IRON AND ICE - RUSSO DAILY

NASA Asteroid Redirect Mission Completes Design Milestone

Aug 17, 2016 (JPL)

Following a key program review, NASA approved the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) to proceed to the next phase of design and development for the mission's robot...

NASA to map Asteroid Bennu from the ground up

Aug 15, 2016 (SPX)

How do you study the topography of an asteroid millions of miles away? Map it with a robotic cartographer! NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Ide...

Bringing Home NASA's First Asteroid Samples

Aug 15, 2016 (SPX)

Studying comet and asteroid samples may seem like science fiction, but it's all in a day's work for NASA Johnson Space Center's Planetary Mission Research Scien...

The First Commercial Interplanetary Mining Mission

Aug 10, 2016 (SPX)

Deep Space Industries has announced its plans to fly the world's first commercial interplanetary mining mission. Prospector-1 will fly to and rendezvous with a ...

What's Inside Ceres? New Findings from Gravity Data

Aug 08, 2016 (JPL)

In the tens of thousands of photos returned by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, the interior of Ceres isn't visible. But scientists have powerful data to study Ceres' in...

How comets are born

Jul 29, 2016 (ESA)

Detailed analysis of data collected by Rosetta show that comets are the ancient leftovers of early Solar System formation, and not younger fragments resulting f...

The Case of the Missing Ceres Craters

Jul 28, 2016 (JPL)

Ceres is covered in countless small, young craters, but none are larger than 175 miles (280 kilometers) in diameter. To scientists, this is a huge mystery, give...

SwRI-led study shows puzzling paucity of large craters on dwarf planet Ceres

Jul 28, 2016 (SPX)

A team of scientists led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) made a puzzling observation while studying the size and distribution of craters on the dwarf pla...

Farewell Philae: Earth severs link with silent comet probe

Jul 27, 2016 (AFP)

Earth bid a final farewell to robot lab Philae on Wednesday, severing communications after a year-long silence from the pioneering probe hurtling through space ...

Why are there so few large craters on dwarf planet Ceres?

Jul 26, 2016 (UPI)

Life in the asteroid belt isn't conducive to a smooth complexion. Ceres' surface is proof of that. But researchers say the dwarf planet's face isn't nearly as c...

Dawn Maps Ceres Craters Where Ice Can Accumulate

Jul 12, 2016 (JPL)

Scientists with NASA's Dawn mission have identified permanently shadowed regions on the dwarf planet Ceres. Most of these areas likely have been cold enough to ...

Elite Team to Consider New Approaches to Asteroid Danger

Jul 06, 2016 (SPX)

A six-week-long research accelerator, championed by NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist and hosted at the SETI Institute, is engaging young researchers from...

Rosetta Finale Set for 30 September

Jul 06, 2016 (ESA)

Rosetta is set to complete its mission in a controlled descent to the surface of its comet on 30 September. The mission is coming to an end as a result of the s...

Chaotic Orbit of Comet Halley Explained

Jul 06, 2016 (SPX)

A team of Dutch and Scottish researchers led by Simon Portegies Zwart (Leiden University) has found an explanation for the chaotic behavior of the orbit of Hall...

Recent Hydrothermal Activity May Explain Ceres' Brightest Area

Jul 01, 2016 (JPL)

The brightest area on Ceres, located in the mysterious Occator Crater, has the highest concentration of carbonate minerals ever seen outside Earth, according to...

Rosetta finale set for 30 September

Jul 01, 2016 (ESA)

Rosetta is set to complete its mission in a controlled descent to the surface of its comet on 30 September. The mission is coming to an end as a result of the s...

Rosetta, Philae to reunite on comet for Sept 30 mission end

Jun 30, 2016 (AFP)

After nearly two years apart, Europe's Rosetta spacecraft will join stranded robot probe Philae on September 30 on the icy surface of a comet hurtling through s...

Hundreds Of Events Worldwide Scheduled For Asteroid Day 2016

Jun 24, 2016 (SPX)

What began as a passion of a handful of individuals, a musician, filmmaker, technologist, scientist and astronaut, has become a global movement by thousands to ...

Asteroid Impacts a Possible Solution to Faint Young Sun Paradox

Jun 24, 2016 (SPX)

In the first billion years of Earth's history, the planet was bombarded by primordial asteroids, while a faint Sun provided much less heat. A Southwest Research...

Dawn clocks up 1000 orbits of Ceres

Jun 21, 2016 (JPL)

Dawn is continuing to record the extraordinary sights on dwarf planet Ceres. The experienced explorer is closer to the alien world than the International Space ...