NASA marked the final launch of its 30-year-old space shuttle program but sent unmanned missions elsewhere, including Mars and Jupiter. Other nations also continued their interplanetary explorations.
This image of the asteroid Vesta was captured by the Dawn spacecraft from 3,200 miles away. Dawn entered orbit around Vesta on July 15 and will spend a year orbiting the body. The next stop on Dawn's itinerary will be the dwarf planet Ceres. NASA/JPL/via AP Buy Photo