Sunday, August 05, 2018

This Day In Space...

An artist's concept of NASA's Juno spacecraft (which launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on August 5, 2011) orbiting Jupiter.
NASA / JPL - Caltech

Today marks a few milestones for NASA deep-space missions and the first human to set foot on the Moon:

- The Juno spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a five-year journey to Jupiter seven years ago today...

- The Curiosity Mars rover touched down on Gale Crater at the Red Planet six years ago today...

- The InSight Mars lander, which launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 5, reached the halfway point of its journey to the Red Planet (where it will touch down on Cyber Monday, November 26) as of today...

- Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, and would've turned 88 today.

Carry on!

EDIT (August 23): InSight reached the halfway point of its journey to Mars as of August 6.

A self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover (which landed on the Red Planet on August 5, 2012), taken with a camera on her robotic arm on June 15, 2018.
NASA / JPL - Caltech / MSSS

An animated GIF depicting NASA's InSight Mars lander (which reached the halfway point of its journey to the Red Planet as of August 5, 2018) cruising through deep space.
NASA / JPL - CalTech

Neil Armstrong (who was born on August 5, 1930) poses for a photo by fellow Apollo 11 crew member Buzz Aldrin inside the Eagle Lunar Module, on July 20, 1969.
NASA / Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.

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