Space & Physics
NASA’s TESS Planet-Hunting Space Telescope Completes Its Primary Mission
The observatory has found 66 confirmed worlds, plus 2,100 additional candidates—and the search goes on
Stories by SPACE.com
Space & Physics
SpaceX's Starship SN5 Prototype Soars in First Test Flight
The short hop could be a big leap toward future missions to Mars
Space & Physics
NASA Astronauts Splashdown Safely after Historic SpaceX Mission
The first-ever crew-carrying commercial orbital mission is a major spaceflight milestone
Space & Physics
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
Space & Physics
Surprise! Pluto May Have Possessed a Subsurface Ocean at Birth
The dwarf planet could be a more habitable world than scientists had thought
Space & Physics
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Docks with Space Station
The first-ever orbital flight of astronauts on a private spacecraft has been a historic success
Space & Physics
NASA Renames Next-Generation Telescope after Nancy Grace Roman
The pioneering astronomer and ‘mother of Hubble’ paved the way for revolutionary space observatories
Space & Physics
Pluto’s Wispy Atmosphere May Be Surprisingly Robust
The dwarf planet’s blue-tinged air may punch far above its weight
EARTH
North Pole’s Largest-ever Ozone Hole Finally Closes
An unusually strong polar vortex kept the hole open for nearly a month—now, it’s finally shut again
Space & Physics
NASA Selects Companies to Develop Human Lunar Landers
Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX will each design and build spacecraft that could return astronauts to the Moon
Particle Physics
Weird Neutrino Behavior Could Explain Long-standing Antimatter Mystery
But more data are needed before physicists know for sure
Space & Physics
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
Space & Physics
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
Space & Physics
Cooped Up at Home? Help Scientists Spot Penguins from Space or Seek Out Galaxies
Some citizen science projects can be done during quarantine
Space & Physics
Scientists Trace Neutron Star Crash That Helped Form Our Solar System
The collision helped seed Earth with its precious metals
Space & Physics
Molten Iron Rain Falls on Scorching-Hot Exoplanet
A planet called WASP-76 b may be the most extreme world we know of
Space & Physics
Scientists Spot the Biggest Known Explosion in the Universe
The blast is about five times bigger than the previous record holder
Policy
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
The Sciences
Katherine Johnson of Hidden Figures Fame Dies at 101
The pioneering NASA mathematician overcame racial barriers to help humans reach the moon
Space & Physics
NASA’s InSight Lander Reveals New Details of Martian Quakes and Magnetism
The spacecraft has recorded about 450 “Marsquakes” to date
