Missions
Here’s Where China’s Sample Return Mission is Headed
Humanity got its first look at the other side of the Moon in 1959 when the USSR's Luna 3 probe…
How Knot Theory Can Help Spacecraft Can Change Orbits Without Using Fuel
When a spacecraft arrives at its destination, it settles into an orbit for science operations. But after the primary mission…
What a Swarm of Probes Can Teach Us About Proxima Centauri B
You've likely heard of the Breakthrough Starshot (BTS) initiative. BTS aims to send tiny gram-scale, light sail picospacecraft to our…
Want to Leave the Solar System? Here’s a Route to Take
The edge of the Solar System is defined by the heliosphere and its heliopause. The heliopause marks the region where…
The ESA’s Mars Rover Gets a New Map
Rosalind Franklin, the ESA's Mars rover, is scheduled to launch no sooner than 2028. Its destination is Oxia Planum, a…
Someone Just Found SOHO's 5,000th Comet
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) was designed to examine the Sun, but as a side benefit, it has been…
Phew, De-Icing Euclid’s Instruments Worked. It’s Seeing Better Now
From its vantage point at the Sun-Earth L2 point, the ESA's Euclid spacecraft is measuring the redshift of galaxies with…
A Single Grain of Ice Could Hold Evidence of Life on Europa and Enceladus
The Solar System's icy ocean moons are primary targets in our search for life. Missions to Europa and Enceladus will…
Europe Has Big Plans for Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
Saturn's moon, Enceladus, is a gleaming beacon that captivates our intellectual curiosity. Its clean, icy surface makes it one of…
The Mars Science Helicopter Could be an Airborne Geologist on Mars
After over 70 successful flights, a broken rotor ended the remarkable and groundbreaking Ingenuity helicopter mission on Mars. Now, NASA…