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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
NASA Then & Now
A collection of before and after slider images showing how views of planets in our solar system have changed over the years since NASA was created.
Japan's asteroid hoppers deliver new batch of incredible images
Pics of Ryugu's surface show loose piles of gravel strewn with larger rocks and boulders.
Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully drops rovers on asteroid Ryugu
The two small spacecraft are the size and shape of cheese wheels, and can autonomously hop around the surface.
'Everything about this flyby is tougher': New Horizons just over 100 days from Ultima Thule
On Jan. 1, NASA's New Horizons will perform a high-risk, high-reward flyby of an ancient world on the outskirts of the solar system.
Feast your eyes on comet 67P's surface, with depth cues added
Mattias Malmer made it a little easier to figure out what Philae really saw in 2014.
Hayabusa2 stops short of close approach on first touchdown rehearsal
Hayabusa2 didn’t quite make it down to its intended 60-meter distance from asteroid Ryugu yesterday. There is nothing wrong with the spacecraft; it’s healthy and returning to its home position. The team will adjust parameters and give it another try in the future.
Dawn Journal: A Bit of Perspective
Like its human colleagues, Dawn started out on Earth, but now its permanent residence in the solar system, Ceres, is far, far away. Let's bring this cosmic landscape into perspective.
Dawn Journal: Denouement
A fantastic story of adventure, exploration and discovery is reaching its denouement. In the final phase of its long and productive deep-space mission, Dawn is operating flawlessly in orbit around dwarf planet Ceres.
OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons catch first sight of their targets
Both OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons achieved first light on their still-distant targets this week. Between now and the end of 2018, Bennu and 2014 MU69 will turn from points of light into places.
Hayabusa2 Team Announces Ryugu Landing Sites, Initial Science Survey Results
Two months after arrival, the team has reported some preliminary facts about Ryugu. They also announced the selection of candidate landing sites for the spacecraft sample collection, for the German-built MASCOT hopper, and for the MINERVA-II microrovers
Hayabusa2 descends again, this time to lower than 1000 meters above Ryugu
This week Hayabusa2 completed its closest approach yet to asteroid Ryugu. In a successful gravity measurement experiment on August 6, the spacecraft dipped to within 1 kilometer of the asteroid.
A second successful medium-altitude operation for Hayabusa2
For the second time, JAXA navigators have zoomed their cameras and other instruments in on asteroid Ryugu. The August 1 operation was quicker than the previous one, requiring only 26 hours for the descent, science, and ascent.
Hayabusa2 descends from Home Position to take its first close look at Ryugu
Last week, Hayabusa2 approached to within 6000 meters of the surface of Ryugu, taking new photos. The team has developed a set of terminology to describe Hayabusa2's navigational positions around the asteroid.