The first IBEX data was released in October 2009.

Our Sun creates an insulating bubble, called the “heliosphere” around our solar system. This heliosphere shields us from a tenth of the galactic radiation pouring in from space. In 2008, NASA launched the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) to study the particles in this region. The first IBEX maps are now available, and they reveal much more complexity than models predicted.

• The IBEX mission home page.

The Ares 1 rocket.

NASA developed the Ares 1 rocket to carry a new crew vehicle into space upon the retirement of the space shuttle. A test conducted in fall 2009 included a six-minute flight with myriad sensors to provide data on the rocket’s performance. The test went well, but the re-entry parachutes did not perform as expected, and a booster was dented on impact with the ocean. The expensive test and the projected budget calls into question whether this technology can be further developed.

• NASA information on the Ares I-X test flight.
• Spaceflight Now talks about the dent.
• Space.com provides video of the flight.

Fresh meteorite craters expose ice on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Astronomers using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have located some new craters on the surface of Mars. This isn’t unusual – the surfaces of planets and moons are pocked by plummeting space rocks happen all the time. But this time, the craters were so fresh that scientists were able to see water ice within them. Apparently the small impacts had exposed a layer of ice beneath Mars’ dust.

• High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment blog on the water ice.
• Sky and Telescope blogs on the discovery.
• Aviation Week on the discovery.

The ALMA antenna is transported to the Chajnantor plateau.

The largest astronomical project in existence is getting under way in the high plains of northern Chile. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array, or ALMA, will be comprised of 66 giant 40-foot and 23-foot antennas, spread over 11.5 miles, operating as a single, giant radio telescope. ALMA will help astronomers answer questions about our cosmic origins and will observe some of coldest and most distant objects in the cosmos.

• The ALMA antenna is transported to the Chajnantor plateau.
• ALMA news release.
• ALMA Web site.

One of the first new images from the repaired Hubble.

In September, NASA declared the Hubble Space Telescope back in full working order. All the instruments are in excellent shape after being checked out and calibrated. The new instruments are the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), which can see wavelengths ranging from the optical into the infrared, and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), which studies the ultraviolet. The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which had partially stopped working, has new circuitry and functioning as well as ever. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), which was also in need of repairs, is now back on the job.

• HubbleSite news release featuring the new images.

Image acquired during September 2009 flyby.

The three Mercury flybys of the Messenger spacecraft are complete. Despite a glitch during the third pass, most of the surface of Mercury has been imaged. The Messenger team is examining the craters, bright and dark spots, and other surface features in the hopes of understanding the geologic history of Mercury.

• Messenger's main Web site.
• The Third Flyby Web page.
• Graphic of the Messenger orbital tracks.
• A collection of additional Messenger images.

The shadows of a pair of Saturn moons pass over the planet's rings in this Cassini image.

Saturn’s rings have fascinated us ever since Galileo first spotted them in his telescope in 1610 — almost 400 years ago. But how these icy rings came into being remains a mystery. Saturn’s rings are thought to consist of roughly 35 trillion trillion tons of ice, dust and rock. Cassini and Voyager spacecraft have revealed many new details of the rings, but many mysteries still remain.

• Space.com on Saturn's rings.
• NASA's Solar System Exploration on Saturn's rings.
• The Cassini Web site.

LCROSS will impact the Cabeus A crater on the Moon.

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission is designed to determine whether water ice is present on the Moon. Water is always an issue for future lunar exploration. LCROSS has two components — a rocket that will impact a shadowy Moon crater and excavate it, and a satellite that will sample the plume produced by the impact. If ancient ice lies buried on the Moon, it may be ejected and then detected by specialized instruments.

• Video of the LCROSS launch.
• The LCROSS Web site.