Moon and Companions

StarDate

The Moon and three bright companions form a figure that resembles the outline of a sail early tomorrow. Mars is close to the lower right of the Moon, and looks like a bright orange star. Much brighter Jupiter is farther below the Moon. And the star Aldebaran is to the right of Jupiter. It looks like a near-twin of Mars – almost exactly the same brightness and color.

Robotic ambassadors from Earth are studying three of the four bodies from close range – all but Aldebaran, which is 65 light-years away.

Several spacecraft are studying the Moon, with quite a few more scheduled for arrival over the coming year or two. The longest-lived current mission is Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. It’s been mapping the Moon for 15 years.

Only one mission is active at Jupiter. Juno entered orbit around the giant planet eight years ago. It’s studied Jupiter itself, plus several of the planet’s large moons.

And a whole bunch of missions are operating at Mars – orbiters and rovers launched and controlled by the United States, China, Europe, India, and the United Arab Emirates. Two of the orbiters have been operating for more than two decades. And the Curiosity rover has been trundling along the surface for 12 years.

The pace of Mars missions has slowed down. But several missions are in the planning stages – including some that would bring Martian samples back to Earth.

More about the Moon and its companions tomorrow.

Script by Damond Benningfield