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=">solar system</a>. The space probe is about 19 billion km from the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=elem&dev=">Sun</a>. <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html&edu=elem&dev=">Voyager 1 and 2</a> were launched in 1977 on a <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html&edu=elem&dev=">mission</a> that flew them both by <a href="/jupiter/jupiter.html&edu=elem&dev=">Jupiter</a> and <a href="/saturn/saturn.html&edu=elem&dev=">Saturn</a>, with Voyager 2 continuing to <a href="/uranus/uranus.html&edu=elem&dev=">Uranus</a> and <a href="/neptune/neptune.html&edu=elem&dev=">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=">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

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Did you know?

What do White Dwarfs and Black Holes have in common? Find out in our Strange Stuff in Space section!

Did you know that many cultures have studied the heavens in the past?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Graben
xGraben : A graben is a down-dropped block of the earth's crust resulting from extension, or pulling, of the crust.

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Research Highlights

Soil Microbes Produce Less Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Than Expected With Global Warming

Scientists have learned that microbes that live in the soil, like fungi and bacteria, don't produce more carbon dioxide when the climate is warmer. At first these microbes will produce more carbon dioxide,...Read more


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