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There was a live stream here: It ended a few minutes ago after airing for 2 hours (the stream is limited to the last two hours, it aired for more like 4 hours). I think there will be 6 hours between entering the parking orbit and the Mars burn. Elon Musk on Twitter: "Upper stage restart...

This is so incredible. Here are some screenshots from the stream: Greatest car ad ever.

The Titan helicopter uses an MMRTG to recharge its batteries for each flight. As the plutonium decays, the only aspect of the mission affected is the time it takes to recharge. It's discussed in the video I linked above. I prefer the Titan mission. Its mobility would let it survey a planetary...

Science News: "Most complete map of Titan reveals connected seas and cookie-cutter lakes"

Rama confirmed. And the first comment beat me to that reference. Great timing.

NASASpaceFlight.com: "Europa Clipper’s launch date dependent on SLS Mobile Launcher readiness" Business Insider: "NASA finally has the map it needs to explore Europa for signs of alien life" Earth and Space Science News: "Geologic Map of Europa Highlights Targets for Future Exploration"...

The remaining proposal is called the Venus Origins eXplorer, or VOX. Future Planetary Exploration: "Venus Origins Explorer New Frontiers Proposal"

There's an interesting video on the inspired Titan helicopter. via New York Times: "Back to Saturn? Five Missions Proposed to Follow Cassini"

As of this post, Cassini should be entering Saturn's atmosphere. The signal will take 83 minutes to arrive.

There are five hours left until the expected loss of signal is received at Earth. Cassini is 83 light minutes away.

BBC: "'Our Saturn years': Cassini's epic journey to the ringed planet, told by the people who helped make it happen" Cassini's Infrared Saturn JPL: "Cassini Makes its 'Goodbye Kiss' Flyby of Titan" "Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn" Scientific American: "Cassini at...

The Planetary Society: "What to expect during Cassini's final hours" "And then there was one"

SpaceNews: "NASA proposes rapid Mars sample return architecture" The Planetary Society: "NASA considers kicking Mars sample return into high gear" In short, this plan for sample return requires NASA to launch the mission preferably in 2026 so the agency wouldn't need another Mars...

NASA's New Frontiers planetary missions are valued at about $1 billion dollars bucks USD each and the selection of the latest in this series is approaching. NASA will choose the winner in 2019, however two or three finalists will be selected later this year. Unlike the cheaper Discovery...

"NASA Announces Cassini End-of-Mission Activities" September 15th is approaching, and NASA revealed its media schedule for the end of the mission. One final distant encounter of Titan will occur on the 11th, after 127 close flybys during the mission.

The 11th of 22 ring crossings is happening in just under two days from now, so the final stage of the mission is about halfway over.

I was concerned about whether Juno would be able to complete all its intended orbits with a 53 day period. Bolton (at about 1 hr 9 min) said that all 32 orbits can still be performed.

"Valve confirm they've hired the Kerbal Space Program team"

Cassini completed dive 3 of 22 a few hours ago.

Dust detector, it's a common instrument on interplanetary spacecraft. But since Cassini shielded most of its instruments, the RWPS detected them (more information in the link below). Cassini completed its second "dive" recently. Due to the low dust count, Cassini spun near close approach to...