Content tagged "planetary exploration".
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Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 and 2 are shutting down instruments one by one as power dwindles by 4 watts every year. With only two science tools left, NASA is preparing a high-stakes maneuver called the 'Big Bang.'
How can a spacecraft speed up without burning a drop of fuel? Gravity assist — the trick that took Voyager to the edge of the solar system and is now sending NASA's Psyche spacecraft toward a metal asteroid — is one of the cleverest moves in the history of spaceflight. Here's how it actually works.
BepiColombo, the joint ESA–JAXA mission launched in 2018, will finally enter Mercury's orbit in November 2026. Why does the journey take so long, and what makes Mercury such a puzzling world?