Space Exploration News

Martian North Polar Vortex Creates Seasonal Ozone Layer, Planetary Scientists Say

Perspective view of Mars’ north polar ice cap and its distinctive dark troughs forming a spiral-like pattern. The view is based on images taken by ESA’s Mars Express and generated using elevation data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on board NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / NASA / MGS / MOLA Science Team.
Sep 17, 2025 by News Staff

The polar vortex is a consequence of Martian seasons, which occur because the planet’s axis is tilted at an angle of 25.2 degrees, according to University of Oxford’s Dr. Kevin Olsen and his colleagues from LATMOS, CNRS, Space Research Institute, The Open University and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Perspective view of Mars’ north polar ice cap and its distinctive dark troughs forming a spiral-like pattern. The view is based on images...

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This map shows the size and shape of the ozone hole over the South Pole on October 5, 2022, when it reached its single-day maximum extent for the year. Image credit: Joshua Stevens / NASA’s Earth Observatory.

Earth’s Ozone Layer Remains on Track to Recovery in Coming Decades, Experts Say

Sep 17, 2025 by News Staff

The ozone layer is healing and the Antarctic ozone hole in 2024 was smaller than in previous years, according to a new report from the World Meteorological...

Saturn’s moon Enceladus with a plume. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / Kevin M. Gill.

Planetary Scientists Question Ocean Origin of Organic Molecules in Enceladus’ Plumes

Sep 16, 2025 by News Staff

Saturn’s magnetosphere contains trapped plasma and energetic charged particles which constantly irradiate the surface of Enceladus. The plasma consists...

This artist’s impression shows how Mars may have looked about 4 billion years ago. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Perseverance Finds Potential Chemical Signatures of Ancient Microbial Life on Mars

Sep 10, 2025 by News Staff

NASA’s Perseverance rover has explored and sampled igneous and sedimentary rocks within Jezero crater to characterize early Martian geological processes...

Protopapa et al. used Webb observations (white) to detect methane gas on Makemake; sharp emission peaks near 3.3 microns reveal methane in the gas phase above Makemake’s surface; a continuum model (cyan) is overlaid for comparison; the gas emission peaks are identified where the observed spectrum rises above the continuum. Image credit: S. Protopapa / I. Wong / SwRI / STScI / NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb.

Webb Detects Methane Gas on Dwarf Planet Makemake

Sep 9, 2025 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have found evidence for gaseous methane on the distant dwarf planet Makemake. Reported in...

Hubble captured this image of 3I/ATLAS on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 446 million km (277 million miles) from Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / David Jewitt, UCLA / Joseph DePasquale, STScI.

Planetary Scientists Propose Mission to Explore Next Interstellar Comets

Sep 4, 2025 by News Staff

Planetary researchers at Southwest Research Institute has completed a study detailing how a proposed spacecraft could fly by an interstellar comet, providing...

Juno capturing the marks on Jupiter of all four Galilean moons; the aurorae related to each are labeled Io, Eur (for Europa), Gan (for Ganymede), and Cal (for Callisto). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / UVS Team / MSSS / Gill / Jónsson / Perry / Hue / Rabia.

Juno Observes Ultraviolet Satellite Footprint of Jupiter’s Moon Callisto

Sep 4, 2025 by News Staff

Jupiter hosts the brightest and most spectacular aurorae in the Solar System. Near its poles, these shimmering lights offer a glimpse into how the planet...

STP-Sat6. Image credit: Northrop Grumman.

Study Reveals Cause of Potentially Damaging Electrical Discharges on Satellites

Sep 1, 2025 by News Staff

Using data collected by sensors on the U.S. Department of Defense Space Test Program Satellite 6 (STP-Sat6) in geostationary orbit, scientists have found...

A giant collision in the early history of Mars created a global magma ocean. Image credit: Vadim Sadovski / Imperial College London.

Martian Mantle Holds Frozen Record of Planet’s Violent Beginnings, Study Suggests

Aug 28, 2025 by News Staff

The mantle of Mars contains ancient fragments up to 4 km wide from its formation — preserved like geological fossils from the planet’s violent...

This image of the asteroid Ryugu was captured by the Optical Navigation Camera - Telescopic (ONC-T) on JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft on June 26, 2018, from a distance of 13.7 miles (22 km). Image credit: JAXA / University of Tokyo / Kochi University / Rikkyo University / Nagoya University / Chiba Institute of Technology / Meiji University / Aizu University / AIST.

