Space
How future spacecraft might handle tricky landings on Venus or Europa
Scientists are getting inventive with ways to touch down on these worlds, where landers will face obstacles not seen elsewhere in the solar system.
Planetary Science
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SpaceDecember’s stunning Geminid meteor shower is born from a humble asteroid
Most meteor showers arise from comets, but the robust Geminid shower comes from an asteroid, Phaethon, which scientists are still trying to figure out.
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Planetary ScienceChina is about to collect the first moon rocks since the 1970s
The robotic Chang’e-5 mission, which landed on an unexplored region of the moon December 1, aims to gather samples and return them to Earth.
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Planetary ScienceFarming on Mars will be a lot harder than ‘The Martian’ made it seem
Lab experiments developing and testing fake Martian dirt are proving just how difficult it would be to farm on the Red Planet.
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Planetary ScienceChemical reactions high in Mars’ atmosphere rip apart water molecules
Mars is so dry because its water constant escapes into space. A new study suggests this process occurs in the ionosphere and faster than thought.
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SpaceJupiter’s icy moon Europa may glow in the dark
Europa’s potential “ice glow” could help scientists map the chemical composition of its surface — and the ocean underneath.
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SpaceJupiter may host atmospheric ‘sprites’ or ‘elves’ never seen beyond Earth
For the first time, NASA’s Juno spacecraft may have spied the bright, superfast light show on another world.
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Planetary ScienceDoubts over a ‘possible sign of life’ on Venus show how science works
Detecting phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere made headlines, but reanalyses and new searches call into question the original discovery of the molecule.
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SpaceWater exists on sunny parts of the moon, scientists confirm
New observations of the moon, made by a telescope flying onboard a Boeing 747-SP jet, have confirmed the presence of water on sunlit areas of the moon.
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SpaceNASA’s OSIRIS-REx survived its risky mission to grab a piece of an asteroid
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft just tried to grab a piece of asteroid Bennu. If successful, the spacecraft will return the sample to Earth in 2023.