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Astronomy & Space news
Japan to launch probe for Mars moons in October: Space agency
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
47 minutes ago
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ALMA uncovers sulfur for the first time around a rare class of supergiant star
Astronomers have discovered a chemically rich collection of sulfur-bearing molecules surrounding the rare massive star HD 87643. The observations include the first detection of sulfur monoxide and sulfur dioxide around a ...
Global sand dunes map reveals clues to distant worlds, including Mars
A new study from Monash University has delivered the most complete and accurate digital map of Earth's windblown sand dunes to date. The research, published in Nature Communications, answers long-standing questions about ...
Planetary Sciences
7 hours ago
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Rescue mission is called off for NASA's aging Swift space telescope
The mission to save NASA's sinking Swift Observatory was called off Wednesday, dooming the telescope to a fiery reentry later this year.
Space Exploration
13 hours ago
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Interstellar travel IV: Solar, magnetic, & directed-energy sails
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
7 hours ago
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What beats seeing eclipses from space? Try the northern and southern lights
Eclipses may be wondrous, but nothing beats seeing the northern and southern lights from space.
Space Exploration
13 hours ago
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Dark Stars may have left gravitational-wave echoes across the universe
A mysterious background of extremely low-frequency gravitational waves detected by networks of pulsars may carry information about events that began more than 13 billion years ago—including the formation of some of the first ...
Astronomy
23 hours ago
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Racing to build a radio telescope on the moon
Remember the "Wow!" signal? That high-energy radio signature occurred in 1977, when Earth was much "quieter" in the radio band. If it happened today, it probably wouldn't even move the needle on the background noise of human ...
Astronomy
19 hours ago
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Astronomers catch hot birth of galaxy cluster more than 11 billion light-years away
Astronomers have detected an enormous cloud of gas tens of millions of degrees hot surrounding one of the most extreme structures known in the early universe. The study offers one of the clearest views yet of a galaxy cluster ...
Fastest known Milky Way star offers new test of supermassive black hole's spin
Astronomers have discovered the fastest known star in our galaxy, the Milky Way, orbiting the black hole at its center. The star, named S301, was detected with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer ...
Astronomy
Aug 19, 2026
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Interworld Slingshot: Exploring a new way to find resources in space
Before people can mine resources on the moon, asteroids or Mars, they need to answer a few key questions: What is there? How much is there? And where can it be found? A team led by SETI Institute research scientist Pablo ...
Space Exploration
Aug 19, 2026
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Human-related microbes may survive moon's South Pole
Some of Earth's microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the moon's South Pole region, NASA scientists say.
Astrobiology
Aug 19, 2026
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VR supports research into spaceflight-related mental health
As humanity gets closer to the possibility of long-term interplanetary travel, psychologists have started raising concerns about astronauts' mental health. Researchers at Texas A&M University conducted research on sailors ...
Space Exploration
Aug 19, 2026
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China successfully recovers rocket stage on land for the first time
China has successfully recaptured the first stage of a rocket on land for the first time, state media reported Wednesday, as the country seeks to advance its space program.
Space Exploration
Aug 19, 2026
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Ruby-forming mineral found by Mars rover hints at violent impacts
So far, most of the minerals found on Mars tell a story of lava poured out by ancient volcanoes, followed by long stretches in which water trickled through and slowly reshaped the rock. However, some rocks scattered across ...
NASA's LRO images Falcon 9 crater on moon, learns new details
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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Dying radio galaxies suggest a shorter, more dynamic afterlife for black hole jets
Astronomers have uncovered a previously underexplored population of faint, rapidly fading remnant radio galaxies, offering new insights into what happens after supermassive black holes stop powering their enormous radio jets.
Astronomy
Aug 18, 2026
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'Hidden stars' suggest that distant galaxies are much more massive than they appear
Astronomers have discovered that the most massive galaxies in the early universe contain far more small stars than expected. As a result, these early galaxies were likely much more massive than initial measurements suggested. ...
Astronomy
Aug 18, 2026
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A single asteroid impact may explain the appearance of Mars' moon Deimos
Deimos, the smaller and outermost of Mars' two moons, is roughly oval in shape and has a deep depression at its south pole. Unlike its heavily scarred sister moon, Phobos, Deimos is covered by a loose layer of dust and rubble—a ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 18, 2026
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NASA's SkyFall Mars helicopters will feature a revolutionary antenna design
From 2021 to 2024, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter became the first vehicle of its kind to explore the Martian atmosphere and surface. With that proof of concept complete, NASA is preparing to send a trio of helicopters to search ...
Space Exploration
Aug 18, 2026
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More news
Mars attacks: How much dust from the red planet is safe to breathe?
ISS hosts first spacewalk by a Frenchwoman
How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm
Japan aims for the moons of Mars
Neptune's tiny moons tell the story of Triton's destructive capture
Exploring the moon will require rovers that can think for themselves
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Why social media algorithms send you posts you don't like
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Constipation is common in astronauts—blood tests provide new answers
What a dry meteorite tells us about water on Mars
Dark energy and quantum gravity may be deeply intertwined
Oxygen vacancies unlock fast lithium-ion transport in battery material
RNA droplets may have helped start life on Earth
Illuminating the limits of the international unit of light, the candela
