Deep Space Rendezvous
| Date (GMT) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 January | Cassini | 40th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,010 kilometres (630 mi) |
| 14 January | MESSENGER | 1st flyby of Mercury | Closest approach: 200 kilometres (120 mi) at 19:04 GMT |
| 22 February | Cassini | 41st flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) |
| 12 March | Cassini | 3rd flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 52 kilometres (32 mi) |
| 25 March | Cassini | 42nd flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) |
| 12 May | Cassini | 43rd flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) |
| 25 May | Phoenix | Landing on Mars | Region D, Arctic area - Green Valley, near the Heimdall crater: 68°N, 236°E. Touchdown at 23:38 GMT. Successful |
| 28 May | Cassini | 44th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) |
| 31 July | Cassini | 45th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,613 kilometres (1,002 mi) |
| 11 August | Cassini | 4th flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 54 kilometres (34 mi) |
| 5 September | Rosetta | Flyby of 2867 Šteins |
Closest approach: 800 kilometres (500 mi) |
| 6 October | MESSENGER | 2nd flyby of Mercury | |
| 9 October | Cassini | 5th flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 25 kilometres (16 mi) |
| 31 October | Cassini | 6th flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 200 kilometres (120 mi) |
| 3 November | Cassini | 46th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) |
| 8 November | Chandrayaan-1 | Injection into Selenocentric orbit | Periselene: 504 kilometres (313 mi), Aposelene: 7,502 kilometres (4,662 mi) |
| 14 November | MIP | Landing on the Moon | Lunar Impactor |
| 19 November | Cassini | 47th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,023 kilometres (636 mi) |
| 5 December | Cassini | 48th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 960 kilometres (600 mi) |
| 21 December | Cassini | 49th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 970 kilometres (600 mi) |
- Distant, non-targeted flybys of Dione, Enceladus, Mimas, Tethys and Titan by Cassini occurred throughout the year.
Read more about this topic: 2008 In Spaceflight
Famous quotes containing the words deep and/or space:
“The poet alone knows astronomy, chemistry, vegetation, and animation, for he does not stop at these facts, but employs them as signs. He knows why the plain, or meadow of space, was strewn with these flowers we call suns, and moons, and stars; why the great deep is adorned with animals, with men, and gods; for, in every word he speaks he rides on them as the horses of thought.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Even the most subjected person has moments of rage and resentment so intense that they respond, they act against. There is an inner uprising that leads to rebellion, however short- lived. It may be only momentary but it takes place. That space within oneself where resistance is possible remains.”
—bell hooks (b. c. 1955)