Solar system

Launching in 2028, China’s Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission could bring Red Planet rocks back to Earth as early as 2031—years ahead of competing U.S.-European efforts

To achieve its ambitious plans for missions to the moon and beyond, Russia needs other spacefaring nations as partners. But the war in Ukraine is making that help increasingly hard to find

Close stellar encounters could change the structure of our planetary system, potentially dooming Earth or other worlds to oblivion

Recent observations have revealed carbon monoxide venting from the largest comet ever seen, providing clues about its origins in the mysterious depths of the outer solar system

Later this year a tiny rover will carry out an unusual lunar task

Claims that an asteroid or comet airburst destroyed the biblical Sodom captured the public’s imagination. Its retraction shows that scientific conclusions aren’t decided by majority rule in the public square

This explorer spacecraft is heading to a rare asteroid with a naked metal core. It could hold clues to how Earth began

Spacecraft can get a significant boost by stealing energy from planets

A curious celestial phenomenon known as the analemma is a reflection of Earth’s orbit and tilted axis

A new telescope project called the Next-Generation Very Large Array will revolutionize radio astronomy if it gets the funding it needs

NASA’s astrobiology ambitions are at risk of collapsing under the White House’s proposed budget. But your voice can make a difference

A reappraisal of decades-old data suggests that strange circular formations on Venus could be volcanic “rings of fire” created by ongoing geological activity