Space probes as a research area encompasses the design, deployment, and scientific utilization of uncrewed spacecraft sent beyond Earth orbit to investigate planetary bodies, small Solar System objects, and the heliosphere, and increasingly to perform astrophysical observations from deep space. Research focuses on mission architecture, autonomous navigation and operations, radiation-hardened avionics, long-duration power systems (e.g., RTGs, advanced solar arrays), high-gain communications, and in situ and remote-sensing payloads optimized for extreme environments. The field integrates planetary science, space plasma physics, and instrumentation, emphasizing data acquisition strategies, sample return capabilities, and technology maturation for future interplanetary and interstellar exploration.
After an eight-year journey, a spacecraft carrying European and Japanese probes began the monthslong, high-risk approach to Mercury on Thursday to study the sun-scorched planet.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 5, 2026
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207
Earth and the Martian moon Phobos dance together in a series of images recently acquired by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. Earth appears as a point of light in the Martian sky, disappearing behind the crescent of Phobos, ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 3, 2026
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18
Two Mercury-bound spacecraft left their mother ship behind on Thursday and headed down the home stretch of their nearly decade-long voyage to the solar system's smallest and closest-to-the-sun planet.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 3, 2026
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1051
Lights blink on as I enter the Rover Operations Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, at 7:30 a.m. I'm the first to arrive, even though I already feel late.
Astrobiology
Aug 27, 2026
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22
China's manned space agency said Sunday it is delaying a research moon mission that is part of Beijing's efforts to land a crew there by 2030, less than two weeks after a rare launch failure.
Space Exploration
Aug 24, 2026
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16
China said on Sunday it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon.
Space Exploration
Aug 23, 2026
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31
Japan's ambitious mission to collect and bring back samples from one of Mars' moons will lift off Oct. 20, the space agency announced Thursday.
Space Exploration
Aug 20, 2026
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14
Welcome back to our series on interstellar travel! In our first installment, we examined attempts to realize nuclear propulsion and how the technology could be used to reach the nearest star. In our second, we examined how ...
Astronomy
Aug 20, 2026
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30
Between Aug. 11–12, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured a series of images of a new crater on the moon. The crater formed Aug. 5, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the surface following its Jan. 2025 ...
Space Exploration
Aug 18, 2026
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294
Japanese scientists are readying a mission to Mars' moons to retrieve samples that may unlock the origins of the solar system and life on Earth, although a rival Chinese mission aims to make it back first.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 16, 2026
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133
