Space Missions

 

According to <a href="http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-277">NASA scientists</a>, the Voyager 1 spacecraft entered interstellar space in August 2012, becoming the first spacecraft to leave the <a href="/our_solar_system/solar_system.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">solar system</a>. The space probe is about 19 billion km from the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">Sun</a>. <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">Voyager 1 and 2</a> were launched in 1977 on a <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">mission</a> that flew them both by <a href="/jupiter/jupiter.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">Jupiter</a> and <a href="/saturn/saturn.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">Saturn</a>, with Voyager 2 continuing to <a href="/uranus/uranus.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">Uranus</a> and <a href="/neptune/neptune.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">Neptune</a>. Voyager 2 is the longest continuously operated spacecraft. It is about 15 billion km away from the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">Sun</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</em></small></p>The spinning vortex of <a href="https://www.windows2universe.org/saturn/saturn.html">Saturn</a>'s north polar storm resembles a giant deep red rose surrounded by green foliage in this false-color <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia14944.html">image</a> from NASA's <a href="https://www.windows2universe.org/missions/cassini.html">Cassini spacecraft</a>. The eye is 2,000 kilometers across with cloud speeds as fast as 150 meters per second. It is not known how long this newly discovered north-polar <a href="https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/hurricane.html">hurricane</a> has been active. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 419,000 kilometers from Saturn.<p><small><em>NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI</em></small></p>

Explore Space Missions

Space Exploration

For as long as there have been people on Earth, we have looked up at the sky and wondered ...Read more

Human Spaceflight

It was not long after the first space satellites were launched that we succeeded in getting ...Read more

Satellites and Robotic Spacecraft

Satellites and robot spacecraft are important to space exploration. They let us explore space ...Read more

Space Missions Links

These are links to other great web sites about Space Missions. But beware: you don't want ...Read more

Tours

Take off on an Exploratour! Click on one of the many tours listed below to follow a guided ...Read more

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that the Vernal Equinox is coming? Find out more about the seasons here.

Do you know how the Doppler Effect works?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Scree slope
xScree slope : An accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags or mountain cliffs

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

More than One: Long-Reining Microbe Controlling Ocean Nitrogen Shares the Throne

Scientists have been taking a close look at microbes that live in the ocean. The microbes they are studying are a type of bacteria and are very tiny. They may be small but they have a big impact on life...Read more


Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA