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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Cargo craft mania! A quick guide to four days of Dragon and Progress at the ISS
Two cargo spacecraft are heading to the International Space Station as part of a choreographed, four-day dance that begins this weekend. Here's a quick guide.
Mars 2020 rover rolls into final design and fabrication phase
NASA's next Mars rover is rolling off the drawing board and into its final design and fabrication phase, the agency announced today, during a televised event at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that highlighted some of the mission's technology.
Listen Up! Microphones to Fly to Mars
The Mars 2020 mission will carry microphones in its EDL package and its SuperCam instrument, which will enable us to finally hear the sounds of Mars. The Planetary Society has been trying to get microphones to Mars for 20 years and is ecstatic that these will fly.
Pluto is not the end
One year after the New Horizons Pluto flyby, Emily reflects on its significance.
Test stand glitch halts SLS engine firing in Mississippi
A test stand problem cut short today's test-firing of a Space Launch System development engine at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
Videos and updates: LightSail 2 shows off magnetic personality
It's been a few weeks since LightSail 2 passed its day-in-the-life test at Cal Poly. Here's a roundup of updates that were made in response to the test results, and a look at the project's next steps.
New Horizons Science Team Meeting Report
On July 6 at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, the science team convened at the place where Pluto was discovered. Ted Stryk reports from the meeting.
Jupiter's Clouds: A Primer
With Juno arriving at Jupiter, Justin Cowart gives us a lesson on the giant planet's varied cloud patterns.
Five years after Atlantis' last launch, five favorite stories about the shuttle program
On the five-year anniversary of the final space shuttle launch, Jason Davis shares five of his favorite stories about the program.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Begins Final Science Campaign in Marathon Valley
The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission entered its 150th month of surface exploration in June as Opportunity began checking off the last science investigations in Marathon Valley, and the crew on Earth looked ahead to the future past.
Oppositions, conjunctions, seasons, and ring plane crossings of the giant planets
When are the solstices and equinoxes on the giant planets, and when are they best positioned for view from Earth? I ask these questions a lot as I write about Earth photos of giant planets, and I finally decided to gather the answers to those questions in a single post.
That new Soyuz smell: Next ISS trio launches tonight aboard upgraded crew craft
Expedition 48 crewmembers Kate Rubins, Takuya Onishi and Anatoly Ivanishin begin a two-day trip to the International Space Station tonight aboard a newly upgraded Soyuz MS spacecraft.
Multimedia roundup: Flawless ride to orbit for Expedition 48 crew
Expedition 48 crewmembers Kate Rubins, Takuya Onishi and Anatoly Ivanishin are safely in orbit following an early morning launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Juno has arrived!
For a second time, NASA has placed a spacecraft into orbit at Jupiter. The spacecraft operated exactly according to plan, and Juno successfully entered orbit today, July 5, 2016, UTC
A peek at the JunoCam approach movie
We're now just about 12 hours away from Juno's Jupiter orbit insertion. As anticipation ramps up, NASA has released this sneak peek at JunoCam's approach movie, made of views of Jupiter and its largest moons shot during the final approach, up until about five days ago.
What's up in the solar system, July 2016 edition: Juno to enter orbit, NASA missions all extended
Highlights this month include the impending arrival of Juno at Jupiter, the approval of extended missions for all of NASA's solar system spacecraft, and public data releases from Rosetta, New Horizons, and Cassini.
How to watch Juno's orbit insertion
The big day is almost here. Juno begins firing its main engine at 20:18 PT / 23:18 ET / 03:18 UT on July 4/5, and the maneuver should be over 35 minutes later at 20:53 / 23:53 / 03:53. Here's how you can follow the mission through its most hazardous event since launch.
Juno's first taste of science from Jupiter
Jupiter is growing in Juno's forward view as the spacecraft approaches for its orbit insertion July 5 (July 4 in the Americas). The mission has released images from JunoCam and sonifications of data from the plasma waves instrument as Juno begins to sense Jupiter.
Big booster blasts Utah hillside, and NASA discusses Journey to Mars
NASA and Orbital ATK successfully completed a qualification motor firing of a five-segment solid rocket booster that will fly on the Space Launch System in 2018.
Watch a test of the world's largest solid rocket booster tomorrow on NASA TV
Tomorrow morning at 10:05 a.m. EDT (14:05 UTC), NASA and Orbital ATK are test-firing the world's largest solid rocket booster in northern Utah. You can follow along live on NASA TV.