(From west to east)

• Iris is in the constellation of Virgo.
• Psyche is at opposition on the 5th in the constellation of Capricornus.
• Isis is in the constellation of Aquarius.
• Juno is in the constellation of Pisces.
• Melpomene is in the constellation of Pisces.
• Julia is in the constellation of Pisces.
• Information about the Minor Planets can be found at the Minor Planet Observer website.

"The Cassini spacecraft looks down on the north pole of Titan, showing night and day in the northern hemisphere of Saturn's largest moon.

This view is centered on terrain at 49 degrees north latitude, 243 degrees west longitude. The north pole of Titan is rotated about 23 degrees to the left and it lies on the terminator above and to the left of the center of the image.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view of Titan (5150 kilometers, or 3200 miles across). The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 6, 2009 at a distance of approximately 194,000 kilometers (121,000 miles) from Titan. Image scale is 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo."

Cassini Imaging Team

"The work is fun, no doubt there; but it never ends on this mission of exploration Ñ particularly in the summer, when we conduct our annual spacecraft checkouts.

We awakened New Horizons from its record-setting 202-day electronic hibernation just last week, on July 7. We're now almost 14 astronomical units from the Sun (the official crossing date will be July 27), and nearing the halfway point between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus. And we're going to be conducting an activity that we call Active Checkout Three ("ACO-3"). ACO-3 has been months in the making, and for the remainder of July and almost all of August Ñ it's show time!"

New Horizons gallery

"Mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have received a transmission from the Dawn spacecraft confirming it has re-ignited its ion propulsion system. For those of you scoring at home, Thruster # 1 received the honors. Over the course of its eight-year mission, first to asteroid Vesta and then off to dwarf planet Ceres, Dawn's three ion engines will accumulate 2,000 days of operation."

"The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recently approved a proposal from the MESSENGER Science Team to confer names on 16 impact craters on Mercury. The newly named craters were imaged during the missionÕs first two flybys of Mercury in January and October last year.

In the time since the flybys, MESSENGER team members have been analyzing the images and other data and preparing papers for publication in scientific journals. "Having names for these features will help to improve communication among those studying the planet's geology," says MESSENGER Participating Scientist Dave Blewett, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, Md."

"PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's long-lived Mars Odyssey spacecraft has completed an eight-month adjustment of its orbit, positioning itself to look down at the day side of the planet in mid-afternoon instead of late afternoon. 



This change gains sensitivity for infrared mapping of Martian minerals by the orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System camera. Orbit design for Odyssey's first seven years of observing Mars used a compromise between what worked best for the infrared mapping and for another onboard instrument.



"The orbiter is now overhead at about 3:45 in the afternoon instead of 5 p.m., so the ground is warmer and there is more thermal energy for the camera's infrared sensors to detect," said Jeffrey Plaut of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., project scientist for Mars Odyssey."

"A simulated fly-through using the newly assembled imagery is available online.

The fly-through plus tools for wandering across and zooming into the large image are at THEMIS."

Daily Mars Odyssey THEMIS Images
Can be found at the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) website.

The Odyssey data are available through a new online access system established by the Planetary Data System.

SPIRIT UPDATE: Robotic Arm Diagnostics - sols 1975-1980, July 24-29, 2009:

"Spirit is continuing its ambitious remote sensing and in-situ (contact) science campaign using all her payload elements while embedded at the location called Troy on the west side of Home Plate.

During in situ (contact) work with the robotic arm on Sol 1975 (July 24, 2009), the Instrument Deployment Device (IDD) Joint 2 (shoulder elevation) stalled. The stall occurred between two Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaics. A series of diagnostics were sequenced on Sol 1979 (July 28, 2009).

The diagnostics included an elbow and turret motion (Joints 3, 4 and 5) to reduce torque on Joint 2, a rotor resistance test of the Joint 2 motor, and then a series of small Joint 2 diagnostic motions, a MI mosaic and a placement of the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) on a surface target. The IDD Joint 2 motor resistances are normal and the IDD Joint 2 moved successfully to all commanded diagnostic motions. All MI images were taken and the APXS is positioned on the surface target. There are no mobility/IDD errors or preclusions. The IDD Joint 2 appears to be okay.

On Earth, the surface system testbed (SSTB) rover extraction testing continues with end-to-end testing in differentiated soil in preparation for the first extraction moves on Mars.

As of Sol 1980 (July 29, 2009), the rover solar array energy production was 914 watt-hours, with atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.380 and a dust factor of 0.831.

Total odometry as of Sol 1980 (July 29, 2009): 7,729.93 meters (4.80 miles)."

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Approaching 'Block Island' Cobble - sols 1954-1959, July 23-28, 2009:

"Opportunity has spied a dark, meter-scale cobble in the opposite direction from which she has been traveling. On Sol 1954 (July 23, 2009), the rover headed back toward this large coble, called "Block Island," with over a 100 meter (328-foot) drive.

Opportunity drove again on Sol 1957 (July 26, 2009) with an 87-meter (285-foot) drive, putting the cobble less than 30 meters (some 95 feet) away. Opportunity approached the cobble on Sol 1959 (July 28, 2009) with a 24-meter (79-foot) drive.

In-situ (contact) analysis using the robotic arm will now begin on this 70-centimeter-size (28-inch) cobble. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) shroud continues to be left open on scheduled sols to allow the environment to clean minor dust contamination from the elevation mirror. No improvement in Mini-TES performance has been observed so far, but the rover has seen no wind events.

As of Sol 1959 (July 28, 2009), the solar array energy production was 467 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.517 and a dust factor of 0.534.

Total odometry as of Sol 1959 (July 28, 2009): 17,224.82 meters (10.70 miles)."

Landing sites

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Status Report

"PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is examining Mars again with its scientific instruments after successfully transitioning out of a precautionary standby mode triggered by an unexpected June 3 rebooting of its computer.

Engineers brought the spacecraft out of the standby mode on June 6. Cameras and other scientific instruments resumed operation June 9.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reached Mars in 2006 and has returned more data about the planet than all other Mars missions combined.

The June 3 rebooting resembled a Feb. 23 event on the spacecraft. Engineers are re-investigating possible root causes for both events. The new investigation includes reconsidering the likelihood of erroneous voltage readings resulting from cosmic rays or solar particles hitting an electronic component."

MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER HIRISE IMAGES
All of the HiRISE images are archived here.