2003 – at 04:29:25 UTC on an M-V rocket from the Uchinoura Space Center (still called Kagoshima Space Center at that time). Following launch, the spacecraft’s name was changed from the original MUSES-C to Hayabusa, the Japanese word for falcon. The spacecraft’s xenon ion engines (four separate units), operating near-continuously for two years, slowly moved Hayabusa toward a September 2005 rendezvous with Itokawa. (wiki)
2003 – The European Space Agency unveiled the largest and most detailed image of the Helix Nebula, a planetary nebula, combining Hubble images with a photo from Kitt Peak
2001 – ESO (European Southern Observatory) News: The VLT Uncovers Traces of Stellar Cannibalism. The spectral image of nearby star HD 82943 uncovers Lithium-6 at the star’s surface. This discovery is strong evidence that the star engulfed one of its planets. Knowledge changes our picture of solar system evolution once again.
1971 – Mariner 8 launched (Mars Flyby). Failed to reach Earth orbit.
Birthdays
1949 – Oleg Yur’yevich At’kov (Russian: Оле́г Ю́рьевич Атько́в) is a Russian cardiologist and former Soviet cosmonaut. With a doctorate from the Russian Academy of Medical Science, Atkov was chosen to be the health specialist on board Soyuz T-10 and Soyuz T-11. Time in space: 236d 22h 49m
1943 – Colin Pillinger was born in Kingswood, Gloucestershire, England. He was a founding member of the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute at Open University in Milton Keynes, he was also the principal investigator for the British Beagle 2 Mars lander project, and worked on a group of Martian meteorites. (d. 7 May 2014)
1931 – Vance DeVoe Brand born in Longmont, Colorado, U.S. Selection: NASA Group 5 (1966) Missions: Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, STS-5, STS-41-B, STS-35. Time in space: 31d 2h 02m
