(From west to east)

• Eunomia is at opposition on the 29th in the constellation of Capricornus.

• Hebe is in the constellation of Capricornus.

• Ceres is in the constellation of Microscopium.

• Leto is at opposition on the 15th in the constellation of Aquarius.

• Iris is in the constellation of Aries.

• Information about the Minor Planets can be found at the Minor Planet Observer website.

"The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired Wednesday, August 30, from the Goldstone tracking stations. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally."

Cassini Imaging Team

"The highest-resolution camera on NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft is seeing stars, and mission scientists and engineers couldn't be more excited.

This week the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) opened its protective cover and took its first image in space, of Messier 7, a star cluster in our Milky Way galaxy. The electronic snapshot also meant that all seven New Horizons science instruments have now operated in space and returned good data since the spacecraft launched in January 2006."

"Deimos was discovered 129 years ago on August 11, 1877. To celebrate, the MGS team presents the first and only Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image of this tiny moon."

Mars Global Surveyor Images - August 24-30, 2006

"The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available:

• Archangel's Dunes (Released 24 August 2006)
  
• Springtime Dunes (Released 25 August 2006)
  
• Polar Unconformity (Released 26 August 2006)
  
• Mutch Crater (Released 27 August 2006)
  
• Polar Band (Released 28 August 2006)
  
• Mars at Ls 93 Degrees (Released 29 August 2006)
  
• Windy Work (Released 30 August 2006)
  
• All of the Mars Global Surveyor images are archived here.

Information about how to submit requests is online at the new Mars Orbiter Camera Target Request Site, at http://www.msss.com/plan/intro"

Newly-released MOC images can be seen in the MOCGallery, a website maintained by Malin Space Science Systems, the company that built and operates MOC for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA.

Mars Global Surveyor completed its eighth year orbiting the red planet. MGS reached Mars on 12 September 1997. The first MOC images were obtained on 15 September 1997.

"Every spring brings violent eruptions to the south polar ice cap of Mars, according to researchers interpreting new observations by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.

Jets of carbon dioxide gas erupting from the ice cap as it warms in the spring carry dark sand and dust high aloft. The dark material falls back to the surface, creating dark patches on the ice cap which have long puzzled scientists. Deducing the eruptions of carbon dioxide gas from under the warming ice cap solves the riddle of the spots. It also reveals that this part of Mars is much more dynamically active than had been expected for any part of the planet."

"A simulated fly-through using the newly assembled imagery is available online at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/missions/odyssey/20060313.html.

The fly-through plus tools for wandering across and zooming into the large image are at http://themis.asu.edu."

Mars Odyssey THEMIS Images
Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) website: http://themis.asu.edu/

August 28 - September 1, 2006

The following new images from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Feature of the Week: Nili Fossae
  
• Channel (Released 28 August 2006)
  
• Meridiani (Released 29 August 2006)
  
• Avernus Colles (Released 30 August 2006)
  
• Sulci Gordii (Released 31 August 2006)
  
• Alluvial Fans (Released 01 September 2006)
  
• All of the THEMIS images are archived here.

The Odyssey data are available through a new online access system established by the Planetary Data System at: http://starbrite.jpl.nasa.gov/pds/"

Spirit Status: Spirit Continues Mid-Winter Studies of Martian Rocks and Soil - sol 933-942, August 25, 2006

"Spirit continued to make progress on the rover's winter campaign of science observations, acquiring microscopic images and data about rock composition with the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Spirit took images of the spacecraft deck for incorporation into the "McMurdo panorama."

Spirit remains healthy. Electrical power from the rover's solar array has been holding steady at about 280 watt-hours per sol (a hundred watt-hours is the amount of electricity needed to light one 100-watt bulb for one hour)."

Opportunity Status: Inching Closer to 'Victoria' - sol 920-927, September 1, 2006

"Opportunity is healthy and still 218 meters (715 feet) from "Victoria Crater." Over the weekend, the rover's shoulder azimuth joint stalled as Opportunity was trying to start measurements on a trench it dug on Sol 919 (Aug. 25, 2006). Consequently, all weekend arm activities were aborted, but remote science activities were executed as planned.

Beginning on Sol 923, rover arm diagnostic measurements were taken as well as some remote sensing science. Results from the diagnostics revealed neither cause nor any damage to the stalled joint. On Sol 924, the arm performed flawlessly as Opportunity successfully completed the activities originally planned for Sol 920. On Sols 925, 926 and 927 Opportunity collected more arm diagnostics (to ensure the stow before drive would go smoothly) as well as completing all arm activities originally planned over the weekend."

Landing sites

"Nearly six months after it entered orbit, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has concluded its aerobraking phase. The spacecraft had been dipping in and out of the Red PlanetÕs atmosphere to adjust its orbit. On August 30, 2006, during its 445th orbit, the spacecraft fired its intermediate thrusters to raise the low point of its orbit and stop dipping into the atmosphere. The six-minute engine burn began at 10:36 a.m. PST, altering the spacecraftÕs course so that its periapsis (the closest it comes to the planet) is about 210 kilometers (130 miles) above the planet, well above the atmosphere."