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.
At half the size of Earth and one-tenth its mass, Mars is a featherweight as far as planets go. Yet new research reveals the extent to which Mars is quietly tugging on Earth's orbit and shaping the cycles that drive long-term ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 12, 2026
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Rocky planets like our Earth may be far more common than previously thought, according to new research published in the journal Science Advances. It suggests that when our solar system formed, a nearby supernova (the massive ...
An international team has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the tectonic evolution of terrestrial planets. Using advanced numerical models, the team systematically classified for the first time six distinct ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 24, 2025
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Blue Origin launched its huge New Glenn rocket Thursday with a pair of NASA spacecraft destined for Mars.
Space Exploration
Nov 14, 2025
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This article is a speculative piece based on the European Space Agency (ESA) Strategy 2040 plan for the future of space exploration. Dr. Orson Sutherland, a program manager responsible for Mars exploration at ESA, shared ...
Space Exploration
Nov 12, 2025
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Mars is an inhospitable desert planet. Billions of years ago, things were different. In Jezero Crater, for example, fed by a vast river delta, there was probably a considerable body of water roughly the size of Lake Constance. ...
Astrobiology
Oct 29, 2025
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Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have discovered extremely rare remnants of "proto Earth," which formed about 4.5 billion years ago, before a colossal collision irreversibly altered the primitive planet's composition and produced ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 14, 2025
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297
For more than twenty years, the Mars Express orbiter has studied the Red Planet and remains the European Space Agency's (ESA) only operational mission. In that time, it has provided the most complete map of the Martian atmosphere ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 6, 2025
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Venus is often called Earth's "sister planet" because of their similarities in size, mass, and composition. Both are rocky worlds that formed about the same time in the inner solar system; however, despite these similarities, ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 29, 2025
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121
Let's say you've picked the perfect spot for building a settlement on Mars. But this opens up some pretty nasty questions. Building…what? And building….with what? There are no trees to chop down to construct temporary structures. ...
Space Exploration
Sep 22, 2025
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