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© 2026 Developments Today. All rights reserved.

Scientists have known about the hydrothermal system created by the Chicxulub impact. These types of systems could be where prebiotic chemistry got a boost, leading to the appearance of the first simple life. But for that to happen, the system needed to last for a long time. New research says it lasted 8 million years, much longer than previous estimates. Image Credit: Victor O. Leshyk

Chicxulub’s heat may have kept a life-friendly underground system active for 8 million years

Researchers say the Chicxulub impact generated a hydrothermal system active for about 8 million years.
A longer-lived system increases the time available for prebiotic chemistry and possible microbial colonization.
The findings strengthen the case for studying impact craters as potential habitable environments on Earth and other worlds.

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DT Editorial Team·Jun 24, 2026·via universetoday.com

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First ever image of a black hole, taken by the Event Horizon Telescope. Credit - EHT Collaboration

Solar Gravitational Lens Study Expands Targets Beyond Exoplanets

A new arXiv preprint says the Solar Gravitational Lens could study bright compact objects, not just exoplanets.
The paper highlights white dwarfs and black holes as targets less constrained by photon starvation.
Broadening the target list could strengthen the scientific case for a future SGL mission.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 23, 2026·via universetoday.com

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SpaceX’s ‘Starfall’ Debut Points to a New Cargo Return System

SpaceX’s ‘Starfall’ Debut Points to a New Cargo Return System

SpaceX scheduled Starfall’s first demo launch on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral.
FAA environmental documents describe Starfall as a new cargo reentry system.
The capsule could support future in-orbit manufacturing and goods return use cases.

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DT Editorial Team·Jun 23, 2026·via spaceflightnow.com

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Astronomers at MIT and elsewhere have detected a quasar flickering from the very early universe. This artist’s concept illustrates a quasar accretion disk and a jet of superheated material streaming out to space. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Earliest flickering quasar yet seen challenges early black hole theories

Astronomers detected flickering from quasar J0439+1634 in the early universe.
The quasar is seen as it existed about 850 million years after the Big Bang.
Its variability suggests a flat accretion disk, unusual for such an early epoch.
The finding complicates theories of how supermassive black holes formed so quickly.

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DT Editorial Team·Jun 23, 2026·via universetoday.com

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Image of the Gamma Ray Sky according to the Fermi Large Area Telescope. Credit - NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration

Gamma-Ray Background Study Tightens the Case Against Asteroid-Mass Primordial Black Holes

Researchers modeled the gamma-ray signature expected from asteroid-mass primordial black holes.
The analysis compares that prediction with the diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray background.
The reported result narrows the case for this mass range as a dark matter candidate.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 22, 2026·via universetoday.com

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NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Reaches Florida for Launch Processing

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Reaches Florida for Launch Processing

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arrived at Kennedy Space Center on June 22.
The observatory now enters about 70 days of prelaunch processing, fueling, and encapsulation.
Launch is targeted for no earlier than August 30 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
Engineers had to add extra cooling units during transport to keep the observatory below 74F.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 22, 2026·via spaceflightnow.com

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The large impact crater known as Stickney is the largest crater on the Martian moon Phobos. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Phobos study sharpens the search for Mars moon origins

Researchers are modeling Phobos’ interior and gravitational field to constrain its origin.
The giant Stickney Crater may preserve a localized dense region created by the impact that formed it.
The crater-forming event could date to about 4.2 billion years ago under the giant-impact model or about 2.6 billion years ago under asteroid capture.
Japan’s MMX mission, due for launch in late 2026, is expected to provide crucial new data on the Martian moon.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 20, 2026·via universetoday.com

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A new method could enable the low-cost production of medicines for missions operating far from Earth. Credit: Sierra Space

Plants Could Let Astronauts Make Medicine in Space

UC San Diego researchers described a plant-based method for producing and repeatedly harvesting a therapeutic virus in microgravity.
The approach aims to reduce waste and preserve plants, making pharmaceutical production more practical on long-duration missions.
The work supports a broader push toward self-sufficiency for lunar and Mars exploration.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 20, 2026·via universetoday.com

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SpaceX Set to Launch NROL-179 for Expanding NRO Satellite Network

SpaceX Set to Launch NROL-179 for Expanding NRO Satellite Network

NROL-179 is scheduled to launch June 19 from Vandenberg aboard a Falcon 9.
The mission supports the NRO’s proliferated architecture of hundreds of small satellites.
The NRO says the network includes electro-optical, radar, and relay satellites with optical inter-satellite links.

