Space News & Blog Articles

The Three Body Problem isn’t just the name of a viral Netflix series or a Hugo Award winning sci-fi book. It also represents a really problem in astrodynamics - and one that can cause headaches to mission planners in terms of its complexity, but also one that offers the promise of an easier way to enter stable orbits that might otherwise be possible. A new paper from researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology shows one way those orbital maneuvers might be enhanced while exploring planetary systems - by using a gravity assist from its moons.

In 2020, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft completed its primary mission when it returned samples of asteroid Ryugu to Earth. In 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx also completed its primary mission by returning samples of asteroid Bennu to Earth. Scientists in labs around the world have been studying those samples and have uncovered some surprises.

In the past decade, astronomers have witnessed three interstellar objects (ISOs) passing through the Solar System. This included the enigmatic 'Oumuamua in 2017, the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov in 2019, and 3I/ATLAS in July 2025. This latest object also appears to be a comet based on recent observations that showed it was actively releasing water vapor as it neared the Sun. The detection of these objects, which were previously theorized but never observed, has piqued interest in the origins of ISOs, their dynamics, and where they may be headed once they leave the Solar System.

Exoplanet habitability depends on a whole host of factors, with liquid water at the top of the list. It also needs a stable atmosphere, the right chemistry, and possibly even things like plate tectonics or other geological activity. Planetary magnetic fields are a critical part of the formula, too, but detecting them from Earth's surface is difficult.

Compact, reflective, easy to manufacture mirrors are a critical component for advancing astronomical technology in space. Mirrors are a key component in most telescopes, though they are notoriously hard to manufacture with the necessary precision, especially at large scales. A new paper from researchers in the UK uses additive manufacturing to make a thin, flexible, and lightweight mirror out of aluminum and analyzes its properties to see if it will be useful in applications such as CubeSats.