Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have discovered that a “puffy” planet is asymmetric, meaning there is a significant difference between one side of the atmosphere and the other.

There is very little doubt that Earth is getting warmer, and that this warming is a result of human-driven gases in the atmosphere that store heat and redirect it toward our planet’s surface. And Earth isn’t the only planet to have experienced this so-called “greenhouse effect.” 

The $5 billion Europa Clipper mission had been scheduled to launch on Thursday (Oct. 10) atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. But Hurricane Milton has nixed that plan.

Astronomers have used the wide-field view of the Dark Energy Camera to confirm that supermassive-black-hole-powered quasars in the early universe were packed into dense neighborhoods. However, it seems these cosmic beasts weren’t exactly the best neighbors.

A leading astrobiologist melds her passion with the weighty nature of trying to grasp for answers to two key questions: Are we alone in the universe? How did life on Earth begin in the first place?

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force selected four companies to develop concepts for smaller, more cost-effective GPS satellites based on commercial designs, aiming to augment the existing Global Positioning System network, the Department of the Air Force announced Sept. 23.

SAN FRANCISCO — Firefly Aerospace won a contract to launch Quicksounder, a prototype for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s next-generation of environmental satellites in low-Earth orbit. The value of the award was not disclosed.

WASHINGTON — The House passed a new NASA authorization bill Sept. 23 that would largely keep the agency on course in its human spaceflight and science programs while directing it to prepare several reports.

HELSINKI — China will launch the Tianwen-2 mission to sample a near-Earth asteroid next year, an official with the country’s space agency said Tuesday.

SAN FRANCISCO – Earth observation company Planet unveiled a product Sept. 24 for monitoring global forests.

WASHINGTON — A new U.S. government report highlights mixed progress in the modernization of the Global Positioning System (GPS), citing advancements in satellite and ground equipment upgrades alongside persistent delays in some areas.

The vast distance between Earth and the Red Planet poses a significant challenge, as do the radiation and thermal issues spacecraft will experience on the journey. Still, the prospect of harnessing commercial innovation to reduce the cost of studying Mars is too enticing to ignore.

WASHINGTON — Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft successfully landed in New Mexico early Sept. 7, completing the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission but without any crew on board.

WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency successfully deorbited the first of four Cluster space science satellites Sept. 8, performing a first-of-its-kind “targeted reentry” over the South Pacific.

WASHINGTON — A multibillion-dollar NASA mission to a potentially habitable moon of Jupiter has been cleared to begin final preparations for an October launch after resolving concerns about electronics on the spacecraft.

Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B), a worldwide designer, manufacturer, and integrator of precision motion control components and systems, announces the development of its newest space computer to support the next-generation of on-orbit computing needs. The innovative Moog Cascade Single Board Computer (SBC) is the latest advancement of high-speed, radiation-hardened space computers for multi-mission, bus/payload applications for all orbital regimes.