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The composition of Titan's lakes is actually better understood than dry land. That being said, the team did once consider a flotation ring to allow landing in lakes, but presumably that is more risky. Dragonfly may be allowed to approach a lake during an extended mission; the spacecraft can fly...

- Dragonfly FAQ - Q: When will the mission launch? A: Launch is planned for 2026 and arrival in 2034. The prime mission will last over 2 years. Q: How will Dragonfly reach Titan? A: The launch vehicle will be chosen 3 years before launch and based on mission requirements. One Earth gravity...

Iterating on previous concepts to explore Titan following Cassini, Dragonfly was selected as the fourth New Frontiers mission. NASA Ars Technica Spaceflight Now

JPL: "NASA's Mars Helicopter Completes Flight Tests" Video file: NASA's Mars Helicopter Completes Flight Tests

Thomas Zurbuchen on Twitter: "Currently in its preliminary design phase, the mission’s initial planned magnetometer’s flight hardware hasn’t been built yet. We have enough time before launch to find a simpler magnetometer that will help scientists understand Europa’s ocean. Details...

Roman Tkachenko on Twitter: "Asteroid Ryugu as seen from an altitude of 30 m, right after Hayabusa2 touchdown. #Ryugu #リュウグウ #Hayabusa2 #はやぶさ2 #haya2_TD… https://t.co/vPY7mAMdGk"

Johns Hopkins APL on Twitter: "‼�BREAKING‼�2014 MU69 (nicknamed #UltimaThule), is not, as it turns out, quite so round as initially anticipated. Images from @NASANewHorizons confirm the highly unusual, flatter shape of the #KBO: https://t.co/yaAZx8XQqO… https://t.co/v1rD7aNxGp"...

John Culberson lost reelection and the Europa Clipper team is looking at using the Falcon Heavy with a Star 48 kick stage. The spacecraft would make it to Jupiter with one Earth gravity assist like Juno. This would not affect the design of the spacecraft because it won't have to approach the Sun...

Parker Solar Probe broke Helios 2's records for closest approach to the sun and highest velocity on October 29. In just over two hours from the time of this post, Parker will reach its first perihelion. Source: NASA: "Parker Solar Probe Breaks Record, Becomes Closest Spacecraft to Sun"

DLR - English on Twitter: "The @DLR_de @CNES @MASCOT2018 lander has landed safely on asteroid Ryugu and is in contact with its team! #AsteroidLanding… https://t.co/Hv8hYqhTP5"

Roman Tkachenko on Twitter: "Surface image from Rover-1B after landing! #Ryugu #リュウグウ #Hayabusa2 #はやぶさ2 #AsteroidLanding… " From the post: http://fanfun.jaxa.jp/jaxatv/files/20180927_hayabusa2_e.pdf

I just realized Parker launched on a Sunday.

Scrubbed, 24-hour turnaround

NASA: "New Horizons Team Prepares for Stellar Occultation Ahead of Ultima Thule Flyby"

"Prepping to Launch for the Sun" Aw, what a cute little probe.

The $1000 Nikon P1000 has a 24-3000mm 35mm-equivalent lens with a maximum aperture of f/8 at the narrow end. This corresponds to a 539mm focal length. It uses a 1/2.3" sensor, 6.2mm wide and 4.6mm tall. This is roughly a 4:3 ratio. The resolution of the sensor is 4608x3456, or 15,925,248 pixels...

https://events.airbus.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=200179103 Rovey McRoveface

SpaceX has fished fairings out of the water but hasn't catched any yet. Mr. Steven was recently upgraded for this. SpaceX on Twitter: "Mr. Steven—now with more net. SpaceX’s fairing recovery vessel has been fitted with a 4x larger net ahead of its next recovery attempt targeted for later this...

NASA: "Radiation Maps of Jupiter’s Moon Europa: Key to Future Missions" {colsp=2} | Radiation from Jupiter can destroy molecules on Europa’s surface. Material from Europa’s ocean that ends up on the surface will be bombarded by radiation, possibly destroying any biosignatures, or chemical...

There's new information on how the Martian aurora is created. "NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft Finds That “Stolen” Electrons Enable Unusual Aurora on Mars" {colsp=2} | This animation shows a proton aurora at Mars. First, a solar wind proton approaches Mars at high speed and encounters a cloud of...