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Sunday:
July 4, 2004 | |
0814 GMT |
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Cassini close ups of Titan thrill, mystify scientists
New pictures of Saturn's enigmatic moon Titan, taken by cameras aboard the Cassini probe show strange looking surface features and a deck of methane clouds the size of Arizona. But so far, the instruments have not detected reflections from the surfaces of lakes or small seas of liquid hydrocarbons many scientists believe must form in the ultra-cold environment.
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Saturday:
July 3, 2004 | |
0557 GMT |
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Cassini finds puzzles in Saturn's ring ingredients
Just two days after the Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn orbit, preliminary science results are already beginning to show a complex and fascinating planetary system. One early result intriguing scientists concerns Saturn's Cassini Division, the large gap between the A and B rings.
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Reading tale of ions in Saturn's magnetosphere
The Cassini spacecraft has barely begun its four-year tour around Saturn, but already a University of Maryland sensor is beginning to reveal new data about the immense magnetosphere of the ringed planet.
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Station gyro restarted
The International Space Station is again operating with three of its four control gyroscopes, thanks
to this week's spacewalk by the Expedition 9 crew. Flight controllers on Friday placed Control Moment Gyroscope #2 back in full operation along with CMGs #3 and #4. The three CMGs are now controlling the Station's attitude and orientation.
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Friday:
July 2, 2004 | |
0001 GMT |
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Scientists marvel at photos
Making gravity visible, close-up images of Saturn's rings shot by NASA's newly arrived Cassini probe revealed an intricate, never-before-seen tapestry of icy particles herded into spiralling density waves by the effects of nearby moons.
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Hubble studies generations of star formation
The Hubble Space Telescope captures the iridescent tapestry of star birth in a neighbouring galaxy in this panoramic view of glowing gas, dark dust clouds, and young, hot stars.
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Thursday:
July 1, 2004 | |
1400 GMT |
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Welcome to Saturn!
NASA's $3.3 billion Cassini probe completed a seven-year, 2.2-billion mile voyage Wednesday night, firing its main engine for a nerve-wracking 96 minutes to successfully brake into orbit around the ringed planet Saturn.
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First pictures from Saturn orbit show rich ring detail
The first batch of photographs snapped by the Cassini Saturn orbiter earlier today reached the Jet Propulsion Laboratory around 8:30 a.m. EDT, zoomed-in shots of the planet's myriad rings showing a ghostly tapestry of icy, back-lit particles arrayed in sharply defined bands.
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IMAGES FROM CASSINI
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OTHER CASSINI HEADLINES Additional stories today
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Instrument aims at Saturn's space environment -- As NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft begins its four-year orbital tour of the Saturn system, mission scientists will use an innovative imaging device to deliver the most detailed look yet at the relationship between the Sun, the giant ringed planet and the diverse collection of moons looping around it.
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Station crew steps outside for successful spacewalk
A critical space station repair spacewalk that was aborted last week due to a spacesuit problem was successfully carried out Wednesday as commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Mike Fincke ventured outside to replace a faulty circuit breaker in the outpost's orientation control system.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
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Wednesday:
June 30, 2004 | |
0449 GMT |
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Cassini mission hinges on Wednesday's engine firing
After a seven-year voyage from Earth, NASA's $3.3 billion Cassini probe is racing toward a make-or-break rocket firing Wednesday, a 96-minute maneuver designed to put the craft in orbit around the ringed planet Saturn for a four-year scientific odyssey.
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OTHER CASSINI HEADLINES Additional stories today
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Saturn's rotation is a puzzle -- On approach to Saturn, data obtained by the Cassini spacecraft are already posing a puzzling question: How long is the day on Saturn? Cassini took readings of the day-length indicator regarded as most reliable -- the rhythm of natural radio signals from the planet. The result was 6 minutes longer than that measured by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew by Saturn in 1980 and 1981.
Plasma noise burst welcomes Cassini at Saturn -- Although Cassini is scheduled to officially arrive at Saturn on June 30, scientists studying the planet's magnetosphere received an official welcome on June 27 when a burst of plasma wave noise indicated that Cassini had crossed the planet's bow shock -- the region where charged particles flowing outward from the sun collide with Saturn's magnetic field or magnetosphere.
