Space Event / Encounter

Europa Clipper mission to insert into Jupiter orbit on this day to study Galileo moon Europa through a series of 44 close flybys (25 to 2,700 km);...

NASA mission to encounter 11 asteroids, including a main belt and 7 Jupiter Trojans, to perform Earth flyby / gravity assist today coming within 660 km after...

ISEE-3 (International Sun-Earth Explorer-3) craft, presumably in safe mode, is traveling around Sun & predicted to return to vicinity of Earth this year – may be able...

☆ NET Jul — JAXA Hayabusa 2 mission to rendezvous with asteroid 1998 KY26, after returning samples from (162173) Ryugu to Earth in 2020 and flying by...

NET July — ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to reach Jupiter this month if launched April 2023; will perform a flyby of Ganymede 7.5-hours before...

Highlighting Galaxy awareness by celebrating the Solar System traveling around Milky Way Galaxy Center every ~225 million Earth years, one Galactic Tick happens every 633.7 days; first...

ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to perform flyby of moon Europa this month.

Mercury to pass directly between Earth and Sun; observers see distant planet as small dot gliding slowly across face of Sun; starts Nov 12 at 20:41 HST,...

NASA Lucy mission to come within 1,000 km of 113-km diameter 617 Patroclus and 104-km diameter Menoetius, p-type binary asteroids; Lucy will be in a stable, 6-year...

End of primary mission for NASA Lucy mission, future science and mission plan extension TBD; mission is a twelve-year journey to eight different asteroids, and craft will...

ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to achieve Ganymede elliptical orbit insertion this month.

China asteroid sample return mission, having returned at least 100 grams from Kamo’oalewa (2016 HO3), to rendezvous with and begin orbiting Comet 311/P PanSTARRS for 1 year.

ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is planned to be deorbited and impact Ganymede at the end of 2035, having reached Jupiter in 2031.