Early life on Earth and beyond may have been ocean dwellers By Keith Cooper published 28 July 22 The genetic tree of life suggests that the first life on Earth may have lived underwater, shielded from harmful ultraviolet light from the sun.
Mars sample return mission adds 2 helicopters, scraps 'fetch' rover By Elizabeth Howell published 27 July 22 The redesigned NASA-European campaign will task the Perseverance rover with delivering Red Planet samples to a rocket, with the drones as backup retrieval options.
Alien hunters should look for city lights from 'urbanized planets,' study suggests By Leonard David published 26 July 22 Scientists searching for signs of extraterrestrial technology should keep an eye out for city lights on exoplanets, a new study suggests.
Could we eavesdrop on aliens by detecting signals relayed around the sun? By Stefanie Waldek last updated 25 July 22 Researchers suggest we may be able to use gravitational lensing to amplify radio waves, allowing us to listen in on communication signals passing through our solar system.
Mars sample return details coming next week, NASA and European Space Agency promise By Elizabeth Howell published 21 July 22 NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have new details to share on how they will bring pieces of Mars to Earth, and they'll share their plans next week.
To search for alien life, astronomers will look for clues in the atmospheres of distant planets — and the James Webb Space Telescope just proved it's possible to do so By Chris Impey, Daniel Apai published 20 July 22 Scientists who study exoplanets explain how the James Webb Space Telescope will study exoplanet atmospheres.
How big a deal is NASA's new UFO study? By Leonard David published 18 July 22 Space.com reached out to UFO groups and leading experts in the field to get their thoughts on NASA's new endeavor.
NASA hopes new study helps bring UFO research into the mainstream By Mike Wall last updated 15 July 22 NASA hopes it can help move the study of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) off the scientific fringes and into the mainstream.
Europe ending cooperation with Russia on life-hunting Mars rover By Mike Wall published 13 July 22 It's official: Russia will no longer be a partner on Europe's life-hunting Mars rover mission, which is scheduled to launch in the late 2020s.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is ready to begin its epic science mission By Mike Wall published 11 July 22 The powerful eyes of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are now fully open and ready to observe the cosmos.
NASA's Mars Life Explorer mission would dig deep to hunt for Red Planet life By Leonard David published 11 July 22 A NASA concept mission called Mars Life Explorer would dig into Red Planet ice, hunting for signs of living organisms.
Mars spacecraft may have to dig deeper than thought to find traces of life By Robert Lea published 9 July 22 New research shows that certain protein-building amino acids that could be evidence of ancient life on Mars are more susceptible to radiation than scientists thought.
NASA's Europa Clipper may crash into Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, at mission's end By Stefanie Waldek published 29 June 22 The Europa Clipper mission, due to launch in 2024, was originally supposed to crash into Jupiter, but there's been a change of plans.
Alien super-Earths may get a habitability boost from hydrogen-rich atmospheres By Charles Q. Choi published 27 June 22
Extreme microbes in salty Arctic water could aid search for life on Mars By Keith Cooper published 25 June 22 Never-before-seen microbes living deep beneath the permafrost at one of the coldest and saltiest water springs on Earth could provide a blueprint for life on Mars.
On alien worlds, exotic form of ice may transport nutrients to hidden oceans By Keith Cooper last updated 22 June 22 Alien life in the deep global ocean of a water world could receive its nutrients through a shell of high-pressure ice around the planet's core.
China's 'alien' signal almost certainly came from humans, project researcher says By Ben Turner published 17 June 22 Despite the false alarm, SETI researchers are still pretty sure we're not alone in the universe.
Did China just detect signals from an alien civilization? By Leonard David published 15 June 22 The internet is abuzz with rumors that China may have picked up signals from an alien civilization. But the pings are probably just Earthly interference, experts say.
Perseverance Mars rover spots weird snake-head rock and balancing boulder (photo) By Mike Wall published 14 June 22 On Sunday (June 12), the car-sized Perseverance Mars rover snapped a photo that could be mistaken for a still from an "Indiana Jones" movie.
Wobbly jets of binary star systems may affect chances of hosting life By Stefanie Waldek published 7 June 22 Because Earth is the only planet known to host life as we know it, researchers have usually focused on planetary systems similar to our own when searching for extraterrestrial life.
