Space Exploration News

Titan's ice shell, which overlies a very salty ocean, varies in thickness around the moon, suggesting the crust is in the process of becoming rigid. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / University of Arizona / G. Mitri / University of Nantes.

Titan Harbors Very Salty Ocean, Say Scientists

Jul 6, 2014 by News Staff

A detailed analysis of gravity and topography data from Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, provides strong evidence that the ocean inside the moon might...

This artist's concept shows the LDSD test vehicle. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

NASA Tests Flying Saucer-Shaped Vehicle for Future Mars Landing

Jun 30, 2014 by News Staff

After several weather delays, engineers from NASA’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator project have successfully tested a flying saucer-shaped spacecraft...

This image is a composite of several images taken during two separate Titan flybys in 2006. The large circular feature near the center of Titan's disk may be the remnant of a very old impact basin. The mountain ranges to the southeast of the circular feature, and the long dark, linear feature to the northwest of the old impact scar may have resulted from tectonic activity on Titan caused by the energy released when the impact occurred. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

Nitrogen in Atmosphere of Titan Might Pre-Date Saturn, Study Says

Jun 24, 2014 by News Staff

A new study provides strong evidence that the nitrogen in the atmosphere of Titan – the largest of the Saturn’s known 62 moons – originated...

Planetary Scientists Discover Mysterious Geologic Object on Titan

Jun 23, 2014 by News Staff

A team of planetary researchers, led by Jason Hofgartner of Cornell University, has announced the discovery of an anomalous, bright geologic object –...

This false-color mosaic, made from infrared data collected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, reveals the differences in the composition of surface materials around hydrocarbon lakes at Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Titan is the only other place in the solar system that we know has stable liquid on its surface, though its lakes are made of liquid ethane and methane rather than liquid water. While there is one large lake and a few smaller ones near Titan's south pole, almost all of Titan's lakes appear near the moon's north pole. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona / University of Idaho.

NASA Scientists Recreate Complex Chemistry of Titan’s Atmosphere

Jun 15, 2014 by News Staff

The chemistry of the smoggy atmosphere of the Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, has been successfully simulated by NASA researchers in lab experiments. This...

This artist's impression shows the surface of Pluton, Charon and the Sun. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada.

Charon May Once Have Had Underground Ocean

Jun 14, 2014 by News Staff

Charon – the largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto – may once have had a warm subterranean ocean, suggests a team of planetary scientists led...

NASA to Test Flying Saucer-Shaped Vehicle

Jun 10, 2014 by News Staff

Engineers and scientists from NASA’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator project are about to test a new technology for landing heavy payloads on...

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.

New Evidence for Protoplanet Theia Found in Moon Rocks

Jun 6, 2014 by News Staff

A study published in the journal Science provides new evidence that the Moon formed from the catastrophic collision of the proto-Earth with a hypothetical...

A colossal CME burst off the side of the Sun on May 9, 2014. Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

IRIS Captures Huge Coronal Mass Ejection on Sun

Jun 1, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph have captured extraordinary footage of a colossal coronal mass ejection erupting...

HD views of Earth are now only a click away. Image credit: NASA.

NASA Launches Live HD Streaming of Earth from ISS

May 9, 2014 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s High Definition Earth Viewing experiment (HDEV) is now live-streaming views of our planet from space captured by HD cameras. HDEV placed four...

This false-color image shows minor planets Ceres and Vesta, Martian moons Phobos and Deimos, planets Jupiter and Saturn, as seen by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / Texas A&M.

Curiosity Sees Ceres, Vesta, Deimos

Apr 25, 2014 by News Staff

Scientists using the Mast Camera aboard NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover have captured a night-sky image of two minor planets Ceres and Vesta, and one...

This image, taken with the Cassini's narrow angle camera on April 15, 2013, shows an extended object 10 km beyond the edge of the Saturn’s A ring. Image credit: Carl D. Murray et al.

Peggy: Cassini Spots Birth of Saturn’s New Icy Moon

Apr 15, 2014 by News Staff

Scientists from NASA’s Cassini mission are intrigued by the likely presence of a previously undetected small icy body within the rings of Saturn,...

Gusev crater once held a lake. Image credit: NASA / JPL / Sci-News.com.

Study Reveals New Evidence for Ancient Lake in Gusev Crater on Mars

Apr 10, 2014 by News Staff

An analysis of old data from NASA’s Spirit Rover has revealed new evidence for an ancient lake in the Red Planet’s Gusev crater. Gusev crater once...

This color view of Enceladus was taken by Cassini spacecraft on 31 January 2011, from a distance of 50,330 miles (NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / G. Ugarković).

Enceladus Has Subsurface Sea, Scientists Say

Apr 3, 2014 by News Staff

New gravity data from ESA’s Cassini spacecraft reveal that Enceladus – the sixth-largest of the moons of Saturn – harbors a regional subsurface...

New study shows that lunar cycle modulates human sleep and melatonin rhythms (Image: Luc Viatour)

Geologic Clock Helps Scientists Determine Moon’s Age

Apr 3, 2014 by News Staff

Planetary researchers headed by Dr Seth Jacobson from the Observatory de la Cote d’Azur in Nice, France, say they have determined that the Moon formed...

This false-color composite image shows the glory phenomenon on Venus. The glory is 1,200 km across, as seen from the Venus Express orbiter, 6,000 km away. Image credit: ESA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Spacecraft Sees Rainbow-Like Optical Effect on Venus

Mar 12, 2014 by News Staff

ESA’s Venus Express orbiter has captured an image of a ‘glory’ – a rare rainbow-like optical phenomenon – in the atmosphere of Venus. This...

This image shows small pieces of the asteroid P/2013 R3. Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Jewitt, UCLA.

Astronomers See Break-up of Asteroid P/2013 R3

Mar 7, 2014 by News Staff

A team of scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have witnessed for the first time the disintegration of an asteroid. This image shows small...

This SEM image shows spherulitic features encased in both an upper, false-colored orange, and lower layer of iddingsite. Image credit: White LM et al.

Yamato-000593: Meteorite Provides More Evidence that Water Once Flowed on Mars

Mar 3, 2014 by News Staff

NASA planetary scientists say they have found evidence of past water movement throughout a Martian meteorite. This SEM image shows spheroidal features...

Saturn's northern ultraviolet aurora taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: J.D. Nichols / University of Leicester / NASA / ESA.

Hubble, Cassini See Auroras on Saturn

Feb 15, 2014 by News Staff

Detailed images of auroras at Saturn’s north and south poles have been captured by astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Cassini...