ESA’s JUICE Spacecraft Sends Its First Images from Space
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) has taken its first monitoring camera images showing part of the spacecraft with our home planet as a stunning backdrop. This image was taken…
Study Offers New Insights into Extraterrestrial Origins of Earth’s Water
In new research, planetary scientists from the University of Maryland and elsewhere analyzed melted meteorites that had been floating around in space since the Solar System’s formation around 4.5 billion…
Researchers Find Two Extraterrestrial Minerals in El Ali Meteorite
The El Ali meteorite, a 15.2-ton iron meteorite found in 2020 near the tiny town of El Ali in Somalia, contains at least two new minerals: elaliite and elkinstantonite. This…
NASA’s Orion Spacecraft Successfully Lands in Pacific Ocean
NASA’s uncrewed Orion spacecraft successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico’s Baja California at 12:40 p.m. ET on December 10, 2022. The splashdown is the final milestone of…
NASA’s Orion Spacecraft is on Its Way to the Moon
Carrying an uncrewed Orion, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) — the most powerful rocket in the world — lifted off today at 1:47 a.m. EST from at NASA’s Kennedy Space…
Martian Springtime Dust Storms Churn Up Surprisingly Earth-Like Cloud Patterns: Study
Using images obtained by two orbiting spacecraft, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA’s Mars Express, planetary researchers analyzed textured dust storms that develop at the northern polar cap boundary on…
Researchers Find Extraterrestrial Noble Gases in Asteroid Ryugu Sample
The sample of material delivered to our planet from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu contained a mixture of extraterrestrial (helium and neon) and terrestrial atmospheric gases, according to new research led…