Space Exploration

If humans are going to live someplace other than Earth, the moon seems like a good option. It’s nearby and could serve as a launchpad for missions to other locations in the solar system. Scientists have long wondered if shadowy crevasses on the lunar surface could be entrances to caverns …

Studying celestial objects from afar can tell you a lot about them, but some experiments can only be done up close and personal. NASA’s Cassini probe provided an opportunity for scientists to satisfy their curiosity about Saturn as it spiraled down to its demise in recent months. We’ll no doubt …

Planetary researchers with NASA’s Cassini mission have detected a cloud of toxic hybrid ice high above the south pole of Saturn’s hazy moon, Titan. This view of Titan is among the last images NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sent to Earth before it plunged into the giant planet’s atmosphere. Image credit: NASA …

A study published in the journal Plasma Sources Science and Technology argues that Mars, with its 96% carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere, has nearly ideal conditions for CO2 decomposition by non-thermal (non-equilibrium) plasmas. Artist’s concept of a colony on Mars. Image credit: NASA. Mars has resources that can be used for …

NASA; Caleclipse.org When you open Facebook on August 21, an unique message from the company will welcome you about the total solar eclipse. “On August 21st, the United States will experience the first coast-to-coast overall solar eclipse in 99 years, making this the most important huge event in the social …

A new study published in the journal Advances in Space Research suggests that solar storms create a complex electrical environment around Phobos, giving its night side and shadowed craters a static electric charge. This artist’s conception shows an astronaut and spacecraft on the Martian moon Phobos. Image credit: NASA. Phobos, …

New Wave Last week, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) caught evidence of the ESA’s International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory detected a short gamma-ray burst in a similar region of the sky. This fast succession led the scientists to think the gravitational waves and light were caused by a single …

The accident of two neutron stars, seen in an artist’s making, developed both gravitational waves and gamma rays. Researchers utilized those signals to find the event with optical telescopes. Robin Dienel/Carnegie Organization for Science hide caption toggle caption Robin Dienel/Carnegie Organizationfor Science The accident of two neutron stars, seen in …

Analysis of science data from Cassini’s final plunge is ongoing, but NASA researchers already have a clear understanding of how the spacecraft behaved during its dive. In this screenshot from the short animated film Cassini’s Grand Finale, the spacecraft is shown breaking apart after entering the atmosphere of Saturn. Image …

Saturn’s hazy moon has surprisingly extreme rainstorms, according to new research published in the journal Nature Geoscience. It’s raining on Titan. Image credit: David A. Hardy, AstroArt / NASA. Although rainstorms are rare on Titan (less than once per Titanian year, which is 29.5 Earth years), they occur much more …