The Planetary Society Weblog

April 2-7: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, Austria. EGU 2006 website

April 6: New Horizons: Passes mean orbital distance of Mars

April 11: Venus Express: Venus orbit insertion

April 19-20: Meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), Monrovia, California. MEPAG website

May 1-2: Second meeting of the Venus Exploration and Analysis Group (VEXAG), Pasadena, California. VEXAG website

May 3: Planning Conference of the Science Subcommittees of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). NAC website

May 4-5: Meeting of the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), Pasadena, California. OPAG website

May 4-7: 25th International Space Development Conference: "Exploring New Worlds," Los Angeles, California. ISDC 2006 website

May 9: Meeting of the International Mars Exploration Working Group (IMEWG), ESTEC, the Netherlands.

May 31-June 2: First MSL Landing Site Workshop, Pasadena Convention Center. Participant information

June 4-6: American Astronomical Society, Calgary, Alberta. AAS website

July 16-23: 36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) and Beijing Friendship Hotel, Beijing, China. Meeting website

August 8: Mars solstice (beginning of northern summer)

August 17 (approx.): Voyager 2: Reaches 100 AU from the Sun

August 6-11: 69th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, Zürich, Switzerland. Meeting website

September 3: SMART-1: Lunar impact will occur between 00:30 and 2:00 UT, plus or minus 7 hours

September: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: End of aerobraking phase; transition to primary science orbit

September 18-22: EuroPlaNet #1, European Planetary Science Congress, Berlin, Germany. Congress website

October 2-6: International Astronautical Congress, Valencia, Spain. IAC 2006 website

October 7-November 8: Mars solar conjunction

October 8-13: 38th Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Pasadena, California. DPS meeting website

October 24: MESSENGER: Venus flyby and gravity assist #1

October 22-25: Geological Society of America, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. GSA meeting website

November: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: Start of primary science phase

November 8: Transit of Mercury across the Sun

December 11-15: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California AGU meeting website

January 7-11: American Astronomical Society, Washington, D.C. AAS website

Jan 9-10: Meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), Washington, DC. MEPAG website

Jan 11-12: Meeting of the Venus Exploration and Analysis Group (VEXAG), Washington, DC. VEXAG website

January-May: New Horizons: Jupiter flyby and gravity assist (closest approach February 27)

January 22-23: Phoenix landing site workshop, Pasadena, California

February 8: Mars equinox (beginning of northern fall)

February 16-March 8: Rosetta: Mars flyby and gravity assist (closest approach February 26)

Feb 21-23: 11th International Space University (ISU) Annual Symposium: "Why the Moon?" Meeting website

March 12-16: 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, Texas Meeting website

April 12: Yuri's Night World Space Party!

April 16-20: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, Austria Meeting website

May 1-2: Meeting of the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), Boston, Massachusetts. OPAG website

May 2: Uranus ring plane crossing

May 27-31: American Astronomical Society, Honolulu, Hawaii AAS website

June 6: MESSENGER: Venus flyby and gravity assist #2

June 19-23: 2nd International Workshop on "Exploring Mars and its Earth Analogues," Trento, Italy, post-meeting field trip June 23-26. Website

July 4: Mars solstice (beginning of northern winter)

July 9-13: 7th International Mars Science Conference, Caltech, Pasadena, California. Meeting website

August 4-24: Phoenix: launch

August 13-15: Workshop on Ices, Oceans, and Fire: Satellites of the Outer Solar System, Boulder, Colorado. Meeting website

August 16: Uranus ring plane crossing

September 8: ESA/ESOC celebrates 40th anniversary

September 10: Cassini: Targeted flyby of Iapetus

September 23-28: International Astronautical Congress, Hyderabad, India. IAC 2007 website

October 7-12: 39th Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Orlando, Florida. DPS meeting website

October 22-26: The 9th ILEWG International Conference on Exploration and Utilization of the Moon, Sorrento, Italy. Meeting website

October 23-25: 2nd landing site workshop for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), Pasadena, California

October 28-31: Geological Society of America national meeting, Denver, Colorado.

November 4-5: Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG);
November 6-7: Planetary Atmospheres Workshop;
November 8-9: Outer Planets Analysis Group (OPAG)
Greenbelt Marriott, Greenbelt, Maryland.

