El Astrónomo Errante

This video takes viewers on a virtual tour of Vesta's south polar basin, the 'snowman' set of craters and a crater called Oppia.

This movie uses data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft to simulate the view from the spacecraft flying over the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta.

This artist's animation depicts 55 Cancri e as it orbits its star.

NASA's NuSTAR will use its X-ray eyes to scout for hidden black holes in the universe.

View sunspots and a solar eclipse through solar-safe 'scopes this month.

This video from NASA's Dawn mission shows that the gravity field of Vesta closely matches the surface topography of the giant asteroid Vesta.

Images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have revealed half-mile-sized (kilometer-sized) objects punching through parts of Saturn's F ring, leaving glittering trails behind them.

Landing a spacecraft on Mars is one of the trickiest things we do. This 60-second video explains how it's done, and the three landing systems we use at the Red Planet.

How engineers teach Curiosity to use a robotic arm on Mars.

Animation of a skinny 'dust devil' on the dust-covered Amazonis Planitia region of northern Mars.

View Saturn all night this month, and view icy moons through a telescope.

High school students compete in a robot smackdown

We're not in Kansas anymore ! Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Catches a Twister in Action

In the eight-month trip to Mars, a lot has to go right for Curiosity to arrive safely.

NASA's newest X-ray telescope will have a lengthy structure that unfolds in space, allowing it to see high-energy objects like feeding black holes.

NASA scientist explains why the world won't end in 2012.

How do you prepare to land a one-ton rover lightly on the surface of Mars? Practice!

Mark your calendar for amazing planetary views this month as Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn put on a show in the night sky and comet Garradd sticks around for its close-up.

Animation shows the location of mountain glaciers and ice caps around the world with data from the GRACE mission to show recent trends in ice mass loss or gain.

NASA's GRAIL mission has beamed back its first video of the far side of the moon. The imagery was taken on Jan. 19 by the MoonKAM aboard the mission's 'Ebb' spacecraft.

Mars gets closer and two comets delight viewers.

Behind the scenes look at launching the Curiosity rover to Mars.

Lift-off of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover to Mars!

NASA's Opportunity rover hits 8-year mark on Mars.

NASA's twin GRAIL spacecraft have new names, thanks to some enthusiastic 4th graders from Montana, who reveal the names in dramatic fashion.

NASA rover makes first big maneuver en route to August rendezvous with Mars.

The transpolar drift (purple) carries freshwater (red) from Russian rivers towards Greenland. Changing atmospheric circulation (blue) drive the runoff east towards Canada. Credit: NASA/U. of Wash.

After firing its main engine for 39 minutes, the GRAIL-A spacecraft was captured into lunar orbit.

Check out a pretty parade of planets this month. Venus at dusk, Jupiter overhead, Mars before midnight, Saturn near sunrise.

NASA's twin GRAIL spacecraft are on course to enter orbit around the moon just in time for 2012.

Take a virtual sleigh ride over the real landscapes of Mars, courtesy of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

A look back at an exciting year of exploration.

JPLers and students compete in the 2011 Invention Challenge.

Although still nearly eight months from Mars, the Radiation Assessment Detector on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory has begun collecting data that will aid planning of future human missions to Mars.

This video includes images from NASA's Dawn framing camera instrument.

A recap of our successful launches including JUNO, GRAIL and MSL as well as many planets to be seen in the night sky including a lunar eclipse.

Soar over the giant asteroid Vesta in 3-D. Put on your 3-D glasses for this ride over asteroid Vesta.

A rocket hobbyist builds a WAC Corporal replica to honor aeronautics pioneer Frank Malina.

The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft separates from the upper stage of its Atlas V launch vehicle and heads on its way to Mars.

After thousands of hours of testing and bug fixes, the Curiosity rover is ready for launch.

What does it take to get a spacecraft to Mars? This 60-second video covers a few key things to remember when planning a trip to the Red Planet.

A look at getting the Curiosity rover from its birthplace at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55 was obtained on Nov. 7, 2011, at 11:45 a.m. PST (2:45 p.m. EST/1945 UTC).

Mars is often known as the 'Red Planet,' but is it really red? This 60-second video answers one of the most frequently asked questions about our planetary neighbor.

This six-frame movie of asteroid 2005 YU55 was generated from data obtained by NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar on Nov. 7, 2011.

An aircraft carrier-sized asteroid makes a safe, close flyby of Earth on Nov. 8, 2011.

