Record Setting Asteroid Flyby
On Feb. 15th an asteroid about half the size of a football field will fly past Earth closer than many man-made satellites. Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to our planet.

50 Years of Robotic Planetary Exploration: Neil Gehrels, Astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center
We asked them and here is what the experts had to say about the last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

50 Years of Robotic Planetary Exploration: William Sjogren, Senior Research Scientist (Retired), Jet Propulsion Laboratory
We asked them and here is what the experts had to say about the last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

Earth at Perihelion
In January, our planet made its annual closest approach to the sun. But don't expect things to warm up.

What's Next for NASA: 2013
In 2013, NASA will push ahead with an ambitious exploration program, continuing crew flights and commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station, and advancing the systems needed to send humans deeper into space.

Big Asteroid Tumbles Harmlessly Past Earth
Asteroid 4179 Toutatis is tumbling past Earth this week. Astronomers are taking advantage of the flyby to ping the space rock using NASA radars and obtain images of unprecedented clarity.

A New Meteor Shower in December?
If you're outdoors after sunset this week, be alert for meteors. Not only is the Geminid meteor shower active as Earth passes through a stream of debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon, but also a new meteor shower could make an appearance.

50 Years of Robotic Planetary Exploration: Claudia Alexander, Project Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
We asked them and here is what the experts had to say about the last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

50 Years of Robotic Planetary Exploration: Anita Cochran (Assistant Director of the McDonald Observatory and a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Texas at Austin)
We asked them and here is what the experts had to say about the last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

MESSENGER Finds New Evidence for Water Ice at Mercury's Poles
New observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft provide compelling support for the long-held hypothesis that Mercury harbors abundant water ice and other frozen volatile materials in its permanently shadowed polar craters.