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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
LightSail 2 Marks 1 Month of Solar Sailing
LightSail 2's orbital high point around the Earth has raised by 7.2 kilometers, without any conventional fuel.
Mars 2020 Rover almost Assembled
Last week, technicians installed the carousel that holds the tools and drill bits that will be used to collect samples for future return to Earth.
Chandrayaan-2 Enters Lunar Orbit
The combination lander, rover, and orbiter fired its main engine to enter orbit around the Moon at 09:02 IST (03:32 UTC) on 20 August.
OSIRIS-REx Team Picks 4 Candidate Sample Sites on Asteroid Bennu
The sites each have unique characteristics that would advance the field of asteroid science.
How to See LightSail 2 in the Night Sky
If your latitude is within 42 degrees of the equator, there's a chance you may be able to spot LightSail 2's reflective solar sail.
Chandrayaan-2 Headed for Lunar Orbit
At 02:21 IST (20:51 UTC), the spacecraft fired its main engine, changing its orbit to intersect with the Moon.
Hayabusa2 Nailed its Second Touchdown on Asteroid Ryugu
JAXA's sample collection spacecraft touched down just 60 centimeters away from its aimpoint.
LightSail 2 Nears 2 Weeks of Solar Sailing
The high point of the spacecraft's orbit around the Earth on Monday was 729 kilometers, an increase of 3.2 kilometers since sail deployment.
LightSail 2 Spacecraft Successfully Demonstrates Flight by Light
In the past 4 days, the spacecraft has raised its orbital high point, or apogee, by about 2 kilometers.
LightSail 2 Successfully Deploys Solar Sail
Images from The Planetary Society's spacecraft confirm the solar sails deployed on 23 July 2019 at 11:47 PDT (18:47 UTC).
LightSail 2 Sail Deployment Scheduled for Tuesday
The target ground station pass for deployment starts 23 July 2019 at roughly 11:22 PDT (18:22 UTC).
Live Coverage: LightSail 2 Sail Deployment
Visit planetary.org/live for video and audio from mission control, located at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California.
LightSail 2 Team Continues Tweaks and Tests for Sail Deployment
Spare bandwidth during ground station passes has allowed flight controllers to downlink 2 new high-resolution images.
Planetary Society-funded Technology Picked by NASA for Possible Moon Flight
PlanetVac, a technology that simplifies the process of collecting samples from other worlds, may fly to the Moon.
LightSail 2 Team to Conduct More Testing before Sail Deployment
Sail deployment is now scheduled for no earlier than 21 July 2019.
Here are the First Pictures of Earth from LightSail 2
Pictures taken by the spacecraft's cameras Friday evening show a crescent Earth, as LightSail 2 heads into orbital sunset.
See the Latest Data from LightSail 2 on Our New Mission Control Dashboard
Would you like to see the latest data from The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft—possibly before flight controllers have even seen it? Now you can!
LightSail 2 Healthy as Mission Team Continues Spacecraft Checkouts
The mission team is working through a 73-step checklist to check out the spacecraft’s systems and perform various tests.
Orion Completes Critical In-Flight Abort Test
The test showed Orion can blast itself away from the Space Launch System if the big rocket fails while attempting to fly to orbit.
First Contact! LightSail 2 Phones Home to Mission Control
The mission team received LightSail 2's first signals on 2 July at 01:34 PDT (08:34 UTC), as the spacecraft passed over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California.