Regolith is the unconsolidated, heterogeneous layer of fragmented mineral and rock material that overlies coherent bedrock on planetary surfaces, including Earth, the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and other solid bodies. As a substance, it comprises varying proportions of rock fragments, mineral grains, dust, ice, and, on some planets, secondary alteration products such as clays or salts. Regolith forms primarily through mechanical and chemical weathering, impact comminution, and volcanic or sedimentary processes, and its physical properties—such as grain size distribution, porosity, cohesion, and volatile content—critically influence surface-atmosphere interactions, geotechnical behavior, resource potential, and the performance of in situ exploration and construction activities.
Noticeable change on Mars often takes millions of years—but the European Space Agency's Mars Express has captured a blanket of dark ash creeping across the planet in just decades.
Astronomy
Apr 15, 2026
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The lunar south pole looks chaotic from orbit. Craters heaped upon craters, ancient basins, scarps and slopes tumbling in every direction, it is without doubt, one of the most geologically complicated terrains in the inner ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 15, 2026
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Elements essential to life, such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, were "delivered" to Earth and the moon during the early stages of the solar system via asteroids and comets impacting their surfaces. These ...
Astrobiology
Apr 10, 2026
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The closest planet to our sun, Mercury, experiences extreme temperature variations. Since the planet has no atmosphere to speak of, it is in a constant cycle where one side is extremely hot and the other extremely cold. On ...
Space Exploration
Apr 9, 2026
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Planetary surface missions currently operate cautiously. On Mars, communication delays between Earth and rovers (typically between four and 22 minutes), as well as data transfer constraints due to uplink and downlink limitations, ...
Astrobiology
Mar 31, 2026
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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 ...
In 1959, the Luna 2 probe from the Soviet Union became the very first human-made object to reach our closest celestial neighbor. In the decades since, we have been leaving footprints—both literally and figuratively—all over ...
Space Exploration
Mar 19, 2026
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There's more evidence that water once flowed on Mars with the discovery of an ancient river delta deep below the surface. NASA's Perseverance rover found it more than 35 meters beneath Jezero Crater using ground-penetrating ...
In one of the biggest surprises of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, its target asteroid, Bennu, turned out to be a jagged, rugged world covered in large boulders, with few of the smooth patches that earlier observations from Earth-based ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 17, 2026
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A US Senate committee has directed NASA to begin work on a moon base "as soon as is practicable." Under legislation advanced by the Senate lawmakers, the outpost would serve as a science laboratory and proving ground, where ...
Space Exploration
Mar 12, 2026
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