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First image from Stardust! ...but a delay for the close-approach ones
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/02/15 02:25 CST
Here it is, the first image from Stardust of Tempel 1 during the close-approach phase!
Stardust update: Things seem to have gone well with Tempel 1 flyby
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/02/14 10:19 CST
Just a brief update on the Stardust flyby of Tempel 1, which happened about half an hour ago: the spacecraft seems to have executed the flyby as commanded and has 72 science images on board.
Stardust flies by Tempel 1 in 5 hours, and I'll be watching!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/02/14 04:42 CST
Stardust is very close to the last major act of its mission: the flyby of Tempel 1, which will take place at 20:40 PST (04:40 UTC). Here's a summary of the recent and current status of the mission, and how to follow the events over the next 24 hours.
Google Mars base maps available for Opportunity's future traverse
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/02/09 12:47 CST
Thanks to the work of several amateurs, Google Mars is a great tool for following the past and future peregrinations of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.
Rosetta update: Scary safe mode, but all's well now
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/02/04 08:15 CST
The Rosetta blog has been strangely quiet of late, after they had been quite actively posting updates on the status of Rosetta during a critical series of orbit adjustment burns, which I wrote about two weeks ago.
What's up in the solar system in February 2011
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/02/03 01:47 CST
Welcome to my monthly roundup of what's happening with our deep-space explorers across the solar system. I apologize for its lateness; two sick kids have drastically affected my productivity this week, but they're better and now I'm getting back to work.
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2011/02/03 12:10 CST
Dawn continues its flight through the asteroid belt, steadily heading toward its July rendezvous with Vesta, where it will take up residence for a year. On January 10, Dawn performed some of the activities that it will execute in its low altitude mapping orbit (LAMO) at Vesta.
Stardust update: trajectory correction successful
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/02/01 10:03 CST
Now that Stardust has images of its target comet to work with, the mission was able to figure out their relative positions more precisely, and they've gone ahead with an important rocket firing that shifts the spacecraft's aimpoint past the comet closer to the number that they want.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Mission Celebrates 7 Years of Exploration
Posted by A.J.S. Rayl on 2011/01/31 11:00 CST
Seven years ago this month, Spirit bounced down onto the surface of the Red Planet, rolled to a stop upright, and beeped home, ready to roll. Three weeks later, Opportunity not only bounced down safely and right into a small crater, but opened its "eyes" to see what the Mars Exploration Rovers had been sent to find signs that water had once flowed there.
Stardust update: Tempel 1 Ahoy!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/01/26 08:37 CST
It is with great relief that I now report that JPL announced this evening the sighting of Tempel 1 by Stardust, a mere month before the planned flyby.
IKAROS: self-portrait with Venus; primary mission complete
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/01/26 11:18 CST
JAXA posted a report today stating that IKAROS "has completed its regular operations."
Report from the 2011 New Horizons Science Team Meeting
Posted by Ted Stryk on 2011/01/24 01:01 CST
The annual New Horizons Science Team Meeting was held last week at NASA's Ames Research Center.
Stardust update: Tempel 1 not yet spotted by spacecraft, hopefully next week
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/01/22 03:13 CST
A new update has been posted to the Stardust website: The spacecraft continues to operate as expected and all subsystems are healthy on approach to comet Tempel 1.
Nanosail-D released into space
Posted by Louis D. Friedman on 2011/01/21 12:26 CST
NASA's Nanosail-D spacecraft surprised everyone, including its controllers, by suddenly deploying from its parent FASTSAT spacecraft and beginning its mission in space.
Posted by Charlene Anderson on 2011/01/20 06:00 CST
It was once thought lost in space, but it looks like NanoSail-D has ejected from its FastSat carrier and is preparing for deployment.
Stardust prepares for first second look at a comet: Tempel 1 on February 14
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/01/19 02:53 CST
A press briefing was held at NASA Headquarters this morning to preview the planned February 14 encounter by Stardust with Tempel 1. There aren't often lots of questions from media after these "preview" briefings, but today there were zero. That's not good.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/01/18 05:58 CST
Rosetta -- Europe's comet-chasing spacecraft -- is in the middle of a three-day series of rocket firings that are setting the geometry for its rendezvous with comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
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.
Stardust mission update: 38 days to Tempel 1
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/01/07 10:25 CST
Stardust is healthy after performing a "cold boot" to clear a memory address problem (a "memory address latch-up") that occurred late last year and caused the spacecraft to go into safe mode three times.
Dawn Journal: LAMO (Low Altitude Mapping Orbit)
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2011/01/05 03:35 CST
Dawn finishes 2010 much as it began the year, thrusting with its ion propulsion system in steady pursuit of a distant world.
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