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Space

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Stay informed with the latest space news. Explore the wonders of space, from astronomical discoveries to space exploration missions.

NASA Perseverance rover sees megaripples on Mars | Space photo of the day for Jan. 7, 2026.

January 8, 2026

In a mission update late last month, Perseverance team members described the rover’s most detailed look yet at a class of features called aeolian megaripples, oversized ripples of sand that can rise to around 6.5 feet (about 2 meters) tall. Unlike smaller ripples that may shift readily, megaripples on Mars are often treated as “mostly inactive,” preserving clues about older wind…

Winning the Red Planet race: Returning Mars samples before China should be a top US priority, experts say

January 8, 2026

Moon boots and Mars boots: anyway you look at it there are a lot of NASA shoes still to drop. Among the agency’s missions in perpetual déjà vu status is Mars Sample Return (MSR), an attempt to bring samples of the Red Planet back to Earth, an endeavor viewed as a…

This Canadian crater looks like marbled meat | Space photo of the day for Jan. 6, 2026

January 7, 2026

From orbit, Earth often looks more like art than geography. Satellites such as the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel missions are designed to turn that beauty into information. Rather than taking only “normal” photographs, the Sentinel-2 satellites…

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS isn't an alien spacecraft, astronomers confirm. 'In the end, there were no surprises.'

January 7, 2026

Space fans hoping that the intruder from beyond the solar system known as Comet 3I/ATLAS is actually an alien spacecraft may be disappointed by new research that could close the book on this speculation once and for all. Astronomers used the Green Bank Telescope, employed in the Breakthrough Listen extraterrestrial signal-hunting astronomy project, to search 3I/ATLAS for measurable signs of…

China's next moonshot: Chang'e 7 could search the lunar south pole for water this year

January 7, 2026

China’s next robotic moon mission is scheduled to launch later this year, helping set the stage for the nation’s planned multi-phased lunar outpost. The Chang’e 7 mission is on tap to reconnoiter the moon’s south pole, making use of an orbiter…

How did life begin on Earth? New experiments support 'RNA world' hypothesis

January 6, 2026

RNA, which is one of life’s most crucial molecules dealing with the synthesis of proteins, could be common in the universe, according to a new experiment that shows how RNA could easily have formed on Earth 4.3 billion years ago. RNA (short for ribonucleic acid) is a…

January full moon wows skywatchers with a striking 'Wolf Supermoon' (photos)

January 6, 2026

The January full moon soared through the winter sky on Jan. 3, putting on an awe-inspiring display as it flooded the night with reflected sunlight to kick off a new year of spectacular lunar milestones. Read on to see jaw-dropping images of the first full moon and supermoon of 2026. January’s moon — often known as the “Wolf Moon” in reference to the packs of famished carnivores…

Moon rush: These private spacecraft will attempt lunar landings in 2026

January 6, 2026

2026 is shaping up to be a spectacular year for lunar exploration, with a growing fleet of commercial missions set to attempt to land on Earth’s celestial neighbor. It will be a huge year for the moon overall. NASA plans to send humans back to the vicinity of the moon…

Astronomers detect rare 'free floating' exoplanet 10,000 light-years from Earth

January 5, 2026

Rogue planets — worlds that drift through space alone without a star — largely remain a mystery to scientists. Now, astronomers have for the first time confirmed the existence of one of these starless worlds by pinpointing its distance and mass — a rogue planet roughly…

Nature carves colossal snowman in Siberia | Space photo of the day for Jan. 2, 2026

January 5, 2026

On June 16, 2025, NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite caught a chain of elongated, oval lagoons near Billings and Cape Billings on Russia’s Chukchi Peninsula that lines up so perfectly that — when viewed from above — it resembles a stacked snowman pressed against the shore. Billings, established in the 1930s as a Soviet port and supply point, sits on a narrow spit of land separating the…