Space Exploration News

Earth’s Essential Elements for Life Probably Came from Another Planet

Greenwood et al discovered that water was present on Earth at an early stage in its evolution and survived the giant impact, which formed the Moon. This is an artist’s depiction of a catastrophic collision between two celestial bodies; such an impact between the proto-Earth and Theia likely formed the Moon. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
Jan 24, 2019 by News Staff

Planetary researchers believe that our Moon was created more than 4.4 billion years ago in a catastrophic collision between proto-Earth and a hypothetical planet-sized body known as Theia. According to new research, our planet received the bulk of its carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and other life-essential elements from that planetary collision. This is an artist’s depiction of a catastrophic collision between two celestial bodies; such an impact between...

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An artist’s concept of a dust storm on Titan. Image credit: NASA / ESA / IPGP / Labex UnivEarthS / University Paris Diderot.

‘Cooking’ of Ancient Organics Created Titan’s Mysterious Atmosphere

Jan 24, 2019 by News Staff

New research tackles one of the greatest mysteries about Saturn’s moon Titan: the origin of its present-day nitrogen atmosphere. Published in the Astrophysical...

Saturn’s Great Northern Storm churning through the atmosphere in the planet’s northern hemisphere overtakes itself as it encircles the planet in this true-color view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. This picture, captured on February 25, 2011, was taken about 12 weeks after the storm began, and the clouds by this time had formed a tail that wrapped around the gas giant. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Length of Saturn’s Day Revised: 10 Hours 33 Minutes and 38 Seconds

Jan 22, 2019 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft observed Saturn’s ring system in unprecedented detail, and a team of planetary researchers from the University of California...

This image was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it performed its most recent close flyby of Jupiter on December 21, 2018. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstaedt / Sean Doran.

Juno Sees Two Massive Storms in Jupiter’s Southern Hemisphere

Jan 21, 2019 by News Staff

A stunning new image from NASA’s Juno robotic orbiter shows the famed Great Red Spot and a smaller storm called Oval BA. This image was captured by NASA’s...

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Saturn’s Rings are 10 to 100 Million Years Old, Much Younger than Planet

Jan 18, 2019 by News Staff

In the final phase of NASA’s Cassini mission, the spacecraft dived between Saturn and its innermost ring, at altitudes 1,616-2,423 miles (2,600-3,900...

It’s raining on Titan. Image credit: David A. Hardy, AstroArt / NASA.

Cassini Team Finds Evidence of Summer Rainfall at Titan’s North Pole

Jan 17, 2019 by News Staff

Observations from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft provide evidence of rainfall on the north pole of Saturn’s moon Titan. The rainfall would be the first...

These raw images were used to create an animation demonstrating the propeller-like rotation of Ultima Thule in the seven hours between 3 p.m. EST (8 p.m. GMT) on December 31, 2018, and 12:01 a.m. EST (5:01 a.m. GMT) on January 1, 2019, as seen by New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI). Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

Amazing NASA Video Shows Ultima Thule Approach

Jan 16, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft took a series of images between 3 p.m. EST (8 p.m. GMT) on December 31, 2018, and 12:01 a.m. EST (5:01 a.m. GMT) on January...

ISS bacteria are just trying to survive. Image credit: Arek Socha.

Space Station Bacteria are Adapting to Survive, Not to Harm, Researchers Say

Jan 9, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Northwestern University and NASA’s Johnson Space Center has found that — despite its seemingly harsh conditions —...

This image taken by New Horizons’ Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) is the most detailed of Ultima Thule returned so far by the spacecraft. It was taken at 12:01 a.m. EST (5:01 a.m. GMT) on January 1, 2019, just 30 minutes before closest approach from a range of 18,000 miles (28,000 km). Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

Ultima Thule: Preliminary Science Results from New Horizons

Jan 4, 2019 by News Staff

The science team of NASA’s New Horizons mission has unveiled potentially significant discoveries about a Kuiper Belt object known as Ultima Thule. This...

The Yutu-2 rover moves across the far side of the Moon. Image credit: CNSA.

