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Space Missions
Our Emissaries Across the Solar System
Earth has launched thousands of spacecraft, but precious few have made it beyond Earth orbit. Currently, 13 spacecraft representing 11 missions are actively gathering science data from planetary destinations. These are MESSENGER at Mercury; Venus Express at Venus; Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, GRAIL, and ARTEMIS at the Moon; Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Opportunity at Mars; Dawn at Vesta; and Cassini at Saturn.
Meanwhile, Curiosity is on its way to Mars, Rosetta to a comet, New Horizons to Pluto, and Akatsuki attempting to retry a Venus arrival, while Chang'E 2 and both Voyagers have turned from planetary to heliophysics missions, and IKAROS' condition is unknown. All of these missions follow in the footsteps of dozens of predecessors, the few human-built artifacts ever to have departed Earth.
Recent Mission Status Updates
Quick Rosetta update: Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a contact binary!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2014/07/15 08:42 CDT | 17 comments
I could not wait to post these amazing new images of comet Churymov-Gerasimenko from Rosetta. The nucleus of the comet is clearly a contact binary -- two smaller (and unequally sized object) in close contact.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Nears End of Murray Ridge, Pillinger Point Christened
Posted by A.J.S. Rayl on 2014/07/03 03:44 CDT | 6 comments
Opportunity got off to a bumpy start in June, but the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission pressed on, continuing the exploration of Murray Ridge at the western rim of Endeavour Crater.
Space Mission Timelines
A list of key dates and basic facts on all the missions that have explored Venus.
The missions, both successful and failed, that have flown by, orbited, or landed on the Red Planet and its moons
The spacecraft that have traveled to asteroids, outer planets, comets, and beyond
Cassini’s Tour of the Saturn System
13 years, 250 orbits, and 127 gravity-assist flybys – explore the Saturn system with NASA's Cassini mission.
Space mission artwork, snapshots of construction, launches, and photos of spacecraft in space
Spacecraft that study our dynamic Sun and help us understand how it affects our planet.
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LightSail - Flight by Light
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LightSail-1 will attempt to demonstrate controlled solar sailing—flight by light—for CubeSats (tiny, low-cost satellites).
In 2016, The Planetary Society’s LightSail program will take the technology a step further.
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