Brooks and Buckeye's Year in Space

Hello, old friend. Yesterday our Juno spacecraft made the first close flyby of Jupiter’s giant moon Ganymede in more than 20 years, and the first images have been received on Earth. 📸 More to come.

See more images and details at: https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/news/see-the-first-images-juno-took-as-it-sailed-by-ganymede

“This is the closest any spacecraft has come to this mammoth moon in a generation,” said Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “We are going to take our time before we draw any scientific conclusions, but until then we can simply marvel at this celestial wonder."

Surface area of our Earth vs the other planets, moons and lesser bodies in our solar system. Cool!

(from xkcd)

SpaceX Crew-2 Dragon docks with International Space Station - SpaceFlight Insider A day after launching from Florida, SpaceX’s Crew-2 Dragon arrived at the International Space Station, increasing the crew size aboard the outpost to 11.

Global Launch Tuesday, July 16, 2019 Join in the worldwide celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch on July 16, 2019 by launching your own rocket! All types of rockets are welcome, and no launch is too small so start spreading the word and get ready to celebrate!

In Case You Missed It:

On Monday, three members of the International Space Station crew returned to Earth, safely landing at 10:47 p.m. EDT (8:47 a.m. Tuesday, June 25, local time) in Kazakhstan. Astronaut Anne McClain and her crewmates, Oleg Kononenko and David Saint-Jacques, spent 204 days in space where they circled the globe 3,264 times, covering 86.4 million miles. They completed hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard the orbiting laboratory. Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/2YgLfMm

They’re heading home! ❤️

Live on NASA TV: Undocking of Three Expedition 59 Crewmembers Today

🌎 3,264 orbits of Earth
🗓️ 204 Days
❤️1 Successful mission

Astronaut Anne McClain and two of her crewmates are coming home from the International Space Station on Monday, June 24! We'll be covering their return live on NASA TV. Welcome our explorers home & learn how you can watch: https://go.nasa.gov/31RB3vE

“Enjoying my last weeks on the International Space Station! Taking short breaks between all the activities onboard to soak up the views of our beautiful planet. Medical testing and packing to prepare for departure have been keeping us busy. What would you do if you had two weeks in space?” - NASA Astronaut Anne McClain

Happy last day of school Brooks and Buckeye! Spot the Station one more time tonight to close out our Year in Space! Tonight the station will be visible traveling from NW to SE at 9:10pm. If you see it, you might want to send up a little thank you wave to the amazing astronauts who inspired our incredible year!

Observatory Night was great, despite the clouds! The amazing docents stayed open for us even though we couldn’t see much sky, and answered a lot of space questions for our crowd of Brooks and Buckeye kids (and parents)! Huge thanks to their amazing staff and volunteers!
The Community Observatory in Placerville is free and open to the public on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, weather permitting. Plan a visit this summer to see Jupiter, which will be at its best for viewing for the first time in over a year!