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Surveyor 4

Goals: Like Surveyor 3, Surveyor 4 was to photograph the lunar terrain and test the soil in preparation for Apollo lunar landing missions.

Accomplishments: None. Despite a flawless flight to the Moon, contact was lost a heartbreaking 2.5 minutes before scheduled touchdown on the lunar surface.

Earth's Moon News

Hours before the rise of the very star it will study, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe launched from Florida Sunday to begin its journey to the Sun, where it will undertake a landmark mission.

NASA, ULA Launch Parker Solar Probe on Historic Journey to Touch Sun

NASA, ULA Launch Parker Solar Probe on Historic Journey to Touch Sun

Launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Parker Solar Probe will make its journey all the way to the Sun’s atmosphere, or corona — closer to the Sun than any spacecraft in history.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is About to Lift Off

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is About to Lift Off

A new paper published in Science this week suggests that liquid water may be sitting under a layer of ice at Mars' south pole.

NASA Statement on Possible Subsurface Lake near Martian South Pole

NASA Statement on Possible Subsurface Lake near Martian South Pole

The European Space Agency announced that radar data collected by its Mars Express spacecraft point to a pond of liquid water buried under layers of ice and dust in the south polar region of Mars.

ESA: Mars Express Detects Liquid Water Hidden Under Planet’s South Pole

ESA: Mars Express Detects Liquid Water Hidden Under Planet’s South Pole

Marking the anniversary of New Horizons' historic flight through the Pluto system on July 14, 2015, mission scientists have released the most accurate natural color images of Pluto and Charon.

The True Colors of Pluto and Charon

The True Colors of Pluto and Charon

Scientists with NASA's Mars orbiters have been waiting years for an event like the current Mars global dust storm.

'Storm Chasers' on Mars Searching for Dusty Secrets

'Storm Chasers' on Mars Searching for Dusty Secrets

Twelve new moons orbiting Jupiter have been found—11 “normal” outer moons, and one that they’re calling an “oddball.” This brings Jupiter’s total number of known moons to a whopping 79.

A Dozen New Moons of Jupiter Discovered

A Dozen New Moons of Jupiter Discovered

Juno’s JIRAM instrument points to a new heat source close to the south pole of Io that could indicate a previously undiscovered volcano.

NASA Juno Data Indicate Another Possible Volcano on Jupiter Moon Io

NASA Juno Data Indicate Another Possible Volcano on Jupiter Moon Io

Three of the world's largest radio telescopes have revealed that a near-Earth asteroid discovered last year is actually two objects, nearly equal in size, orbiting each other.

Observatories Team Up to Reveal Rare Double Asteroid

Observatories Team Up to Reveal Rare Double Asteroid

New research from NASA's Cassini spacecraft's up-close Grand Finale orbits shows a surprisingly powerful and dynamic interaction of plasma waves moving from Saturn to its rings and its moon Enceladus

Listen: Sound of Electromagnetic Energy Moving Between Saturn, Enceladus

Listen: Sound of Electromagnetic Energy Moving Between Saturn, Enceladus

A dust storm continues to envelop the Red Planet and Curiosity's labs are back in action.

NASA Mars Report: July 3, 2018

NASA Mars Report: July 3, 2018

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft reached its lowest-ever and final orbit around dwarf planet Ceres on June 6 and has been returning thousands of stunning images and other data.

Dawn’s Latest Orbit Reveals Dramatic New Views of Occator Crater

Dawn’s Latest Orbit Reveals Dramatic New Views of Occator Crater