November 5-8: Conference on the Exploration of Phobos and Deimos, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
Meeting website

November 12-16: European Mars Science and Exploration Conference (EMSEC): Mars Express & ExoMars, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands
Meeting website

November 13: Rosetta: Earth flyby #2

December 7: Uranus equinox (beginning of northern spring)

December 10: Mars equinox (beginning of northern spring)

December 10-14: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California AGU meeting website

December 24: Mars at opposition

December 31: Deep Impact: Earth flyby

January 8-12: Meeting #211 of the American Astronomical Society

January 14: MESSENGER: Mercury flyby #1

February 4-5: Workshop on Martian Gullies, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas meeting website

February 20: Uranus ring plane crossing

Febuary 20-21: Mars Exploration Analysis Group (MEPAG), Monrovia, California MEPAG website

March 10-14: 39th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, Texas

March 12: Cassini: Targeted flyby of Enceladus

April 13-18: European Geophysical Union meeting, Vienna, Austria meeting website

May 12: Cassini: Titan flyby (67TI or T43)

May 25: Phoenix: Landing

May 29: Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST): Launch

March 27-30: American Geophysical Union Joint Assembly, Fort Lauderdale, FL

May 28: Cassini: Titan flyby (69TI or T44)

June 1-5: Meeting #212 of the American Astronomical Society, St. Louis, MO

June 8: New Horizons: Passes mean orbital distance of Saturn

June 9-13: International Conference on Comparative Planetology: Venus-Earth-Mars, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

June 25: Mars solstice

July 1: Cassini: End of primary mission

June 1-5: 212th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, St. Louis, MO

July 7-11: Titan after Cassini-Huygens, Corpus Christi, Texas meeting website

July 28-August 1: Saturn after Cassini-Huygens, Imperial College, London meeting website

July 31: Cassini: Titan flyby (78TI or T45)

August 1: Total solar eclipse: visible in Canada and Greenland

August 4: Cassini: distant Mimas flyby

August 10: GLAST: renamed Fermi

August 11: Cassini: targeted Enceladus flyby (80EN or E4)

August 11: Cassini: distant Mimas flyby

August 14-16: Scientific Conference and Educator Workshop: "The Great Planet Debate - Science as Process," Laurel, Maryland meeting website

September: Venus Express: End of nominal mission

September 5: Rosetta: Asteroid Steins flyby

September 15-17: Third landing site workshop for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), Doubletree Hotel, Monrovia, CA; landing site websites here and here

September 17: Cassini: distant Mimas flyby

September 25: Cassini: distant Tethys flyby

October 2: Cassini: distant Tethys flyby

October 6: MESSENGER: Mercury flyby #2

October 9: Cassini: targeted Enceladus flyby (88EN or E5)

October 10-15: 40th annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society - meeting website

October 24: Cassini: distant Mimas flyby

October 31: Cassini: targeted Enceladus flyby (91EN or E6)

November 2: Phoenix: last transmission

November 3: Cassini: Titan flyby (91TI or T46)

November 16: Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-126 mission to supply the space station and service the Solar Alpha Rotary joints on both ends of truss

November 18-December 24: Mars solar conjunction

November 19: Cassini: Titan flyby (93TI or T47)

November 24: Cassini: distant Tethys flyby

December 2: Cassini: distant Enceladus flyby

December 5: Cassini: Titan flyby (95TI or T48)

December 15-19: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California meeting website

December 21: Cassini: Titan flyby (97TI or T49)

December 26: Mars equinox (beginning of northern fall)

All Year: International Year of Astronomy

January 7-10: 213th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Long Beach, California

January 12-13: Inaugural Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG) meeting, Marriott Inn and Conference Center, University of Maryland SBAG website

January 22: Venus Express: End of extended mission

February 2: Cassini: distant Rhea flyby

February 7: Cassini: Titan flyby (102TI or T50)

February 12: Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-119 mission to deliver final pair of solar arrays to space station

February 25: Sixth meeting of the Venus Exploration and Analysis Group (VEXAG), Houston, TX meeting website

March 3-4 : Meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), Rosslyn, VA meeting website

March 6: Kepler: launch

March 10-14: 40th Meeting of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX (new venue! Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, near IAH.) meeting website

March 27: Cassini: Titan flyby (106TI or T51)

April 4: Cassini: Titan flyby (108TI or T52)

April 20: Cassini: Titan flyby (109TI or T53)

May 5: Cassini: Titan flyby (110TI or T54)

May 11: Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope

May 21: Cassini: Titan flyby (111TI or T55)

June 6: Cassini: Titan flyby (112TI or T56)

June 22: Cassini: Titan flyby (113TI or T57)

June 7-11: 214th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Pasadena, California

July 8: Cassini: Titan flyby (114TI or T58)

July 11: Cassini: distant Dione flyby

July 15: Space Shuttle Endeavour launched on STS-127 mission to deliver final parts of Japanese Kibo module, the Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section

