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Planetary News: The Planetary Society (2007)The Year in Pictures: 2007
By Emily Lakdawalla The year 2007 certainly has been one of the most active in planetary exploration. Of the 20 robotic spacecraft in operation, 11 returned images to Earth from four planets plus numerous moons, including our own recently neglected natural satellite. Mars remains, for the present, the main focus of exploration efforts, with five spacecraft devoted to studying it. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter joined Mars Odyssey and Mars Express in mapping the Red Planet, witnessing from space a dust storm that blocked the surface and threatened the survival of the two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The rovers weathered the storm and in so doing passed the milestone of two complete Mars years of surface operation. All three orbiters have been hard at work preparing for the next Mars landers, performing detailed mapping of possible future landing sites. The European Space Agency’s comet chaser Rosetta briefly joined the party at Mars, flying by in January, and Phoenix launched in August for a 2008 Mars landing. Looking farther outward, Cassini completed nearly 20 orbits of Saturn, most of them swinging the spacecraft far above and below the ring plane. The top-down view resulted in a few close flybys of the small moons and also permitted Cassini both to return the first-ever views of the globe of Saturn floating free within its disk of rings and to map the north polar lake district of Titan. At the end of the year, a special, costly maneuver flew Cassini past distant Iapetus, returning bizarre images that likely will raise as many questions as they answer. Not to be outdone by Saturn, Jupiter performed its own tricks as New Horizons picked up a gravity assist there. The Pluto-bound spacecraft effectively accomplished a bonus space mission, returning spectacular data both on a planet consumed in a global upheaval and on a moon, Io, in the throes of volcanic activity. No spacecraft is visiting Uranus, but observatories all around and above Earth spent 2007 watching that planet closely, as the approach of its December equinox—and the first sunrise at its north pole in 42 years—brought Earth briefly to the dark side of Uranus’ ring plane. Closer to home, in 2007, two spacecraft were active at Venus: ESA’s Venus Express and NASA’s MESSENGER. (MESSENGER’s visit was brief—a gravity swingby to drop it inward toward Mercury.) This year also saw Earth return to the Moon with the launches of Japan’s Kaguya and China’s Chang'e-1; these missions inaugurated the International Lunar Decade. The performance of comet McNaught in the southern skies as the year opened, and Holmes in Perseus as it came to a close, reminded us that sometimes, all you need is your own eyes to appreciate the wondrous beauty of the solar system. These selected pictures hit just a few of the significant events of 2007. You can begin at the beginning or click on one of the thumbnails below. The Planetary Society creates ways for the you to play an active role in space exploration.We develop innovative technologies, support astronomers hunting for hazardous asteroids and planets orbiting other stars, search for extraterrestrial life, and influence decision makers , ensuring the future of space exploration. Together, we make exploration happen!
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