Evidence is growing that Mars, now cold and dry, had liquid water running on its surface much more recently than previously thought.
Space News & Blog Articles
Martian Dust is Starting to Darken Ingenuity’s Solar Panels
Like every solar-panel-powered vehicle on Mars, maintaining electrical power always becomes an issue at some point in the mission. Last week, mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory lost contact with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. While they were able to re-establish communications, which is done through the Perseverance rover, engineers know that keeping Ingenuity’s batteries charged is going to be increasingly difficult as the dark winter is on the way to Jezero Crater.
These are the Best Places to Search for Habitable Exomoons
Our Solar System contains eight planets and more than 200 moons. The large majority of those moons have no chance of being habitable, but some of them—Europa and Enceladus, for example—are strong candidates in the search for life.
Artemis 1 Probably won't Launch Until August
On March 17th, the Artemis I mission rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VLB) and was transferred to Launch Complex 39B at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first time that a fully-stacked Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft were brought to the launchpad in preparation for a “wet dress rehearsal.” To mark the occasion, NASA released a video of the event that featured a new song by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder (“Invincible”).
Vega C prepped for maiden flight in June
The P120C first stage for the inaugural Vega C launch was transferred to the launch pad in French Guiana on April 15. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
Europe’s new Vega C launcher is on track for its inaugural flight from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, during the second half of June, according to officials managing final phases of integration.
China's Mars rover Zhurong is hunkering down for its 1st Red Planet winter
China's Zhurong Mars rover is adjusting to its first winter on the Red Planet while its companion orbiter continues to map the world from above.
SpaceX's Crew-3 astronauts dish on their action-packed 6 months in orbit
From dodging space debris to welcoming the first-ever fully private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, SpaceX's Crew-3 mission had a very eventful six months off Earth.
Scientists peer inside a Mars meteorite to check for signs of a habitable world
Liquid water once shaped the rock inside a meteorite from Mars, but likely did not support any microbial life, a new study finds.
The Chandrasekhar limit: Why only some stars become supernovas
The Chandrasekhar limit determines whether a star ends its life as a smoldering white dwarf or explodes in a supernova becoming a neutron star or black hole.
Save $120 on the Anycubic Photon Mono X 6K 3D printer
Grab a huge discount on a 3D printer that features top-quality specs that are sure to impress.
Cretaceous asteroid armageddon ignites TV screens in 'Dinosaur Apocalypse'
'Dinosaur Apocalypse,' a PBS NOVA special narrated by Sir David Attenborough, attempts to reconstruct the day Earth was hit by an asteroid 66 million years ago.
The Tonga Eruption Reached Space!
What a massive volcanic eruption looks like from space. The GOES-17 satellite captured images of an umbrella cloud generated by the underwater eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on Jan. 15, 2022. The Tonga eruption sent crescent-shaped bow shock waves through the atmosphere, as well as numerous lightning strikes. Credits: NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens using GOES imagery courtesy of NOAA and NESDIS
Get the Terraforming Mars video game for free right now from Epic Games
The PC version of "Terraforming Mars" for free right now from Epic Games, but act fast.
When a White Dwarf Turned into a Thermonuclear Fireball
Astronomers have spotted the X-ray flash that precedes a nova. The brief flare is the first sign of a white dwarf erupting into a nuclear-fusion fireball.
Stronger gravity in the early universe may solve a cosmological conundrum
The inflationary epoch that caused our universe to rapidly expand in its earliest moments may be connected to the modern era of dark energy.
Hubble Space Telescope spots star that survived violent explosion of neighbor
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has spotted the surviving stellar companion of a star that exploded in a bright, fiery death.
Sagittarius A*: The Milky Way's supermassive black hole
At the heart of our galaxy lies a supermassive black hole — Sagittarius A*. Here is what we know so far about this massive slumbering cosmic titan.
Celestron telescope & binocular deals you can still get: Discounts & what's in stock
Hunting for a discount on a Celestron telescope or binocular? Here's what's in stock.
How to Image an Exoplanet with Just a Few Pixels
Using Earth as an example, astronomers are testing a new technique that could image rocky exoplanets without resolving them.
News Conference with ESA Astronaut Matthias Maurer (in German)
Video: 00:54:47
After almost six months of living and working on board the International Space Station, Matthias Maurer is back on Earth - and gives his first news conference in Europe.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is almost ready for science. Here's what's next.
The days are ticking away before NASA's massive new observatory shows us the cosmos as we've never seen it before.