and installing critical infrastructure such as power grids and pressurized habitats. NASA also indicated that a repurposed Mars rover could be adapted for lunar work. “The Moon Base will be built in phases. NASA will begin with robotic missions that...

“cosmic shoreline,” a boundary where intense stellar radiation can erode planetary atmospheres over time. The authors cite Mars as a Solar‑System analogue where atmospheric loss has been significant. “If you scale the Earth down to the size of an apple,...

the encounter. “The arrival of Apophis represents a unique opportunity,” said Orson Sutherland, ESA’s programme manager for Mars and Beyond. “It is exceedingly rare for such a large asteroid – at 375 m across, about the size of a cruise liner – to pass...

deeper into the solar system, the probe will deliver its asteroid payload during an Earth flyby. Comet 311P, located beyond Mars, has attracted attention for its distinctive six‑pronged dust tail, a feature that aligns with the spacecraft’s planned...

originated roughly 4.6 billion years ago, predating Earth’s final assembly, most likely within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Collisions in that region can eject fragments onto Earth‑crossing trajectories, a process believed to have...

generate electricity from the heat released by plutonium‑238 decay, powering deep‑space probes such as Voyager and the Mars rovers Curiosity and Perseverance, according to ZME Science. In comparison, City Labs’ betavoltaic unit is far smaller and...

intense flares and stellar winds capable of stripping planetary atmospheres over billions of years—a process exemplified by Mars, which likely lost a once‑Earth‑like atmosphere to solar radiation. GJ 3378b appears to sit near the so‑called cosmic...

it. First identified in 2025, the four companions to Barnard’s Star sit between the sizes of Earth and Venus, yet exceed Mars, occupying a size class absent from our own solar system. Their tight orbits around a red dwarf and distinctive chemistry...

forces along the established fault network. Tectonic features in Oz Terra compared with similar structures on Mercury and Mars. Credit: Nature Communications The simulations also suggest that Charon rotated once every 14.3 hours during its youth—a stark...

Spacesystems, Inc., the manufacturer behind the robotic limbs, previously supplied mechanisms for NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars. Collaboration among NASA, DARPA and other agencies over many years helped translate laboratory prototypes into a viable...

stony body about 375 m across and weighing roughly 20 million tons. It originated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter before planetary perturbations nudged its orbit toward Earth. At closest approach the asteroid will pass at a distance...

but also recycle carbon dioxide and generate oxygen, reducing reliance on Earth‑based resupply for missions to the Moon, Mars or beyond. Beyond plant biology, the Shenzhou‑23 crew is pursuing a range of biomedical investigations. Using portable...

confusion could lead to systemic errors in our current planetary models. While observers have clear views of the surface of Mars, our inability to peer through the thick, opaque shroud of Venus forces a reliance on atmospheric signals that are...

decontamination protocols is essential not only for lunar missions but for the long-term goal of human exploration of Mars. “The better we get at clean exploration on the moon, the much better position we’ll be in on a place like Mars,” Graham explains....

the vast gaps in our understanding of the deep ocean. As marine biologist Sylvia Earle has famously noted, the topography of Mars is currently better mapped and understood than the floor of our own oceans, a reality that makes the study of abyssal...

fundamental recognition that ground infrastructure is as vital to discovery as the spacecraft themselves. As the cadence of Mars rover operations, deep-space probes, and lunar sorties accelerates, the network must evolve to handle a multi-faceted...

a series of notable achievements—including the successful deployment of a prototype in January 2025 and a mission to Mars in November of that same year—the program had faced operational challenges. A prior mission on April 19, 2026, saw the rocket reach...

asteroids or a specific anomaly. Future investigations, including JAXA’s upcoming mission to sample Phobos—the moon of Mars—are expected to provide more data points by 2031. Comparing these future samples with the data gathered from Bennu will be...

is a central pillar of the SPLICE design. Because signal latency makes real-time human control impossible for missions to Mars or distant icy moons, the spacecraft must be capable of processing environmental hazards independently. Enabling a vehicle to...

decades, the prevailing narrative of the Moon’s birth has centered on a cataclysmic collision between the early Earth and a Mars-sized protoplanet dubbed Theia. While this giant impact hypothesis has provided a foundational framework for understanding...