Space Exploration

Strange formations are found at the highest altitudes on the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto. They resemble giant knife blades of ice and can soar many hundreds of feet into the sky. According to new research published in the journal Icarus, these structures are made almost entirely of methane …

This striking image of Jupiter was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it performed its eighth flyby of the giant planet. This image was taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft on September 1, 2017 at 5:58 p.m. EDT (2:58 p.m. PDT), and then processed by citizen scientist Gerald Eichstaedt. At the …

There’s usually a stark difference between asteroids and comets, but so-called “active asteroids” blur the line. These space rocks produce a cloud of dust and gas as they drift around the solar system, making them look very comet-like. Astronomers spotted one of them in 2011, but upon closer inspection, Body …

Advances in 3D printing have been slow to replace traditional manufacturing, but NASA is looking toward the technology as a way to fabricate parts for rockets. It’s already experimented with rocket components that were 3D printed from a single metal, but now it’s testing a process for printing in two …

Using data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, researchers have found new evidence for the occurrence of ground ice on Vesta, the second largest asteroid of the asteroid main belt. Large, smooth areas on Vesta correlated with higher concentrations of hydrogen. Image credit: Elizabeth Palmer / Essam Heggy. Discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm …

SpaceX has been using its Falcon 9 rocket to launch satellites for governments and companies around the world, but it might launch some of its own soon. The space firm headed by Elon Musk is working on plans for a satellite network that provides broadband internet access. This network may …

A new study led by Brown University planetary researchers adds three new large members to the list of water ice-filled craters near Mercury’s north pole and shows evidence that smaller-scale deposits scattered around the north pole; those deposits may be small, but they could add up to a lot more …

The solar system is rife with space rocks that never became planets, many of them orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt. Scientists have been able to examine a few asteroids close up, and the OSIRIS-REx mission will soon grab a sample from one asteroid and return it …

River deposits exist across the Martian surface. A large sedimentary basin named Aeolis Dorsa contains some of the planet’s most spectacular and densely packed river deposits. In a new paper published in the Geological Society of America Bulletin, planetary researchers provide evidence that these deposits represent incised valleys carved and …

While many of us were stuck sitting behind a school bus in rush-hour traffic this morning, far away from us a much higher-speed spectacle took place. After thirteen years of sometimes bootstrapped and often surprising science, Cassini has reached the end of its mission, and NASA deorbited it into Saturn …