Planetary Science

Space

A new moon radiation measurement may help determine health risks to astronauts

China's lunar lander measured radiation at the moon’s surface, finding the daily dose is 2.6 times as high as inside the International Space Station.

Planetary Science

Rosetta data reveal an invisible ultraviolet aurora around comet 67P

Solar wind electrons smash water molecules in the comet’s coma to make the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s version of the northern lights.

Space

How do you clean up clingy space dust? Zap it with an electron beam

An electron beam is the newest addition to a suite of technologies for cleaning sticky and damaging lunar dust off surfaces.

Space

Phosphine gas found in Venus’ atmosphere may be ‘a possible sign of life’

Astronomers have detected a stinky, toxic gas in Venus’ clouds that could be a sign of life, or some strange unknown chemistry.

Planetary Science

Earth’s building blocks may have had far more water than previously thought

Space rocks and dust from the inner solar system could have delivered enough water to account for all the H2O in the planet’s mantle.

Astronomy

In a first, astronomers spotted a space rock turning into a comet

Scientists have caught a space rock in the act of shifting from a Kuiper Belt object to a comet. That process won’t be complete until 2063.

Astronomy

Hubble watched a lunar eclipse to see Earth from an alien’s perspective

Hubble observed sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere during a lunar eclipse to see what a habitable exoplanet’s atmosphere might look like.

Planetary Science

Jupiter’s moons could keep each other warm by raising tidal waves

Along with gravity from the enormous planet, tidal forces between Jupiter’s moons could generate a surprising amount of heat.

Space

‘Exotic’ lightning crackles across Jupiter’s cloud tops

Newly spotted lightning, which could form thanks to ammonia antifreeze, is weaker but more frequent than any flashes seen on Jupiter before.

Planetary Science

The Perseverance rover caps off a month of Mars launches

With the launch of NASA’s Perseverance rover, the rush to the Red Planet is under way.

Space

To rehearse Perseverance’s mission, scientists pretended to be a Mars rover

Seven Mars scientists pretended to be the Mars Perseverance rover on a training exercise in the Nevada desert.

Planetary Science

NASA’s Perseverance rover will seek signs of past life on Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover will collect rocks and search for past life on Mars using lasers and zoomable cameras among other instruments.