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.
For the first time, two spacecraft in orbit were aligned in formation with millimeter precision and maintained their relative position for several hours without any control from the ground.
Space Exploration
May 8, 2025
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57
A private lunar lander from Japan is now circling the moon, with just another month to go before it attempts a touchdown.
Space Exploration
May 7, 2025
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801
What are the best methods to explore Valles Marineris on Mars, which is the largest canyon in the solar system? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as ...
Planetary Sciences
May 1, 2025
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70
Perseverance has been busy exploring lower "Witch Hazel Hill," an outcrop exposed on the edge of the Jezero crater rim. The outcrop is composed of alternating light and dark layers, and naturally, the team has been trying ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 28, 2025
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33
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has never been camera shy, having been seen in selfies and images taken from space. But on Feb. 28—the 4,466th Martian day, or sol, of the mission—Curiosity was captured in what is believed to ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 24, 2025
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42
NASA's Lucy spacecraft has beamed back pictures from its latest asteroid flyby, revealing a long, lumpy, odd-shaped space rock.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 21, 2025
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124
The surface of Mars is extremely cold, irradiated, and desiccated. But at one time, the planet was much warmer and wetter, with flowing water, lakes, and even an ocean covering most of its northern hemisphere. Because of ...
Astrobiology
Apr 21, 2025
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62
NASA's Lucy spacecraft will swoop past a small asteroid this weekend as it makes its way to an even bigger prize: the unexplored swarms of asteroids out near Jupiter.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 18, 2025
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120
Much of what scientists know about the early solar system comes from meteorites—ancient rocks that travel through space and survive a fiery plunge through Earth's atmosphere. Among meteorites, one type—called carbonaceous ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 15, 2025
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38
NASA's Lucy spacecraft is six days and less than 50 million miles (80 million km) away from its second close encounter with an asteroid; this time, the small main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 14, 2025
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