Portal:Astronomy/Anniversaries/August

4 August 2007 – The Phoenix Mars Lander is launched from Cape Canaveral, carrying science instruments to analyze soil samples of the Martian northern polar region
6 August 2012 – The Mars rover Curiosity lands on the Red Planet as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission
7 August 1996 – Announcement of possible microfossils found in ALH84001 Martian Meteorite
20 August 1977 – Voyager 2 space probe is launched by NASA to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere
21 August 2017 – NASA.gov conducts a broadcast of the total solar eclipse with more than 50 million views of the live broadcast, and almost 31 million unique views on Facebook before and after the eclipse
24 August 2006 – The International Astronomical Union votes to approve a new definition of "planet" that excludes Pluto
25 August 2003 – The Spitzer Space Telescope (SIRTF) is launched, dedicated to infrared astronomy
27 August 1962 – Mariner 2 launches on a journey to Venus, and is the first robotic space probe to conduct a successful planetary encounter
31 August 1913 – Bernard Lovell, a British physicist and radio astronomer is born