Improving the Usability of Galileo and Voyager Images of Jupiter's Moon Europa.

NASA's Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and Galileo spacecraft acquired hundreds of images of Jupiter's moon Europa. These images provide the only moderate- to high-resolution views of the moon's surface and are therefore a critical resource for scientific analysis and future mission planning. Unfortunately, uncertain knowledge of the spacecraft's position and pointing during image acquisition resulted in significant errors in the location of the images on the surface.

Improving the geometry of Kaguya extended mission data through refined orbit determination using laser altimetry.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Kaguya spacecraft carried a suite of instruments to map the Moon and its environment globally. During its extended mission, the average altitude was 50 km or lower, and Kaguya science products using these data hence have an increased spatial resolution. However, the geodetic position quality of these products is much worse than that of those acquired during the primary mission (at an altitude of 100 km) because of reduced radiometric tracking and frequent thrusting to maintain spacecraft attitude after the loss of momentum wheels.

Rain, winds and haze during the Huygens probe's descent to Titan's surface.

The irreversible conversion of methane into higher hydrocarbons in Titan's stratosphere implies a surface or subsurface methane reservoir. Recent measurements from the cameras aboard the Cassini orbiter fail to see a global reservoir, but the methane and smog in Titan's atmosphere impedes the search for hydrocarbons on the surface. Here we report spectra and high-resolution images obtained by the Huygens Probe Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer instrument in Titan's atmosphere.