Planetary Science
- Astronomy
Curiosity to look for habitable environs
Set to land on Mars August 5, NASA mission will search for signs that the planet could support life, now or long ago.
- Planetary Science
Curiosity readies for dramatic entrance
NASA’s new Mars rover aims to alight on the Red Planet like a pop star being lowered onto stage.
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- Planetary Science
Frosted honeycomb of a moon
New analyses of Cassini images reveal ice on the pockmarked Saturnian satellite Hyperion.
- Planetary Science
Highlights from the 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, Texas, March 19-23
Geologic activity and weather on Saturnian moons, and studies in Greenland to learn about Mars.
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- Tech
Growing need for space trash collectors
On April 2, for the fifth time in less than three years, the International Space Station fired its engines to dodge a piece of orbital debris that appeared on a collision path. Other spacecraft also regularly scoot out of the way of rocket and satellite debris. Such evasive action will be needed increasingly frequently, a new study finds.
- Planetary Science
White dwarfs gobble Earthlike treats
Astronomers have found elements in the dead stars’ atmospheres that suggest rocky planetary bodies once orbited the stars.
- Planetary Science
Messages from Mercury
The latest data from a NASA spacecraft give compositional clues and reveal craters that could hold frozen water
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s rings explained
A huge shattered moon could have sprayed ice particles around the newborn planet.
- Planetary Science
New rock type found on moon
Odd spots on the lunar farside could be ancient material that originated deep inside the moon.
