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Landing on an asteroid, while a thrilling ride for a science team, can be compared to liting a fly onto a splayed bullet. The success of the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft in pulling off such a remarkable feat is this week's selection for the Extreme Explorer's Hall of Fame.
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Thursday, September 11, 2003
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The Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft gets its first view of Saturn and its biochemically-rich moon, Titan.
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Tuesday, September 02, 2003
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The Jupiter probe, Galileo, is this week's selection for the Extreme Explorers Hall of Fame. In the next ten days, the robotic spacecraft flies within 100 miles of the unusual moon, Amalthea, which gives off more heat than it receives. As Galileo has filled its mission objectives and is running low on maneuvering fuel, NASA plans to crash the spacecraft into Jupiter during 2003.
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Monday, September 01, 2003
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This week's Extreme Explorer Hall of Fame celebrates the 45th anniversary-- from October 4, 1957 to today--of Sputnik
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Thursday, August 28, 2003
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When initially launched on August 20, 1977, the Voyager missions to Jupiter and Saturn were considered mission-capable for around 5-year lives. But after 25 years, there is a good chance that another 25 years for their tour is on-course. Voyager project manager Ed Massey recently concluded: "I don't think anybody expected we would still be here 25 years later though we probably could go another 25 years".
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Monday, August 25, 2003
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This week's selection for the Extreme Explorers' Hall of Fame is from researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., who have created a micro robot reminiscent of the childhood character Charlotte from "Charlotte's Web."
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Saturday, August 16, 2003
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A pair of interplanetary workhorses were announced as retiring after long and valuable service. The two spacecrafts--Pioneer 10 and the Galileo mission--both far exceeded their initial plans and revealed spectacular close-up images of the outer solar system.
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Tuesday, July 22, 2003
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Having already journeyed between fifty and hundred million miles from Earth, the twin Mars Exploration Rovers received their first major instrument checkout. A rock analyzer, or Mössbauer spectrometer, on one spacecraft, called Spirit, returned test data that did not fit the pattern expected from normal operation, but the science team is looking at their options.
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Tuesday, July 15, 2003
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The quartet of science missions headed to the Red Planet is now complete, with the successful Monday launch of the last Mars Exploration Rover, called Opportunity. Not since 1976, have multiple landers explored Mars simultaneously. Their confluence in December and January promises a look at whether the emerging picture of a 'warmer and wetter' Mars can be probed up-close.
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Saturday, July 12, 2003
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A series of robot experiments are planned to prepare for exploring Mars. The robots will begin their roadtests by travelling unsupervised more than a 100 miles across the driest place on Earth.
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Wednesday, July 02, 2003
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