David Mimoun

Propagation of the Aude wildfires in the South of France . Astounding

YouTube video by AV Introducing Skyfall: Future Concept Mars Helicopters Paving the Way for First Martian Astronauts

Here’s a little mission design I’ve been working on behind the scenes these past few months for exploring Mars with a small fleet of helicopters! www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqAu...

#planetsci #nasa

Very fun ! Congrats

Many US colleagues could not make it this year …

Happy to be here at international planetary probe workshop IPPW25

The NASA planetary science fleet chart. It shows two spirals with missions to Moon/Mars and the Solar System. I’ve crossed off all of the missions that will be cancelled in the president’s budget… and there are a lot of them.

The NASA planetary science fleet chart if the president’s budget is enacted.

This is an extinction level budget

Second CubeSat joins ESA’s Ramses mission to asteroid Apophis

www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

The ISAE-SUPAERO seismometer is a leap forward for miniaturized planetary geophysics.
A big win for #spaceengineering, #planetaryscience, and the future of low-cost interplanetary missions.

This mission is a unique opportunity to study the internal structure and surface response of a near-Earth asteroid during such a rare close encounter.

The seismometer will land on the surface of Apophis to capture vibrations and shocks during its ultra-close flyby (just 32,000 km from Earth — closer than some satellites!).

On board this new CubeSat will be a miniature planetary seismometer designed by the DEOS/SSPA team at ISAE-SUPAERO.

Yes, seismic science is going interplanetary — in CubeSat format!

🚀 Big news from ESA’s planetary defence mission RAMSES, targeting asteroid Apophis in 2029:
A second CubeSat has been selected — and it’s carrying something special from 🇫🇷 France.
🛰️🔧 #planetaryscience

Forgot all the feeds. Check this out 👇 🧪⚒️🛰️ #PlanetaryScience

Perseverance captured a new selfie to celebrate 1500 Sols on Mars.
The rover is currently investigating the outer rim of Jezero crater near an outcrop named Sally's Cove. #planetsci

Full panorama: www.360cities.net/image/persev...

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Steve Albers/Simeon Schmauß

Intesting comments here .

After serving as Director of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and VP of Caltech for three years, I have decided to step down, effective June 1. Though not an easy decision, I strongly believe it is the right one for me, my family, and the Lab. www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/dave-ga...

Carbonates identified by the Curiosity rover indicate a carbon cycle operated on ancient Mars Ancient Mars had surface liquid water and a dense carbon dioxide (CO2)–rich atmosphere. Such an atmosphere would interact with crustal rocks, potentially leaving a mineralogical record of its presence...

🛰️ Full study in Science: Tutolo et al. (2025)
“Carbonates identified by the Curiosity rover indicate a carbon cycle operated on ancient Mars”
doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Bottom line: Mars once had lakes, water-rock interactions, and climate feedback loops. It didn’t just look Earth-like—it behaved Earth-like. But then something disrupted that cycle. We’re just beginning to find out what. 🔴🌍

This also explains why we don’t see much carbonate from orbit: the iron carbonates like siderite are hard to detect remotely—but they’re there. And they’re critical clues to Mars’ atmospheric past. #MarsScience

Even more exciting? If similar strata exist across Mars (and they likely do), then up to 36 mbar of CO₂ might be stored in rock—a 6x increase over current Martian CO₂ levels. That would be enough for stable surface water ...

In other words, Mars once had a partially closed carbon cycle:
☁️ Atmospheric CO₂ → 🌊 Dissolved in water → 🪨 Locked into rock → 🔄 Later released again. Not unlike early Earth.

These carbonates likely formed during evaporation events in closed lake systems. Then later, they partially decomposed, turning into iron oxyhydroxides (like hematite) and releasing CO₂ back into the Martian atmosphere. #CarbonCycle

Why this matters? Siderite formation means Mars once had liquid water, alkaline fluids, and subsurface conditions capable of sequestering atmospheric CO₂ into rock. That’s major evidence for a dynamic ancient Martian environment. 🌍🔁🌌

Using data from 4 drill samples in Gale Crater, scientists detected siderite (FeCO₃)—an iron carbonate that forms in low-oxygen, water-limited environments. Up to 10.5% of the rock was siderite.

Wow ! Curiosity rover has found compelling evidence of an ancient carbon cycle on Mars—similar to Earth’s, but incomplete. This may change how we think about Mars’ climate history. #Mars #PlanetaryScience

Obviously any civilization on this planet will have a hard time getting to orbit with any possible kind of chemical propulsion rocket

#planetaryscience

In summary:
The proposed budget is not just a reallocation—it represents a fundamental shift away from planetary science, with long-term consequences for U.S. science, diplomacy, and strategic leadership in space.

The cuts reflect a strategic deprioritization of robotic planetary missions at a time when China, ESA, and private actors are expanding their interplanetary ambitions.