See Mars get eclipsed by moon in occultation time-lapse
The Griffith Observatory in California had a great view of the Mars-Moon occultation on Dec. 7, 2022. See the Red Planet slip behind the moon and re-emerge in this time-lapse. Credit: Griffith Observatory | edited by Space.com
UP NEXT
NOW PLAYING: Science & Technology
 [Best night sky events this month - stargazing maps](https://www.space.com/33974-best-night-sky-events.html) Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech](http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1c52HF.img?h=170&w=300&m=6&q=60&u=t&o=t&l=f&f=jpg "Planets, Summer Triangle and more in June 2023 skywatching - Provided by Space")
 Music: My Halo Orbit by DEX 1200 / courtesy of http://www.epidemicsound.com](http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1bZkZf.img?h=170&w=300&m=6&q=60&u=t&o=t&l=f&f=jpg "See amazing Hubble Space Telescope imagery of a globular cluster - Provided by Space")
 Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: China Central Television (CCTV) | edited by [Steve Spaleta](https://twitter.com/stevespaleta)](http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1bU4mQ.img?h=170&w=300&m=6&q=60&u=t&o=t&l=f&f=jpg "China - Provided by Space")
 Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: China Central Television (CCTV) | edited by [Steve Spaleta](https://twitter.com/stevespaleta)](http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1bQuVI.img?h=170&w=300&m=6&q=60&u=t&o=t&l=f&f=jpg "China rolls out Shenzhou 16 crew - Provided by Space")
 This was also the first mission to land on an asteroid. Hayabusa would spend about two years chasing down a near-Earth asteroid called 25143 Itokawa. It then landed on the asteroid, scooped up some samples, and returned to Earth in 2010. Hayabusa may have accomplished its mission, but it was also constantly plagued with technical difficulties. The problems started six months after the launch, when a huge solar flare damaged the solar arrays. This reduced the amount of power the solar panels could supply to its ion engines, so it look an extra three months to reach the asteroid. After finally getting there, Hayabusa tried to drop off a tiny robotic lander called MINERVA, but it drifted off into space without even touching the asteroid. Hayabusa itself made two separate landing attempts, both of which were riddled with problems that put the spacecraft into safe mode. But somehow it still managed to bring some asteroid dust back to Earth.](http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1bNp9i.img?h=170&w=300&m=6&q=60&u=t&o=t&l=f&f=jpg "OTD in Space – May 9: Japan Launches Hayabusa Mission to Asteroid - Provided by Space")
