Sunday: January 4, 2004  1057 GMT
NASA's Spirit Rover successfully lands on Mars
Cushioned by giant airbags, the Spirit rover bounced to a successful landing on Mars late Saturday and beamed back pictures from the surface three hours after touchdown. The black-and-white images showed Spirit landed on a rock-strewn plain, in a relatively level orientation facing south across the floor of Gusev crater, once the site of a vast lake.
   FULL STORY
   SCIENTIST THRILLED WITH LANDING SITE
   ENTRY, DESCENT AND LANDING TIMELINE
   THE GUSEV CRATER
   SCIENCE OBJECTIVES

FIRST IMAGES:
   SPIRIT'S VIEW OF THE MARTIAN HORIZON
   MARS ORBITER VIEW OF LANDING SITE
   FIRST IMAGES ON MISSION CONTROL SCREEN
   NASA CHIEF VIEWS EARLY IMAGES
   360-DEGREE OVERHEAD VIEW OF LANDING SITE
   SPIRIT ROVER SITTING ON ITS LANDER
   SCIENTISTS ADMIRE THE FIRST VIEWS
   DESCENT CAMERA IMAGE OF LANDING SITE
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: THE MOMENT MISSION CONTROL HEARS SPIRIT'S SIGNAL QT
   VIDEO: THE SUCCESSFUL LANDING DESCRIBED AT NEWS BRIEFING QT
   VIDEO: FIRST IMAGES ARE DISCUSSED AT OVERNIGHT CONFERENCE QT
   VIDEO: ENTRY, DESCENT & LANDING SEQUENCE EXPLAINED QT
   VIDEO: EXPLANATION OF ROVER'S POST-LANDING EVENTS QT

   VIDEO: SATURDAY'S PRE-LANDING STATUS BRIEFING QT
   VIDEO: NASA OFFICIALS HOLD INFORMAL CHAT WITH REPORTERS QT
   VIDEO: WATCH FRIDAY'S MARS PROGRAM BRIEFING QT
   VIDEO: MARS SCIENCE IS DETAILED IN THIS NEWS CONFERENCE QT
   MORE: COMPLETE MARS EXPLORATION ROVER VIDEO REPORT
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Spirit set for its first full day on martian surface
The primary goal of tonight's activity is to deploy, check out and begin using the rover's main high-gain antenna, the link flight controllers will use throughout the mission to send commands to the spacecraft. Overnight, scientists hope to downlink a spectacular color image from Spirit's high-resolution stereo panoramic camera.
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   SPIRIT LANDS IN SCIENCE 'SWEET SPOT'
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: MIDDAY BRIEFING ON SPIRIT'S HEALTH AND LANDING SITE QT
   VIDEO: TAKE SIMULATED FLIGHT OVER THE GUSEV CRATER! QT
   VIDEO: BEHIND THE SCENES AT MOMENT OF TOUCHDOWN QT
   VIDEO: CHEERS AND SCREAMS WHEN SPIRIT CONFIRMED ALIVE QT
   MORE: COMPLETE MARS EXPLORATION ROVER VIDEO REPORT
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Saturday: January 3, 2004  0321 GMT
Rover lands on Mars tonight
After a seven-month journey from Earth to Mars, the Spirit rover arrives at the Red Planet tonight with a tense six-minute descent to the surface. Touchdown in the Gusev Crater is scheduled for 11:35 p.m. EST (0435 GMT).
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
   ENTRY, DESCENT AND LANDING TIMELINE
   THE GUSEV CRATER
   SCIENCE OBJECTIVES
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: TODAY'S PRE-LANDING STATUS BRIEFING QT
   VIDEO: NASA OFFICIALS HOLD INFORMAL CHAT WITH REPORTERS QT
   VIDEO: WATCH FRIDAY'S MARS PROGRAM BRIEFING QT
   VIDEO: MARS SCIENCE IS DETAILED IN THIS NEWS CONFERENCE QT
   MORE: COMPLETE MARS EXPLORATION ROVER VIDEO REPORT
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Scientists elated with comet flyby results
The Stardust probe flew through at least two significant jets of debris during its approach to comet Wild 2 Friday and captured a stunning image of the comet's icy heart showing overlapping pits and depressions where material boiled off in the past.
   FULL STORY
   SEE IMAGES
Stardust intercepts comet to gather samples
Blasted by icy particles striking at 4 miles per second -- six times faster than a rifle bullet -- NASA's armored Stardust probe flew within 150 miles of a 3-mile-wide comet Friday, capturing primordial debris left over from the birth of the solar system 4.2 billion years ago.
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   MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: STARDUST SURVIVES CLOSEST APPROACH TO COMET QT
   VIDEO: FIRST IMAGES RELEASED AT NEWS CONFERENCE QT