Asteroids Bennu and Ryugu are Part of Polana Collisional Family, Webb Observations Suggest

Aug 26, 2025 by News Staff

The new Polana collisional family in the Solar System’s main asteroid belt is the hypothesized origin of the near-Earth asteroids (101955) Bennu, which...

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 images collected on December 2, 2018 by OSIRIS-REx’s PolyCam instrument from a range of 15 miles (24 km). Image credit: NASA / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Arizona.

Elements in Samples from Asteroid Bennu Reflect Composition of Early Solar System, Study Says

Aug 26, 2025 by News Staff

The first bodies to form in the Solar System acquired their materials from stars, the presolar molecular cloud and the protoplanetary disk. Asteroids that...

This illustration depicts the interior of Ceres, including the transfer of water and gases from the rocky core to a reservoir of salty water; carbon dioxide and methane are among the molecules carrying chemical energy beneath Ceres’ surface. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Dwarf Planet Ceres May Have Had Lasting Source of Chemical Energy to Fuel Habitability

Aug 20, 2025 by News Staff

Although there is no evidence that microorganisms ever existed on Ceres, the results of a new study support theories that this dwarf planet may have once...

Psyche captured images of Earth and our Moon from about 290 million km (180 million miles) away in July 2025, as it calibrated its imager instrument. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU.

Psyche Beams Back Images of Earth and Moon

Aug 20, 2025 by News Staff

On July 20 and July 23, 2025, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft looked back toward home and captured images of Earth and our Moon from about 290 million km (180...

This image combines an image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in the optical and observations of the Jovian aurora in the ultraviolet. Image credit: NASA / ESA.

Juno Detects Unusual Plasma Waves in Jupiter’s Aurora

Aug 19, 2025 by News Staff

Using data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, planetary researchers have detected a new type of plasma wave in the auroral zones above Jupiter’s north pole. This...

This image of the Paposo rock was taken by Curiosity’s MAHLI instrument on July 24, 2025. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.

Curiosity Finds Coral-Shaped Rocks on Mars

Aug 12, 2025 by Natali Anderson

On July 24, 2025, the 4,608th Martian day, or Sol, of the mission, NASA’s Curiosity rover imaged wind-eroded rocks shaped like a piece of coral in the...

An artist’s impression of the super-Earth exoplanet HD 164922d. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

New Research Sheds Light on Evolution of Lava Planets

Jul 29, 2025 by News Staff

Lava planets are rocky exoplanets that orbit so close to their host star that their dayside is hot enough to melt silicate rock. Boukaré et al. introduce...

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this stunning mosaic of Enceladus on October 5, 2008 as the spacecraft sped away from this geologically active moon of Saturn. Image credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute.

Underground Microbial Life Could Survive on Mars, Europa and Enceladus Using Cosmic Rays

Jul 29, 2025 by News Staff

Radiolysis induced by Galactic cosmic rays could provide a viable energy source for microbial metabolism in the subsurface environments of rocky planetary...

Composite image of Uranus. Image credit: Marcos van Dam / W. M. Keck Observatory.

Uranus May Actually Be Warmer than Previously Expected

Jul 18, 2025 by News Staff

Uranus releases about 15% more energy than it receives from the Sun, according to two new papers published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal...

This HiRISE image shows a flat top, heavily eroded fluvial sinuous ridge on Mars; sand dunes can be seen migrating over the top of the fluvial sinuous ridge. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona.

Mars was Warm and Wet 3.7 Billion Years Ago, New Study Suggests

Jul 14, 2025 by News Staff

Planetary scientists have discovered more than 15,000 km of ancient riverbeds in Noachis Terra, a region in Mars’ southern highlands. This discovery...

Image of the entire NWA 16254 sample studied by Chen et al.: (a) a backscattered electron (BSE) image obtained by the TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyzer (TIMA); (b) mineralogical mapping via TIMA; (c) distribution map of the iron content obtained via TIMA; (d) distribution map of the calcium content obtained via TIMA. Image credit: Chen et al., doi: 10.15302/planet.2025.25002.

Newly-Discovered Meteorite Offers Insights into Volcanic Processes on Ancient Mars

Jul 10, 2025 by Natali Anderson

The Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 16254 is a 406-g gabbroic shergottite found two years ago in Algeria. Image of the entire NWA 16254 sample...

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