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.
A research team led by geophysicists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography provides an explanation for features that characterize the surface of the solar system's hottest planet.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 17, 2025
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A team of researchers, including those at the University of Tokyo, discovered that liquid water once flowed on the asteroid that spawned near-Earth asteroid Ryugu more than a billion years after it first formed. The finding, ...
Astrobiology
Sep 10, 2025
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Scientists have discovered that Mars has an interior structure similar to Earth's. Results from NASA's InSight mission suggest that the red planet has a solid inner core surrounded by a liquid outer core, potentially resolving ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 7, 2025
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Scientists revealed Wednesday that Mars' innermost core appears to be a solid hunk of metal just like Earth's.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 3, 2025
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Natural hydrogen from deep underground could be an important building block for the sustainable energy system of the future, but it is currently still difficult to predict where and at what depth elevated concentrations are ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 1, 2025
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Components of a NASA technology that could one day help crew and cargo enter harsh planetary environments, like that of Mars, are taking an extended trip to space courtesy of the United States Space Force.
Space Exploration
Aug 28, 2025
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Clues about how worlds like Earth may have formed have been found buried at the heart of a spectacular "cosmic butterfly." With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers say they have made a big leap forward ...
Astronomy
Aug 27, 2025
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The idea of building settlements on Mars is a popular goal of billionaires, space agencies and interplanetary enthusiasts.
Space Exploration
Aug 26, 2025
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Neil Armstrong almost made a mistake. He had found an interesting rock sticking out of a formation. Curious to see what the rock was made of, he needed to examine its interior more closely. So he reached for his hammer and ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 21, 2025
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NASA's Artemis II mission, set to send four astronauts on a nearly 10-day mission around the moon and back, will advance the agency's goal to land astronauts at the moon's south polar region and will help set the stage for ...
Space Exploration
Aug 21, 2025
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