This month's International Year of Astronomy feature explores how Saturn has been a consistent source of surprises for 400 years.
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'Saturn's orbit has brought it so close to the sun that it is extremely difficult to see even with the best of telescopes. Fortunately, we have Cassini in the front row.'
Cassini-Huygens to Saturn
Studying Saturn and its rings and moons.
› Mission home page
Dawn
Dawn, the first spacecraft ever planned to orbit two different bodies after leaving Earth, will orbit Vesta and Ceres, two of the largest asteroids in the solar system.
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Epoxi
The Epoxi mission recycles the already "in flight" Deep Impact spacecraft to investigate two distinct celestial targets of opportunity.
› Mission overview
Mars Exploration Rovers
Spirit and Opportunity have been exploring Mars since January 2004. Clues found in some rocks indicate liquid water once covered the ground.
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
This orbiter has the most powerful telescopic camera ever to another planet, plus five other scientific instruments.
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Mars Odyssey
This orbiter studies Mars' surface composition and radiation environment and has instruments to detect water and shallow buried ice.
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Microwave Instrument
on Rosetta Orbiter
This JPL instrument will study gases given off by a comet as the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft orbits the comet. Rendezvous with the comet is scheduled for 2014.
› Rosetta home page
Stardust-NExT
The Stardust-NExT mission recycles the already "in flight" Stardust spacecraft to flyby and investigate comet Tempel 1 in Feb. 2011.
› Mission overview
Voyager
Voyager 1 and 2 flew past Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 also flew by Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 1 is now approaching interstellar space.
› Mission home page
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NASA Scientist Figures Way to Weigh Space Rock
A scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., has accurately determined the mass of a nearby asteroid from millions of miles away.
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Dark Shadows on Mars: Scene from Durable NASA Rover
Late-afternoon shadows add punch to a false-color vista of Endeavour Crater on Mars from NASA's Opportunity rover.
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Cassini Spots Tiny Moon, Begins to Tilt Orbit
NASA's Cassini spacecraft beams back closest images of Methone as it approaches Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
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Curiosity Rover Scoop Test
Curiosity will be a rolling geology lab on Mars. See how engineers take a soil sample using her stunt double. |
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Dawn's Virtual Flight over Vesta
This movie uses data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft to simulate the view from the spacecraft flying over the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta. |
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Touring Vesta's Craters
This video takes viewers on a virtual tour of Vesta's south polar basin, the 'snowman' set of craters and a crater called Oppia. |
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