   VIDEO: PRE-ENCOUNTER INTERVIEW WITH PROGRAM MANAGER QT
   VIDEO: MISSION PLANNER DESCRIBES STARDUST'S CHALLENGES QT
   VIDEO: DESCRIPTION OF THE STARDUST SCIENCE PROGRAM QT
   VIDEO: REPORT ON THE STARDUST SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS QT
   VIDEO: INTERVIEW EXPLAINS STARDUST'S CAMERA SYSTEM QT
   VIDEO: LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EXOTIC AEROGEL MATERIAL QT
   VIDEO: AN INTERVIEW WITH STARDUST'S NAVIGATOR QT
   VIDEO: A LOOK AHEAD TO DEEP IMPACT COMET MISSION QT

   VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF THE SEVEN-YEAR STARDUST MISSION QT
   VIDEO: ANIMATION OF STARDUST COLLECTING COMET SAMPLES QT
   VIDEO: STARDUST RETURNS TO EARTH AND PARACHUTES TO UTAH QT
   VIDEO: ENCOUNTER DETAILED BY 39-MINUTE NEWS CONFERENCE QT
   ADDITIONAL VIDEO COVERAGE
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Friday: January 2, 2004  0501 GMT
Stardust to rendezvous with comet today
On a daring first-of-its-kind quest, an armored space probe will race past a three-mile-wide comet today to collect samples of the ancient relic that serves as a frozen time capsule from the formation of our solar system.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
   EXPLANATION OF HOW ENCOUNTER OCCURS
   SCIENCE OBJECTIVES OF STARDUST MISSION
   FACTS ABOUT THE TARGETED COMET
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF THE SEVEN-YEAR STARDUST MISSION QT
   VIDEO: ANIMATION OF STARDUST COLLECTING COMET SAMPLES QT
   VIDEO: STARDUST RETURNS TO EARTH AND PARACHUTES TO UTAH QT
   VIDEO: ENCOUNTER DETAILED BY 39-MINUTE NEWS CONFERENCE QT
   ADDITIONAL VIDEO COVERAGE
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2003: A year scarred by Columbia tragedy
The past 12 months have seen many historic and tragic moments in space exploration. From the obvious impact of the loss of space shuttle Columbia February 1 to the resounding success of the maiden Chinese manned spaceflight in October, space enthusiasts and industry insiders alike will have a lot to remember from 2003.
   FULL STORY
   NASA'S YEAR IN REVIEW
Boeing gets $1 billion space station contract extension
NASA has extended a primary contract for the International Space Station for On-Orbit Acceptance and Vehicle Sustaining services to The Boeing Company. The basic period of the cost-plus-award-fee contract extension is two years and nine months with an estimated value as much as $1 billion.
   FULL STORY
Thursday: January 1, 2004  0257 GMT
Twin roving geologists bound for surface of Mars
Building on past successes -- and learning from embarrassing failures -- NASA is poised to jump start its Mars exploration program by sending a pair of "monster truck" rovers to the Red Planet in an $800 million mission to search for clues about what happened to the water than once carved the martian surface.
   FULL STORY
   SCIENCE OBJECTIVES
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: NEWS CONFERENCE PREVIEWING ROVER LANDINGS QT
   EARLIER VIDEO FROM SPIRIT'S LAUNCH
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Giant airbags will give rovers' landings a bounce
If all goes well, Mars rover "Spirit" will slam into the atmosphere of the Red Planet on Saturday night, at an angle of 11.5 degrees, an altitude of about 80 miles and a velocity of 12,000 mph. Eight seconds before touchdown, giant airbags will suddenly inflate, encapsulating the spacecraft in a protective cocoon.
   FULL STORY
   ENTRY, DESCENT AND LANDING TIMELINE
   THE GUSEV CRATER
Wednesday: December 31, 2003  0701 GMT
Stardust zooms to close encounter of the comet kind
On a daring first-of-its-kind quest, an armored space probe will race past a three-mile-wide comet Friday to collect samples of the ancient relic that serves as a frozen time capsule from the formation of our solar system.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
   EXPLANATION OF HOW ENCOUNTER OCCURS
   SCIENCE OBJECTIVES OF STARDUST MISSION
   FACTS ON THE TARGETED COMET
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: ENCOUNTER DETAILED BY 39-MINUTE NEWS CONFERENCE QT
   ADDITIONAL VIDEO COVERAGE
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Tuesday: December 30, 2003  1557 GMT
Mars Express reaches new orbit around Red Planet
The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft performed a major maneuver Tuesday, changing its initial "capture" orbit achieved on Christmas morning to a new orbit needed for the probe's scientific investigations of the Red Planet.
   FULL STORY
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
   PREVIOUS COVERAGE
Planetary survivor strategy: Outeat, outweigh, outlast
Of the first 100 stars found to harbor planets, more than 30 stars host a Jupiter-sized world in an orbit smaller than Mercury's, whizzing around its star in a matter of days. Planet formation is a contest, where a growing planet must fight for survival lest it be swallowed by the star that initially nurtured it.
   FULL STORY
China launches joint European science satellite
The first of two new international science satellites was launched from a Chinese launch pad Monday, ending that nation's most active year in space and opening the next chapter in learning about the complicated relationship between Earth and our Sun.
   FULL STORY - updated
Monday: December 29, 2003  1137 GMT
Obstacle found at heart of Beagle landing zone
The first clear view of the specific area where the British Beagle 2 lander should have touched down Christmas Day has revealed a one-kilometer crater dead center in the target landing zone, but officials were quick to say the discovery doesn't dash their optimism of finding the missing craft.
   FULL STORY
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
Launch will probe magnetic bubble surrounding Earth
The first of two internationally-developed research satellites is poised for launch today from China to begin its mission of evaluating the complicated relationship between the Sun and Earth. The Double Star project a joint effort between the European and Chinese space programs.
   FULL STORY
Proton launches Russian communications satellite
The first in a new series of Russian communications satellites successfully rose to space Sunday night aboard a Proton rocket. The Russian-made booster lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2300 GMT (6 p.m. EST) carrying the domestic Express AM-22 communications satellite.
   FULL STORY - updated
News Archive
Dec. 22-28: European invasion at Mars: Mars Express successfully enters orbit, but no one hears Beagle's bark; Israeli satellite rides Russian Soyuz into space; First Mercury orbiter shipped for prelaunch tests.

