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.
With a successful Mars gravity assist in its rearview mirror, NASA's Psyche spacecraft has fired up its thrusters and is accelerating toward the metal-rich asteroid of the same name. During the first leg of its journey, following ...
Planetary Sciences
1 hour ago
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A Japanese spacecraft rocketed toward Mars on Tuesday on a quest to explore its mysterious moons and bring back samples.
Space Exploration
Oct 20, 2026
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Japanese scientists will launch a spacecraft on Tuesday that aims to be the first to retrieve samples from one of Mars' moons, potentially helping unlock the origins of the solar system and life on Earth.
Planetary Sciences
Oct 19, 2026
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Mercury remains one of our solar system's most elusive and difficult planets to study. It's easier to send probes to the icy moons of Saturn or Jupiter, or even to Pluto, than to land on our innermost planet, Mercury.
Planetary Sciences
Oct 19, 2026
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Japanese scientists are readying a mission to Mars' moons to retrieve samples that could help unlock the origins of the solar system and life on Earth, in what aims to be the first round trip to the Martian region.
Space Exploration
Oct 18, 2026
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A Japanese space mission is about to launch towards Mars. But it will not land on the planet itself. Instead, the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission will focus on Phobos, the bigger of Mars's two small moons.
Space Exploration
Oct 18, 2026
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Japan is set to launch a spacecraft on the world's first mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the two small, potato-shaped moons orbiting Mars.
Planetary Sciences
Oct 18, 2026
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54
The Earth got its moon when a small planet collided with our planet more than 4 billion years ago. This impact hurled molten rock into space, which eventually coalesced to form the satellite we can see every night from across ...
Space Exploration
Oct 15, 2026
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A commercial lander that will be at the forefront of NASA's efforts to establish a moon base, humanity's first lunar outpost, has passed a series of critical tests at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. ...
Space Exploration
Oct 13, 2026
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Launched on Oct. 20, 2018, the joint ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has traveled for almost eight years, using a carefully planned but eventful sequence of planetary flybys and solar-electric propulsion to gradually approach ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 15, 2026
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