Space, Astronomy & Meteorites

Build JPL's Six-Wheel Open Source Rover

The complete reviewed JPL rover hardware manual: parts lists, wiring, PCB assembly, mechanical chapters, original build photographs and diagrams, optional mast, and downloadable schematics.

JPL / California Institute of Technology and Open Source Rover contributors

How Many Meteorites Reach Earth? Cameras Are Chasing the Answer

An October 1 research update uses Global Meteor Network fireballs to estimate surviving rocks. The hard part is turning bright streaks into a reliable rate.

Hubble and Webb Found Tiny Icy Worlds That Keep Their Past

A joint Hubble-Webb survey found 27 faint worlds beyond Neptune. Their colors and scarcity offer a fresh test of how planets get their building blocks.

ESA Followed a Dying Satellite to Learn How Spacecraft Break Apart

Cluster's final spacecraft reentered on September 1. An aircraft full of instruments watched its last seconds to improve the science of satellite disposal.

Saturn Has a New Ten-Sided Mystery at Its South Pole

Hubble has tracked a growing ten-sided wave around Saturn's south pole. The surprise is not just its shape, but watching a planetary pattern emerge.

Roman Has Launched. Its Biggest Trick Is Seeing More Sky at Once

NASA's Roman telescope launched on August 30. Its wide-field camera turns Hubble-like detail into a survey machine, with commissioning still ahead.

NASA Is Blasting Fake Moon Dirt to Make Real Landings Safer

Inside a 60-foot vacuum sphere, NASA is measuring how landing-engine plumes throw lunar soil. The six-second tests target a serious landing hazard.

NASA's Roman Telescope Is Fueled, Mounted, and Almost Ready to Fly

NASA has fueled the Roman Space Telescope and mounted it to SpaceX launch hardware ahead of a no-earlier-than August 30 Falcon Heavy flight.

Scientists Found the First True Sugar in Interstellar Space

Astronomers detected erythrulose, a four-carbon sugar, in a Galactic Center molecular cloud - the first true sugar identified in interstellar space.

The World's Biggest Camera Just Started a 10-Year Movie of the Universe

Vera C. Rubin Observatory has begun the LSST, using its 3,200-megapixel camera to photograph the southern sky every few nights for a decade.

Nature Turned Terraforming Mars Into a Playable Science Experiment

Nature consulted scientists to turn the planetary-scale tradeoffs of making Mars habitable into an experimental interactive adventure.