Space Exploration

Researchers using archival data from the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) have found evidence that molecules of vinyl cyanide, also known as acrylonitrile, are present on Saturn’s hazy moon Titan. Under the right conditions, like those found on Titan’s surface, vinyl cyanide may naturally coalesce into microscopic spheres resembling cell …

Scientists have spotted a few thousand exoplanets, or planets orbiting stars other than our sun. Exomoons are another story. There have been some potential exomoons, but nothing definitive. Now, a team from Columbia University thinks it might have the first solid evidence of a moon outside our solar system, and …

A team of researchers led by JAXA’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science has discovered unexpected patterns of slow motion and stationary waves in the nightside upper clouds of Venus. The research is published in the journal Nature Astronomy. The atmospheric superrotation at the upper clouds of Venus. While the …

How small can you make a satellite? The first satellite, Russia’s Sputnik, weighed in at about 183 pounds (83 kilograms). Today, many smaller space projects are taking place thanks to inexpensive CubeSats, but a company called Breakthrough Starshot has something even smaller in mind. It has successfully tested tiny satellites …

Google has added Street View images to a great number of unusual places on Earth from historical sites to remote islands. Now, it’s getting Street View data for a place where there are no streets — the International Space Station. With the help of the station’s crew, Google has rolled …

Ancient volcanic deposits distributed across the surface of the Moon contain unexpectedly high amounts of water compared with surrounding terrains, according to an analysis of data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument onboard India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter. This finding bolsters the hypothesis that the lunar mantle is surprisingly water-rich. Map …

The beginning of Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff is practically a love letter to Chuck Yeager. The excellent movie version features a sequence depicting Yeager as he test pilots the X-1 aircraft. Flying out of what would become Edwards AFB in California, Yeager became the first person to engage in supersonic flight. Now, …

New research from Monash University and the University of Queensland has added a new dimension to understanding life on the Red Planet with the discovery that meteorites may be able to ‘trap’ evidence of extraterrestrial life. This image shows Watson 021, a single H7 ordinary chondrite, weighing 135 g. The …

The International Space Station (ISS) has a new resident, but it’s not a human—it’s a drone. The small spherical drone was constructed by Japanese space agency JAXA with a special orientation system that allows it to maneuver around the ISS and capture video. Not only is it a convenient way …

Humans have done a myriad of impressive things in space, from building the International Space Station to landing a robot on a comet. Still, none of those accomplishments have quite the same historical weight as the first time a person walked on the moon. That first moon walk took place …