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DT Editorial Team·Jun 19, 2026·via spaceflightnow.com

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Arianespace lofts its heaviest payload yet on Amazon Leo mission

Arianespace lofts its heaviest payload yet on Amazon Leo mission

Arianespace launched 36 Amazon Leo satellites on the Leo Europe 03 mission.
The flight was the heaviest payload ever launched by an Ariane vehicle.
It also debuted the longer, more powerful P160C solid rocket boosters on Ariane 64.

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DT Editorial Team·Jun 18, 2026·via spaceflightnow.com

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AST SpaceMobile presses ahead with three-satellite launch after BlueBird 7 setback

AST SpaceMobile presses ahead with three-satellite launch after BlueBird 7 setback

AST SpaceMobile is launching BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral.
The mission follows the loss of BlueBird 7 after an upper stage anomaly on Blue Origin’s New Glenn.
The satellites are part of AST SpaceMobile’s effort to provide broadband service directly to standard smartphones.

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DT Editorial Team·Jun 17, 2026·via spaceflightnow.com

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Artist's illustration of 55 Cnc e. (Credit: NASA)

JWST suggests 55 Cancri e has a hydrogen-rich, changing atmosphere

JWST observed five eclipses of 55 Cancri e, a super-Earth 41 light-years away.
Researchers say the planet likely has a hydrogen-rich atmosphere with large amounts of carbon monoxide.
Variation across the observations could point to active outgassing and temporary cloud formation.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 17, 2026·via universetoday.com

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NASA’s Webb Catches Exoplanet Getting Roasted

Webb tracks a giant exoplanet as it heats up in real time

NASA says Webb observed HD 80606 b heating dramatically during a close pass by its star.
The exoplanet’s temperature rises by about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Researchers are using the system to study fast atmospheric changes on a hot Jupiter.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 17, 2026·via science.nasa.gov

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Map showing just how varied Martian gravity is over its surface. Credit - NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

NASA researcher outlines a Mars time standard for future settlement and operations

A new paper proposes Areocentric Coordinate Time for Mars.
Relativistic effects would cause Martian surface and orbital clocks to drift apart.
The framework is meant to support future navigation, communications, and settlement systems.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 16, 2026·via universetoday.com

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Artist's impression of 'Oumuamua, our first known interstellar visitor. Credit - NASA, ESA, and J. Olmsted and F. Summers (STScI)

A Study Says We’ve Barely Searched for Alien Probes

The paper asks whether physical extraterrestrial technosignatures could be present in the Solar System today.
Humanity has already sent five spacecraft onto escape trajectories out of the Solar System.
The study uses a four-part framework covering active and passive artifacts in space and on surfaces.
Its conclusion is that current technology is insufficient to rule the idea out.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 16, 2026·via universetoday.com

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nebraska sandhills

NASA’s Sandhills View Highlights a Vast, Hidden Dune System

NASA highlighted Nebraska’s Sandhills with imagery from Landsat 8.
The region is the largest sand dune system in the Western Hemisphere.
The dunes were built from Rocky Mountain sediments and later stabilized by grasslands.
Some dunes rise about 400 feet and preserve evidence of historic wind patterns.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 16, 2026·via science.nasa.gov

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Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 heads to testing as lunar return bid takes shape

Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 heads to testing as lunar return bid takes shape

Griffin-1 is nearly complete and heading to JPL for environmental testing.
The lander can carry up to 650 kilograms of payload.
Astrobotic says it redesigned critical systems after the 2024 Peregrine failure.
Launch is scheduled for late 2026 under NASA’s renamed Moon Base 2 mission.

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DT Editorial Team·Jun 16, 2026·via spaceflightnow.com

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A smiling young girl looking through the spokes of a large black metal wheel.

JPL opens its doors as NASA lab marks 90 years

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will hold Explore JPL on October 10 and 11.
Tickets are free, limited, and scheduled to open August 29.
Visitors will see mission operations, spacecraft assembly, robotics, and microdevices research.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 16, 2026·via nasa.gov

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Artwork inspired by the LISA mission. Credit - ESA

LISA May Be Able to Weigh Near-Earth Asteroids Without Visiting Them

Researchers say LISA may detect gravitational pulls from nearby asteroids.
That signal could be used to estimate asteroid masses more accurately.
The concept would require no hardware changes to the planned mission.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 16, 2026·via universetoday.com

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NASA astronaut and Expedition 74 flight engineer Jessica Meir works inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. Meir was preparing blood‑making cell samples—blood platelets—for incubation and growth to observe how weightlessness affects a crew member’s blood clotting and immune function at the cellular and genetic levels.

NASA’s CRS-34 Dragon returns with a heavy load of station science

Dragon returned biological samples and hardware from the ISS.
NASA highlighted stem cell, infection and blood-clotting investigations.
Post-flight analysis will determine whether spaceflight improved research outcomes.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 15, 2026·via nasa.gov

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