Cosmology
Mirror-Image Supernova Yields Surprising Estimate of Cosmic Growth
A new way to gauge the universe’s expansion rate has delivered a confusing result that may conflict with previous related measurements
Stories by Jonathan O'Callaghan
Planetary Science
Where Did Mars’s Moons Come From?
New results from a U.A.E. orbiter suggest Mars’s moons may be pieces of the planet. A Japanese mission will tell us for sure
Astronomy
JWST’s Newfound Galaxies Are the Oldest Ever Seen
We now know that the first galaxies in our universe formed shockingly fast, thanks to the latest results from the James Webb Space Telescope
Planetary Science
NASA’s Perseverance Rover May Already Have Evidence of Ancient Martian Life
A half-kilogram’s worth of samples gathered by NASA’s Perseverance rover for eventual return to Earth holds weighty implications for life on Mars
Extraterrestrial Life
At Jupiter, JUICE and Clipper Will Work Together in Hunt for Life
A new European mission is the first of two spacecraft—with the other coming from NASA—that will hunt for signs of habitability on Jupiter’s icy moons
Materials Science
Scientists Made a New Kind Of Ice That Might Exist on Distant Moons
The “amorphous” solid is denser and could be water “frozen in time”
Astronomy
JWST Heralds a New Dawn for Exoplanet Science
The James Webb Space Telescope is opening an exciting new chapter in the study of exoplanets and the search for life beyond Earth
Space Exploration
NASA’s Pluto Spacecraft Begins New Mission at the Solar System’s Edge
New Horizons is about to wake up and study the Kuiper Belt, the universe, and even Uranus and Neptune. But a new target to visit could trump them all
Cosmology
Astronomers Grapple with JWST’s Discovery of Early Galaxies
Researchers are convinced the James Webb Space Telescope has glimpsed an unexpected population of galaxies in the early universe. Now they’re trying to decide what this means for our understanding of the cosmos...
Astronomy
Satellite Constellations Could Harm the Environment, New Watchdog Report Says
Elon Musk’s Starlink and other satellite sources of light pollution and orbital debris should face an environmental review, the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds
Planetary Science
NASA’s DART Spacecraft Successfully Smacks a Space Rock—Now What?
The DART spacecraft has purposefully crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, hopefully changing its orbit by a few minutes, in a milestone test of future planetary defense techniques
Space Exploration
The FCC Is Finally Taking Space Junk Seriously
A new potential rule from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission would set a five-year deadline for defunct satellites to be removed from space
Cosmology
JWST’s First Glimpses of Early Galaxies Could Break Cosmology
The James Webb Space Telescope’s first images of the distant universe shocked astronomers. Is the discovery of unimaginably distant galaxies a mirage or a revolution?
Planetary Science
Seismic Missions Could Reveal the Solar System’s Underworlds
Seismology has been a long-overlooked tool in planetary exploration, but the success of NASA’s InSight lander has reignited the field
Space Exploration
Astronauts Will Wear These Spacesuits on the Moon—And Maybe Mars, Too
The suits, supplied by Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace, will be used in NASA’s upcoming Artemis lunar missions and will protect space travellers from micrometeoroids, moon dust and even vomit...
Space Exploration
Will NASA Save Europe’s Beleaguered Mars Rover?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended hopes of launching the ExoMars rover in 2022. Now the mission may never lift off at all
Planetary Science
NASA Spacecraft Will Visit Apophis, Once Earth’s Deadliest Asteroid Threat
After delivering extraterrestrial samples to Earth in 2023, OSIRIS-REx will embark on an extended mission to a potentially planet-threatening space rock
Space Exploration
SpaceX’s Starship and NASA’s SLS Could Supercharge Space Science
Scientists are beginning to dream of how a new generation of super-heavy-lift rockets might enable revolutionary space telescopes and bigger, bolder interplanetary missions
Space Exploration
The First Rocket Launch from Mars Will Start in Midair
NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle will attempt a wildly unconventional liftoff to bring Red Planet samples back to Earth
Black Holes
Astronomers Find First Ever Rogue Black Hole Adrift in the Milky Way
Weighing in at seven times the mass of our sun, the dark object is by far the best-yet candidate for a free-floating stellar-mass black hole
