Asteroid Bennu: successful touchdown – but sample return mission has only just begun
Bennu will tell us about our own origins as much as about the origin of asteroid Bennu.
Oct. 21, 2020 • ~7 min
solar-system asteroid space-exploration near-earth-asteroids
NASA's OSIRIS-REx will land on an asteroid to bring home rocks and dust – if it can avoid Mt. Doom
OSIRIS-REx will touch down on asteroid Bennu, collect a sample of the dust and begin its journey back to Earth, where scientists will study it, hoping to learn secrets of the solar system's origin.
Oct. 19, 2020 • ~8 min
space astronomy solar-system nasa asteroid astrobiology innovation-and-invention bennu near-earth-asteroids sample-return-mission
The four most promising worlds for alien life in the solar system
The clouds of Venus may harbour alien life. But where else?
Sept. 18, 2020 • ~7 min
solar-system life mars earth alien-life jupiter saturn venus titan cassini enceladus europa
Hints of life discovered on Venus
A UK-led team of astronomers has discovered a rare molecule – phosphine – in the clouds of Venus, pointing to the possibility of extra-terrestrial ‘aerial’
Sept. 14, 2020 • ~7 min
physics space astronomy solar-system planets
MIT-led team to develop software to help forecast space storms
National Science Foundation awards proposal for space weather modeling.
Sept. 10, 2020 • ~7 min
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Life inside Pluto? Hot birth may have created internal ocean on dwarf planet
Pluto began hot inside, study of its surface fractures suggests
June 22, 2020 • ~8 min
solar-system dwarf-planets alien-life pluto extraterrestrial-life
When baby planets melt
MIT scientists identify first magmas generated in solar system’s building blocks, unexpectedly answering questions about meteorites and formation of rocky planets.
May 7, 2020 • ~8 min
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Is this what our solar system’s ‘force field’ looks like?
There's a protective bubble around our solar system called the heliosphere. New research may bridge the divide between two major theories.
March 20, 2020 • ~9 min
physics space stars science-and-technology solar-systems heliosphere solar-wind
How the moon formed – new research
The Earth and the Moon were long thought to be virtually identical in composition. Now we know they are not.
March 9, 2020 • ~5 min
solar-system isotopes moon space-exploration earth
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