Detecting isoprene in an exoplanets atmosphere could reveal life on its surface, according to MIT researchers. The study is published in Astrobiology. Searching for biosignatures Astronomers have confirmed more than 4,300 exoplanets, with several thousand candidates awaiting verification. The goal n

SpaceXs engineers pulled off a game-changing feat in 2016: landing a Falcon 9 booster on a drone ship at sea. This breakthrough gave the company a massive edge over rivals. Heres why it was pivotal.Why Drone Ship Landings MatterJust over five years ago, on April 8, 2016, SpaceX achieved a historic m

Deep beneath Russias Lake Baikal, the worlds deepest lake, a groundbreaking neutrino telescope is set to yield its first scientific results after decades of challenges. Teams lower glass orbs, each the size of a beach ball, through holes in the ice—one after another. In total, 36 of these optical de

The future of 2030s astrophysics hinges on decisions coming in weeks. Among NASAs four pre-selected missions, LUVOIR emerges as a transformative observatory with unprecedented potential.NASAs Next Big ObservatoryOver 4,000 confirmed exoplanets have been detected indirectly so far, revealing their or

Orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, the metal-rich asteroid Psyche is set to welcome NASAs spacecraft in 2026. For the first time in deep space, the mission will harness Hall effect thrusters—a breakthrough in propulsion technology.Nestled in the asteroid belt, 16 Psyche stands out at 220 kilometers

Peering 10 billion years into the universes past, the Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered two pairs of closely spaced quasars—a discovery astronomers liken to finding two needles in a cosmic haystack. Quasars rank among the universes brightest objects, fueled by supermassive black holes at galaxy c

NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk announced that the Artemis program will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. The Biden administration recently proposed a $24.7 billion budget to Congress for fiscal year 2022 discretionary spending. This includes increased funding f

Crushed into his seat by overwhelming G-forces, Yuri Gagarin spots flames licking the exterior of his spacecraft and steels himself for death. His voice pierces the silence at mission control: Im burning. Goodbye, comrades. Minutes later, he lands safely. No one had reached space before. This was 60

Measuring the size of a tennis court, the James Webb Space Telescopes sunshield has been meticulously folded one final time. This precision engineering milestone advances preparations for its October launch. A Massive Sunshield As one of the most anticipated space observatories, the James Webb Space

Often dubbed failed stars, brown dwarfs can rotate at over 360,000 kilometers per hour—but this may be the critical threshold before self-destruction.Brown dwarfs occupy a unique niche: too massive for planets yet too low-mass to ignite stellar fusion. As a result, they emit no significant glow from

Tiny extraterrestrial particles dominate the annual influx of cosmic material to Earths surface, making them notoriously hard to detect. To precisely measure their distribution and volume, a team of expert researchers journeyed to Antarctica. Earth is constantly showered with alien matter—minuscule

Its official: NASA has chosen SpaceX to develop and operate the human landing system for the Artemis program, funding an uncrewed demonstration flight followed by the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo. Roughly a year ago, NASA awarded initial contracts to Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX to d

Hubble Space Telescope observations, combined with advanced computer simulations, reveal that GJ 1132 b—a nearby exoplanet—lost its original hydrogen-rich atmosphere but later developed a secondary one driven by intense volcanic activity. GJ 1132 b, located just 41 light-years away, shares striking

The United States is unlikely to build another launch vehicle like NASAs Space Launch System (SLS). This powerhouse rocket, designed to carry future astronauts to the Moon, marks the end of an era in government-led heavy-lift development. NASAs most powerful rocket since the Apollo program has final

Experts from NASA and collaborators have identified three strains of beneficial bacteria from a newly discovered species aboard the International Space Station (ISS). These microbes hold promise for enabling plant cultivation on Mars. Findings are detailed in Frontiers in Microbiology. The ISS Micro

Astronomers from the Max Planck Institute have identified the remnants of an enormous supernova just under 4,000 light-years from Earth. In apparent size, this expanding cloud of gas and dust spans nearly 100 times the diameter of the full Moon.Supernovae mark the dramatic end of stars, triggered by

President Joe Biden has appointed former U.S. Senator Bill Nelson as NASAs Administrator. As a key ally, Nelson will lead efforts to return humans to the Moon via Artemis and bolster climate research—though his nomination sparks debate.Who is Bill Nelson?On January 20, 2021—Joe Bidens inauguration d

Asteroid 2001 FO32 recently passed our planet at a safe distance of about two million kilometers. The flyby occurred on Sunday, March 21, 2021, at 5:02 p.m. Paris time (4:02 p.m. GMT). With no collision risk, its well-monitored trajectory highlighted its unusually high speed compared to most asteroi

NASAs Perseverance rover has successfully jettisoned the debris shield protecting its Ingenuity helicopter companion. The space agency anticipates attempting the first flight as early as April.Ingenuity represents a groundbreaking technology demonstration mission, designed to achieve powered, contro

Acclaimed amateur astronomer Yuji Nakamura has captured a spectacular nova in Cassiopeia—a stars explosive transformation, still visible tonight through binoculars for Northern Hemisphere observers.What Is a Nova?A nova occurs when a star experiences a sudden surge in brightness, flaring up dramatic