The Dawn spacecraft has completed a graceful spiral into the
first of four planned science orbits during the spacecraft's
yearlong visit to Vesta. The spacecraft started taking detailed
observations on Aug. 11 at 0013 EDT, which marks the official start
of the first science-collecting orbit phase at Vesta, also known as
the survey orbit.
NASA's twin lunar probes – GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B - completed
their final inspections and were weighed one final time at the
Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, FL, on Tuesday.
The two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft
will orbit the moon in formation to determine the structure of the
lunar interior from crust to core and to advance understanding of
the thermal evolution of the moon.
The winner of the $25,000 grand prize in the 2011 Heinlein
NewSpace Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Space Frontier
Foundation, was a "Direct to Station" space station delivery
solution put forth by Altius Space Machines.
Opportunity Escapes Crater, Travels 13 Miles To New Target
The Opportunity Mars Rover, arguably one of the best values NASA
has ever got for its money, has completed a journey of almost three
years and reached the Red Planet's Endeavour crater to study rocks
never seen before.
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