Astronomy

Making rocket fuel out of Mars' thin air: New breakthrough could make it happen

By Keith Cooper Published 15 September 26

By making fuel on the Red Planet rather than bringing it from Earth, a Mars mission could save vital mass.

Curiosity rover spots odd 'footprints' on Mars | Space photo of the day for Sept. 15, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published 15 September 26

"Both of our workspaces this week contained features unlike quite anything we have seen in the past."

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS likely formed where its star's light couldn't touch it

By Rahul Rao Published 14 September 26

"Every one of these objects we study helps us understand a little more about how planets form around other stars."

No cities on the moon — there isn't enough water, scientists say (op-ed)

By Martin Elvis Published 14 September 26

The discovery of water in dark craters at the moon's poles has sparked a "moon rush" to establish bases there, and then villages, cities and heavy industry. How sustainable is this rush?

Is there a hidden 'Planet 9' in our solar system?

By Micah Hanks Published 14 September 26

For more than a century, astronomers have been captivated by the idea that an undiscovered planet could be lurking in the furthest reaches of our solar system.

James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble discover 27 puzzling new objects orbiting the sun far beyond Neptune

By Keith Cooper Published 14 September 26

The Hubble and James Webb space telescopes discovered some surprising things about 27 new tiny objects far beyond the orbit of Neptune.

James Webb Space Telescope discovers the rings of tiny solar system body Chariklo are changing

By Robert Lea Published 13 September 26

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered that the ring system of the tiny solar system body is even more interesting than they knew.

NASA, IBM launch new AI model for studying the moon

By Julian Dossett Published 12 September 26

NASA and IBM have developed an AI model to help sift through the mountains of data the agency has gathered about the moon.

The sun may once have swallowed a super-Earth planet and could still be hiding the evidence

By Robert Lea Published 11 September 26

The sun may have swallowed a super-Earth planet in its early history, and our star may still be hiding the evidence, new research suggests.