Space Exploration

A selfie of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover with sample tubes it deposited at a sample depot it is creating within an area of Jezero Crater nicknamed "Three Forks." The ninth tube dropped during the construction of the depot, containing the sample the science team refers to as "Atsah," can be seen in front of the rover. Other sample tubes are visible in the background.

Planetary ScienceJanuary 9, 2025

NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program Faces Stark Choices

NASA sees two paths for saving its beleaguered plan to retrieve materials from the Red Planet but won’t choose between them until 2026

Lee Billings

A still image from a conceptual animation showing the heliosphere — the vast bubble that is generated by the Sun’s magnetic field and envelops all the planets

Space ExplorationJanuary 3, 2025

Heliophysics Is Set to Shine in 2025

The science of the sun and its effects on the solar system is a sprawling discipline that expects a very exciting 2025

Meghan Bartels

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Illustration of a magnetar producing a superflare

The UniverseDecember 27, 2024

An Earth-Rocking Cosmic Explosion Turns 20

Twenty years ago today a magnetar’s epic tantrum made our planet ring like a bell from tens of thousands of light-years away

Phil Plait

A solar prominence is seen towering over the surface of the sun

Space ExplorationDecember 23, 2024

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Preps for Record-Breaking Christmas Eve Flyby

The Parker Solar Probe will swoop just 6.1 million kilometers above the sun’s surface on Christmas Eve. Scientists are thrilled at what we might learn

Jonathan O'Callaghan

Conceptual illustration of microbes in space

Extraterrestrial LifeDecember 19, 2024

Scientists Discover Earth Life inside an Asteroid Sample

Material from asteroid Ryugu riddled with earthly microbes provides a cautionary tale for scientists seeking signs of alien life

Sharmila Kuthunur

A high concentration of very young, massive stars

AstronomyDecember 19, 2024

Behold! 2024’s Most Stunning Space Photos

See the year’s most striking images from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, NASA’s Mars rover and the best sky watching on offer

Meghan Bartels

A JWST photograph shows the NGC 602 star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud.

OpinionDecember 17, 2024

It’s Never Been a Better Time to Look Up

Astronomy is a bright spot amid turbulence on Earth

The Editors

Voyager spacecraft in front of the Milky Way galaxy and a bright red star in deep space

Space ExplorationDecember 13, 2024

NASA’s Beloved Voyager Probes Find Puzzles beyond the Solar System

For two decades now, the iconic twin Voyager spacecraft have been quietly overturning everything we thought we knew about the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space

Meghan Bartels

After NASA’s Orion spacecraft was recovered at the conclusion of the Artemis I test flight and transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, its heat shield was removed from the crew module inside the Operations and Checkout Building and rotated for inspection

Space ExplorationDecember 10, 2024

NASA’s Artemis Program Hits Another Delay—And Looks to the Future

While contending with lingering hardware issues for its crewed lunar plans, the U.S. space agency projects confidence and urgency in a time of transition

Michael Greshko

A photograph of billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman standing in front of a rocket.

Space ExplorationDecember 4, 2024

Who Is Jared Isaacman, President-Elect Trump’s Pick to Lead NASA?

NASA’s presumptive next leader, billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman, already has big plans for the space agency

Lee Billings

A small blue sphere orbits a larger blue sphere on a purple and blue background, with "Science Quickly" written below.

Public HealthNovember 25, 2024

RFK, Jr., Could Run the Agency That Oversees CDC, FDA and NIH. Here’s What That Means for Public Health

RFK, Jr., could restructure the CDC, FDA and NIH in pursuit of his flawed vision of public health. Plus, we discuss chimpanzees at play and the first-ever close-up image of a star.

Rachel Feltman, Tanya Lewis, Jeffery DelViscio, Fonda Mwangi, Anaissa Ruiz Tejada

A view of the evening sky with a waxing gibbous moon past tree foliage in silhouette

OpinionNovember 19, 2024

Bury Me on the Moon—Preferably on the Far Side

The far side of the moon offers grounds for compromise between advocates and opponents of lunar development

Rick N. Tumlinson

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