 | The opening of the front door of SODISM, the solar disk imager of PICARD mission, was carried out successfully on July 20. PICARD was launched on June 15 from Yasny, Russia, into a perfect heliosynchronous orbit at 725 km altitude. The first light achieved by the solar disk imager SODISM initiates a period of precise adjustments which will last for several weeks, before the official start of nominal solar observations. The IAS is actively involved in several aspects of the project. |
 | CoRot 2010 harvest : 7 planets and a brown dwarf : CoRoT – 8b: a little Saturn CoRoT – 9b: a giant with a moderate temperature CoRoT – 10b: a giant with a very eccentric orbit CoRoT – 11b: a giant around a star with a rapid rotation CoRoT – 12b, -13b and 14b: three hot giants CoRoT – 15b: a brown dwarf |
 | An all-sky image from Planck's recently completed first survey highlights the two major emission sources in the microwave sky: the cosmic background and the Milky Way. |
 | The OMEGA and CRISM instruments on board ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are pursuing their ongoing efforts to decipher the early Martian environment. Hydrated minerals indicating rock alteration by liquid water have been identified in craters which penetrated the northern plains of Mars, which is proof of the widespread presence of liquid water on the surface of Mars some 4 billion years ago. |
