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.
After an eight-year journey, a spacecraft carrying European and Japanese probes began the monthslong, high-risk approach to Mercury on Thursday to study the sun-scorched planet.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 5, 2026
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On an August morning last year, an American couple soon to embark on a European river cruise awoke in a luxury hotel in Lisbon.
Plants & Animals
Aug 31, 2026
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18
Lights blink on as I enter the Rover Operations Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, at 7:30 a.m. I'm the first to arrive, even though I already feel late.
Astrobiology
Aug 27, 2026
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23
Whenever there's a series of destructive or notable earthquakes, scientists get asked the same question: Are earthquakes becoming more frequent?
Earth Sciences
Aug 26, 2026
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75
As part of its efforts to map out Europe's science-policy interface for biodiversity, a paper on the correlation between governance objectives for safeguarding the biosphere and on-the-ground realities for select species ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 25, 2026
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14
Researchers from the University of Leicester and the University of Aberdeen have carried out a series of field demonstrations in Portsoy to test cutting-edge handheld analytical instruments. Designed for use by astronauts ...
Space Exploration
Aug 6, 2026
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9
Named for the mythical valley where the god Dionysus was raised in secret by nymphs, the asteroid 44 Nysa inhabits the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Through observations by the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers ...
Finding water on the moon may only be a matter of detecting the right vibrations.
Space Exploration
Jul 31, 2026
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27
In November 2025, NASA's Mars-bound ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral with special cargo on board: two camera systems designed and built by faculty and ...
Astronomy
Jul 29, 2026
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17
Ancient samples from the moon's far side are helping scientists uncover how asteroid impacts shaped the early solar system. The findings challenge decades of thinking about when those impacts occurred and offer new insights ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 24, 2026
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