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.
One of the great unsolved problems in modern planetary science is written on the surface of Mars. Mars has canyons that were carved by rivers, so it was once warm enough for liquid water. How—and why—did it become a barren ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 2, 2025
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151
Have you ever found something unexpected in the background of a photo? Scientists looking at images of Earth taken by weather satellites found that Venus shows up in the background of some of the images. By collecting and ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 30, 2025
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65
The origin of life is one of the most fundamental and enduring questions of mankind and one of the three greatest Origin Questions in the natural sciences. Recently, China officially launched its Mars Sample Return (MSR) ...
Astrobiology
Jun 26, 2025
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83
Southwest Research Institute has collaborated with Yale University to summarize the scientific community's notable progress in advancing the understanding of the formation and evolution of the inner rocky planets, the so-called ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 18, 2025
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104
An international team of scientists led by astronomers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison has produced the most accurate measurement of the gases swirling around young stars and how their mass changes over time. The ...
Astronomy
Jun 16, 2025
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43
Living in today's age of ambitious robotic exploration of Mars, with an eventual human mission to the red planet likely to happen one day, it is hard to imagine a time when Mars was a mysterious and unreachable world. And ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 9, 2025
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43
On the surface (you're welcome for the joke), Venus is not even close to being hospitable to life. But that's not the end of the story.
Astrobiology
Jun 4, 2025
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48
Mars is by far the most Earth-like planet in the solar system… but that's not saying much.
Astrobiology
Jun 3, 2025
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60
How can humanity use the developing Lunar Gateway as an appropriate starting point for advancing human space exploration beyond the moon? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference ...
Space Exploration
Jun 2, 2025
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47
People always want to know what will happen to Earth when the sun eventually swells up as a red giant. For one thing, the expanding sun will turn the inner planets into cinders. It will almost certainly spell the end of life ...
Planetary Sciences
May 28, 2025
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