Juno Adjusts Course to Jupiter

Juno Spacecraft Exploring Jupiter Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech The Juno Spacecraft was launched toward Jupiter on 5 August 2011, and made its first planned trajectory adjustment Wednesday. Over the course of the next five years, a dozen additional corrections are expected before arriving at Jupiter for a year long exploration. The thrusters fired for 25 minutes and changed the speed by 1.2 meters per second. In August of 2012, Juno will make the first of two adjustments prior to a flyby of Earth for a gravity assist. For additional information, consult the Juno website.

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New Horizon Pluto Postage Stamp

New Horizon Pluto Exploration Stamp Image Credit: NASA / John Hopkins /Dan Durda. Plans for the flyby are well under way – and now, so is an effort to petition the U.S. Postal Service to commemorate the historic achievements of New Horizons on a stamp. The mission team launches that petition today, in early 2012, and plans to submit the petitioners’ names and a formal proposal to the U.S. post office knowing it often takes three years or longer for a proposal to result in an actual stamp.