Snapshots from Space

Follow the thrilling adventures of planetary missions, past and present, and see the stunningly beautiful photos that they return from space!

What's up in the solar system, October 2016 edition: ExoMars arrives!

Emily Lakdawalla • October 04, 2016 • 2

ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter arrives on October 19, and it will deliver the Schiaparelli lander to its brief life on the Martian surface. Juno's headed into its science orbit, MOM has released science data, and New Horizons will finally finish downlinking Pluto flyby data.

Rosetta is gone

Emily Lakdawalla • September 30, 2016 • 6

Today there is one less spacecraft returning science data from beyond Earth. The European Space Operations Centre received the final transmission from Rosetta at 11:19 September 30, UT.

Rosetta spacecraft may be dying, but Rosetta science will go on

Emily Lakdawalla • September 29, 2016 • 3

The Rosetta mission will end tomorrow when the spacecraft impacts the comet. ESA took advantage of the presence of hundreds of members of the media to put on a showcase of Rosetta science. If there’s one thing I learned today from all the science presentations, it’s this: Rosetta data will be informing scientific work for decades to come.

OSIRIS-REx’s cameras see first light

Emily Lakdawalla • September 29, 2016

As OSIRIS-REx speeds away from Earth, it’s been turning on and testing out its various engineering functions and science instruments. Proof of happy instrument status has come from several cameras, including the star tracker, MapCam, and StowCam.

Rosetta end-of-mission event schedule

Emily Lakdawalla • September 27, 2016 • 3

A schedule of what to expect during Rosetta's final hours September 29 and 30, and how you can follow online.

Juno and Marble Movie update at Apojove 1

Emily Lakdawalla • September 22, 2016 • 4

Juno is on its second of two long orbits around Jupiter, reaching apojove (its farthest distance from the planet) today.

Where to find rapidly released space image data

Emily Lakdawalla • September 21, 2016 • 1

Interested in playing with recent space image data? Here's a list of places to get the freshest photos from space.

Some beautiful new (old) views of Neptune and Triton

Emily Lakdawalla • September 20, 2016 • 4

Beautiful new amateur work with 27-year-old Voyager data.

Successful launch for China's Tiangong-2 space station

Emily Lakdawalla • September 15, 2016

Today, China launched its second modular space station, Tiangong 2.

One year remains in the Cassini mission

Emily Lakdawalla • September 15, 2016 • 6

Cassini ends a year from today, which is sad. But the final year of the mission is going to be awesome.

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