Why NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Uses Nuclear Energy
Radioactive plutonium is crucial for keeping this and other power-hungry deep-space missions warm and working for years on end
Stories by Meghan Bartels
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Docks with Space Station
The first-ever orbital flight of astronauts on a private spacecraft has been a historic success
Margaret Burbidge, Astronomer Who Studied the Inner Workings of Stars, Dies at 100
Sometimes called “Lady Stardust,” Burbidge helped reveal the cosmic origins of chemical elements
NASA’s Next Solar Mission Will Use Six Spacecraft to Make One Giant Telescope
Launching no earlier than July 2023, the SunRISE mission will study the origins of solar storms
Cooped Up at Home? Help Scientists Spot Penguins from Space or Seek Out Galaxies
Some citizen science projects can be done during quarantine
Hubble Telescope Test Inspires Changes at NASA to Combat Gender Bias
The space agency’s adoption of dual-anonymous review for certain science programs seeks to ensure proposals are judged on merit alone
Katherine Johnson of Hidden Figures Fame Dies at 101
The pioneering NASA mathematician overcame racial barriers to help humans reach the moon
Astronomers Just Found (Another) Potentially Habitable Exoplanet. What Happens Next?
NASA’s TESS spacecraft identified the unusual world around a red dwarf
James Webb Space Telescope on Track for March 2021 Launch, NASA Says
Despite numerous setbacks, the $9.7-billion observatory is still on schedule to revolutionize our view of the universe
Boeing’s Next-Generation Starliner Vehicle Passes Major Safety Test
Despite a parachute glitch, the spacecraft’s pad-abort system showed it could protect future astronauts
Asteroid Dust Triggered an Explosion of Life on Ancient Earth
At 466 million years ago, the breakup of a large space rock may have led to major changes in our planet’s biodiversity
NASA Picks First Private Landers for Lunar Science
Three companies are receiving millions of dollars apiece to ferry payloads to the moon’s surface in 2020 and 2021
Gigantic Ice Formation Found on Saturn’s Moon Titan
The mysterious feature wraps almost halfway around the giant moon
NASA Spots Another Possible Impact Crater Buried Under Greenland Ice
The newfound crater candidate is thought to be unrelated to another that was discovered last year
Scientists Prepare for Mission to Europa
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft could launch as early as 2023 to investigate one of the solar system’s most mysterious moons
Lunar Craters Show Spike in Earth-Pummeling Space Rocks
A new analysis suggests the last few hundred million years of life on Earth has seen above-average asteroid impact rates
Ocean Moons, Promising Targets in Search for Alien Life, Could Be Dead Inside
The interiors of Europa and other watery moons in the outer solar system might be too geologically inactive to support life
New Gravitational-Wave Detections Include Largest, Most Distant Black Hole Crash Ever
The four fresh signals from merging black holes hint at a forthcoming data deluge from the LIGO and Virgo observatories
Scientists Spot Giant Crater Hidden under Greenland's Ice
The enormous crater is among the 25 largest known on Earth, and likely came from a meteorite impact within the past three million years
Election Day 2018 Takes Absentee Ballots to the Extreme in Space
Even on the International Space Station, American astronauts manage to vote
