Tag: Planetary Science

  • Cassini downlinks view of Titan’s methane clouds on third loop inside rings

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    Cassini took this picture of Titan’s northern cloud bands Sunday from a distance of more than 300,000 miles (500,000 kilometers). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute The Cassini spacecraft captured captivating images of wispy methane clouds suspended above Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes as the probe headed for its third shot through Saturn’s ring gap Tuesday. The distant pictures,…

  • First aerial color photo of Mars rover’s “hole-in-one” landing site

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    The bright landing platform left behind by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in 2004 is visible inside Eagle Crater, at upper right in this April 8, 2017, observation by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona NASA has released the first high-resolution aerial color image of the Opportunity rover’s landing site on a sprawling…

  • First aerial color photo of Mars rover’s “hole-in-one” landing site

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    The bright landing platform left behind by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in 2004 is visible inside Eagle Crater, at upper right in this April 8, 2017, observation by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona NASA has released the first high-resolution aerial color image of the Opportunity rover’s landing site on a sprawling…

  • NASA probe finds Saturn ring gap emptier than predicted

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    This unprocessed image shows features in Saturn’s atmosphere from closer than ever before. The view of Saturn’s polar vortex was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its first “Grand Finale” dive past the planet on April 26, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sped through a gap between Saturn and its rings for…

  • NASA probe finds Saturn ring gap emptier than predicted

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    This unprocessed image shows features in Saturn’s atmosphere from closer than ever before. The view of Saturn’s polar vortex was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its first “Grand Finale” dive past the planet on April 26, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sped through a gap between Saturn and its rings for…

  • U.S. instrument team to fly camera on South Korean moon mission

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    Artist’s concept of the ShadowCam instrument peering into Shackleton Crater. Credit: NASA A camera developed by scientists at Arizona State University will join four foreign-built instruments on South Korea’s first lunar orbiter set for launch at the end of 2018, NASA announced Friday. NASA selected the ShadowCam instrument from proposals submitted by U.S. science teams.…

  • Cassini contacts Earth after flying inside Saturn’s rings

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    This unprocessed image shows features in Saturn’s atmosphere from closer than ever before. The view of Saturn’s pool hurricane was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its first “Grand Finale” dive past the planet on April 26, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Ground controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed Thursday the Cassini spacecraft survived…

  • Cassini sails by Saturn’s moon Titan for last time

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    Cassini flew by Saturn’s moon Titan on Saturday for the mission’s final close encounter with the Earth-like moon. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sped by the moon Titan on Saturday, using the hazy world’s gravity to slingshot the probe on a trailblazing trajectory to explore the region between Saturn’s hydrogen-helium atmosphere and the planet’s famous rings for…

  • Saturn’s disk-shaped moon Atlas spotted by Cassini

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    This unprocessed image of Saturn’s moon Atlas was taken on April 12, 2017, by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute One of Saturn’s peculiar moons has received an up-close look from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which sent back the best-ever pictures of Atlas, an object shaped like a flying saucer orbiting just outside the planet’s…

  • Curiosity rover shows new signs of wheel wear

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    Two of the raised treads, called grousers, on the left middle wheel of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover broke during the first quarter of 2017, including the one seen partially detached at the top of the wheel in this image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the rover’s arm. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Engineers…