Space Exploration News

As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft takes off for its next destination, this mosaic synthesizes some of the best views the spacecraft had of the giant asteroid Vesta. Dawn studied Vesta from July 2011 to September 2012. The towering mountain at the south pole -- more than twice the height of Mount Everest -- is visible at the bottom of the image. The set of three craters known as the ‘snowman’ can be seen at the top left. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Vesta Lacks Metallic Core, New Research Suggests

Apr 28, 2025 by News Staff

Vesta, the second largest asteroid in our Solar System, has not experienced full differentiation into a metallic core, silicate mantle and basaltic crust,...

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

Early Mars Had Climate Warm Enough to Support Rain, New Modeling Study Suggests

Apr 22, 2025 by News Staff

Observations of large valley networks on today’s Mars suggest formation by flowing water. However, most climate models cannot sustain temperatures above...

This image of the asteroid Donaldjohanson was captured by the Lucy Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (L’LORRI) on April 20, 2025, near closest approach, from a range of 1,100 km (660 miles). Image credit: NASA / Goddard / SwRI / Johns Hopkins APL / NOIRLab.

Lucy Shares Stunning Images from Flyby of Asteroid Donaldjohanson

Apr 22, 2025 by News Staff

An asteroid called Donaldjohanson was captured by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft during a flyby on April 20, 2025. At closest approach, the spacecraft came within...

This composite image shows an infrared view of Titan. In this image blue represents wavelengths centered at 1.3 microns, green represents 2.0 microns, and red represents 5.0 microns. A view at visible wavelengths would show only Titan’s hazy atmosphere; the near-infrared wavelengths in this image allow Cassini’s vision to penetrate the haze and reveal the moon’s surface. The view looks toward terrain that is mostly on the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Titan. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Many of Titan’s Rivers Do Not End in Deltas, New Study Finds

Apr 18, 2025 by News Staff

Earth’s coastlines are fascinating places where liquids mix and materials are shaped into distinct landforms like river deltas. Similar active coastlines...

Curiosity sees its tracks receding into the distance at a site nicknamed Ubajara on April 30, 2023; this site is where the rover made the discovery of siderite. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.

Carbonate Minerals Found by Curiosity Indicate Carbon Cycle Operated on Early Mars

Apr 17, 2025 by News Staff

NASA’s Curiosity rover has found evidence of a carbon cycle on ancient Mars, bringing scientists closer to an answer on whether the planet was ever capable...

Computer simulation of a one-sided magnetic field on early Mars. Image credit: Ankit Barik / Johns Hopkins University.

Liquid Inner Core Could Explain Mars’ One-Sided Magnetic Field

Apr 15, 2025 by News Staff

Recent measurements from NASA’s InSight mission show that Mars’ core is less dense than planetary scientists previously believed. This indicates that...

An artist’s rendering of the surface of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Image credit: Benjamin de Bivort, debivort.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Titan May Be Able to Support Only Minuscule Amount of Biomass, New Modeling Study Suggests

Apr 8, 2025 by News Staff

A team of biologists from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and France has developed a scenario of what life on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon,...

Three dust devils can be seen in this image taken at the rim of Jezero Crater by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on January 25, 2025. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI.

Perseverance Witnesses Larger Dust Devil Consuming Smaller One on Mars

Apr 3, 2025 by NASA

A Martian dust devil can be seen consuming a smaller one in a series of images taken by a navigation camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover. Dust devils...

Morphological and anatomical characteristics of Cetraria aculeata (a, d, g, j) and Diploschistes muscorum (b, c, e, f, h, i, k, l). Image credit: Skubała et al., doi: 10.3897/imafungus.16.145477.

Lichens Endure Exposure to Simulated Mars Atmosphere: Study

Apr 1, 2025 by News Staff

Certain lichen species can withstand Mars-like conditions with an X-ray radiation dose of 50 Gy (Grays) that is expected on the Mars surface over one year...

Artist’s impression of a volcano erupting on Venus. Image credit: ESA / AOES Medialab.

Venus May Be Even More Geologically Active Near Its Surface than Previously Thought

Apr 1, 2025 by News Staff

An unexpected phenomenon called convection could help explain many of the volcanoes and other features of the Venusian landscape. Artist’s impression...

