Observation / Anniversary

NASA, Cal-tech high-energy astrophysics satellite surpasses another year in space, having launched on this day in 2012.

NASA ARTEMIS P2 craft surpasses another full year in lunar orbit since 2011; 1 of 5 satellites launched 2007 to study Earth magnetosphere

NASA craft reaches 14 full years in space today, having launched in 2011 and reaching Jupiter on July 4, 2016; one-way transmission signal to Earth is 48 minutes.

NASA Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) rover surpasses another full year of operations on Mars surface today; launched Nov 26, 2011 – landed Aug 5, 2012 (Pacific Daylight Time).

NASA craft surpasses another full year in space today, having launched Aug 12, 2018; probe  came within ~6.16M km of the Sun on Dec 24, 2024 which is ~7 times closer than any prior spacecraft, traveling faster than any other human-made object at ~692,000 km/hr.

India orbiter surpasses another full year in lunar polar orbit since reaching the Moon in 2019; Chandrayaan-2 lander and rover were unsuccessful in lunar landing.

Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander and Pragyan rover celebrated today after successfully landing on Moon in 2023; marking India as the 4th country to land on Moon, and 1st near the Moon South Pole.

NASA spacecraft surpasses another full year in space today, launched 2012; adding to the understanding of Earth radiation belt environment and its variability.

Japan's X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), studying galactic plasma, surpasses another full year in space today at ~550-km LEO, having launched 2023.