Planetary Science

Astronomy

A shadowy birthplace may explain Jupiter’s strange chemistry

Dust that blocked sunlight caused the giant planet to form in a deep freeze, a new study suggests.

Planetary Science

NASA will be heading back to Venus for the first time in decades

Two newly selected missions, VERITAS and DAVINCI+, will explore the history of the planet's water and habitability.

Planetary Science

Laser experiments suggest helium rain falls on Jupiter

Compressing a hydrogen and helium mixture with lasers shows that the two elements separate at pressures found within gas giant planets.

Space

China’s first Mars rover has landed and is sending its first pictures

The country just became the second nation, after the United States, to successfully land a rover on Mars. Its rover will search for subsurface ice.

Astronomy

Saturn has a fuzzy core, spread over more than half the planet’s diameter

Analysis of a wave in one of Saturn’s rings has revealed that the planet’s core is diffuse and bloated with lots of hydrogen and helium.

Planetary Science

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter’s mission with Perseverance has been extended

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has passed all its tests and is ready to support the Perseverance rover in looking for ancient Martian life.

Planetary Science

NASA’s Perseverance rover split CO₂ to make breathable air on Mars

An oxygen-making experiment on Perseverance shows that astronauts will one day be able to make air to breathe and, better yet, rocket fuel.

Planetary Science

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter made history by flying on Mars

An autonomous helicopter just lifted itself into the air on Mars, marking the first time a vehicle has flown on a planet other than Earth.

Planetary Science

How the laws of physics constrain the size of alien raindrops

Physics limits the size of raindrops, no matter what they’re made of or what planet they fall on.

Planetary Science

Earth sweeps up 5,200 tons of extraterrestrial dust each year

Thousands of micrometeorites collected from Antarctica come from both comets and asteroids, a new study suggests.

Planetary Science

A meteor may have exploded over Antarctica 430,000 years ago

Tiny spherules recovered from a mountaintop suggest a space rock broke apart midflight and sprayed debris across thousands of kilometers.

Space

50 years ago, experiments hinted at the possibility of life on Mars

In 1971, lab experiments suggested organic molecules could be made on Mars. Fifty years later, robots are searching for such signs of life on the planet itself.