Space Exploration News

This cutaway image of Pluto shows a section through the area of Sputnik Planitia, with dark blue representing a subsurface ocean and light blue for the frozen crust. Image credit: Pam Engebretson.

New Horizons Data Suggest Viscous Ocean Lies beneath Pluto’s Heart-Shaped Region

Nov 17, 2016 by News Staff

A cold, slushy ocean lying deep beneath Pluto’s bright, heart-shaped Tombaugh Regio is the best explanation for features revealed by NASA’s New Horizons...

The north polar region of Saturn is pictured in great detail in this Cassini image obtained on July 16, 2016 from a range of one million miles (2 million km). The image was taken with Cassini’s wide-angle camera using a spectral filter which preferentially admits wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 752 nm. The view looks toward the sunlit side of Saturn’s rings from about 41 degrees above the ring plane. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Saturn’s North Polar Region Revealed

Nov 15, 2016 by News Staff

New near-infrared images of Saturn from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft show the northern polar region including the hexagon and polar vortex. The north polar...

The Hellas depression. Image credit: Joseph S. Levy et al.

Concentrically-Fractured Depression on Mars Could Be Place to Look for Signs of Microbial Life

Nov 14, 2016 by News Staff

An unusual depression in the northern Hellas basin on Mars could be a new place to look for life on the planet, says a team of planetary researchers. The...

On November 1, HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed the impact site of Schiaparelli lander, gaining the first color view of the site since the lander’s Oct. 19 arrival. These cutouts from the observation cover three locations where parts of Schiaparelli reached the ground: the lander module itself in the upper portion, the parachute and back shell at lower left, and the heat shield at lower right. The heat shield location was outside of the area covered in color. The scale bar of 32.8 feet (10 m) applies to all three cutouts. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.

New HiRISE Image Shows Schiaparelli Crash Site in Color

Nov 4, 2016 by News Staff

The latest image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows parts of ESA’s ExoMars...

The smooth-surfaced rock at the center of this Oct. 30 image from Curiosity’s Mast Camera was examined by the rover’s ChemCam instrument and confirmed to be an iron-nickel meteorite. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.

Curiosity Finds Odd-Looking Iron-Nickel Meteorite on Mars

Nov 3, 2016 by News Staff

A small globular object found by NASA’s Curiosity rover at the Murray Formation of lower Mount Sharp on Mars has been identified as an iron-nickel meteorite. The...

This image is a view from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope taken on March 22, 2004. Camera exposures in four filters (blue, blue-green, green and red) were combined to form the Hubble image and render colors similar to what the eye would see through a telescope focused on Saturn. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Erich Karkoschka, University of Arizona.

Saturn’s Rings Could Have Formed when Dinosaurs Walked the Earth

Nov 2, 2016 by James Romero

Saturn’s rings are billions of years younger than we thought, say Cornell University researchers analyzing an almost forgotten set of data, collected...

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.

Novel Theory Explains Moon’s Weird Orbit

Nov 1, 2016 by News Staff

Earth’s Moon is among the strangest planetary bodies in our Solar System. Its orbit lies unusually far away from our planet, with a surprisingly large...

Artist’s impression of the Schiaparelli module on the surface of Mars. Image credit: ESA / ATG Medialab.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Takes Closer Look at Schiaparelli Crash Site

Oct 28, 2016 by News Staff

An image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) reveals further details of the...

The pale blue Earth serves as a backdrop for astronaut Michael Gernhardt, who is attached to the Shuttle Endeavour’s robot arm during a spacewalk on the STS-69 mission in 1995. Unlike earlier spacewalking astronauts, Gernhardt was able to use an electronic cuff checklist, a prototype developed for the assembly of the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA.

Long-Duration Spaceflight Affects Spinal Muscles of Astronauts, New Study Shows

Oct 27, 2016 by News Staff

Long-flight astronauts have atrophy of the muscles supporting the spine — and they don’t return to normal even after several weeks back on Earth,...

NASA Finds Schiaparelli’s Crash Site

Oct 21, 2016 by News Staff

A new image from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows a bright spot that may be a parachute of ESA’s ExoMars Schiaparelli module, and a larger...

This computer-generated view depicts part of Mars at the boundary between darkness and daylight. At top right is NWA 7034. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of New Mexico / Sci-News.com.

New Secrets Revealed about Ancient Mars from ‘Black Beauty’ Meteorite

Oct 20, 2016 by James Romero

New analysis of the most famous Martian meteorite ever recovered has changed our understanding of the early volcanic history and evolution of the Red Planet....

ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter at Mars. Image credit: D. Ducros / ESA.

ExoMars TGO Successfully Enters Mars Orbit, Schiaparelli Situation under Assessment

Oct 19, 2016 by News Staff

ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) has entered an elliptical orbit around Mars, while contact has not yet been confirmed with the Schiaparelli lander. ESA’s...

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

Scientists Determine Color of Kuiper Belt Objects JR1 and MU69

Oct 19, 2016 by Natali Anderson

According to a team of researchers led by Southwest Research Institute scientist Simon Porter, Kuiper belt objects (KBO) JR1 and MU69 are as red as, if...

Artist’s impression depicting the separation of the Schiaparelli module from the Trace Gas Orbiter, and heading for Mars. Image credit: D. Ducros / ESA.

ExoMars 2016 Arrival and Landing: Watch Live

Oct 19, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Artist’s impression depicting the separation of the Schiaparelli module from the Trace Gas Orbiter, and heading for Mars. Image credit: D. Ducros / ESA. ESA’s...

MAVEN obtained this image of rapid cloud formation on Mars in July 2016. Image credit: NASA / MAVEN / University of Colorado.

MAVEN Ultraviolet Images Reveal Hidden Secrets of Mars

Oct 18, 2016 by News Staff

New images from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft show the ultraviolet glow from the Red Planet’s atmosphere in detail,...

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko likely spent millions of years in the scattering disk, a distant portion of the Kuiper belt. Image credit: Mattia Galiazzo / Paul Wiegert.

Researchers Predict Possible Birthplace of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Oct 17, 2016 by News Staff

Using statistical analysis and computing, a duo of researchers at Western University in Canada has charted a path that likely pinpoints the origins of...

Artist’s impression visualizing the ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter, with its thrusters firing, beginning its entry into Mars orbit on October 19, 2016. Image credit: ESA / ATG Medialab.

ExoMars-2016 Mission Approaches Red Planet

Oct 16, 2016 by News Staff

Artist’s impression visualizing the ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter, with its thrusters firing, beginning its entry into Mars orbit on October 19, 2016....

According to Prof. Limoli and co-authors, deep space travel poses a real and unique threat to astronauts. Image credit: Das Wortgewand.

Deep Space Travel Poses Unique Threat to Astronauts, Researchers Say

Oct 11, 2016 by News Staff

Exposure to highly energetic charged particles can lead to a range of potential central nervous system complications that can occur during and persist...

Two 2001 images from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor orbiter show a dramatic change in the Red Planet’s appearance when haze raised by dust-storm activity in the south became globally distributed. At left, an image from late June 2001 shows clear conditions over much of Mars, with regional dust-storm activity occurring in the Hellas basin (bright oval feature) near the edge of the south polar cap. At right, a July 2001 image from the same perspective shows the planet almost completely enveloped. Dust extends to altitudes of more than 37 miles (60 km) during global-scale dust storms. Image credit: NASA / JPL / MSSS.

Global-Scale Dust Storm Could Hit Mars within Months, Warn NASA Researchers

Oct 10, 2016 by News Staff

A global-scale dust storm could envelop the Red Planet within the next few months, according to planetary researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory...