Space Exploration News

Polar Cyclones Reveal Hidden Interiors of Jupiter and Saturn

This composite image, derived from data collected by the JIRAM instrument aboard NASA’s Juno orbiter, shows the central cyclone at Jupiter’s north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. JIRAM collects data in infrared, and the colors in this composite represent radiant heat: the yellow (thinner) clouds are about 9 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 13 degrees Celsius) in brightness temperature and the dark red (thickest) are around minus 181 degrees Fahrenheit (83 degrees Celsius). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / ASI / INAF / JIRAM.
Jan 20, 2026 by News Staff

New research by MIT planetary scientists shows how striking differences in the polar vortex patterns of Jupiter and Saturn may be driven by deep interior properties, offering fresh clues about the structure of gas giants. This composite image, derived from data collected by the JIRAM instrument aboard NASA’s Juno orbiter, shows the central cyclone at Jupiter’s north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. JIRAM collects data in infrared,...

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The International Space Station is seen with Earth in the background. Image credit: NASA.

Microgravity on International Space Station Alters Coevolution of Bacteriophages and Their Hosts

Jan 13, 2026 by News Staff

In new experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS), microbiologists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Rhodium Scientific Inc. have...

The surface of Europa looms large in this newly-reprocessed color view; image scale is 1.6 km per pixel; north on Europa is at right. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SETI Institute.

Europa’s Ocean Floor is Surprisingly Calm, New Modeling Study Suggests

Jan 7, 2026 by News Staff

A new analysis of stress, tides and interior forces suggests Jupiter’s icy moon Europa lacks the active seafloor faulting needed for robust hydrothermal...

This image from Parker Solar Probe’s WISPR instrument shows the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Image credit: NRL / NASA / JHUAPL / Guillermo Stenborg, JHUAPL.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Captures 3I/ATLAS

Dec 22, 2025 by News Staff

Using the WISPR (Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe) instrument aboard NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, scientists observed the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS...

This composite image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was captured on November 6, 2025 by the UVS instrument on board NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft from a distance of around 164 million km (103 million miles). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI.

Europa Clipper Captures Unique View of 3I/ATLAS

Dec 18, 2025 by News Staff

Scientists using the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instrument aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft have observed 3I/ATLAS, only the third confirmed...

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.

Titan Does Not Have Subsurface Ocean, New Study Indicates

Dec 17, 2025 by News Staff

The data from NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn initially led researchers to suspect a large underground ocean composed of liquid water on Titan. However,...

Uranus could be an ice giant (left) or a rock giant (right) depending on the model assumptions. Image credit: Keck Institute for Space Studies / Chuck Carter.

New Research Challenges Classification of Uranus and Neptune as Ice Giants

Dec 11, 2025 by News Staff

The composition of Uranus and Neptune might be less icy than previously thought, according to a new study by University of Zürich scientists. Uranus could...

Characterization of a presolar spinel-hibonite grain from the asteroid Bennu. Image credit: Nguyen et al., doi: 10.1038/s41550-025-02688-3.

Scientists Find Presolar Stardust in Samples from Asteroid Bennu

Dec 10, 2025 by News Staff

Researchers have detected an unexpectedly high abundance of presolar grains — dust from stellar explosions predating our Solar System — in...

Manannán’s Damhán Alla geomorphologic map. Image credit: Mc Keown et al., doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ae18a0.

Europa’s Spider-Like Feature is Analogous to Earth’s Lake Stars, Planetary Researchers Say

Dec 9, 2025 by News Staff

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is an ocean world that is a prime candidate in the search for potential extraterrestrial habitability and life beyond Earth....

Electron microscopy of a particle from the sample from Bennu. Image credit: Sandford et al., doi: 10.1038/s41550-025-02694-5.

Gum-Like Substance Found in Samples from Asteroid Bennu

Dec 9, 2025 by News Staff

This gum-like material — never seen before in space — was likely formed in the early days of the Solar System, as Bennu’s parent asteroid...

Allen et al. compared space weather impacts of a fast solar wind structure (first panel) driving an intense solar storm at Earth in 2019 (second panel) with conditions observed at Uranus by Voyager 2 in 1986 (third panel) to potentially solve a 39-year-old mystery about the extreme radiation belts found. Image credit: SwRI.

Scientists May Have Solved Mystery about Uranus’ Radiation Belts

Dec 9, 2025 by News Staff

In 1986, NASA’s Voyager 2 provided the only direct measurement of the radiation environment at Uranus. These findings established the well-accepted characterization...

This image from ESA’s Juice spacecraft shows the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Image credit: ESA / Juice / NavCam / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

ESA’s Juice Spacecraft Beams Back New Image of 3I/ATLAS

Dec 4, 2025 by News Staff

During November 2025, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) used five of its science instruments to observe 3I/ATLAS, the second interstellar comet...

Psyche acquired four observations of 3I/ATLAS over the course of eight hours on September 8 and 9, 2025. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU.

Psyche Observes Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Dec 3, 2025 by Natali Anderson

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft have acquired new images of 3I/ATLAS, the third object and the second comet from outside the Solar System confirmed. Psyche...

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on a mission to explore the asteroid Bennu and return a sample to Earth. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.

Scientists Find Extraterrestrial Bio-Essential Sugars in Samples from Asteroid Bennu

Dec 3, 2025 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the United States and Japan has analyzed an extract from a sample of the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu collected by NASA’s...

Mastcam-Z landscape and multispectral images of light-toned float rocks atop the Jezero crater Margin Unit near the Hans Amundson Memorial workspace (Sol 912) demonstrating the spectral diversity of this material. Image credit: Broz et al., doi: 10.1038/s43247-025-02856-3.

Mars Was Warmer, Wetter Millions of Years Ago, Planetary Scientists Say

Dec 3, 2025 by News Staff

NASA’s Perseverance rover has discovered several thousand small, light-toned rock fragments, or float rocks, with some exhibiting spectral signatures...

Detection of electric discharges in dust devils by the SuperCam instrument on board NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars. Image credit: Nicolas Sarter.

Perseverance Detects Triboelectric Discharges during Martian Dust Devils and Storms

Dec 1, 2025 by News Staff

Using data captured by the SuperCam microphone aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover over two Martian years, planetrary scientists have detected 55 triboelectric...

Physcomitrium patens spores survive simulated space conditions with high resilience. Image credit: Maeng et al., doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113827.

Moss Can Survive Long-Term Exposure to Elements of Space, New Experiments Show

Nov 25, 2025 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Japan has tested protenemata (juvenile moss), brood cells (specialized stem cells that emerge under stress conditions) and sporophytes...

An artist’s impression of the collision between the proto-Earth and Theia. Image credit: MPS / Mark A. Garlick.

Moon-Forming Protoplanet Theia Originated from Inner Solar System, New Research Suggests

Nov 21, 2025 by News Staff

The Moon formed from a giant impact of the proto-Earth with the ancient protoplanet Theia. In a new study, a team of scientists from the United States,...

This image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was captured on October 3, 2025 by the CaSSIS instrument aboard ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter. Image credit: ESA / TGO / CaSSIS.

TGO Provides More Accurate Information about Path of 3I/ATLAS through Solar System

Nov 19, 2025 by News Staff

Thanks to the data collected by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft orbiting Mars,...

Panoramic aerial drone image of the Jinlin crater, taken on May 12, 2025. Image credit: Chen et al., doi: 10.1063/5.0301625.

Well-Preserved Impact Crater Discovered in China

Nov 13, 2025 by News Staff

Researchers have discovered an impact crater formed on a granite mountain capped by a thick weathering crust in southern China. Located in Zhaoqing in...

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