Q&A with Marc Rayman, chief engineer on NASA’s Dawn mission (members only)

Closing out 52 days at the International Space Station, an automated Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft left the research outpost Sunday to climb into a higher orbit for deployment of six CubeSats and further engineering experiments, before de-orbiting over Pacific Ocean later this month.

A camera riding on Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft recorded stunning views of the probe’s final descent to asteroid Ryugu last month, showing the rocky debris kicked up by the robot explorer’s touch-and-go landing to collect a sample for return to Earth.

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket will deliver a Cygnus supply ship into orbit Saturday to begin a pursuit of the International Space Station.