Happy Trails, little robot - Mercury Messenger probe nears mission end after 10 years

[Baclava]

6. pretty exciting time, actually, our probes are getting places

NASA’s New Horizons Homes in on Pluto

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/


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Dwarf planet Ceres might have right stuff for life

CERES is a dwarf planet with giant potential. As NASA's Dawn spacecraft gears up for the first in-depth look at this tiny world, speculation is rife. Could Ceres be an overgrown comet? Host an ocean made of mud? Or even possess icy volcanoes that make it an unexpected host for life in the asteroid belt?

The first signs of excitement came earlier this month when Dawn spotted a mysterious bright spot just 1 pixel wide inside a crater as it pulled into orbit around the dwarf planet. There were suspicions that the spot could be a sign of water spewing into space, and now fresh views, presented for the first time at the LPSC, lend weight to the idea.

In Dawn's latest pictures, the bright spot is visible even from the side, meaning it probably protrudes above the crater. "What is amazing is you can see this feature while the rim is very likely in front of the line of sight," said Andreas Nathues, who is in charge of the mission's camera. "We believe this could be some kind of outgassing."



http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530143.800-dwarf-planet-ceres-might-have-right-stuff-for-life.html#.VRQiBv10zIU