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

International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE-3)

"IT'S ALIVE!"

That's the subject line of an email that Lou Friedman forwarded to me last week. He'd received it from Robert Farquhar, who has a long and distinguished career as flight director for numerous space missions. The

Dawn in survey orbit at Ceres

Dawn Journal: One Year Since Launch

On the first anniversary of its departure from Earth, Dawn continues with what it has been doing for most of its time in space. With the greatest patience, it is gently reshaping its orbit around the Sun with its ion propulsion system.

Mariner 6 and 7 mosaic of Sinus Meridiani

Opportunity's got a long road ahead

Mars Exploration Rover principal investigator Steve Squyres announced on National Public Radio's Science Friday show the next goal for Opportunity, and it's a long, long, long way away: a huge crater about 12 kilometers southeast of its current location, which the team is referring to internally as

Curiosity, or Mars Science Laboratory

MSL Workshop: Votes are Cast!

The discussion and arguments are over! We are just waiting for the last few ballots to be submitted, and then the project science group will start counting them.

Curiosity, or Mars Science Laboratory

MSL One Year from Launch

One year from today, the Mars Science Laboratory will launch. It seems fitting that the workshop during which we choose the final three possible landing sites begins today.

Mars Exploration Rover

The Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Exits Victoria Crater, Spirit Picks Up Pace on Panorama

Clear skies and a warming Sun brightened winter in the southern hemisphere of the Red Planet, giving the Mars Exploration Rovers, appropriately enough, an august month. Opportunity packed up, left Cape Verde in the dust, and made headlines when it roved out of Victoria Crater last Thursday. On the other side of the planet, Spirit picked up the pace of photographing its surroundings for its next big, 360-degree, full color panorama.

HiRISE Looks at Victoria Crater

Opportunity's ready for a new adventure!

It's official: Opportunity is out of Victoria. A news release from JPL stated today that Opportunity has, as of late yesterday (sol 1,634), exited Victoria crater.

Mars Exploration Rover

The Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Bides Winter Time, Opportunity Wraps Victoria and Begins Exit

After cruising through winter solstice in late June, the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) roved into July taking every advantage of a winter that is by all appearances now proving to be rather mild for the Red Planet. At Gusev Crater, Spirit managed to maintain its power level and get back to doing a little bit of science, while on the other side of the planet, at Meridiani Planum, Opportunity finished photographing Cape Verde and began to chart its course back to Duck Bay where it will exit Victoria Crater.

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