Mars Sample Return Is Still Worth Doing—Even If We Have to Wait
We should return samples from Mars to answer fundamental scientific
questions. That could mean stretching out the mission to keep NASA’s
other projects intact
Spacecraft
Dwarf Galaxies Set the Universe Alight after the Big Bang
Some of the faintest objects ever observed suggest that small galaxies were responsible for clearing the “fog” pervading the early cosmos
JWST Spies Surprising Signs of Warmth in Frozen Solar System Worlds
Eris and Makemake—two icy worlds beyond the orbit of Pluto—have seemingly fresh methane on their surface, a sign of unexpectedly hot interiors
JWST Is Tracking Down the Cosmic Origins of Earth’s Water
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope are exposing the pathways that water takes to reach terrestrial planets
First Commercial Moon Landing Returns U.S. to Lunar Surface
Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission is the first U.S. soft landing on the moon since Apollo 17. It’s also a sign of private industry’s growing role in space
JWST Solves Decades-Old Mystery of Nearby Supernova
Scientists have finally found the compact object at the heart of the famous supernova of 1987, and it’s not a black hole
Sculptures about to Land on the Moon Join a Long History of Lunar Art
A lunar lander nicknamed Odie carries 125 small moon sculptures by artist Jeff Koons that could become the first authorized artwork on the moon
Second Private U.S. Lander Launches to the Moon
Odysseus, a lunar lander built by the aerospace company Intuitive Machines, launched atop a SpaceX rocket on a mission to the moon's south pole
Space Lasers Will Seek a New Kind of Gravitational Waves
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will open a new era in astronomy that brings scientists to the brink of studying gravitational waves from the beginning of time
Second Private U.S. Moon Lander Readies for Launch
Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 is aiming to be the first commercial mission to softly land on another celestial body—and the first to deliver NASA equipment to the moon
JWST’s Puzzling Early Galaxies Don’t Break Cosmology—But They Do Bend Astrophysics
Rather than ripping up our fundamental models of the universe, the unexpectedly big and bright galaxies spied in the early universe by JWST probably have astrophysical explanations
NASA’s Asteroid Samples May Come from a Long-Lost Ocean World
A first look at materials from asteroid Bennu sparks speculation that the space rock was once part of an ancient, watery protoplanet