Riding With Robots
@ridingrobots.bsky.social
Robotic solar system exploration, night sky photography, exasperating earnestness. My day job is impersonating some of your favorite planets and spacecraft on social media for one of your favorite government agencies. Opinions here are my own.
Reposted by Riding With Robots
2026 NASA Science Calendar Image of the Month
February - Curiosity’s Climb for Climate Clues
science.nasa.gov/multimedia/2...
Credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)-Caltech/University of California, Berkeley/University of Arizona
#Mars 🧪🔭 @uahirise.bsky.social
February - Curiosity’s Climb for Climate Clues
science.nasa.gov/multimedia/2...
Credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)-Caltech/University of California, Berkeley/University of Arizona
#Mars 🧪🔭 @uahirise.bsky.social
February 13, 2026 at 6:47 PM
2026 NASA Science Calendar Image of the Month
February - Curiosity’s Climb for Climate Clues
science.nasa.gov/multimedia/2...
Credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)-Caltech/University of California, Berkeley/University of Arizona
#Mars 🧪🔭 @uahirise.bsky.social
February - Curiosity’s Climb for Climate Clues
science.nasa.gov/multimedia/2...
Credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)-Caltech/University of California, Berkeley/University of Arizona
#Mars 🧪🔭 @uahirise.bsky.social
Reposted by Riding With Robots
Reposted by Riding With Robots
If somewhere, everywhere, and nowhere are words, then somewhen, everywhen, and nowhen also get to be words.
February 13, 2026 at 6:32 PM
If somewhere, everywhere, and nowhere are words, then somewhen, everywhen, and nowhen also get to be words.
Reposted by Riding With Robots
This funding is legally required to be disbursed as directed in the budget. It is illegal for this money to be withheld like this. Russell Vought and the entire Trump admin are in violation of the law and need to be prosecuted and the funding released. This is screwing over so many workers!
February 13, 2026 at 7:30 PM
This funding is legally required to be disbursed as directed in the budget. It is illegal for this money to be withheld like this. Russell Vought and the entire Trump admin are in violation of the law and need to be prosecuted and the funding released. This is screwing over so many workers!
Perfect Trump style: stupid and illegal. Throttles a bunch of important Earth and climate missions, of course, but also wastes OSIRIS-APEX, a smart re-use of an existing spacecraft to fly by Apophis, a big asteroid that will pass near Earth and generate huge scientific and public interest.
February 13, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Perfect Trump style: stupid and illegal. Throttles a bunch of important Earth and climate missions, of course, but also wastes OSIRIS-APEX, a smart re-use of an existing spacecraft to fly by Apophis, a big asteroid that will pass near Earth and generate huge scientific and public interest.
Reposted by Riding With Robots
📻 It's #WorldRadioDay, and Earth is calling.
🗣️ Students from all over the world can speak directly to astronauts on the International Space Station via radio for about 10 minutes at a time.
🗣️ Students from all over the world can speak directly to astronauts on the International Space Station via radio for about 10 minutes at a time.
February 13, 2026 at 1:55 PM
📻 It's #WorldRadioDay, and Earth is calling.
🗣️ Students from all over the world can speak directly to astronauts on the International Space Station via radio for about 10 minutes at a time.
🗣️ Students from all over the world can speak directly to astronauts on the International Space Station via radio for about 10 minutes at a time.
The hottest, brightest, and most massive singles in your region
#NASAWebb uncovered the full population of brown dwarfs (objects more massive than Jupiter but smaller than stars) in star cluster Westerlund 2. Many of our Milky Way galaxy's hottest, brightest, and most massive stars also exist in this region.
Credit: ESA, NASA, CSA.
Credit: ESA, NASA, CSA.
February 13, 2026 at 4:57 PM
The hottest, brightest, and most massive singles in your region
Reposted by Riding With Robots
Flying over Saturn - From Val Klavans (valklavans.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/Ng1pvm
February 13, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Riding With Robots
1) Great WSJ piece about Noem's diva/clown/Cruella show at DHS.
2) We spent lots of time in SD during/after her time as gov. Little residual home-state love.
3) WSJ at least tiptoes around elephant-in-room: Kristi-and-Corey saga.
4) Pilot/blanket story is classic.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
2) We spent lots of time in SD during/after her time as gov. Little residual home-state love.
3) WSJ at least tiptoes around elephant-in-room: Kristi-and-Corey saga.
4) Pilot/blanket story is classic.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem’s Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS
Secretary faces fire for confrontational immigration crackdown and self-promotional style; White House to wind down Minnesota operations.
www.wsj.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:17 PM
1) Great WSJ piece about Noem's diva/clown/Cruella show at DHS.
2) We spent lots of time in SD during/after her time as gov. Little residual home-state love.
3) WSJ at least tiptoes around elephant-in-room: Kristi-and-Corey saga.
4) Pilot/blanket story is classic.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
2) We spent lots of time in SD during/after her time as gov. Little residual home-state love.
3) WSJ at least tiptoes around elephant-in-room: Kristi-and-Corey saga.
