'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.'
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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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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Prometheus Plays Tug of War with One of Saturn's Rings
The diminutive moon Prometheus whips gossamer ice particles out of Saturn's F ring in this image taken by the Cassini spacecraft on Aug. 21, 2009.
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No Wheel Stall in Diagnostic Drive
On Sol 2095 (Tuesday, Nov. 24), Spirit performed a set of diagnostic actions related to a stall of the right-rear wheel on the previous drive, three days earlier.
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Gullies and Flow Features on Crater Wall
This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a sample of the variety and complexity of processes that may occur on the walls of Martian craters, well after the impact crater formed.
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Saturn's Aurora in a New Light
A Cassini scientist explains the flickering 'northern lights' high above Saturn, shown for the first time in a visible-light movie. |
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Free Spirit - Plotting an Escape
NASA's long-running Mars rover Spirit will begin critical drives for escaping a sand trap. |
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What's Up for November?
This month see the leftovers from a cosmic explosion, and a meteor shower! |
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