After a six-year journey, a plucky spacecraft called Hayabusa2 zinged back into Earth's atmosphere in late 2020 and landed deep in the Australian outback. When researchers from the Japanese space agency JAXA opened it, they ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 9, 2022
3
762
A new study of an old meteorite contradicts current thinking about how rocky planets like the Earth and Mars acquire volatile elements such as hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and noble gases as they form. The work is published ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 16, 2022
1
1288
Water makes up 71% of Earth's surface, but no one knows how or when such massive quantities of water arrived on Earth.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 15, 2023
7
975
Earth is known as the Blue Planet because of its oceans, which cover more than 70 percent of the planet's surface and are home to the world's greatest diversity of life. While water is essential for life on the planet, the ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 30, 2014
25
0
Just over 12 months ago, we were sitting at Woomera, in the Australian outback, waiting for a streak of light in the sky to testify that the Hayabusa2 spacecraft had returned from its voyage to collect a little piece of a ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 11, 2022
0
1728
After the Apollo missions scooped up rocks from the Moon's surface and brought them home, scientists were convinced for decades that they had proof our nearest celestial neighbour was drier than a bone.
Space Exploration
May 31, 2016
4
422
The origin of organic matter found in meteorites that formed during the birth of the Solar System 4.5 billion years ago may provide key clues to understanding the birth of life here on Earth.
Space Exploration
Aug 6, 2018
1
439
If you've ever seen a shooting star, you might have actually seen a meteor on its way to Earth. Those that land here are called meteorites and can be used to peek back in time, into the far corners of outer space or at the ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 26, 2023
0
368
An international team including a researcher from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has determined that one specific particle on the asteroid Ryugu can shed light on the unaltered initial materials from its parent ...
Astronomy
Sep 23, 2022
0
552
A new study finds that Earth's water may have come from materials that were present in the inner solar system at the time the planet formed—instead of far-reaching comets or asteroids delivering such water. The findings ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 27, 2020
12
801
