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July 9, 1979: Voyager 2’s Jupiter visit
On July 9, 1979, NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft came within 404,003 miles (650,180 kilometers) of Jupiter. Launched in August 1977, the Voyager probes were originally planned to study Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 1 arrived at Jupiter in March 1979, and Voyager 2 followed a few months later. Equipped with narrow- and wide-angle cameras, an interferometer, Continu
July 7, 2003: Opportunity launches
Following in the wheelmarks of Sojourner (NASA’s first Mars rover, which landed on Mars in 1997), Spirit launched for Mars on June 10, 2003, and Opportunity launched less than a month later, on July 7. Both would land in January 2004 and begin observations that would stretch far beyond the planned 90-day mission: Spirit was Continue reading "July 7, 2003: Op
July 8, 1992: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks up
In July 1992, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 made its closest approach to Jupiter, skimming 25,000 miles (40,000 km) above Jupiter’s cloud tops. That put Shoemaker-Levy 9 within the gas giant’s Roche limit; the planet’s tidal forces broke the comet into more than 20 pieces, giving it a “string of pearls” appearance and setting the stage for Continue reading "July 8,