Author: Michael Lucibella

Hubble Resumes Observing – In late October, a computer onboard the Hubble Space Telescope detected that communications between computers and instruments were missing critical synchronization messages. All instruments were placed in safe mode so ground controllers could troubleshoot the problem. They tested each instrument independently and found all operating correctly, meaning the fault was likely somewhere in the communications, though they’re still investigating the root cause.… Continue reading.

Mars Floods – The Mars rover Perseverance has been studying the western delta fan, which was built up by layers of sediment dropped into Jezero Crater by a river, back when the crater was a lake, about 3.7 billion years ago.… Continue reading.

After its first, unsuccessful attempt to store a drilled sample of Martian rock and soil, the Mars rover Perseverance made two successful samplings of a flat Martian rock nicknamed “Rochette.” Both are now sealed in titanium tubes for a future mission to collect and return to Earth. Continue reading.

Carolyn Shoemaker, discoverer of dozens of comets and hundreds of asteroids, has died at age 92. Many of her discoveries were shared with her husband Gene Shoemaker, who for many years headed a project to search for near-Earth objects using the small Palomar Schmidt camera. Continue reading.