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.
Summer's most dazzling meteor shower, the Perseids, peaks early Wednesday. At the same time, Venus and Jupiter will converge in the sky—overlapping like a very bright star.
Space Exploration
Aug 11, 2025
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During the early days of our solar system, giant impacts were common occurrences. Earth likely experienced such an impact that created our moon, and Mars may have been struck by objects that created its asymmetrical surface ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 11, 2025
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Thirteen years after Curiosity landed on Mars, engineers are finding ways to make the NASA rover even more productive. The six-wheeled robot has been given more autonomy and the ability to multitask—improvements designed ...
Space Exploration
Aug 4, 2025
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Earth is fortunate in having a magnetic field: it protects the planet and its life from harmful cosmic radiation. Other planets in our solar system—such as Mars—are constantly bombarded by charged particles that make life ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 30, 2025
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176
NASA Artemis missions are working toward a near future where humans are an interplanetary species—lunar bases are planned by 2030 and a round trip to Mars in 2039.
Space Exploration
Jul 25, 2025
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Our circumstances here on the wondrous, life-supporting Earth can give us a false understanding of what the universe is really like. But our blue-skied, temperate planet is the extreme exception when it comes to other worlds. ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 15, 2025
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The answer to whether tiny bacterial life-forms really do exist in the clouds of Venus could be revealed once and for all by a UK-backed mission.
Astrobiology
Jul 9, 2025
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If we're to land humans on Mars in the coming decades, we'll have to know what challenges await them when they get there.
Space Exploration
Jul 9, 2025
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30
How did Earth, alone among the solar system's rocky planets, become the home for life? How, among all this frigid lifelessness, did our planet become warm, hospitable, and life-sustaining? The answer to these questions is ...
Astrobiology
Jul 8, 2025
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152
A small, inconspicuous meteorite may be about to change our understanding of how and when our solar system formed. Tiny shavings from the meteorite Northwest Africa 12264 are challenging the long-held belief that planets ...
