Interplanetary Spacecraft
Vehicles that travel between planets, including Mars spacecraft- Explore more »
Kepler on deck
Fingers crossed for Friday night’s planned launch of the Kepler telescope to search for Earth-size planets around other stars. The odds of getting off the ground safely are good: the Delta II is one of the most reliable rockets ever built. Still, ask the people who spent the better part of a decade...
March 06, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Just keep rolling, just keep rolling
Cue the Lawrence of Arabia theme. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera took this picture of the hardy Opportunity rover trekking across Martian sand dunes on its way to Endeavour crater, its next target to explore. The 10-mile journey is expected to take about two years at a pace of 100...
March 05, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Your flight to Titan is delayed
Jupiter’s moon Europa is a worthy target for exploration, so don’t get me wrong. It’s good news that NASA and the European Space Agency are going forward with plans for a dual-spacecraft mission to Europa, Ganymede and Jupiter's other moons in 2020. It just means we won’t see balloons flying over S...
February 27, 2009 |
By Tony Reichhardt
A Cameraman on Mars
If you really want to know the planet, flip through Mike Malin’s photo album.
January 2009 |
By Andrew Chaikin
Mission Possible
A new probe to a Martian moon may win back respect for Russia’s unmanned space program.
September 2008 |
By Anatoly Zak
Hopping Across Mars
Planetary rovers might some day trade their wheels for something simpler.
April 29, 2008 |
By Greg Soltis
Suggestion: Stop Improving
Why does every Mars mission have to be better than the last?
November 01, 2007 |
By Bob Craddock
Legs, Bags, or Wheels?
When choosing landing gear for Mars spacecraft, engineers have to weigh their options-literally.
August 2007 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Northern Exposure
We've already seen water ice on Mars. NASA's Phoenix lander will reach out and touch it.
August 2007 |
By Charles Petit
Mars Needs Heroes
When it comes to Martian studies, Mike Carr wrote the book.
March 2007 |
By Bob Craddock
MGS, R.I.P.
A round of applause for one of the most productive planetary missions ever.
January 2007 |
By Bob Craddock
The Not-So-Big Dig
With the equivalent power of an electric can opener, engineers try to do more than scratch the Martian surface.
November 2006 |
By Tom Harpole
Stronger Than Dirt
Lunar explorers will have to battle an insidious enemy—dust.
September 2006 |
By Trudy E. Bell
Mission to Enceladus
NASA summer students plot a course for Saturn's mysterious ice world.
September 2006 |
By Tony Reichhardt
219 Minutes on Titan
On an uncharted world, a little spacecraft saw a lot in a very short time.
November 2005 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Explorers Wanted
Hey, kids! The NASA Administrator says you're going to Mars! (Do your homework.)
November 2004 |
By Sean O'Keefe
Saturn's Deep, Dark Secret
Titan, the only major body in the solar system that we haven't gotten a good look at, is about to be outed.
July 2004 |
By Craig Mellow
Next Stop Gusev Crater
If planetary scientists could do whatever they wished, they'd probably send a spacecraft to land on the floor of Valles Marineris.
January 2004 |
By Michael Milstein
Galileo's Last Look
Launched 13 years ago, a rugged spacecraft send its last postcards from Jupiter.
September 2002 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Fade to Black
Now and then, the faintest whisper returns from NASA's distant space probes.
July 2001 |
By J. Kelly Beatty
