Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
These are the most-read Science News stories of 2018
From male birth control to wombat poop, Science News online readers had a wide variety of favorite stories on our website.
- Astronomy
50 years ago, astronauts orbited the moon for the first time
Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968, with three astronauts on board, making 10 revolutions around the moon — the first manned lunar orbits.
- Astronomy
2018 was a busy year in space
This year, some missions started exploring the cosmos, while others were winding down.
- Astronomy
These 2018 findings could be big news — if they turn out to be true
Discoveries about fossils, the Big Bang and more could shake up the scientific world – if they turn out to be true.
- Space
The sugar that makes up DNA could be made in space
Deoxyribose, the sugar of DNA, was created in a lab simulating ice in space.
- Astronomy
Bennu and Ryugu look like spinning tops and scientists want to know why
The first high-resolution images of Bennu confirm that the asteroid looks very similar to the asteroid Ryugu.
- Planetary Science
New Horizons gears up for its close encounter with Ultima Thule
On January 1, the New Horizons spacecraft will fly by Ultima Thule, the first small Kuiper Belt object ever to get a close visitor.
- Particle Physics
Neutrino discovery launched a new type of astronomy
Particles associated with a blazar kick-start the field of neutrino astronomy.
- Planetary Science
A buried lake on Mars excited and baffled scientists
Planetary scientists are still trying to explain how a lake could have formed beneath a kilometer and a half of Martian ice.
- Astronomy
The Parker Solar Probe takes its first up-close look at the sun
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived its first encounter with the sun and is sending data back to Earth.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx finds signs of water on the asteroid Bennu
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft found signs of water and lots of boulders on the asteroid Bennu.
- Cosmology
Voyager 2 spacecraft enters interstellar space
Voyager 2 just became the second probe ever to enter interstellar space, and the first with a working plasma instrument.
