Space

Complex organic molecules that form part of the chain of chemical reactions that can result in life’s building blocks have been found in the watery geysers of Enceladus, almost twenty years after the plumes were first sampled by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Cassini’s mission to the ringed planet Saturn ended in 2017, but scientists are still making findings buried deep in its treasure trove of…

The Perseverance rover’s discovery of a potential biosignature found on a sedimentary rock on Mars is an exciting development in our search for life elsewhere in the universe, but how does it rank compared to other potential biosignatures that have previously been discovered on the Red Planet — and even beyond? “It’s arguably the best evidence that we have so far for microbial life on…

SpaceX’s Starship megarocket will fly again less than two weeks from now, if all goes according to plan. SpaceX announced on Monday (Sept. 29) that it’s targeting Oct. 13 for Starship Flight 11, which will be the final launch of the vehicle’s current “Version 2” iteration. Liftoff will occur from SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas. The window on Oct. 13 will open at 7:15 p.m. EDT…

The mystery behind Venus’ giant, crown-shaped geological features, known as coronae, may finally have an explanation: A “glass ceiling” in Venus’ mantle is trapping heat and driving slow, shifting currents that might lead to the formation of the crown-like surface features, scientists propose in a new study. “On Venus, there is a pattern that is telling us something,” Madeleine Kerr, a…