Moon ever!
Great news for lunar science! 🧑🚀🌓🚀 NASA has selected the SPSS payload for the Artemis IV mission (2028) It will be deployed near the Moon’s South Pole to record moonquakes and reveal the deep interior. A proud international effort led by JPL! #ArtemisIV
Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🍁 to those who celebrate!
