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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Nifty GRAIL animation
A pair of lunar spacecraft is launching in two weeks, and NASA had their preview press briefing this morning. Notable from that briefing was this spiffy video.
GRAIL twins together on their rocket
It's the first time I've ever seen anything like this -- two identical spacecraft, side by side on one launch adapter ring.
Wheels on Cape York!
Opportunity's wheels are on a whole new different kind of rock: she has arrived at the rim of Endeavour crater, on Cape York.
Spirit Point and Odyssey crater in sight, and new rock under Opportunity's wheels
Opportunity is at her goal. In this 3D anaglyph, taken on sol 2678 (yesterday, August 6, 2011), Opportunity's wheels are resting on strange lumpy bedrock.
Junocam will get us great global shots down onto Jupiter's poles
Juno is a mission that will peer deeply into Jupiter's interior, and didn't really need to take a visible-light camera along in order to accomplish its scientific goals. But I think nobody could bear sending a spacecraft to Jupiter without getting pictures from up close. So they added Junocam.
Juno is on the way to Jupiter!
It almost looked like it wasn't going to happen today, but it did! At 16:25 UTC, a huge Atlas V 551 lifted off with the Juno spacecraft and sent it on its way to Jupiter.
Fun for the whole family: Watch an enormous rocket blast a spacecraft to Jupiter!
Do you have kids at home for the summer? Treat them to a spectacular fireworks show by tuning in tomorrow morning to watch Juno blast off to Jupiter!
Mountains rising for Opportunity
The views from Opportunity of Endeavour's near and distant rim peaks are getting ever more vertical as Opportunity approaches Cape York.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Closes in on Endeavour as Team Bids Farewell to Spirit
Opportunity seemed to sail with the wind behind her back toward the western rim of Endeavour Crater this month as the Mars Exploration Rover team shifted gears in preparation for a whole new adventure, taking time out only to bid a final farewell both privately and publicly to Spirit.
Phobos-Grunt and Yinghuo-1 have completed thermal vacuum testing
The Russian Phobos sample return mission, Phobos-Grunt, has passed a key milestone in its preparation for launch: it successfully completed its thermal vacuum testing in June.
What's up in the solar system in August 2011
August is supposed to be a lazy summer vacation month, but there's quite a lot going on in the solar system.
Dawn Journal: Dawn has arrived!
After covering 2.8 billion kilometers (1.7 billion miles) on its own, after traveling for nearly four years through the lonely emptiness of interplanetary space, after being bound by the gravity only of the sun, Dawn is finally in orbit around Vesta.
Opportunity's horizon rises -- and maybe brings Cape York into view
For miles and miles of Martian terrain, Opportunity's view forward has contained a distinctive line of hills—the far rim of Endeavour crater.
Congratulations to the Dawn team on their orbit entry & pretty pictures!
There's a new orbital mission on the map! As of Friday, the relatively small mass of the asteroid Vesta has finally taken hold of its new artificial satellite, Dawn.
Congratulations to Russia on the launch of Spektr-R (RadioAstron)
Good news from Russia today: after 20 years of development they have finally launched their RadioAstron satellite (the official name is Spektr-R) into a high elliptical orbit around Earth.
Hubble's Millionth Observation
The Hubble Space Telescope has recorded its millionth observation. The planet is designated HAT-P-7b.
Ever closer to Vesta
Here's a photo of Vesta that was released by the Dawn team on Friday. I didn't post it right away because the version of the image in the official release has some bizarre processing artifacts that make it look as though the image had been made by cutting construction paper.
Latest report from Akatsuki failure review board
JAXA held a press conference on June 30 about the latest report from the review board that is charged with finding out what exactly caused Akatsuki's failure to enter orbit at Venus, and what that implies for the possibility of Akatsuki to try again when it returns to Venus in 2015 or 2016.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Roves Back into Record Books, Spirit is Honored
Opportunity 'burned up' the Meridiani Plains in June as it raced toward its much-anticipated next destination and the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission cruised into the 90th month of what was originally to have been a 90-day tour.
What's up in the solar system in July 2011
Time again for my monthly look at what's going on with the robots exploring the solar system! It'll be a month full of routine activities for our intrepid explorers performing ongoing science at Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, and Saturn.