Planetary sciences is an interdisciplinary field that investigates the formation, evolution, and current state of planets, moons, and smaller bodies within and beyond our Solar System using the methods of physics, chemistry, geology, and atmospheric science. It encompasses studies of planetary interiors, surfaces, atmospheres, magnetospheres, and ring systems, as well as orbital dynamics and interactions with stellar radiation and plasma environments. Planetary sciences integrates remote sensing, in situ spacecraft measurements, laboratory experiments, and numerical modeling to constrain processes such as accretion, differentiation, tectonism, volcanism, impact cratering, climate evolution, and potential habitability on diverse planetary bodies.
In September 2022, humanity crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid—on purpose. The objective of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was to see if we could intentionally modify the orbit of Dimorphos, the small moonlet ...
Space Exploration
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New observations by a team of US astronomers have cast fresh doubt on whether the lunar surface could host abundant water ice. Publishing their results in Science Advances, a team led by Shuai Li at the University of Hawaii ...
NASA's Artemis II mission plans to fly around the moon and back this April. Four astronauts will board the mammoth Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the test flight, spending 10 days off-Earth. They won't be touching down—this ...
Space Exploration
Mar 19, 2026
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Alaska's glacial lakes are growing faster than in previous decades. They expanded by more than 150 square kilometers between 2018 and 2024, and could eventually grow to more than four times their current size as glaciers ...
About 15% of asteroids near Earth have small moons orbiting them, making binary asteroid systems common in our cosmic neighborhood.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 7, 2026
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Four years ago, NASA purposely smashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid to see if they could deflect it—a test to prove humanity could protect Earth from threatening space rocks.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 7, 2026
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Here's a thought experiment that keeps planetary scientists awake at night. Strip every living thing from our planet, every bacterium, every blade of grass, every creature that has ever drawn breath and ask a simple but profound ...
Astrobiology
Mar 2, 2026
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Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears, may be better suited by a new name: Tardiguardians of the Galaxy. Unlike the fictional ragtag team of unenthusiastic heroes, the microscopic animals are providing real insight into ...
Astrobiology
Feb 27, 2026
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Rice, maize, and cassava crops cumulatively account for approximately 11% of total global deforestation—exceeding that of cocoa, coffee, and rubber—according to an analysis between 2001 and 2022, published in Nature Food. ...
Environment
Feb 23, 2026
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A team of scientists led by the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), and Leipzig University has developed a new method to track Earth's greenness—a ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 23, 2026
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