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30th Anniversary of The Planetary Society

The Planetary Society Blog

By Emily Lakdawalla

Welcome to The Planetary Society's Blog, a guide to interesting stuff going on in space science, space exploration, and space advocacy. Have any comments?

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Mar. 19, 2010 | 19:25 PDT | Mar. 20 02:25 UTC

LROC spots Russian "monument" to International Women's Day

Permalink: http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002400/

There was a piece of the Lunar-Reconnaissance-Orbiter-spots-the-Lunokhods story that I was intrigued by but just didn't have the time this week to investigate properly. So I sent a note about it to Nancy Atkinson in the hopes that she'd take it up. She did! Wander over to Universe Today to learn about the Lunokhod mission's International Women's Day memorials, still visible from space today.

Mar. 19, 2010 | 13:57 PDT | 20:57 UTC

Akatsuki arrives at Tanegashima Space Center

Permalink: http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002399/

The Akatsuki spacecraft (also known as PLANET-C or Venus Climate Orbiter) arrived this evening, Japanese time, at the Tanegashima Space Center. It will now be mated with its launch vehicle. Launch of Akatsuki and IKAROS is currently planned for 59 days from today, on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 06:44:14 a.m. JST (May 17 21:44:14 UTC or 14:44:14 PDT). I'll keep the website updated with news on the mission's preparations for launch!

Have you added your message to IKAROS yet? You have until Monday!

Mar. 19, 2010 | 12:19 PDT | 19:19 UTC

A trio of pretty Cassini pics

Permalink: http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002398/

It's been a little while since I posted any Cassini pictures just because they were pretty, so here's a few recent ones, produced by amateurs from the images available on the Cassini raw images website.

Click to enlarge >

Tethys, Mimas, and the rings of Saturn
Cassini captured this picture-postcard view of the moons Mimas (top) and Tethys (bottom) floating near the rings on March 15, 2010. Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / color composite by Sean Walker

Click to enlarge >

Titan's ring
Cassini viewed Titan from its nightside to capture this view of its atmosphere on March 16, 2010. The image is a composite of red, green, and ultraviolet-filter images; the ultraviolet image emphasizes the high-altitude haze, producing the blue ring floating high above the rest of the atmosphere. Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / color composite by Gordan Ugarkovic

Titan and Dione
Dione passed in front of Titan on March 12, 2010 as Cassini snapped photos. Late in 2009, Cassini planners started commanding the spacecraft to take these "mutual event" movies not through a clear filter but instead through red, green, and blue filters sequentially; the raw data exists to produce an animation of Dione passing across Titan in color. Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / color composite by Emily Lakdawalla

Mar. 19, 2010 | 12:14 PDT | 19:14 UTC

"He walked on the Moon. Now let's see what those feet can do on Earth."

Permalink: http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002397/

by Susan Lendroth

Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin is about to add another line to his resume when he appears on the television program, "Dancing with the Stars." Tune in to ABC on Monday, March 22, 2010 (8:00-10:00 PM ET) to watch the Apollo 11 astronaut and Planetary Society Advisor trip the light fantastic. And we will offer weekly coverage of Buzz's dancing debut as long as he remains in competition on the show.

More information »

Click to enlarge >

Buzz Aldrin on "Dancing with the Stars"
Credit: ABC

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