Planetary Science – Page 26

Descent begins for European asteroid lander

October 2, 2018 Stephen Clark

A German-built landing probe the size of a microwave oven carrying a camera and a suite of scientific instruments was closing in on an asteroid Tuesday, riding aboard Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft to join two other robots deployed to the asteroid’s surface last month.

Japanese robots land on asteroid, send back pictures

September 22, 2018 Stephen Clark

A pair of tiny automated robots touched down on asteroid Ryugu on Friday after separating from Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft, sending back pictures as the probes bounced across the asteroid’s alien landscape nearly 200 million miles from Earth.

Hayabusa 2 team sets dates for asteroid landings

September 6, 2018 Stephen Clark

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is preparing to release three hopping robots to land on asteroid Ryugu in the coming month, with tiny instruments scientists hope will explore the airless world’s boulder-strewn landscape and return the first images from the surface of an asteroid.

Two NASA probes catch first glimpses of primordial targets

August 29, 2018 Stephen Clark

Two NASA spacecraft — the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission and the New Horizons probe at the edge of the solar system — have captured their first looks at their targets as they approach a pair of primordial relics for the first time.

Engineers still hopeful Mars rover will wake up after dust storm

August 22, 2018 William Harwood

Flight controllers have not heard from NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover since June 10 when an increasingly severe global dust storm blocked out the sun, preventing its solar arrays from recharging the robot’s batteries. But the dust storm is finally abating and engineers are hopeful the long-lived rover will wake up and phone home in the next few weeks.

Hayabusa 2 probe gets a closer look at asteroid amid landing preps

August 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

The Japanese Hayabusa 2 spacecraft dropped within a half-mile of asteroid Ryugu last week, probing its gravity field ahead of key decisions in the coming days to settle on a target site for the robotic mission’s first sample collection attempt, and the best touchdown location for a European lander stowed on the mothership.

Scientists thrilled with closer views of Ceres’ famous salty crater

July 3, 2018 Stephen Clark

Fresh pictures from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft have provided the sharpest glimpse yet of the bright salt deposits discovered inside a crater on Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt.

Arianespace aims for busy second half of 2018

July 3, 2018 Stephen Clark

Europe’s first mission to Mercury, a quartet of Galileo navigation spacecraft, the world’s first global winds observatory, and a new European weather satellite have arrived at an equatorial launch base in French Guiana in preparation for launches in the coming months.

Japanese spacecraft reaches asteroid after three-and-a-half-year journey

June 28, 2018 Stephen Clark

Japan’s robotic Hayabusa 2 spacecraft arrived Wednesday at asteroid Ryugu, a diamond-shaped object more than a half-mile wide where the probe will attempt a brief landing later this year to collect rock specimens for return to Earth.

Growing dust storm encircles Mars, rover remains silent

June 21, 2018 Stephen Clark

The effects of a global dust storm on Mars have been observed by NASA’s plutonium-powered Curiosity rover, which continues its scientific campaign as the thick veil of dust continues starving the aging Opportunity rover of solar energy on the other side of the planet.