4) Pilot/blanket story is classic.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Riding With Robots
forgot the most important of the genre
February 12, 2026 at 11:31 PM
forgot the most important of the genre
Reposted by Riding With Robots
HiPOD: Stacked!
Sedimentary layers are stacked one atop another in this view of Danielson Crater, north of Meridiani Planum. The deposits, that cover most of the crater floor, have been deeply eroded, exposing regular layers that resemble stair steps.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_089198_1885
Sedimentary layers are stacked one atop another in this view of Danielson Crater, north of Meridiani Planum. The deposits, that cover most of the crater floor, have been deeply eroded, exposing regular layers that resemble stair steps.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_089198_1885
February 13, 2026 at 3:01 PM
HiPOD: Stacked!
Sedimentary layers are stacked one atop another in this view of Danielson Crater, north of Meridiani Planum. The deposits, that cover most of the crater floor, have been deeply eroded, exposing regular layers that resemble stair steps.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_089198_1885
Sedimentary layers are stacked one atop another in this view of Danielson Crater, north of Meridiani Planum. The deposits, that cover most of the crater floor, have been deeply eroded, exposing regular layers that resemble stair steps.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_089198_1885
Reposted by Riding With Robots
this is comically evil. brazenly anti-social. just absolute black-pilled nihilism. we will not have a republic, we will not be free, until we regulate these companies to the point where — at a bare minimum — they're too afraid to put stuff like this down on paper.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
February 13, 2026 at 2:54 PM
this is comically evil. brazenly anti-social. just absolute black-pilled nihilism. we will not have a republic, we will not be free, until we regulate these companies to the point where — at a bare minimum — they're too afraid to put stuff like this down on paper.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Reposted by Riding With Robots
The corrupt high priest. It is all very biblical, is it not?
The Project 2025 author is using millions of dollars in USAID money for his own security detail.
It is estimated that 762,000 people have *already died* as a result of Elon Musk and Russell Vought’s obscene murder of USAID, including more than 500,000 children.
Vought is a mass murderer.
It is estimated that 762,000 people have *already died* as a result of Elon Musk and Russell Vought’s obscene murder of USAID, including more than 500,000 children.
Vought is a mass murderer.
Exclusive: White House uses USAID funds for budget director Vought's security, documents show
The White House budget office is using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's budget chief and an archit...
www.reuters.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:22 PM
The corrupt high priest. It is all very biblical, is it not?
Reposted by Riding With Robots
I’m currently writing a book about the attempted Nazi demonstration in Skokie in 1977. This is indistinguishable from how American Nazis talked in public.
Trump nominated a legit white nationalist to a top post at the State Department. I asked him some basic questions about his belief in the “erasure of white culture”. Watch this embarrassing, fumbling answer. Like he has never before been asked to explain his views.
February 12, 2026 at 10:31 PM
I’m currently writing a book about the attempted Nazi demonstration in Skokie in 1977. This is indistinguishable from how American Nazis talked in public.
Everyone knows the "very poorly" quote, but I was unfamiliar with the extent of his game...
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
February 12, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Everyone knows the "very poorly" quote, but I was unfamiliar with the extent of his game...
Non-definitive, but interesting. From NASA:
A new study suggests that non-biological sources cannot fully account for the abundance of organic compounds found in a sample collected by the Curiosity rover.
Dig into the details: science.nasa.gov/blogs/scienc...
A new study suggests that non-biological sources cannot fully account for the abundance of organic compounds found in a sample collected by the Curiosity rover.
Dig into the details: science.nasa.gov/blogs/scienc...
NASA Study: Non-biologic Processes Don’t Fully Explain Mars Organics - NASA Science
In a new study, researchers say that non-biological sources they considered could not fully account for the abundance of organic compounds in a sample
science.nasa.gov
February 12, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Non-definitive, but interesting. From NASA:
A new study suggests that non-biological sources cannot fully account for the abundance of organic compounds found in a sample collected by the Curiosity rover.
Dig into the details: science.nasa.gov/blogs/scienc...
A new study suggests that non-biological sources cannot fully account for the abundance of organic compounds found in a sample collected by the Curiosity rover.
Dig into the details: science.nasa.gov/blogs/scienc...
Just in time for Valentines, it's the 25th anniversary of NEAR Shoemaker's exploration of the asteroid Eros. The first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid, it wasn't designed to land, but did anyway. This was its last, closest image of Eros before contacting the surface science.nasa.gov/mission/near...
February 12, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Just in time for Valentines, it's the 25th anniversary of NEAR Shoemaker's exploration of the asteroid Eros. The first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid, it wasn't designed to land, but did anyway. This was its last, closest image of Eros before contacting the surface science.nasa.gov/mission/near...
From NASA
POV: You’re on a field expedition with NASA 🤿🥾🌋
Iceland, summer 2025. Scientists are spread out across the island's rugged terrain, studying our home planet to better understand worlds beyond.
