Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Solar wind probably leaches Mars’ lower atmosphere
Initial results from NASA's MAVEN probe may help explain how Mars has lost its atmosphere: The solar wind penetrates the Red Planet’s atmosphere and fuels escaping gas.
- Planetary Science
Year in review: Ocean may power Enceladus’ geysers
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft builds a stronger case for a subsurface ocean on Enceladus that drives ice geysers on the moon’s south pole.
- Planetary Science
Year in review: Business booming on Mars
Mars now has seven robots studying it and together they have given scientists their best view of any planet in the solar system other than Earth.
- Planetary Science
Rosetta casts doubt on comets as Earth’s water providers
Water in comet 67P’s thin, hazy atmosphere doesn’t chemically match Earth’s oceans, suggesting that asteroids, not comets, brought water to the planet.
- Planetary Science
Martian crater was once filled with liquid water
Sandstone deposits on Mars indicate that Gale Crater, the Curiosity rover’s stomping ground, was once a lake fed by rivers.
- Chemistry
Early asteroid impacts may have aided life’s origin
RNA ingredients found in laser-induced simulation of explosions.
- Planetary Science
Pluto probe wakes up one last time
The New Horizons probe will remain active for the remainder of its journey to Pluto.
- Astronomy
Radio burst from beyond Milky Way detected in real time
First real-time detection of radio burst from outside galaxy triggers worldwide hunt for cause of mysterious signals.
- Astronomy
NASA’s Orion spacecraft has flawless first test flight
NASA’s new vehicle for human exploration of deep space has successfully completed its first unmanned test flight.
- Planetary Science
Ancient moon’s mega magnetic field explained
Apollo-era moon rocks reveal ancient lunar magnetic field was at least as powerful as the one surrounding modern Earth.
- Planetary Science
Preparing for disaster, celebrating success
Science cannot prevent all disasters or solve all the problems they spawn, but it can point to the best ways to prepare, making disasters less damaging than they might otherwise be
- Astronomy
Starlight robs galaxy of stellar ingredients
Light from newborn stars drives gas out of a distant galaxy, a process that may prevent future stars from being born.
