Planetary Science

NASA research on a meteorite has provided new evidence that the inner planets formed from materials spread far and wide in the early solar system, and not just from nearby matter. Oxygen isotopic measurements in the core and outer rim of a calcium-aluminum-rich inclusion contained in the Allende meteorite record the entire range of oxygen isotopic composition previously measured in all solids in the solar system.

This image was taken by the NASA Cassini spacecraft on February 04, 2011 and received on Earth February 06, 2011. The camera was pointing toward Titan at approximately 2,393,746 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CB3 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2012. Full-Res: N00167988.jpg Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

The asteroid Kleopatra, like its namesake, the last pharaoh and queen of Egypt, gave birth to twins -- two moons probably spawned by the asteroid sometime in the past 100 million years.

This image was taken by the NASA Cassini spacecraft on January 31, 2011 and received on Earth February 01, 2011. The camera was pointing toward Enceladus at approximately 77,973 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and IR1 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2012. Full-Res: N00167673.jpg Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

This image was taken by the NASA Cassini spacecraft on January 31, 2011 and received on Earth February 01, 2011. The camera was pointing toward Mimas at approximately 261,298 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the P0 and GRN filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2012. Full-Res: N00167791.jpg Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Image on the left shows Grad student Nicholas Boyd (left) and Principal Investigator Ralf Gellert, both of the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, preparing for the installation of the sensor head on the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer instrument during testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.The instrument is part of the Curiosity rover, which will fly on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. The sensor head is 7.8 centimeters, or about 3 inches tall. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech