Markus Hammonds is a final year PhD student in Molecular Astrophysics who’s normally found blogging at Supernova Condensate. He spends his life looking at very small things on very large scales, and trying to better understand the chemistry of interstellar space. Read more
David Rothery is a geologist and planetary scientist at the Open University. He chairs the Open University’s level 2 module on planetary science and is a leading member of the science team for BepiColombo, Europe’s forthcoming orbital mission to Mercury. His books include Planets: A Very Short Introduction, Geology: the Key Ideas, and Teach Yourself Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis. Cross posted with permission from OUPblog. … Read more
Last month, President Obama revealed NASA’s budget for 2013. At $17.7 million the agency is taking a hit, but the biggest loser is the agency’s Mars program which has been allocated $318 million less than last year. This funding cut has forced NASA out of ExoMars, the joint mission with the European Space Agency (ESA) designed to culminate with a sample return mission. Without NASA, ESA is left in pieces; the US agency was responsible for the launch vehicles and interplanetary spacecraft, not to mention substantial funding. Now, ESA is hoping the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos will take NASA’s place. This partnership could be without payoff since neither country has had great luck with Mars. Particularly Russia, whose missions have been thwarted by the mythical galactic ghoul. Read more
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