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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · 1d

A dark day is coming.

Reuters @reuters.com · 1d

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lay off about 550 workers reut.rs/4302N2L

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lay off about 550 workers

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Monday it will cut nearly 550 jobs as part of a restructuring, not related to the current U.S. government shutdown.

reut.rs

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · 23d

Now I’m looking forward to the work week!

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · Sep 12

I independently learned this yesterday. What weird Clash vortex is happening!?!!?

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · Sep 1

Flyby success! ESA's Juice spacecraft passed Venus at 07:28 CEST on 31 August.

This photo shows our deep-space antenna in Spain in communication with Juice during the flyby.

Juice’s current location, Venus, and its destination, Jupiter, are both visible in the sky ❤️

Photo of ESA deep space antenna in Spain with Venus and Jupiter labelled in the night sky

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Jean-Luc Margot @jeanlucmargot.bsky.social · Aug 31

“They’re afraid that basic knowledge will expose their false claims.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/s...

Historians See Autocratic Playbook in Trump’s Attacks on Science

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Daniel Pomarède @pomarede.bsky.social · Aug 23

SPHEREx Discovers Extended Carbon Dioxide Coma in Interstellar Object 3I-ATLAS

spherex.caltech.edu/news/3i-atla... #SPHEREx #3IATLAS 🧪🔭

SPHEREx discovered a bright CO2 coma (the extended gaseous atmosphere of a comet) surrounding 3I/ATLAS. It extends out to at least 348,000 km. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Alejandro Soto @soto.space · Aug 19

Maryame El Moutamid and colleagues have discovered a new moon orbiting Uranus. The JWST observations show a 10km moon orbiting 56,000km from Uranus's center. This moon adds to the complex puzzle that is the Uranian ring and moon system.

#planetsci 🧪

science.nasa.gov/blogs/webb/2...

New Moon Discovered Orbiting Uranus Using NASA’s Webb Telescope - NASA Science

Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a team led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has identified a previously unknown moon orbiting Uranus,

science.nasa.gov

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · Aug 10

…of Memory Foam.

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Steve Desch @deschscoveries.bsky.social · Aug 8

I have a complaint about Avi Loeb's latest work and I want to speak to management.

medium.com/@steve.desch...

This is not the quality of pseudoscience infotainment to which I have grown accustomed

Teasing the public with fraudulent or self-deluded promises of aliens used to mean something. It took work. It meant slapping together…

medium.com

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Lynn Carter @lynncarter.bsky.social · Aug 1

The REASON Ice Penetrating Radar produced good test data when we flew by Mars! All looking good for seeing inside #Europa in a few years. www.nasa.gov/missions/eur...

NASA’s Europa Clipper Radar Instrument Proves Itself at Mars - NASA

The agency’s largest interplanetary probe tested its radar during a Mars flyby. The results include a detailed image and bode well for the mission at

www.nasa.gov

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · Aug 2

www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-e...

NASA’s Europa Clipper Radar Instrument Proves Itself at Mars

The agency’s largest interplanetary probe tested its radar during a Mars flyby. The results include a detailed image and bode well for the mission at Jupiter’s moon Europa.

www.jpl.nasa.gov

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · Aug 1

Maaaaarrrrssss!
#EuropaClipper

www.nasa.gov/missions/eur...

NASA’s Europa Clipper Radar Instrument Proves Itself at Mars - NASA

The agency’s largest interplanetary probe tested its radar during a Mars flyby. The results include a detailed image and bode well for the mission at

www.nasa.gov

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · Jul 10

The first time Charlie Chaplin used his voice in a film, he wielded it to forcefully condemn the rising forces of fascism around the globe.

Will we listen to his words today?

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · Jul 25

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · Jul 24

Fear! Panic!

Europa Clipper Captures Mars, Phobos, and Deimos
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA2...
#EuropaClipper

Catalog Page for PIA26567

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · Jul 17

Didn’t Picard use that against the Cardassians in Season 4?

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Dr. Tanya Harrison @tanyaofmars.bsky.social · Jun 12

Under the proposed White House budget, the NASA Space Grant program would be eliminated.

I was a NASA Space Grant recipient during my Masters—it funded my research on water on Mars.

I then went on to work in science & mission ops on multiple NASA Mars missions immediately after graduation. (1/2)

Tanya holding Opportunity rover "sol sheets" in front of the sign for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

James Tuttle Keane @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social · Jun 6

Happy pride month! I worked with some LA-based scientists and engineers, and we have a kickstarter for space pride t-shirts! Consider backing!
🛰️🏳️‍⚧️🚀🏳️‍🌈🪐

www.kickstarter.com/projects/spa...

A sketch of a colorful Mars rover holding an inclusive pride flag in its robot arm. It’s very stylized, colorful, and got a little smile. It’s on a starry background.

A sketch of our Solar System, drom Mercury to Pluto. The planets are colored with the colors of an inclusive pride flag. It’s on a starry background. Above the planets is the text “Enough Space for Everyone”

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Emily Lakdawalla, Uranus Expert @elakdawalla.bsky.social · May 12

Neat! NASA just released a thermal image of Mars taken by the Jupiter-bound Europa Clipper spacecraft. Their story is here; I'll provide some context in following posts.

www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-e...

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Emily Lakdawalla, Uranus Expert @elakdawalla.bsky.social · May 12

it's tough out there for federal workers right now. People working on space missions have always been "paid" partly in the satisfaction and thrill of exploring where no one has been before, followed by the excitement of sharing those discoveries with the public. When morale drops, that pay drops.

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Reposted by Bob Pappalardo

Daniel Pomarède @pomarede.bsky.social · May 12

#EuropaClipper

NASA’s Europa Clipper Captures Mars in Infrared

Headed for Jupiter’s moon Europa, the spacecraft did some sightseeing, using a flyby of Mars to calibrate its infrared imaging instrument.

www.nasa.gov/missions/eur... #Mars 🧪🔭

This picture of Mars is a colorized composite of several images captured by Europa Clipper’s thermal imager. Warm colors represent relatively warm temperatures; red areas are about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius), and purple regions are about minus 190 F (minus 125 C).
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · May 12

Composite of several images captured by Europa Clipper’s thermal imager. Red areas are about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees C), and purple regions are about -190 F (125 C).

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · May 12

Europa Clipper captures Mars in the thermal infrared!
"On its recent swing by Mars, NASA’s Europa Clipper took the opportunity to capture infrared images of the Red Planet. The data will help mission scientists calibrate the spacecraft’s thermal imaging instrument."
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-e...

NASA’s Europa Clipper Captures Mars in Infrared

Headed for Jupiter’s moon Europa, the spacecraft did some sightseeing, using a flyby of Mars to calibrate its infrared imaging instrument.

www.jpl.nasa.gov

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · May 6

@alexwitze.bsky.social Have you asked LPI directly for comment? This seems an important distinction. USRA manages LPI, but we need to understand whether LPI has gone rouge.

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Bob Pappalardo @rpappalardo.bsky.social · Apr 28

From Io to Europa to Earth’s Moon: a fascinating tale of tidal heating! www.quantamagazine.org/whats-going-...

What’s Going On Inside Io, Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon? | Quanta Magazine

Recent flybys of the fiery world refute a leading theory of its inner structure — and reveal how little is understood about geologically active moons.

www.quantamagazine.org

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