Dive in! Field videos, team profiles, & more:
go.nasa.gov/4ty5WCd
POV: You’re on a field expedition with NASA 🤿🥾🌋
Iceland, summer 2025. Scientists are spread out across the island's rugged terrain, studying our home planet to better understand worlds beyond.
Dive in! Field videos, team profiles, & more:
go.nasa.gov/4ty5WCd
NASA Fieldwork Spotlight: Iceland
Go behind the scenes of a Goddard Instrument Field Team expedition and see how scientists study Earth to learn about the Moon, Mars, and ocean worlds.
go.nasa.gov
February 12, 2026 at 6:07 PM
From NASA
POV: You’re on a field expedition with NASA 🤿🥾🌋
Iceland, summer 2025. Scientists are spread out across the island's rugged terrain, studying our home planet to better understand worlds beyond.
Dive in! Field videos, team profiles, & more:
go.nasa.gov/4ty5WCd
POV: You’re on a field expedition with NASA 🤿🥾🌋
Iceland, summer 2025. Scientists are spread out across the island's rugged terrain, studying our home planet to better understand worlds beyond.
Dive in! Field videos, team profiles, & more:
go.nasa.gov/4ty5WCd
In it for the long haul.
🚨🚨 ¡NOVEDAD! 🚨🚨
📡🛰️ Listado de las sondas y observatorios que llevan más de 20 años en funcionamiento
🗓️ Febrero 2026
www.infosondas.com/infografias-...
📡🛰️ Listado de las sondas y observatorios que llevan más de 20 años en funcionamiento
🗓️ Febrero 2026
www.infosondas.com/infografias-...
February 12, 2026 at 6:06 PM
In it for the long haul.
Reposted by Riding With Robots
Auroras seen on Nov. 4, 2021 from the ground on the Salt Flats in Utah, and a few minutes later from the International Space Station about 250 miles over Idaho.
February 12, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Auroras seen on Nov. 4, 2021 from the ground on the Salt Flats in Utah, and a few minutes later from the International Space Station about 250 miles over Idaho.
Reposted by Riding With Robots
for the "billionaires are the loose nukes of policy" file
I'm still SHOCKED by the obscene rise in billionaire election spending since Citizens United in the NYT piece, despite already knowing that election corruption w/ $ was profound. (Recall that BCRA fought dangerous campaign $ in *2002*)
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
February 12, 2026 at 5:10 PM
for the "billionaires are the loose nukes of policy" file
Reposted by Riding With Robots
Public shaming works. Keep it up.
collaborators suddenly realize that they could cancel their contract for a concentration camp after insisting it wasn’t possible. a world of fascists who have never felt pushback once in their life, suddenly stunned to see everyone hates them. makes you think!
kansascitydefender.com/justice/plat...
kansascitydefender.com/justice/plat...
BREAKING: Platform Ventures Backs Down From ICE Detention Center Sale After Weeks of Mass Organizing and Protest – The Kansas City Defender
The people won. For now.
kansascitydefender.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Public shaming works. Keep it up.
Reposted by Riding With Robots
Ending this operation is not enough.
We need justice and accountability. That starts with independent investigations into the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, economic restitution for businesses impacted, abolishing ICE, and the impeachment of Kristi Noem.
We need justice and accountability. That starts with independent investigations into the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, economic restitution for businesses impacted, abolishing ICE, and the impeachment of Kristi Noem.
February 12, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Ending this operation is not enough.
We need justice and accountability. That starts with independent investigations into the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, economic restitution for businesses impacted, abolishing ICE, and the impeachment of Kristi Noem.
We need justice and accountability. That starts with independent investigations into the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, economic restitution for businesses impacted, abolishing ICE, and the impeachment of Kristi Noem.
Reposted by Riding With Robots
Hey let’s talk about cool science for once! 🧵
A new paper is out showing something that’s been discussed for about a decade…Titan may have originally been multiple Titan-ish objects that merged!
And it may have even happened recently!
Here’s the new paper: arxiv.org/abs/2602.09281
A new paper is out showing something that’s been discussed for about a decade…Titan may have originally been multiple Titan-ish objects that merged!
And it may have even happened recently!
Here’s the new paper: arxiv.org/abs/2602.09281
Origin of Hyperion and Saturn's Rings in A Two-Stage Saturnian System Instability
The age of the rings and some of the moons of Saturn is an open question, and multiple lines of evidence point to a recent (few hundred Myr ago) cataclysm involving disruption of past moons. The main ...
arxiv.org
February 12, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Hey let’s talk about cool science for once! 🧵
A new paper is out showing something that’s been discussed for about a decade…Titan may have originally been multiple Titan-ish objects that merged!
And it may have even happened recently!
Here’s the new paper: arxiv.org/abs/2602.09281
A new paper is out showing something that’s been discussed for about a decade…Titan may have originally been multiple Titan-ish objects that merged!
And it may have even happened recently!
Here’s the new paper: arxiv.org/abs/2602.09281
Reposted by Riding With Robots
please enjoy these classic Moon Tweets™
February 12, 2026 at 8:40 AM
please enjoy these classic Moon Tweets™