Unmanned NASA missions on July 2, 2009, showing a region in the lunar highlands south of Mare Nubium ("Sea of Clouds"). Launched on June 18, 2009, in conjunction with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), as the vanguard of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, this is the first United States mission to the Moon in over ten years. LRO and LCROSS are the first missions launched as part of the United States's Vision for Space Exploration program. Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a NASA mission to land and operate a rover named "Curiosity" on the surface of Mars. It was launched
Gliese 687 40% of the Sun's mass and nearly 50% of the Sun's radius. Compared to the Sun, it has a slightly higher proportion of elements with higher atomic numbers than helium. It appears to have a rotation of 60 days and to be somewhat chromospherically active. It displays no excess of infrared radiation that would indicate orbiting dust. It is known to have a planet, Gliese 687 b, with a mass of 18.394 Earth masses (which makes it comparable to Neptune), an orbital period of 38.14 days, and a low orbital eccentricity. Gliese 687 is a solitary red dwarf that emits