If life is to be found elsewhere in our Solar System, astrobiologists believe it is likely to be simple (microbial) in nature. While most of our astrobiology efforts are currently focused on Mars, multiple missions will be sent to the outer Solar System in the coming years to search for possible signs of life inside Jupiter's icy moon Europa. For decades, scientists have theorized that life could exist beneath the moon's surface around hydrothermal vents located at the core-mantle boundary. Searching for possible evidence of this life is the purpose of the ESA's JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) and NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which are currently en route to the Jupiter system.
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NASA probes to study how the solar wind triggers potentially dangerous ‘space weather’
NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission launches at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT) on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The TRACERS mission will study magnetic reconnection around Earth — a process in which electrically charged plasmas exchange energy in the atmosphere — to understand how the Sun’s solar wind interacts with the magnetosphere, Earth’s protective magnetic shield. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX launched twin satellites for NASA Wednesday that will study how the electrically-charged solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetic field, creating constantly changing and occasionally dangerous “space weather” affecting satellites, electrical grids and other critical systems.
2 Earth weather satellites accidentally spy on Venus
Japan's Himawari-8 and Himawari-9 satellites, designed to study weather here on Earth, have also been quietly collecting valuable data on Venus for nearly a decade, scientists recently discovered.
New Neil Armstrong Prize to honor achievements in space
Purdue University's new Neil Armstrong Space Prize, named for the school's most famous astronaut-alum, will honor achievements in "space discovery, innovation and human achievement."
See Tianzhou 9 cargo mission dock at China's Tiangong space station (video)
The Tianzhou 9 freighter arrived at China's Tiangong space station last week, packed with supplies. Watch its arrival in this video.
NASA Launches TRACERS Mission to Study Space Weather
NASA’s TRACERS spacecraft will look at the snap of magnetic field lines at the boundary between the solar wind and Earth's magnetic field.
A New Fuel for Nuclear Power Systems Could Enable Missions to Mars and Beyond
Beyond plans to return astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Era, NASA and other space agencies have their sights trained on Mars, Venus, and other deep-space destinations. To accomplish this, robust power systems are needed to provide ample power for spacecraft instruments and propulsion systems, thus reducing overall transit times. To this end, NASA is considering Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS), which have been used by the agency for over 60 years, most recently with the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Mars and the upcoming Dragonfly mission destined for Titan.
JWST Finds Plenty Of Low Mass Black Holes In The Early Universe
Black holes played a critical role in the formation of the early universe. However, astronomers have been debating for a long time just how critical, as the information we had about early black holes, which exist at high red-shifts, was relatively limited. A new paper from a group of researchers led by Sophia Geris at the University of Cambridge combined several spectra from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to add some context to the formation of black holes early in the universe, and found that there are plenty of smaller ones lurking around, and lending credence to the idea that black holes of all sizes contributed to the formation of our modern universe.
Earth Sized Planet Discovered with Extreme 5.4 Hour Year
Astronomers have found a fascinating new world that challenges our understanding of planetary systems. Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of researchers has discovered TOI-2431 b, an Earth sized planet orbiting a nearby star just 117 light years away. What makes this discovery extraordinary isn't just the planet's size, it’s how incredibly fast it races around its star.
Before These Clouds Form Stars, They Form A Complex Network of Filaments
The interstellar medium (ISM) is the gas and dust that's spread throughout the space between stars. It's mostly hydrogen, and its density ranges from extremely diffuse regions with few atoms, to massive, dense clouds of cold molecular hydrogen that spawn stars. In between those two extremes are different types of clouds, and those clouds are anything but uniform.
Scientists may have solved a chemistry mystery about Jupiter's ocean moon Europa
A long-standing mystery about the presence of hydrogen peroxide on Jupiter's icy ocean moon Europa may be closer to being solved.
Space Force's Golden Dome chief says space-based missile interceptors are possible today. 'We have proven every element of the physics'
The head of the Trump administration's Golden Dome program says the technologies needed to create such an ambitious space-based missile defense system already exist.
Webb Space Telescope Spies Baby Planetary System
Astronomers have found a baby system that’s just beginning to build planets — and it can tell us about how and where planet formation starts.
Interstellar invader Comet 3I/ATLAS is packed with water ice that could be older than Earth
Scientists have examined the interstellar invader 3I/ATLAS, finding evidence that it is packed with water that could be older than the solar system.
Ozzy Osbourne's journey through space, time and sci-fi: A Tribute to the 'Prince of Darkness'
A Space.com obituary for the ‘Prince of Darkness' Ozzy Osbourne.
How do scientists calculate the probability that an asteroid could hit Earth?
The 2024 YR4 asteroid may come close to Earth, but how do experts calculate this potential impact?
The Milky Way brightens the moonless summer sky this week: Here's where to look
Our galaxy will make for a particularly splendid sight on the dark nights surrounding the new moon phase on July 24.
This star escaped a supermassive black hole's violent grips — then returned for round 2
A death-defying star survived destruction by a ravenous supermassive black hole in a tidal disruption event, and came back to let the cosmic titan take another bite!
Rare sight from space: Snow dusts the dry Atacama Desert | Space photo of the day for July 23, 2025
The Atacama Desert in Chile recently received some snowfall, causing issues for the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) telescope.
Sea-level monitoring satellite Sentinel-6B sets sail
The next sea-level monitoring satellite, Copernicus Sentinel-6B, has begun its journey from Europe to the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, where it is scheduled to launch in November. Carefully packed into a climate-controlled container, the satellite is currently crossing the Atlantic Ocean aboard the cargo ship Industrial Dolphin.
Sharp-eyed US-Indian satellite set to launch July 30 to monitor Earth's surface, warn of natural disasters
NISAR, a joint mission of NASA and ISRO set to launch on July 30, will be able to see shifts in the landscape smaller than a centimeter to give warning of potential natural disasters.
