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What's New in Lunar & Planetary Science

The CNSA (China) Chang'e-6 lunar sample return mission is scheduled to launch on May 3 at 7:50 UT (3:50 a.m. EDT) on a Long March 5 booster from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center.

The Voyager 1 spacecraft successfully started transmitting engineering data on 20 April for the first time since November 14, 2023. A software fix circumvented a chip failure that had prevented useful data from being sent. For more, see the JPL news release.

Communications were reestablished with the Japanese SLIM lunar lander on March 26 after it survived its second lunar night.

This Day in Planetary and Lunar Exploration History

1962: Joint U.S./U.K. Ariel 1 launched, first international satellite.
1962: Ranger 4 becomes first U.S. spacecraft to impact the Moon.
1967: San Marco 2 launched from platform off coast of Kenya, first launch from a sea-based platform.
1998: Cassini flies by Venus as part of its trajectory to Saturn.
2023: Contact is lost with Hakuto-R as it attempts to land on the Moon.