Planetary Science

The Perseverance rover’s new findings set the stage for bringing Martian samples back to Earth to test whether microbes once inhabited the Red Planet

A monumental sign of an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1e could be the precursor to finally finding a living world around another star

Fresh results from near-infrared instruments foretell a bright future for finding life elsewhere in the Milky Way

The 60-meter asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 4 percent chance of hitting the moon. Could such a lunar collision create a dangerous new meteor shower?

In his latest book, science journalist Peter Brannen argues that CO₂ is the most important—and most misunderstood—molecule on Earth

With no fuel or engines, tiny explorers will surf sun-warmed air alone to explore high in the skies of Earth and Mars

Using the powerful James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have spotted a moon nestled near Uranus’s rings that’s so small you could walk around it

The Juno spacecraft has rewritten the story on Jupiter, the solar system’s undisputed heavyweight

Beneath the surfaces of distant planets, microbes might subsist on harsh radiation rather than starlight, a new study suggests

The U.S. planetary science community is sounding the alarm about plans to discard a nuclear technology that has powered dozens of NASA missions over the past 50 years

Spurred by competition from China and Russia, the Trump administration is pushing for nuclear power on the moon by 2030

Astronomers think small space rocks from beyond our solar system routinely strike Earth—but proving it isn’t easy