NASA just announced a contest for students to name the Mars Science Laboratory rover that is scheduled for launch in 2009. In cooperation with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures’ movie WALL·E , NASA is inviting students ages 5 to 18 who attend school in the United States to submit essays explaining the reasoning behind their suggested name for this car-sized rover. Essays must be turned in by January 25, 2009, and NASA will announce the winning name...

OK, I admit it: I’m a Marsaholic. We’ve been following the mission and writing about it for the magazine. You’ve probably seen the various headlines: Phoenix lands safely; Phoenix confirms water in martian soil; Phoenix detects perchlorate chemicals in martian soil; and, finally, Phoenix runs low on power and shuts down . So what’s this all going to come to? When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, dreams of future Mars exploration inspired and...

Earlier today, planetary scientists discussed preliminary findings from the MESSENGER spacecraft’s second flyby of Mercury. The October 6 encounter revealed about 30 percent of the planet previously unseen by spacecraft — an area larger than South America. MIT researcher Maria Zuber spoke about results from the laser altimeter used to measure topography. Her biggest surprise: The thin strip of area surveyed seen during the January flyby. Brian Anderson...

In this exclusive to Astronomy.com, science writer Lauren Cahoon shares the sights and sounds of the 2008 Division for Planetary Science meeting. Take it away, Lauren: It’s been an eventful 5 days at the 40th Division for Planetary Sciences meeting, with roughly 800 astronomers from all over the world convening in the small town of Ithaca, New York. While there have been hundreds of intriguing talks, I’ve been forced to select a sample that looked...

Next week, Astronomy magazine’s latest special issue hits newsstands, and it’s one I’ve been looking forward to seeing published since I started working here almost 4 months ago. The Solar System was one of the first projects I got to work on, which by that time meant reading all the stories and checking the layouts for any minor errors. So, it was really as if I were getting a sneak peek at the final product. And by doing so, I got a glimpse of how...

Astronomy magazine Senior Editor Michael Bakich spoke with a reporter from TechNewsWorld about the upcoming Mercury flyby. Read Michael's comments and learn more about the flyby in "NASA Craft to Make Second, Closer Swing Past Mercury" . We've put together a nice package that includes a preview of the flyby, various news from MESSENGER's mission so far, a blog wrap-up, and podcasts: MESSENGER's second Mercury flyby .