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217 articles
Oceanography satellite ends 11-year mission
A joint U.S.-European satellite mission that measured rising sea levels for 11 years is ending due to the deteriorating condition of the spacecraft's power system, officials said Friday.

Intuitive Machines selects SpaceX to launch commercial lunar lander
Intuitive Machines confirmed plans Wednesday to launch a commercial lunar lander aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Space Coast in 2021 on a mission to deliver multiple payloads to the moon, including up to five science instruments for NASA.

LRO’s view of Chandrayaan 2 landing site obscured by shadows
An overflight last week of the Chandrayaan 2 landing site on the moon by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has turned up no clear sign of the lost Indian lander. Another flyover with better lighting conditions is scheduled next month.

Launch of South Korean lunar orbiter delayed to 2022
The launch of South Korea's first moon orbiter has been delayed from December 2020 until July 2022 after the mission encountered technical issues during development, officials recently announced.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft sees moon’s otherworldly shadow on Jupiter
Fresh images from NASA's Juno spacecraft show an ethereal shadow cast by Jupiter's volcanic moon Io on the planet's swirling cloud tops.

NASA, ESA officials seek formal approvals for Mars sample return mission
After crystallizing a partnership to retrieve samples from the surface of Mars and return them to Earth, NASA and European Space Agency officials are seeking government funding commitments before the end of this year to carry out a multibillion-dollar robotic mission that could depart Earth with a pair of rocket launches as soon as 2026.

NASA lunar orbiter to image Chandrayaan 2 landing site
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will try to locate India's Vikram lander on the moon during a flyover of the landing site Tuesday. Indian space officials said they found the disabled spacecraft on the moon using the country's own Chandrayaan 2 orbiter, but declined to release any images.

Mini-helicopter installed on NASA’s next Mars-bound rover
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California have attached a flying helicopter drone to the belly of the Mars 2020 rover set for launch next July.

Astrobotic lunar lander to launch on ULA’s first Vulcan rocket
Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based company developing a robotic lunar lander, will launch its first moon mission under contract to NASA on the debut flight of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket in 2021, officials announced Monday.
VideoMars 2020 rover on track for launch next July
The launch of NASA's Mars 2020 rover is less than a year away, and the steady pace of work inside the craft's pristine assembly hall in California is keeping the mission on schedule for liftoff from Cape Canaveral next July, despite growing costs, according to mission managers.