Dec. 15-21: Atlas rocket launches on Centennial of Flight; First images unveiled from SIRTF -- renamed the Spitzer Space Telescope; Boeing Delta 2 rocket soars with GPS satellite; Beagle 2 released to hunt for life on Martian surface.

Dec. 8-14: Spaceflight Now interviews station's resident crew; Japan's star-crossed Mars mission ends in failure; Boeing's big Delta 4 booster journeys to the launch pad; Why astrobiologists look to Saturn's moon Titan; Details of Saturn become visible to Cassini spacecraft; A giant cocoon discovered around massive young star; GALEX observatory captures galaxies galore.

Dec. 1-7: Atlas rocket successfully soars on secret mission; Atlas launch pad at Vandenberg getting extensive facelift; Mars Express snaps its first view of Red Planet; NASA scientists use radar to detect asteroid force; NASA cites progress in earthquake research.

Nov. 24-30: Japanese launch of spy satellites fails; Cheap method developed for solar system hunt; NASA successfully tests futuristic ion engine; Radiation monitoring device fails on Mars spacecraft.

Nov. 17-23: O'Keefe: time is right for new space vision; Shuttle Enterprise arrives at Smithsonian museum; Launch of Einstein's space experiment postponed; Feature story on Heavy-lifting version of Delta 4; Ulysses gives first 3-D observations of sun storms.

More news  See our weekly archive of space news.


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Apollo 11 special patch
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Gemini 7
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Apollo 9 DVD
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