#Planetsci

Diverse organic molecules on Mars revealed by the first SAM TMAH experiment - Nature Communications Curiosity detected over 20 organic molecules in 3.5-billion-year-old Martian rocks using a wet chemistry experiment, showing complex carbon compounds can survive for billions of years and may preserve...

Curiosity is reporting organics on Mars again. The experiment is the neat part though. The Sample Analysis on Mars experiment took ~70 sample cups with it and 9 were for wet chemistry experiments , and this one used up 1 of 2 with a strong alkaline base 🧵1/4
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
🔭🧪 #planetsci

MEPAG Morning Agenda April 22, 2026 (1/3)

MEPAG Midday Agenda April 22, 2026 (2/3)

MEPAG Afternoon Agenda April 22, 2026 (3/3)

#MEPAG Day 2 Agenda 22.04.2026

*Day 2 is STACKED (hello Mars colleagues 👋)! For your early planning purposes:

🧪🔭 #PlanetSci

ESA’s Mars orbiters watch solar superstorm hit the Red Planet What happens when a solar superstorm hits Mars? Thanks to the European Space Agency’s Mars orbiters, we now know: glitching spacecraft and a supercharged upper atmosphere.

Mars radio occultation: we've been using the radio comms between ExoMars TGO and Mars Express to see how the beams bend through Mars' ionosphere, but actually managed to watch a solar flare through it!!
Check the story:
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🧪🔭 #planetsci

1. . Table of instruments and their status for the two Voyager probes. 2. Schematic of the spacecraft and location of the instruments Source: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager/2026/04/17/nasa-shuts-off-instrument-on-voyager-1-to-keep-spacecraft-operating/

To conserve power and to extend the life of the mission, one more instrument on the venerable Voyager 1 probe is being shut down - the Low-energy Charged Particles expt (LECP).

The shut-off command, sent on April 17, will take ~24 hours to reach V1.

More at fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/1164...
#PlanetSci

Assessing the Goddard Space Flight Center: Call for Experts

This administration really hates Goddard Space Flight Center.

I hope we can save it.

🧪 #planetsci

49197025.hs-sites.com/assessing-th...

This poster is titled "Experimental Constraints on the Phase Equilibria and Melting Behavior of a Reduced, FeO-Poor, S-Rich Mercurian Mantle."

This poster is titled "2026 Update on the NASA Planetary Data System Geosciences Node."

This poster is titled "Data Physicalization: Infusing Quantitative Data with Qualitative Wonder." A dozen extra-terrestrial terrain carvings cover a nearby table. Craters, dunes, and other features from around the solar system are represented.

A sign stating "Planetary Science community Workshop, April 14-16, Kentucky Science Center, Louisville, Kentucky" sits atop a table with a smaller sign that reads "Check-In and Name Badge."

The Planetary Science Community Workshop wrapped up this afternoon in Louisville. Thanks to everyone for allowing this artist to take part! Here is a small sampling of some of the posters presented there.

#PlanetSci
#SpaceArt

From interplanetary to interstellar: Current status of exploration using space sails and required developments Space sails are a continuum of near-planar technologies related to solar sails. There exist various synergies among space sails, with scope to be furt…

From interplanetary to interstellar: Current status of exploration using space sails and required developments
🧪 #PlanetSci

This sounds great! 🧪 #PlanetSci

Mars Express dell'ESA ha rilevato una coltre scura di cenere sul Pianeta Rosso, che si è diffusa per centinaia di chilometri in meno di 50 anni.

#planetsci @science.esa.int

But then I looked up the author - who was a lecturer in cinematography at a Russian university - and he's a full-blown lunar conspiracy theorist with added Putin involvement!
🧪 #PlanetSci

What Colour is the Moon? Part Two | Online – Different Thinking

I found this really interesting article about how cameras made the Moon appear grey. 🧪 #PlanetSci

Can we listen to Titan’s heartbeat? Icequakes as a window into a hidden ocean. - The Planetary Research Blog What lies beneath the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon? This question is central to the upcoming Dragonfly mission, which will deploy a drone equipped with scientific instruments on Titan’s sur...

Can we listen to Titan’s heartbeat? What lies beneath the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon?
🧪 #PlanetSci

A wide view of the Martian surface seen from above. The landscape is split into two contrasting halves: the left side is lighter, sandy beige with faint ridges and cracks, while the right side is darker, reddish-brown and more heavily cratered. The boundary between the two regions is uneven and gradual, creating a striking colour contrast across the scene.

Mars Express has captured a blanket of dark ash creeping across the Red Planet.

It has spread hundreds of kilometres in less than 50 years.

🔭 🧪
#planetsci
1/4

#PlanetSci

Graphic from ppt presentation of the Orion Imagery System (OIS) and overview of its camera systems. Source: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20230017638/downloads/1325_Melendrez_Orion%20Imaging%20Capabilities.pdf

For the curious - Artemis II has a total of 28 camera systems, many for internal and external inspection and navigation.