Chang’e-4 Probe Touches Down on Far Side of the Moon

Jan 4, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

At 9:26 p.m. EST on January 2, 2019 (2:26 a.m. GMT, 10:26 a.m. Beijing Time on January 3), China National Space Administration’s Chang’e-4 lunar probe...

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at asteroid Bennu. Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

OSIRIS-REx Enters Orbit around Asteroid Bennu

Jan 4, 2019 by News Staff

At 2:43 p.m. EST (7:43 GMT) on December 31, 2018, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft went into orbit around asteroid Bennu — setting new records for...

This image taken by New Horizons’ Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) is the most detailed of Ultima Thule returned so far by the spacecraft. It was taken at 12:01 a.m. EST (5:01 a.m. GMT) on January 1, 2019, just 30 minutes before closest approach from a range of 18,000 miles (28,000 km). Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

Ultima Thule is Contact Binary, New Horizons Team Says

Jan 3, 2019 by News Staff

New images from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft — taken from as close as 17,000 miles (27,000 km) on approach — revealed Ultima Thule as a...

JunoCam acquired three images of Io prior to when it entered eclipse, all showing a volcanic plume illuminated beyond the terminator; the image shown here, reconstructed from red, blue and green filter images, was acquired at 12:20 p.m. GMT on December 21, 2018; Juno was 186,411 miles (300,000 km) from Io. Image credit: NASA / SwRI / MSSS.

Juno Observes Volcanic Plume on Io

Jan 3, 2019 by News Staff

NASA’s Juno orbiter has captured images of a volcanic plume on Jupiter’s moon Io during the mission’s 17th flyby of the giant planet. JunoCam acquired...

Ultima Thule. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Returns First Clear Photo of Ultima Thule

Jan 2, 2019 by News Staff

NASA has released the first image from the historic Ultima Thule flyby taken with New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) camera. Ultima...

Just over 24 hours before its closest approach to Ultima Thule, New Horizons has sent back the first images that begin to reveal Ultima Thule’s shape. Image-sharpening techniques combining multiple images show that Ultima Thule is elongated, perhaps twice as long as it is wide. The spacecraft was approximately 1.2 million miles (1.9 million km) from Ultima Thule when this image was taken on December 30, 2018. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Arrives at Ultima Thule

Jan 1, 2019 by News Staff

After a journey of 13 years and 4 billion miles (6.4 billion km), NASA’s New Horizons probe had a close encounter with a Kuiper Belt object known as...

Artist’s impression of New Horizons encountering a Pluto-like object in the distant Kuiper Belt. Image credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI / Alex Parker.

New Horizons to Reach Ultima Thule on New Year’s Day: Watch Live

Dec 31, 2018 by News Staff

On January 1st, 2019, at 12:33 a.m. EST (5:33 a.m. GMT), NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft will fly past a Kuiper Belt object known as 2014 MU69 (nicknamed...

An artist’s impression of the infant bow shock detected by ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Image credit: ESA.

Rosetta Detects Signs of Infant ‘Bow Shock’ at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Dec 26, 2018 by News Staff

The ‘bow shock’ is the first boundary the solar wind encounters as it approaches planets or comets. From 2014 to 2016, ESA’s Rosetta orbiter studied...

An artist’s impression of New Horizons encountering Ultima Thule. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute / Alex Parker.

New Horizons Team Puzzled by Lack of Light Curve from Ultima Thule

Dec 25, 2018 by News Staff

Over the past three months, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has been taking images to measure the brightness of its next flyby target — a Kuiper...

Perspective view of Korolev crater. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

ESA’s Mars Express Orbiter Spots Water Ice-Filled Crater

Dec 21, 2018 by News Staff

New images from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft show an impact crater in the northern lowlands of Mars. Known...

NASA’s InSight lander placed its seismometer on Mars on December 19, 2018. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

InSight Deploys First Instrument onto Martian Surface

Dec 20, 2018 by News Staff

On Wednesday, December 19, 2018, NASA’s InSight lander deployed its first instrument — the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) —...

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