With commander Kevin Kregel at the controls, the shuttle touched down at 2322 GMT at Kennedy Space Center. Galileo probe makes third and closest Io flyby NASA's Galileo spacecraft has scored another success by completing Tuesday morning's third and closest flyby of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, dipping to only 124 miles above the fiery surface. Endeavour's astronauts are setting their sights on returning to Earth today after mapping a vast majority of the planet, but where the shuttle lands in anyone's guess. See our Mission Status Center for live landing updates. As space shuttle Endeavour nears its homecoming on Tuesday, NASA officials have formally approved plans to split the next mission to the International Space Station into two voyages of Atlantis.
Controllers report no problems occurred during the encounter.
The Stardust spacecraft blasted into space a year ago. Its destination - Comet Wild 2. These measurements, the most precise of their kind ever made with an X-ray telescope, demonstrate the existence of a blanket of warm gas that is expanding rapidly away from the black hole. This distant quasar easily skates past the previous record-holder, placing it among the earliest known structures ever to form in the Universe. At the end of last week, the STM underwent a series of shocking experiences in order to check its ability to survive the rough treatment that will be meted out during launch.