Planets on parade as we prepare for Curiosity Rover Launch

75 years ago, the first rocket tests were conducted on a site that is now NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Curiosity is the biggest robot explorer ever to rove Mars. How do you power something like that?

This flyover of Oahu, Hawaii, was made by draping Jan. 13, 2010, image data from the ASTER instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft over new ASTER Version 2 digital elevation data.

During the three-year trek of NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity from Victoria crater to Endeavour crater, rover planners captured a horizon photograph at the end of each drive.

Look for moons and meteors this month!

New observations by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, show there are significantly fewer near-Earth asteroids in the mid-size range than previously thought.

Aquarius is making NASA's first space observations of ocean surface salinity variations.

New views of the second most massive object in the asteroid belt.

This false-color video of the giant asteroid Vesta was created from images taken by the framing camera aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft.

These animations illustrate a planet circling two stars. The planet, Kepler-16b, was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission.

Scientists use Mars 'follow the water' technology on Earth

Enjoy a tour of lunar landing sites as NASA's GRAIL mission launches to the moon this month.

NASA's GRAIL precision flyers will determine the lunar structure from crust to core.

These animations shows the motion of ice in Antarctica.

This animation shows the major mission events of the Curiosity rover's landing on Mars scheduled for August 2012.

Simulated flyover of recurrent, warm-season flows on a slope inside Newton crater on Mars.

Could there be flowing water on Mars?

This animation shows how Jupiter will appear to the camera onboard NASA's Juno mission, called JunoCam, as the spacecraft goes through an orbit.

Windy Saturn and Jupiter, Juno mission launch.

In this movie, strung together from a series of images provided by the framing camera on NASA's Dawn spacecraft, we see a full rotation of Vesta, which occurs over the course of roughly five hours.

This animation illustrates the orbit of 2010 TK7 (green dots), the first known Earth Trojan asteroid, discovered by NEOWISE, the asteroid-hunting portion of NASA's WISE mission.

What will NASA's Juno mission learn at Jupiter?

All the pieces are in place for the NASA Curiosity rover's upcoming launch to Mars.

Soar over the crater on Mars that will be Curiosity's landing site.

These views of Mars are just a small sampling from the 124,000 images returned by the Spirit rover.

This month you can learn about asteroids, and see Vesta, as the Dawn spacecraft closes in.

A narrated play-by-play of the key events of Curiosity's landing on Mars.

This 11-minute animation depicts key events of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.

How do you move NASA's next Mars rover from one coast to the other?

A last look at NASA's Curiosity rover as it gets packed up for the trip to Florida.

This movie shows surface details beginning to resolve as NASA's Dawn spacecraft closes in on the giant asteroid Vesta.

NASA's Aquarius begins its mission to study the salt in Earth's ocean.

Engineers make the finishing touches readying Aquarius for launch.

The Imagine Mars Project gives students a chance to work with scientists and engineers to build and design a future human community on Mars.

NASA prepares for launch of Aquarius, an Earth-orbiting mission that will measure salt content on the ocean surface.

Solar System collisions, impacts and craters!

NASA's Aquarius is secured to a rocket in preparation for launch.

Team members reflect on Spirit's six-years of roving Mars.

Engineers attach and test solar panels to the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft, as it's readied for launch.

Scientists get closer to selecting a landing site for the Curiosity rover.

NASA's salt-seeking Aquarius ascends to the heavens this June. Find out how it can help answer questions about climate change.

Engineers put the rover through spin tests to ensure smooth sailing in space.

First of a series leading up to the launch of the Aquarius mission .

All month long watch 4 planets and the moon gather just before sunrise.

At the edge of the solar system.

Use the big dipper to find Saturn this month.

First shake then bake -- NASA's recipe to prepare the next Mars rover for space and the Red Planet.

Saturn is sending out mixed signals in recent data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Engineers test Curiosity's hill-climbing capabilities using her Earthbound twin.

This video shows the scientists' best guess to date of what the surface of the protoplanet Vesta might look like.

Curiosity recently completed vibration tests to make sure the rover can withstand the bumpy ride to Mars.

This movie shows what it was like for NASA's Stardust spacecraft to fly by comet Tempel 1.

During its Feb. 14, 2011, flyby of comet Tempel 1, an instrument on the protective shield on NASA's Stardust spacecraft was pelted by dust particles and small rocks.