Missions
When an Object Like ‘Oumuamua Comes Around Again, We Could be Ready With an Interstellar Object Explorer (IOE)
On October 19th, 2017, astronomers with the Pann-STARRS survey observed an Interstellar Object (ISO) passing through our system - 1I/2017…
NASA is Done Setting Fires Inside its Doomed Cargo Spacecraft
Fire on a spacecraft can be catastrophic. It can spread quickly in a confined space, and for trapped astronauts, there…
The Vera Rubin’s Keen Eye On Our Solar System Will Inspire Future Missions
When the interstellar object (ISO) Oumuamua appeared in our Solar System in 2017, it generated a ton of interest. The…
NASA’s JPL Lays Off Hundreds of Workers
In a disheartening turn of events, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has announced that it's laying off about 8% of its…
Atmosphere Pressure Changes Could Explain Mars Methane
One ongoing mystery on Mars is the sporadic detection of atmospheric methane. Since 1999 detections have been made by Earth-based…
Exploring the Solar System with Swarms of Microprobes
It's satisfying to sit back and take stock of all the places in the Solar System that we've explored. The…
NASA Selects a Sample Return Mission to Venus
In Dante Alighieri's epic poem The Divine Comedy, the famous words "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" adorn the…
Ingenuity’s 69th Flight is its Farthest So Far
When NASA decided to send the little Ingenuity rotorcraft to Mars on the belly of the Perseverance rover, they weren't…
Watch a Full Martian Day, From Dawn to Dusk
On November 8th, NASA's Curiosity Rover paused its incessant science work and just watched the day unfold on Mars. The…
Hubble Returns to Science Operations
After a brief interruption, NASA announced that the Hubble Space Telescope is back in business. Problems with one of its…