Moon rock recovered by astronauts likely originated on Earth

In findings published overnight in science journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, a sample collected during the 1971 Apollo 14 lunar mission was found to contain traces of minerals with a chemical composition common ...

Seeding the Milky Way with life using 'Genesis missions'

When exploring other planets and celestial bodies, NASA missions are required to abide by the practice known as "planetary protection." This practice states that measures must be taken during the designing of a mission to ...

Vesta reveals the childhood of the Solar System

Investigating the earliest and least-known phases of the history of the solar system, when the young sun was still enveloped by a disk of gas and dust in which the planets began to form, is probably one of the most complex ...

Construction of Europe's exoplanet hunter PLATO begins

The construction of ESA's PLATO mission to find and study planets beyond our solar system will be led by Germany's OHB System AG as prime contractor, marking the start of the full industrial phase of the project.

Mercury studies reveal an intriguing target for BepiColombo

A month before the planned launch of the joint ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury, two new studies shed light on when the innermost planet formed and the puzzle of its chemical composition. The findings will be presented ...

NASA sets sights on May 5 launch of InSight Mars mission

NASA's next mission to Mars, Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight), is scheduled to launch Saturday, May 5, on a first-ever mission to study the heart of Mars.

Dawn reveals recent changes in Ceres' surface

Observations of Ceres have detected recent variations in its surface, revealing that the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system is a dynamic body that continues to evolve and change.

page 6 from 14