Articles
Daring gravity assist maneuvers in space
Ingenious maneuvers by missions to go over the Sun, chase a comet and sail using the Sun.
Latest
Moon Monday
Moon Monday Issue #22
NASA begins fueling Orion for its first Moon trip, hardware upgrades ongoing for safer crewed missions, enigmatic volcanic mounds on the Moon, and more developments in the lunar space.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday Issue #21
Splash test of a future Moon capsule, Gateway lunar station engine tested, NASA strengthens collaboration with South Korea, oxidation on the Moon, and more developments in the lunar space.
Talks
My article on Mangalyaan was rejected 8 times but I published it anyway
This is the behind the scenes story of my article on missing science from India’s Mars orbiter. September 24, 2020 marked the six-year anniversary of India’s Mangalyaan spacecraft entering Mars orbit. Like every year, I expected Indian media outlets to publish articles about the mission’s success. After
Moon Monday
Moon Monday Issue #20
NASA weighs in on lunar solar power, Intuitive Machines signs ground station agreement with Parkes, automated crater counting, a lunar ark, and more developments in the lunar space.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday Issue #19
NASA's SLS rocket roars, Russia's Luna-25 Moon lander launching this year, ESA to provide a lunar navigation service, India's Moon orbiter senses Chromium, and more developments in the lunar space.
Links
How NASA defines “Special Regions” for Mars missions
Here’s something interesting I came across last year while writing the article “How NASA decides where to land on Mars”. NASA had some restrictions in place for selecting the region its Perseverance rover will land on and explore. From its landing site selection page: The Mars 2020 Science Definition
Moon Monday
Moon Monday Issue #18
China and Russia to co-build a Moon base, Japan's 2021 Moon budget, ESA to monitor radiation in the Gateway, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference kicks off, and more developments in the lunar space.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday Issue #17
SpaceX lands Starship prototype, Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic on track for robotic Moon landings this year, paper on the Moon's origin, a sodium tail, and more developments in the lunar space.
Articles
What are permanently shadowed regions on the Moon?
And why explore them.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday Issue #16
South Korea's first Moon mission on track, China to build Saturn-V class rocket, NASA flaunts a flexible lunar robotic arm, ESA wants to explore lunar caves, and more developments in the lunar space.
Articles
Are the Universe's smallest stars promising places for life?
When all sun-like stars die in few tens of billion years, planets orbiting red dwarf stars might be the only options for life to take root on.