Is this the best space exploration image of 2024? You decide! Here you can see a color-enhanced view of the clouds surrounding Jupiter’s north pole, taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft this year. It’s a fantastic image, but is it the best of them all? Check out the other candidates in our Best of 2024 campaign and make your pick! The categories include best space exploration image, most exciting moment in planetary science, best astrophotography, and more. Image credit: NASA et al.
To explore unknown terrain on a distant world, it might be best to slither. Morgan Cable and Hiro Ono from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory join this week’s Planetary Radio to discuss the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS) concept, a snake-like AI-enabled robot designed to navigate previously uncharted environments like the icy surface and vents of Enceladus.
The U.S. federal election is decided, so what does it mean for space? The Planetary Society’s Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier lays out the space policy implications of a Trump victory in a new article. He’ll also join our Director of Government Relations Jack Kiraly in a live virtual Q&A on Tuesday, Nov. 19, in our online member community. It’s exclusive to Planetary Society members, so if you aren’t already a member, join today.
ICYMI: The latest Planetary Society book club meeting. Our members-only virtual book club recently met to chat with author Sara Imari Walker about her book, “Life As No One Knows It.” Watch the recording of the event to hear the fascinating conversation about assembly theory, a new and potentially powerful way to consider the nature of life, how to detect it, and how it may have begun.