This graphic shows the long-chain organic molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane, and NASA’s Curiosity rover. Image credit: NASA / Dan Gallagher.

Curiosity Finds Long-Chain Carbon Molecules in Martian Mudstone

Mar 25, 2025 by Natali Anderson

The Sample Analysis at Mars instrument onboard NASA’s Curiosity rover has detected decane, undecane, and dodecane molecules in a sample from Gale crater. This...

An artist’s impression of a rocky asteroid. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick, Space-art.co.uk / University of Warwick / University of Cambridge.

75 Laboratory-Classified Meteorites Traced to Their Parent Asteroids in Main Belt

Mar 19, 2025 by News Staff

Astronomers from SETI Institute, NASA’s Ames Research Center and Curtin University have traced the impact orbit of 75 observed meteorite falls to several...

Mars appears light blue in this near-infrared image from Hera’s Hyperscout H hyperspectral imager, acquired during the mission’s March 12 gravity-assist flyby of Mars, with Deimos seen ahead of it. The spacecraft was approximately 1,000 km from the 12.4-km-diameter Deimos when this image was acquired. In the background a variety of Martian features can be observed. At the top of the image is the bright Terra Sabaea region, close to the Martian equator, outlined by darker regions about it, with the 450 km-diameter Huygen crater to the bottom right of Terra Sabaea and the 460-km-diameter Schiaparelli crater to its left. To the bottom right of the Martian disk is Hellas Basin, among the largest known impact craters in the Solar System with a diameter of 2,300 km and a depth of more than 7 km. Image credit: ESA.

Hera Captures Images of Mars and Its Moon Deimos

Mar 14, 2025 by News Staff

On March 12, 2025, Hera — ESA’s first Space Safety mission — came to within 5,000 km of the surface of Mars and 1,000 km of Deimos. While...

Lightning starts with a positive fast discharge, followed by an even faster and more extensive negative discharge observed in 3D; signal polarizations slant from the discharge propagation direction and rotate between the two opposite fast discharges; these features can only be due to a cosmic-ray shower that preconditioned the discharge path and guided the discharge current direction. Image credit: ELG21.

Cosmic-Ray Showers Play Pivotal Role in Triggering Lightning Flashes

Mar 11, 2025 by News Staff

How lightning is started in thunderstorms is poorly known. With a newly-developed 3D mapping and polarization system, physicists at Los Alamos National...

This image from the Emirates Mars Mission shows Mars and its thin atmosphere. Image credit: UAESA / MBRSC / Hope Mars Mission / EXI / AndreaLuck.

Middle Atmosphere of Mars is Driven by Gravity Waves, New Research Suggests

Mar 6, 2025 by News Staff

Atmospheric gravity waves play a crucial role in driving latitudinal air currents on the Red Planet, particularly at high altitudes, according to a new...

This illustration shows NASA’s Lucy spacecraft passing one of the Trojan asteroids near Jupiter. Image credit: Southwest Research Institute.

Lucy Captures Its First Images of Main-Belt Asteroid Donaldjohanson

Feb 26, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will fly by the small asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025. By blinking between images captured by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft...

This artist’s concept shows a cutaway of Mars, along with the paths of seismic waves from two separate marsquakes in 2021. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Maryland.

Mars May Have Solid Inner Core

Feb 26, 2025 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut has conducted high-pressure-temperature laboratory experiments to determine the crystal structure...

This image from Mars Express’ High Resolution Stereo Camera shows the globe of Mars set against a dark background. The disk of the planet features yellow, orange, blue and green patches, all with an overall muted grey hue, representing the varying composition of the surface. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / G. Michael / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

Water-Rich Iron Mineral May Be Main Culprit behind Mars’ Red Color

Feb 25, 2025 by News Staff

Called ferrihydrite, this iron mineral formed during a cold, wet period on early Mars under oxidative conditions, followed by a transition to the current...

A panoramic photo taken by China’s Zhurong rover on Mars. Image credit: National Astronomical Observatories.

Early Mars Was Home to Sun-Soaked, Sandy Beaches, New Study Suggests

Feb 25, 2025 by News Staff

Using data gathered by China’s Zhurong rover, planetary researchers have identified hidden layers of rock under the Martian surface that strongly suggest...