July 24: Cassini: Titan flyby (115TI or T59)

July 26: Cassini: distant Tethys flyby

August 9: Cassini: Titan flyby (116TI or T60)

August 11: Saturn equinox (beginning of northern spring)

August 24: Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-128 mission to carry science and storage racks to the space station

August 25: Cassini: Titan flyby (117TI or T61)

August 25: Voyager 2 : 20th anniversary of Neptune flyby

September 4: Earth crosses Saturn's ring plane (rings vanish as seen from Earth)

September 13-18: European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) 2009, Potsdam, Germany meeting website

September 15-20: Saturn solar conjunction

September 29: MESSENGER: Mercury flyby #3

October 4-9: 41st annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society - meeting website

October 12-16: 60yh International Astronautical Congress, Daejeon, South Korea. IAC 2009 website

October 12: Cassini: Titan flyby (119TI or T62)

October 13-14: Cassini: distant Rhea, Mimas, and Tethys flybys

October 28-29: Venus Exploration and Analysis Group (VEXAG) meeting, Irvine, California. VEXAG website

November 2: Cassini: targeted Enceladus flyby (120EN or E7)

November 21: Cassini: targeted Enceladus flyby (121EN or E8)

November 12: Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-129 mission to deliver lots of spare parts to the station, to be stored outside

November 13: Rosetta: Earth flyby #3

November 16-19: Lunar Exploration and Analysis Group (LEAG) meeting, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas. LEAG website

November 21: Cassini: distant Rhea flyby

December 9: WISE: launch

December 12: Cassini: Titan flyby (122TI or T63)

December 14-18: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California AGU meeting website

December 26: Cassini: distant Tethys flyby

December 28: Cassini: Titan flyby (123TI or T64)

February 7: Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-130 mission to deliver final connecting node, Node 3, and "the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the station."

February 9: Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): Launch

March 2: Cassini: Targeted flyby of Rhea (100 kilometers)

March 3: Cassini: Targeted flyby of Helene (1803 kilometers)

March 1-5: 41st Meeting of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX (Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, near IAH.) meeting website

March 17-18: Meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), Monrovia, California. MEPAG website

April 5: Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-131 mission to deliver science racks to the space station.

April 7: Cassini: Targeted flyby of Dione (504 kilometers)

April 28: Cassini: Targeted flyby of Enceladus (103 kilometers)

May 2-7: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, Austria. EGU 2010 website

May 14: Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-132 mission to deliver spare parts and a Russian Mini Research Module to the space station. Unless plans change, this will be Atlantis' last flight.

May 18: Cassini: Targeted flyby of Enceladus (201 kilometers)

May 18: Akatsuki (Venus Climate Orbiter/PLANET-C)/IKAROS: Launch

June 13: Hayabusa: Return of sample capsule to Woomera desert, Australia

July: Third MSL Landing Site Engineering Assessment Workshop

July 10: Rosetta: Asteroid Lutetia flyby

July 18-25: 8th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space research (COSPAR), Bremen, Germany meeting website

July 29: Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-134 mission to deliver spare parts. Unless plans change, this will be Endeavour's last flight.

August: Mars Express: Series of nine flybys within 1200 kilometers of Phobos. The closest approach will be about 403 kilometers over Phobos' night side, on August 24.

September: Fourth MSL Landing Site Community Workshop

September 16: Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-133mission to deliver spare parts to the space station. Unless plans change, this will be Discovery's last flight.

October 3-8: 42nd annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society (Pasadena, California)

November 4: Deep Impact: Comet 103P/Hartley 2 flyby

December: Venus Climate Orbiter/PLANET-C: Venus arrival

December-January: Mars Express: Series of 10 Phobos flybys. The closest one will come within 96 km of the moon's dayside, on January 9.

December 13-17: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California AGU meeting website

February 14: Stardust: Flyby of comet Tempel 1

March 18: MESSENGER: Mercury orbit insertion

March 22: New Horizons: Passes mean orbital distance of Uranus

October: 43nd annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society (Nantes, France; joint with EPSC?)

March 18: MESSENGER: End of nominal mission

December?: MAVEN: Launch period opens

May: Rosetta: Arrival at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

August 10: International Cometary Explorer: Return to Earth

August 29: New Horizons: Passes mean orbital distance of Neptune

June-September: Exomars: Mars landing

January-July: New Horizons: Pluto/Charon flyby

August: New Horizons: Kuiper belt object targeting maneuver (will set up future Kuiper belt object flyby TBD)

December: Rosetta: End of nominal mission

April: Exomars: Launch period opens