National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lunar and Planetary Science

What's New in Lunar & Planetary Science

The Chinese Queqiao 2 lunar communications relay satellite may be launching as early as the evening of March 19. The satellite and Long March 8 booster have been transferred to the launch pad at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center.

The discovery of three new moons in the outer solar system has been announced. One is orbiting Uranus, and two are around Neptune, bringing the total to 28 and 16, respectively.

The Odysseus lander touched down at Malapert A crater near the lunar south pole on February 22. The spacecraft fell over after landing and is tilted at approximately 30 degrees to the horizontal, but was operational. It has been spotted in an LRO Camera Image at about 80.13 S, 1.44 E inside a small crater.

On April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible along a narrow path in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, and a partial eclipse will be visible throughout the three countries. For more information on the location and timing of the eclipse, and how to view it safely, see the NASA eclipse page.

This Day in Planetary and Lunar Exploration History

1990
Hagoromo probe goes into lunar orbit, making Japan the third country to orbit the Moon.
1991
Hiten becomes the first spacecraft to use high velocity aerobraking to modify its orbit.

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