This may worth something:
A NASA report finds planetary contamination rules may be too strict | Science News
Some policies for protecting the moon, Mars and other places in the solar system from contamination by visiting missions may be too strict.
At least one astrobiologist cautioned, however, against relaxing current guidelines too much. Spacecraft landing in areas deemed sterile could still contaminate areas that are potentially interesting for astrobiology, says John Rummel of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. If a lunar probe crashes on the moon's surface, "you end up with material that's taken into the lunar atmosphere and deposited in the cold traps at the south and north anyway," he says. "You don't even have to land at the south pole to affect [it]."
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Astrobiologist Alberto Fairén of Cornell University welcomes the possibility of adding nuance to the "extremely restrictive" protection guidelines for Mars. He and colleagues recommended a few high-priority astrobiology zones in Advances in Space Research in March, including lakes of liquid water possibly hidden under ice sheets ( SN: 12/17/18 ).
NASA chief says 'Pluto should be a planet' | Fox News
“I am here to tell you, as the NASA Administrator, I believe Pluto should be a planet,” he said, to applause during a wide-ranging speech at the International Astronautical Congress in Washington D.C. Friday.
Bridenstine later responded to a question on his Pluto stance by citing its buried ocean , its moons and its multilayered atmosphere. “I like there being nine planets, how about that?” he added.
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Pluto lost its planet status in 2006 when it was controversially demoted to “dwarf planet” by the International Astronomical Union.
This is not the first time that Bridenstine has voiced his desire to see Pluto become a planet again. "You can write that the NASA administrator declared Pluto a planet once again! Interactive Solar System Tour | 3D Model of the Solar System nineplanets.org / tour Solar System Scope is an incredibly accurate solar system tour , allowing you to explore the solar system , the night sky and outer space in real-time. All of the objects on the tour are accurately positioned based on where they are right this very second, and the tour contains interesting facts and information about the many objects in space.!! I’m sticking by that, it’s the way I learned it and I’m committed to it,” he said during a recent speech at the University of Colorado.
UCLA researchers develop new method of detecting habitable planets | Daily Bruin
The universe might have more Earth-like planets than previously thought, a team of UCLA researchers found.
Researchers from the UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences and UCLA Physics & Astronomy devised a new method – published Oct. 18 in the journal Science – to analyze the properties of planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets.
The team used this method to find several planets in other solar systems with similar geophysical properties to Earth.
“It’s one more step toward the idea that planets out there could be Earth-like,” Young said. “If the planet’s Earth-like, maybe they’re habitable. … If they’re habitable, maybe they’re inhabited.”
Alexandra Doyle, a graduate student in geochemistry, led the team. It analyzed the chemical composition of potential exoplanets by looking at pieces of rock around white dwarf stars.
Many things are taking place:
This spherical asteroid might be our solar system's tiniest dwarf planet | Popular Science
It's an asteroid-- No, it's the new smallest dwarf planet in our solar system - CNN
(CNN) A large asteroid could be reclassified as a dwarf planet -- which could make it the smallest in the solar system -- after new research revealed its shape, astronomers said on Monday.
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