#space-exploration

Scientists analyzing dust samples returned from asteroid Ryugu by Japan's Hayabusa-2 mission have uncovered a 4.6-billion-year magnetic record that reveals conditions in the earliest days of the solar system.

NASA's Juno spacecraft discovers that auroras on Jupiter's moon Ganymede splinter into bright patches mirroring Earth's northern lights.

Hollywood has painted a romanticized picture of life on the Red Planet, from Matt Damon growing potatoes to Arnold Schwarzenegger surviving the Martian surface. But experts say the real challenges of off-world living are far more daunting and far less cinematic than anything science fiction has prepared us for.

Scientists have created the first three-dimensional map of Uranus's upper atmosphere using the James Webb Space Telescope, revealing how the planet's bizarre tilted magnetic field creates complex auroral patterns and drives atmospheric cooling. The 15-hour observation session captured faint molecular emissions up to 5,000 kilometers above the clouds.

NASA will attempt to fuel its Artemis 2 Space Launch System rocket for the second time on February 19, after a hydrogen leak during the first wet dress rehearsal forced the agency to wave off a February launch window. If the test succeeds, a crewed lunar mission could launch as early as March.

A hydrogen fuel leak during the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal has pushed the crewed Moon mission from February to March 2026, as technicians replace seals on the mobile launcher.

A new strategic analysis outlines three pathways for deploying fission reactors on the Moon and Mars, arguing that nuclear power is the only viable option for sustained human presence beyond Earth.

Germany committed 78 million euros to a new space exploration control center, reinforcing its role in lunar and deep-space human missions.