Engineering cameras, located on each of Orion’s 4 solar arrays: GoPro HERO4 Black 12 MP

Handhelds: Nikon D5 digital SLR 20.8 MP

These were selected many years ago.
#PlanetSci

From NASA: Eclipsed: A View from Orion art002e009571 (April 6, 2026) - The Moon, backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse, is photographed by NASA’s Orion spacecraft on April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II mission. Orion is visible in the foreground on the left. Earth is reflecting sunlight at the left edge of the Moon, which is slightly brighter than the rest of the disk. The bright spot visible just below the Moon’s bottom right edge is Saturn. Beyond that, the bright spot at the right edge of the image is Mars. Credit: NASA Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/55193566011/

Solar eclipse imaged by a GoPro HERO4 Black camera mounted on the Artemis II Orion spacecraft.

The image features Earthshine lighting up the left side of the moon, a halo of zodiacal light, and planets Saturn and Mars on the lower right

More at fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/1163...
#PlanetSci

The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind the Moon and lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes before emerging on the other side. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime, while on its day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater shows terraced edges and a relatively flat floor marked by central peaks — formed when the surface rebounded upward during the impact that created the crater. Credit: NASA

A crescent Earth setting on the lunar limb captured using the Nikon D5 camera by astronauts aboard the Artemis II Orion spacecraft last night around 22:41 UTC.
More images at www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2...
More info on the Artemis II mission at fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/1163...
#Artemis #PlanetSci

The Photos that Captured Earth’s First View from the Moon, 1966 - Rare Historical Photos On August 23, 1966, the world received its first view of Earth taken by a spacecraft from the vicinity of the Moon. The Lunar Orbit 1 delivered the image.

The Photos that Captured Earth’s First View from the Moon, 1966
🧪 #PlanetSci

Don't forget that this mission isn't just about science. It contributes to carving the Moon up between nations and corporations to exploit its resources. #PlanetSci #ArtemisII

History and mystery surround NASA’s 2028 nuclear Mars mission Fission-powered space flight, a 60-year dream, would supercharge outer Solar System exploration

Nice piece by @hannah-richter.bsky.social on @science.org news on the NASA plans to build a nuclear propulsion Mars mission in under 3 years.
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Besides many challenges, there is a small, but not zero change that a new sat doesn't make it and re-enters. What then? 🔬🔭 #planetsci

US defense spending would rise $445bn under Trump budget plan, with steep cuts elsewhere Democrats rebuke White House’s ‘bleak and unacceptable’ view of priorities after 10% cuts proposed to other programs

Aaaaaand the pendulum swings!
With Artemis II half way to the moon, Trump proposes a 23% cut to NASA to fund his new war economy. The ink on the NASA bills and Isaacman's statements isn't even dry! 🧪🔭 #planetsci
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

History and mystery surround NASA’s 2028 nuclear Mars mission Fission-powered space flight, a 60-year dream, would supercharge outer Solar System exploration

New story with details about the ‘SR-1 Freedom’ nuclear propulsion mission to Mars. How would it work, and where did the idea come from? Is there any chance of meeting the timeline?
🧪🔭⚛️🛰️ #planetsci
www.science.org/content/arti...

It was pretty indescribable to actually watch a rocket carrying humans launch to the Moon in person. It’s not hyperbole for me to say that for my entire life I have hoped that I would actually see this happen. #PlanetSci #Artemis2

The Moon belongs to all of us — not just countries that can afford to reach it As humanity blasts off into a new space race, we need a model of exploration that emphasizes stewardship of other worlds, not exploitation.

http://dlvr.it/TRr6jr #astronomy #planetsci

Getting ready to head to KSC with the combined UF/UCF/USF delegation!!!
#PlanetSci #Artemis #Artemis2 #Moon

Moon - UPDATED - Jack Harvatt NEW UPDATED VERSION. A spacey rounded display typeface. Free for personal use, commercial use licence available on my site here: Harvatt.house/storeCheers for making this number 1 on Behance!

I just downloaded a font called Moon to my computer. #PlanetSci

C/2025 R3 using a S50

#C2025R3 #PANSTARRS TODAY looking extraordinary, an unique target for astrofotography these nights because of the geometry it approaches to the Earth & Sun: here a 10 min. exp.
More and location details in:
theconversation.com/el-cometa-20...
Pay attention to Moon interference in few days
#PlanetSci

Declaration of the Rights of the Moon – Australian Earth Laws Alliance

As the Artemis II mission prepares to go round the Moon, it's a good time to remember that people have been thinking about how to ensure the Moon has the right to its own ecological integrity. 🧪 #PlanetSci

#PlanetSci

#PlanetSci