Space Exploration

Intense volcanism early in Mars history could have aided the emergence of life on the red planet through filtering out harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation whilst allowing helpful longer wavelength UV to power vital prebiotic chemistry. These are the possibilities raised by a Harvard University study assessing the potential influence of …

In a new report to NASA released this week, a 21-member team of scientists assess the scientific value and engineering design of a future mission to the surface of Europa. This artist’s rendering illustrates a conceptual design for a potential future mission to land a robotic probe on the surface …

NASA’s Cassini robotic orbiter captured these images of Mimas and Epimetheus during a close flyby on January 30, 2017. This image of Saturn’s moon Epimetheus was taken on January 30, 2017 and received on Earth February 1, 2017. The image was taken using the CL1 and GRN filters. Image credit: …

Dr. Mary Bourke from Trinity College Dublin and University of Oxford Professor Heather Viles have discovered a patch of land in an equatorial crater on Mars that appears to have been flooded by large volumes of water in the planet’s past. A large pit valley in Lucaya crater, Mars: (a) …

An international team of planetary researchers has discovered the presence of aliphatic organic compounds — carbon-based building blocks that may have a role in the chemistry that creates life — on Ceres, the largest object in the main asteroid belt. And, according to the team, the organics are most likely …

During asteroid search operations, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft snapped several images of Jupiter and its Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede. This composite image showing Jupiter (center) and three of its moons — Callisto (left), Io, and Ganymede — was taken by OSIRIS-REx’s PolyCam instrument. Image credit: NASA / Goddard …

Researchers, using a camera aboard ESA’s Mars Express, have created a stunning mosaic of Mars’ north polar region. Perspective view of Mars’ north polar ice cap and its distinctive dark troughs forming a spiral-like pattern. The view is based on images taken by ESA’s Mars Express and generated using elevation …

When seen up close, Saturn’s F ring — the outermost discrete ring of the gas giant — resolves into multiple dusty strands. This Cassini view shows four dusty strands of Saturn’s F ring: the central strand is the core of the ring; the other strands are not independent at all, …

There are a myriad of satellites in orbit of Earth with cameras that can send back amazing photos, but they can’t snap a photo of the entire planet at once. NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) camera can, though. It sends back thousands of amazing photos every year, and now …

NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully completed a close flyby of Jupiter on February 2, 2017. Cyclones swirl around the south pole, and white oval storms can be seen near the limb — the apparent edge of the planet — in this image of Jupiter’s south polar region taken by the JunoCam …