Missions
Hayabusa2’s Mission isn’t Over. It has a New Asteroid Target to Visit: 1998 KY26
In an expected move, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced a mission extension for their Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Hayabusa2…
NASA’s Janus Mission is Going to Visit Two Binary Asteroids
Gravity is good for a lot of things. It brings objects closer together. Occasionally they crash into each other. But…
The Surface of Mars Might Have Gotten an Acid Bath, Obscuring Evidence of Past Life
According to a recent study, the presence of acidic and alkali fluids on the surface of Mars mean that its…
Missions Are Already Being Planned to Figure Out What’s Creating the Biosignature on Venus
The discovery of phosphine in the upper clouds in Venus' atmosphere has generated a lot of excitement. On Earth, phosphine…
Rosetta’s Philae Lander Was Alive on the Surface of 67P for 63 Hours, Trying to Communicate
In August 2014, the ESA's Rosetta spacecraft arrived at its destination, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, after a 10 year journey. Rosetta carried…
We Have the Technology to Retrieve a Sample From an Interstellar Object Like Oumuamua
A white paper submitted to the 2023 - 2032 Decadal Survey recommends we create spacecraft that could rendezvous and take…
InSight’s Mole Is In!
The InSight lander is making progress on Mars. After many months of struggle and careful adaptation, the InSight lander's 'Mole'…
The Martian Sky Pulses in Ultraviolet Every Night
There’s a surprising phenomenon taking place in Mars’ atmosphere: during the spring and fall seasons on the Red Planet, large…
Roman Space Telescope and SOFIA Get Their Funding Restored… Again
In May of 2020, NASA made the decision to give the next-generation Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope (WFIRST) a proper…
Instead of Going Straight to Mars, Astronauts Should Make a Slingshot Past Venus First
Every 26 months, the orbits of both Earth and Mars conspire to make travel between the two planets shorter. Launching…