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Blog Archive

 

Fly me to the Moon

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/01/14 06:31 CST | 4 comments

Video views shot by two doomed spacecraft take us flying across the Moon.

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How GRAIL will meet its end

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/13 05:34 CST | 2 comments

The twin GRAIL spacecraft are nearly out of fuel, and are being directed to a controlled impact near the north pole on the near side of the Moon on December 17. Before the end, though, they did some cool things, including flying within 2000 meters of mountaintops, and catching video of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in flight.

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Planetary Society Hangout Thursday noon PT / 2000 UT: GRAIL's Demise, Curiosity Arrives, and the 2020 Rover Surprise

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/12/13 12:15 CST | 3 comments

Join us for our weekly hangout and catch up on GRAIL, Curiosity, and the future Mars rover.

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What's up in the Solar System in August 2012

Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/08/03 06:03 CDT

Welcome to the monthly roundup of our solar system's envoy of electronic explorers! All eyes are on Curiosity as it approaches Mars this weekend. Who will lend support at the Red Planet?

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What's Up in the Solar System in June 2012

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/05/31 07:04 CDT | 2 comments

This month, Opportunity is roving again, while Curiosity approaches Mars; Cassini's finally seeing rings, and will fly by Mimas, Titan, and Tethys; GRAIL has completed its primary mission and is journeying toward the second; Dawn is climbing to the HAMO2 orbit; and a rare transit of Venus is coming up on June 5/6.

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Good news, bad news: GRAIL science underway, Venus Express suffers storm damage

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/03/08 06:54 CST

Two brief mission updates. First, the good news: NASA announced yesterday that the twin GRAIL spacecraft have begun the science phase of the mission, transmitting precisely timed signals to each other in order to map the Moon's gravity field. The bad news: according to ESA, since the recent solar storm passed Venus, both of Venus Express' star trackers are suddenly unable to detect stars.

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Geek craft: GRAIL twins Ebb and Flow in plastic canvas

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/01/25 12:10 CST

Geek craft: GRAIL twins Ebb and Flow in plastic canvas

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Ringing in the New Year with two new arrivals to the Moon

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/12/28 05:21 CST

The twin GRAIL spacecraft are nearly at the end of their three-month cruises to the Moon. Currently being discussed is an extended mission for GRAIL that would begin after the June eclipse and last through most of December 2012.

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GRAIL A and B are on their way to the Moon!

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/09/10 09:55 CDT

GRAIL A and B are on their way to the Moon!

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GRAIL update: Next launch attempt planned for Saturday

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/09/08 10:57 CDT

GRAIL update: Next launch attempt planned for Saturday

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From the "Just Plain Cool" department: Time-lapse photo of GRAIL's Delta 2 tower rollback

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/09/08 01:01 CDT

The terrific launch photographer Ben Cooper is at the Cape waiting for GRAIL's Delta 2 rocket to take off, and last night he took this very cool photo.

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GRAIL launch scrubbed; try again tomorrow

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/09/08 08:13 CDT

GRAIL launch scrubbed; try again tomorrow

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How to watch the GRAIL launch on Thursday

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/09/06 01:23 CDT

How to watch the GRAIL launch on Thursday

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Nifty GRAIL animation

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/08/25 05:21 CDT

Nifty GRAIL animation

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GRAIL twins together on their rocket

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/08/18 07:35 CDT

GRAIL twins together on their rocket

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365 Days of Astronomy Podcast: Unmanned Space Exploration in 2011

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/01/12 10:32 CST

Today the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast aired my contribution, Unmanned Space Exploration in 2011, about what to look forward to in solar system exploration this year.

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Exciting Times Ahead: 2010 Will Sizzle, and 2011 Will Really Cook!

Posted by Alan Stern on 2009/05/18 03:56 CDT

Today, I'm kicking the week off with a look at the unusually intense confluence of far flung planetary exploration that's just around the corner, starting the middle of next year.

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