Do you know why the launch was postponed? Oh, and when the spacecraft is suppose to be shipped to KSC? I heard it's next month

A color image (finally!) of Io is up on the NH website

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/gallery/missionPho...ges/032807.html

In terms of launch period, I believe that Dawn has till October to lift off. It is misses that, the opportunity to reach Ceres from Vesta won't be possible for around 15 years

Still waiting on seeing (TRUE) color images of Jupiter by NH...

Cool. Nice to know Phoenix's future home on the Red Planet has been selected

http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070312/full/070312-5.html

New journal:

http://www.dawn-mission.org/mission/journal_2_07.asp

It's great that they updated the Phoenix site...but, um, did Deborah Bass repeat those last lines in her blog on purpose? Quite odd. And I'm kinda confused as to what the "flight units" are that Susanne Young is talking about. The hydrazine fuel? They both get 'C's in writing!! J/k

Don't forget about having UMSF on the moon

http://planetary.org/special/fromearth/selene/

Great update, Emily! Hopefully there'll be nothing to downgrade Green Valley as Phoenix approaches next next May

I read that the MER names include those submitted for Mars Polar Lander and the 2001 Surveyor. Must've been a drag for those people to wait a couple more years to see their names fly. Hope the JPL folks are getting close to finding a landing site for Phoenix

The Planetary Society started these participation certificates at 1000000 (The 'Wish Upon The Moon' campaign for SELENE is the same way). 161,000 names have actually been submitted...which is obviously still a lot, don't get me wrong!

For Stardust and the Mars Rovers, on the other hand, 1 million and 4 million names were submitted, respectively.

Off-topic, but let us know how the Phoenix landing site meeting goes, Emily. As if that's something to forget writing about

The Planetary Society extended the deadline to February 6. Almost 156,000 names submitted so far

New Jupiter images are set to be released next week on the NH site:

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/news_center/news/011007.htm

New PI Perspective:

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/overview/piPerspec...ive_current.php

Awesome! Can't wait

I could care less about how Phoenix meets its fate after its mission... I just hope its thrusters work beautifully when it's descending to the ground at the beginning of its mission

Are the names and messages gonna be engraved by a machine? 'Cause that's gonna be a heck of a lot of work to do by some person once the list is done next January

Thanks for the note, Emily... All I got was a registration number when I submitted on the Japanese website. And that certificate looks great

About 360,000 names are flying onboard Dawn. Probably would've been a lot more had the mission not been stood down late last year. Not that 360,000 names aren't a lot, already

Wrong web forum (NSF.com is more appropriate), but imagine booking a room for the previous shuttle mission (STS-115). With all those delays, that must've been frustrating

Heck-- Imagine all the rooms that will be booked prior to the last shuttle launch in 2010

http://planetary.org/special/fromearth/phoenix

Deadline to submit your name to be put on the Phoenix lander is February 1, 2007

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...eoid=1358252330

Speaking of Hubble, someone posted up this personal video they shot of Columbia launching on the last servicing flight in 2002 (STS-109). I added some 'production value' to it, though most people already call this liftoff one of the most "beautiful" launches ever.

You don't need a MySpace account to view this video

Thanks. It's the opening music to Apollo 13