Lunar and Planetary Science at the NSSDCA

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What's New in Lunar & Planetary Science

The CAPSTONE lunar mission launched on 28 June at 09:55 UT (5:55 a.m. EDT). For more, see the NASA Press Release.

The NASA Psyche mission launch, scheduled for this September/October, has been delayed indefinitely. Options to launch in 2023 or 2024 are being considered.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) has returned images showing the double impact crater formed by an unidentified booster rocket stage that hit the Moon on March 4. For the images and more information, see the LROC post.

The James Webb Space Telescope will be releasing its first science images and data on July 12 at 10:30 a.m. EDT. For more, see the NASA Press Release and the Webb First Images site.

This Day in Planetary and Lunar Exploration History

1997: Mars Pathfinder lands in the Ares Vallis region on Mars, returns images of surface.
2005: Deep Impact spacecraft flies within 501 km of Comet Tempel 1, blasts crater in surface and returns images.
2016: Juno reaches Jupiter and goes into orbit.