Good News From Outer Space

These two photographs were taken by a small impactor just before it hit the lunar surface, apparently near Shackleton Crater at the south pole, after it was released by the Indian probe Chansrayaan 1 (via the Indian Space Research Organisation). That's a big first for India's space industry.

In other news, the Mars Rover Spirit has survived a bad dust storm and is up and running again. (Remember Spirit and Opportunity? They've been roaming the surface of Mars for four years now, long beyond the official date for the end of operation.)