Missions
What’s Going on With the Mars Sample Return Mission?
Anybody with a modicum of intellectual curiosity is looking forward to the NASA/ESA Mars Sample Return Mission. NASA's Perseverance rover…
We’re Entering a New Age When Spacecraft Communicate With Lasers
In October 2023, NASA launched its long-awaited on-again, off-again Psyche mission. The spacecraft is on its way to study the…
Take a Plunge Into the Ice Giants
Our Solar System's ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, have been largely left out of the planetary probe game. While all…
ESA Has a Difficult Choice: Study Mars, Earth's Magnetosphere, or Gamma-Ray Bursts
The ESA Science Programme has narrowed down the possibilities for its next M-class mission to three concepts.
ESA’s Hera Mission is Bringing Two Cubesats Along. They’ll Be Landing on Dimorphos
In about one year from now, the European Space Agency will launch its Hera mission. Its destination is the asteroid…
Mars Still Has Liquid Rock Near its Core
Why doesn’t Mars have a magnetic field? If it did, the planet would be protected from cosmic radiation and charged…
Building Roads Out of Moon Dust
Astronauts will face a host of obstacles when they visit the Moon again. There's powerful radiation, wild temperature swings, and…
NASA's Psyche Mission is off to Asteroid Psyche
NASA's Psyche mission just launched on a six year journey to explore a metal world in the Asteroid Belt.
A Huge New Gaia Data Release: More Stars, Gravitational Lenses and Asteroids
The ESA's Gaia mission is releasing a new tranche of astronomical data. The mission has released three regular, massive hauls…
This Moon Rover Wheel Could be 3D Printed on the Moon
When you think about sending missions to the Moon, every single gram counts on launch day. Therefore, it makes sense…