Space News

The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame just held its annual induction ceremony, but one of this year's two honorees could not attend for a reason unique to all past enshrinements.

Scientists analyzing an ultra-hot giant planet believe it was formed by absorbing lightweight gases like methane evaporating from tiny space pebbles, while being bombarded with large rocky objects.

Learn about a previously unknown population of hunter-gatherers in Colombia, whose genetic trail faded away between around 6,000 and 2,000 years ago.

Mars is by far the most Earth-like planet in the solar system...but that's not saying much.

What is the smallest dinosaur? It could be the gliding Scansoriopterygidae or Epidexipteryx and its beautiful tail feathers.

In a recent paper, UCSB physicist Jack Kingdom identified a trajectory for a rapid transit (90 days) to Mars using SpaceX's Starship. This proposal offers an alternative to mission architectures that rely on nuclear prop...

Northern lights may be visible in parts of the U.S. Monday night following weekend solar storms.

The search for life beyond Earth is a key driver of modern astronomy and planetary science. The U.S. is building multiple major telescopes and planetary probes to advance this search. However, the signs of life--called b...

For centuries, astronomers have sought to understand the formation and evolution of the solar system and the dynamics that govern it. In particular, there is the long-standing question of whether or not the planets' orbi...

How can humanity use the developing Lunar Gateway as an appropriate starting point for advancing human space exploration beyond the moon? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conf...

Identifying ancient Chinese astronomical events represents a fascinating aspect of modern astrophysics. Chinese astronomers maintained meticulous records of celestial events for more than 2 millennia, documenting everyth...

Exoplanet science is shifting from finding any detectable exoplanets we can to searching for those in their stars' habitable zones. NASA's proposed Habitable World Observatory and other similar efforts are focused on the...

Merging neutron stars are excellent targets for multi-messenger astronomy. This modern and still very young method of astrophysics coordinates observations of the various signals from one and the same astrophysical sourc...

The idea that the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) will collide emerged after decades of observations by a host of astronomers. The Hubble played a decisive role in the determination during the early 2000s. It was a tr...

The challenge in the search for habitable worlds is clear. We need to be able to identify habitable worlds and distinguish between biotic and abiotic processes. Ideally, scientists would do this on entire populations of ...

An unusual star (circled in white at right) behaving like no other seen before and its surroundings are featured in this composite image released on May 28, 2025. A team of astronomers combined data from NASA's Chandra X...

EchoStar has ordered another geostationary satellite for its Dish Network TV broadcast business, even as the company signals the possibility of seeking bankruptcy protection amid a regulatory probe into its mobile spectr...

As Star Citizen approaches a billion dollars in funding and with no full release date in sight, we take a look at its history and the current state of this ambitious space epic.

Aurora Australisa, or the "southern lights" was on full display on June 1, 2025, as spectators outside Christchurch, New Zealand witnessed firsthand.

Many people imagine the space between the stars as an empty, cold infinity. In reality, it is teeming with extraordinary molecules: More than 300 different types have already been discovered. For her Ph.D. thesis, chemis...

Tokyo-based company ispace aims to land its "Resilience" spacecraft in the moon's Mare Frigoris ("Sea of Cold") region on June 5, notching a big milestone for Japan and for commercial spaceflight.

How can fission-powered propulsion help advance deep space exploration, specifically to the outer planets like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary S...