Winds measured on Saturn's moon Titan to help lander -- On top the windswept summit of a Hawaiian volcano, a NASA instrument attached to the Japanese Subaru telescope measured distant winds raging on a strange world -- Titan, the giant moon of Saturn -- to help the robotic Huygens probe as it descends through Titan's murky atmosphere next January.
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Mercury orbiter's launch delayed a few days
Repeated delays in launching a Delta 2 rocket carrying a Global Positioning System satellite this month at Cape Canaveral have created a ripple effect by prompting NASA to postpone by three days the liftoff of the MESSENGER space probe to orbit Mercury.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Station crew to conduct spacewalk on Wednesday
A critical space station repair spacewalk that was aborted last week due to a spacesuit problem will be reattempted Wednesday. The astronauts will replace a faulty circuit breaker to restore power for a gyroscope that helps control the station's orientation in orbit.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Tuesday:
June 29, 2004 | |
1802 GMT |
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Sea Launch rocket fails to put satellite in correct orbit
An Asian telecommunications spacecraft was deployed in the wrong orbit by its sea-launched rocket early Tuesday, but the satellite's maker is confident that the altitude shortfall can be overcome without jeopardizing the mission.
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MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Seeing double: Spitzer captures our galaxy's twin
What would our Milky Way galaxy look like if we could travel outside it and snap a picture? It might look a lot like a new image by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of a spiral galaxy called NGC 7331 - a virtual twin of our Milky Way. The picture shows our twin as never before. Its swirling arms spin outward from a central bulge of light, which is outlined by a ring of actively forming stars.
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Saturn's rotation is a puzzle
On approach to Saturn, data obtained by the Cassini spacecraft are already posing a puzzling question: How long is the day on Saturn? Cassini took readings of the day-length indicator regarded as most reliable -- the rhythm of natural radio signals from the planet. The result was 6 minutes longer than that measured by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew by Saturn in 1980 and 1981.
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Satellite cluster launched
A Russian Dnepr booster successfully deployed eight small satellites into Sun-synchronous orbit for several countries this morning. The converted SS-18 missile launched at 0630 GMT (2:30 a.m. EDT) from a silo at Baikonur Cosmodrome. The cargo included the French Demeter spacecraft, tiny communications craft for Saudi Arabia and an amateur radio satellite.
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Monday:
June 28, 2004 | |
1545 GMT |
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Station spacewalk expected to slip to Wednesday
A critical space station repair spacewalk that was aborted last week due to a spacesuit problem is expected to slip from Tuesday to Wednesday night, officials said today. The schedule shift, if approved Tuesday by NASA's mission management team, means the spacewalk would be underway at the same time NASA's $3.3 billion Cassini probe is braking into orbit around Saturn.
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Scientists discover two new interstellar molecules
A team of scientists using the Green Bank Telescope has discovered two new molecules in an interstellar cloud near the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. This discovery is already helping astronomers better understand the complex processes by which large molecules form in space.
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Asian satellite ready for Sea Launch ride to orbit
The three-day, highly-automated countdown for the next Sea Launch mission culminates with Monday night's liftoff of the Zenit 3SL rocket carrying an Asian telecommunications satellite into space from a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Scientists reveal stunning pictures of Saturn's moon Titan and other results during this news conference from July 3. (38min 17sec file)
Cassini's stunning close-up images of the rings around Saturn, taken just after the craft entered orbit Thursday morning, are presented with expert narration by Carolyn Porco, the mission imaging team leader. (8min 39sec file)
Mission control erupts in applause as communications from Cassini confirm the orbit insertion burn has begun. (60sec file)
Signals from Cassini announce the conclusion of the Saturn orbit insertion burn, confirming the spacecraft has arrived at the ringed planet. (2min 15sec file)
Mission officials hold a post-orbit insertion burn news conference at 1 a.m. EDT July 1 to discuss Cassini's successful arrival at Saturn. (25min 27sec file)
Cassini's health in the final hours before arrival at Saturn is presented in this status briefing from 12 p.m. EDT on June 30. (33min 09sec file)
Officials from the U.S., European and Italian space agencies discuss the international cooperation in the Cassini mission and future exploration projects during this news conference from 2 p.m. EDT June 30. (19min 35sec file)
This informal "ring-side chat" from 5 p.m. EDT June 30 discusses the Cassini mission to Saturn and the future of space exploration. (49min 20sec file)
Mission managers and scientists provide an update on the Cassini mission and preview the spacecraft's arrival at Saturn during this news conference from June 29. (51min 58sec file)