Solar System Exploration Stories
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Mars is not what it used to be. Once warm, watery, and blanketed by a thick atmosphere, today the Red Planet is cold, dry, and draped by a thin atmospheric veil. The main culprit is a relentless stream of particles…
In late February, people in the Northern Hemisphere can look up for a special sight: six planets will all be visible from clear and dark night skies. New sonifications from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory released Feb. 25 will help commemorate…
For about six months, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring a region full of geologic formations called boxwork, low ridges standing roughly 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) tall with sandy hollows in between. Crisscrossing the surface…
There is no GPS at the Red Planet, but a new technology called Mars Global Localization lets Perseverance determine precisely where it is — without human help. Imagine you’re all alone, driving along in a rocky, unforgiving desert with no…
The night skies of February are filled with beautiful star patterns, and so this month we take a closer look at another famous constellation, now rising high in the east after sunset: Gemini, the Twins! If you’re observing Orion, then…
NASA's Artemis II mission has its first opportunity to launch to the moon, Orion the Hunter takes center stage, and a planetary parade marches across the night sky.
A total lunar eclipse will redden the Moon in the early morning hours of March 3, 2026. Here’s what you need to know.
Results from the solar-powered spacecraft provide a new measurement of the thickness of the ice shell encasing the Jovian moon’s ocean. Data from NASA’s Juno mission has provided new insights into the thickness and subsurface structure of the icy shell encasing Jupiter’s moon Europa.…
A new NASA study of its Apollo lunar soils clarifies the Moon’s record of meteorite impacts and timing of water delivery. These findings place upper bounds on how much water meteorites could have supplied later in Earth’s history. Research has…
In sending a car-sized rotorcraft to explore Saturn’s moon Titan, NASA’s Dragonfly mission will undertake an unprecedented voyage of scientific discovery. And the work to ensure that this first-of-its-kind project can fulfill its ambitious exploration vision is underway in some…