Solar system terrestrial planets as a research area focuses on the comparative study of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars to understand the formation, differentiation, and evolution of rocky planets. It integrates planetary geology, geophysics, geochemistry, atmospheric science, and orbital dynamics to investigate crust–mantle–core structures, volcanic and tectonic processes, surface–atmosphere interactions, and volatile and climate histories. The field relies heavily on spacecraft missions, remote sensing, in situ measurements, laboratory analyses of analog materials, and numerical modeling to constrain accretion processes, interior dynamics, habitability conditions, and the broader context of terrestrial exoplanets.
A new Southwest Research Institute-led study proposes a solution to a longstanding puzzle in planetary science: What caused the concentration, assembly, and preservation of millimeter-sized, spherical mineral grains within ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 8, 2026
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On a bleak stretch of the Colorado Desert in Southern California, a compact four-wheeled rover recently trundled 16 miles (26 kilometers) with minimal intervention from the team of engineers trailing it. Called ERNEST (Exploration ...
Space Exploration
Jun 21, 2026
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55
Have you ever been out at night and seen a streak of light blast across the sky and disappear? Ever wonder where that shooting star came from, or how it got to be in your sky?
Astronomy
Jun 16, 2026
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23
In rocky planets such as Earth and Mars, the oxidation state of the mantle is thought to strongly influence the melting temperature of mantle materials (i.e., magma generation), the composition of volcanic gases, and ultimately ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 16, 2026
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11
Venus' bizarre and extraordinarily slow retrograde rotation on its axis has long puzzled planetary scientists. But in a new paper presented at the recent European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna, the authors ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 15, 2026
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45
Four-and-a-half billion years ago, a massive world—possibly as big as the moon or even Mars—orbited our sun before crashing into another celestial body and shattering into rubble. Now, in a paper published in the journal ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 2, 2026
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134
Bizarre Venus surface formations (or coronae) are likely key to understanding our twin planet's heretofore inscrutable interior. Using NASA Magellan spacecraft data from decades past, Anna Gulcher, an Earth and planetary ...
Planetary Sciences
May 18, 2026
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27
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover recently took a self-portrait against a sweeping backdrop of ancient Martian terrain at a location the science team calls Lac de Charmes. Assembled from 61 individual images, the selfie shows ...
Planetary Sciences
May 12, 2026
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32
NASA's Psyche spacecraft will get a boost from Mars on Friday, May 15, passing just 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) from the planet's surface at some 12,333 mph (19,848 kph). The spacecraft will harness the planet's gravitational ...
Planetary Sciences
May 9, 2026
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217
A team of scientists using the ChemCam instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has discovered the highest amounts of iron, manganese, and zinc ever found together in Gale Crater on Mars. Minerals with these metals were ...
Astrobiology
Apr 22, 2026
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