Articles

Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.

Fun With a New Data Set: The OSIRIS-REx Earth Flyby

The OSIRIS-REx team recently issued their first data release to the Planetary Data System. This release doesn’t include any closeup pictures of asteroid Bennu, but it does include all the pictures they took during their September 2017 Earth flyby.

Hayabusa2 has touched down on Ryugu!

Touchdown occurred at about 22:49 UTC on 21 February, and the spacecraft is healthy.

NASA’s Lucy mission gets caught in a fight between rocket companies

SpaceX says it wants to save NASA money, but its actions could cost taxpayers more in the end.

What to expect when Hayabusa2 collects a sample from Ryugu

More than 4 years after launch and a half year surveying asteroid Ryugu, Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft is ready for sample collection.

OSIRIS-REx stable in Bennu orbit, team refines sample collection plans

The team has yet to find a Bennu sample site that matches their pre-arrival expectations, meaning their plans will probably have to change.

Hayabusa2 team sets date for sample collection, considers two touchdown sites

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft will try to collect a sample from asteroid Ryugu during the week of 18 February, mission officials said during a press briefing last week.

News brief: OSIRIS-REx arrives in orbit at Bennu

Today at 19:43 UTC, OSIRIS-REx entered orbit at asteroid Bennu. In so doing, it accomplished both the tightest orbit (at an altitude under 2 kilometers) and the orbit of the smallest object ever. UPDATE: Early science results from OSIRIS-REx discussed at New Horizons MU69 flyby event.

Dawn Journal: Final Transmission

After more than 11 years in deep space, after unveiling the two largest uncharted worlds in the inner solar system, after overcoming myriad daunting obstacles, Dawn's interplanetary adventure has come to an end.

Flying By Home

Vicky Hamilton explores how OSIRIS-REx used its Earth flyby to test instruments on the way to asteroid Bennu.

News brief: OSIRIS-REx finds water on Bennu

OSIRIS-REx team members held a press briefing today at the 2018 American Geophysical Union meeting, and announced that the mission has already found water on asteroid Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx's approach surveys of asteroid Bennu (enhanced contrast)

"We have arrived!" OSIRIS-REx is officially at asteroid Bennu

After a 2-billion-kilometer journey that began in September 2016, NASA's OSIRS-REx spacecraft has arrived at Bennu.

Target marker outside landing zone L08-B

Hayabusa2 prepares for holiday break as Sun passes between Earth and asteroid Ryugu

The spacecraft will spend the end of 2018 a safe distance from Ryugu, as the Sun's position makes communications with Earth spotty.

Ryugu candidate landing site L08-B (wide)

Collecting a sample from asteroid Ryugu is going to be dicey

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft was scheduled to touch down on Ryugu later this month, but that has been delayed to early 2019.

Dawn Journal: 11 Years in Space

Dawn is celebrating its 11th anniversary of spaceflight. This is the last dawnniversary the spacecraft will see.

Heiligenschein Throughout the Solar System

When planetary scientist Brittney Cooper was scrolling through the downlinked images of Hayabusa2’s approach of asteroid Ryugu, a familiar sight caught her attention.

The surface of Ryugu from a few meters away

MASCOT landing on Ryugu a success

For 17 hours on 3 October, the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) lander sent data to the waiting Hayabusa2 orbiter from multiple locations on Ryugu.