Engineers for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter project have stepped up the communication rate being received from the orbiter as an early step in the process of determining why the spacecraft sponta...
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Science Mission Directorate
NASA uses orbiting observers and robotic landers to investigate the planets, moons, comets, and asteroids of our Solar System.
Latest Features
Orbiter in Safe Mode Increases Communication Rate
Science Instruments Ready for SOFIA Airborne Telescope
Scientists are busy preparing for the "First Light" flight of NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, a highly modified Boeing 747SP .
Mars Orbiter Puts Itself in Safe Mode Again
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter put itself into a safe mode Wednesday morning, Aug. 26, for the fourth time this year, while maintaining spacecraft health and communications.
More Features
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Flashback to Neptune's Moon Triton
Newly released images commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Voyager flyby of Neptune's moon Triton on Aug. 24, 2009.
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Free Spirit: Dust Storm Passing Over Spirit
The amount of electricity generated by the solar panels on Spirit has been declining for the past several Martian days, or sols, as a regional dust storm moved southward and blocked some of the sunshine at Spirit's location.
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Free Spirit: Second Test Rover Added to Driving Experiments
A second, lighter-weight test rover has entered the testing setup at JPL where rover team members are assessing strategy for getting Spirit out of soft soil where it is embedded on Mars.
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Spirit Hits 2,000
Today marks the 2,000th Martian day, or sol, of what was initially planned as a 90-sol mission on Mars for NASA's Spirit rover.
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Cassini's Last Earthly Date Was 10 Years Ago Today
A decade ago today, NASA's Cassini spacecraft flew past Earth at a distance of 1,171 kilometers (727 miles) on its way to an appointment with the solar system's second largest occupant - Saturn.
News Releases
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NASA Research Reveals Major Insight Into Evolution Of Life On Earth
08.19.09 - Humans might not be walking on Earth today if not for the ancient fusing of two microscopic, single-celled organisms called prokaryotes, NASA-funded research has found.
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Meteorite Found On Mars Yields Clues About Planet's Past
08.10.09 - NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity is investigating a metallic meteorite the size of a large watermelon that is providing researchers more details about the Red Planet's environmental history.
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NASA Announces Briefing About Kepler's Early Science Results
08.03.09 - NASA will hold a media briefing on Thursday, Aug. 6, at 2 p.m. EDT, to discuss early science results of the Kepler mission.
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Hubble Space Telescope Captures Rare Jupiter Collision
07.24.09 - NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken the sharpest visible-light picture yet of atmospheric debris from an object that collided with Jupiter on July 19.
 "testing rover")
 "a narrator and an artist concept of SDO")
Podcasts
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NASACast: Solar System
Audio and Video podcasts on NASA missions exploring our solar system.
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NASACast: What's Up?
NASA's monthly guide to watching the night sky.
Media Resources
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NASA Administrator Charles Bolden's Remarks at the Space and Missile Defense Conference
08.19.09 - NASA and DoD are very different organizations, but when it comes to space activities, we have a common foundation. Space is important to the Nation, regardless of whether the program is tagged with a NASA or DoD insignia.
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NASA Administrator Charles Bolden's Remarks at the National Air and Space Museum's Apollo 40th Anniversary Celebration
07.20.09 - The Apollo astronauts are heroes in the truest sense of the word. Their dedication and bravery in exploring part of President Kennedy's New Frontier is a pivotal moment in human history that still will be celebrated thousands of years from now.
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