Astronomy
You can now explore the highest-res map of Mars ever made
Caltech researchers have created an interactive map of Mars that lets anyone explore the surface of the Red Planet in unprecedented detail.
Space could be a trillion dollar industry by 2040
Now that falling launch costs are making space more accessible, hundreds of groups are looking for ways to make money off-world.
Why Earth is the only planet with plate tectonics
Here in our Solar System, of all the known planets, only Earth — not Mercury, not Venus, and not Mars — possesses plate tectonics.
The strongest evidence for a Universe before the Big Bang
For many decades, people conflated the hot Big Bang, describing the early Universe, with a singularity: that this "Big Bang" was the birth of space and time.
How Einstein tried to model the shape of the Universe
Two years after proposing his general theory of relativity, Einstein endeavored to find the shape of the Universe.
“Treasure map” guides scientists to massive meteorite
A “treasure map” highlighting places where meteorites are most likely to be found has led to the discovery of a 17-pound space rock.
Venus may have currently active volcanoes
Old images from NASA’s Magellan mission may have revealed that Venus, a close analogue to Earth, has volcanic activity.
Terraforming: why the Moon is a better target than Mars
While most of humanity's terraforming dreams have focused on Mars, a better candidate may be even closer: the Moon.
Undergrad develops AI to hunt for alien signals
An AI trained to hunt for technosignatures from intelligent alien life found 8 interesting signals on its first deployment.
NASA’s “Lucy” will take a 40,000-mile detour to visit this asteroid
NASA has added a tenth asteroid flyby to the record-breaking Lucy mission so that it can test a new asteroid-tracking system.