What's New in Lunar & Planetary Science
The Lucy mission flew within about 960 km of asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson on 20 April 2025 with closest approach at 17:51 UT (1:51 p.m. EDT). For images from the flyby and more information, see the Lucy News Release 128 new moons have been discovered around Saturn, bringing the total number of natural saturnian satellites to 274. More..... The Blue Ghost Mission 1 ended its mission as planned, about 5 hours after local sunset on 16 March. For more, see the NASA press release.This Day in Planetary and Lunar Exploration History
- 1949
- Telescopic photograph taken leading to discovery of Neptune's moon Nereid by Gerard Kuiper.
- 1959
- Beltsville Space Center established as Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA's first spaceflight center.
- 2009
- Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" becomes permanently stuck in soil.
Flight Mission Information
- Chronology of Lunar and Planetary Exploration
- Information by Project
- Selected Planetary Mission information from the NSSDCA Master Catalog
Data Services
Related Information Services
- NSSDCA Master Catalog: Detailed information about data held at NSSDCA
- Planetary and Lunar Online Books
- Planetary Fact Sheets
Search for Mission Information
To search for information on any mission, enter the spacecraft name in the box below.
Upcoming Planetary Events and Missions
Education Resources
Other Data Archive/Service Centers
- Planetary Data System
- Planetary Science Archive (ESA)
- Regional Planetary Image Facilities
- NASA Educator Resource Centers
Other Resources
+ Home
Planetary Science
![[USA.gov]](/logo/usagov_logo.gif){kind=logo}
- NASA Official: Dr. David R. Williams
- Curator: Dr. David R. Williams
- Version 2.2.4
- Last updated: 30 November 2018